Summary

  • Until Dawn remake by Ballistic Moon features over 30 gruesome deaths, with iconic scenes reimagined in stunning 4K.
  • Deaths in the game vary by creativity, gore, and undesirability, offering players unique and disturbing experiences.
  • Some deaths, like Emily's run in with a grinder and Ashley's eye gouging, are examples of ways that the characters can die.

Ballistic Moon's remake of Supermassive Games' Until Dawn reimagines the survival horror's iconic death scenes in stunning 4K, which only makes them more gruesome and impactful. There are over 30 possible deaths in Until Dawn for the main cast alone, excluding any additional characters, which works out to over 250 variations of possible endings.

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Here are the best deaths in Ballistic Moon's Until Dawn remake, ranked by how creative they are, how gory they are, and how much no one would want to find themselves meeting the same fate.

1 Emily's Death (Chapter 8)

Mike Shoots Emily Point-Blank

Mike about to shoot Emily in the safe room

In Chapter 8, while fleeing from the mines, it's possible for Emily to be bitten by the Wendigo. If this happens, she will return to the Washington lodge as the recipient of skepticism from Ashley, Sam, and Mike, who are uncertain (at this stage) if Wendigo bites are infectious, meaning Emily could turn into a Wendigo herself. This doubt manifests itself as rigid panic as Mike pulls a gun on Emily, claiming he needs to dispose of her to protect the others.

If Emily dies here, the image of her propped up lifelessly with her mouth agape is truly haunting. To make matters worse, Emily can be shot for no reason at all, as Ashley discovers that Wendigo bites are in fact harmless, which is information she can either withhold or share with the others.

2 Chris' Death (Chapter 8)

Chris Gets Decapitated

Chris getting decapitated by the Wendigo

Also in Chapter 8, when Chris is running from the Wendigo, he can die just before reaching salvation. Not through any fault of his own, either, as Chris manages to fend off the Wendigo with the Stranger's shotgun. However, Chris' fate is out of his hands when he reaches the lodge, as Ashley can either let him in and save his life or coldly lock him out and watch him die. This outcome is entirely dependent on if Chris tried to shoot Ashley in Chapter 6.

If he did, then Ashley will resent him for it and back away from the door, watching on with cruel detachment as the Wendigo stakes its sharp nails through Chris' neck and brutally decapitates him. On the plus side, if Ashley lets Chris die, this unlocks the "Ashley Snaps" trophy.

3 Ashley's Death (Chapter 9)

Ashley Gets Decapitated Too

The Wendigo about to decapitate Ashley

When Ashley, Sam, Emily (dependent), and Chris (dependent) navigate the sewers in Chapter 9, Ashley gets separated from the rest of the group and trails behind, telling them she'll catch up. Ashley hears Jess calling out to her, begging for help, which prompts the choice for Ashley to either investigate the voice or rejoin the group. If Ashley chooses to investigate, she jumps down a passageway and comes across a trapdoor on the ground.

However, if Ashley unlocks the trapdoor, the Wendigo will jump out and forcibly twist her head clean off, decapitating her. In the Stranger's handbook in Chapter 8, there's also a segment about how Wendigos can mimic the voices of their victims, so maybe Ashley should have paid closer attention to the fine print.

4 Matt's Death (Chapter 10)

Matt's Face Gets Bashed In

The Wendigo about to attack Matt in the mines

If Jessica survives until Chapter 10, she can stumble across Matt in the mines. At first, she swings for him with a shovel, thinking him a threat, but the pair eventually reconcile and agree to escape together. Matt and Jess hear a Wendigo pursuing them and there's an option to either hide or run. If Matt chooses run, Jess immediately dies. If he chooses to hide but fails the QTE to catch Jess when she falters, they both die.

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If Matt fails any other QTEs, he will be knocked to the ground by the Wendigo, pounced on, and have his face bashed in by the Wendigo's clenched fists. It's just as disturbing as it sounds, especially as the game shows a close-up of Matt's mangled face — real nightmare fuel.

5 Josh's Death (Chapter 10)

Josh's Head Gets Crushed Like A Grape

The Wendigo about the crush Josh's head

Sam and Mike find Josh in a catatonic state in Chapter 10 and Mike agrees to take him back the way they came. However, when Mike and Josh drop back down into the lake within the caverns, Josh is ambushed by the Wendigo. It grabs his head, applying considerable pressure until it caves in with a squish, like squeezing a grape.

If Sam manages to find Hannah's journal beforehand, Josh will recognize Hannah (the Wendigo) from her butterfly tattoo and Hannah will spare him, instead dragging him deeper into the mines.

6 Sam's Death (Chapter 10)

The Wendigo Tears Up Sam's Insides

The Wendigo grabbing Sam's face and holding her close

Sam is one of the two characters in Until Dawn who cannot die until Chapter 10, the other being Mike. If Sam chooses to do nothing for any of the prompts in the lodge or fails the "Don't Move" segments, the Wendigo will detect her and grab her by the face, lifting her off the ground effortlessly and plunging its whole arm through her stomach, impaling her.

Then, the Wendigo drops Sam unceremoniously to the floor and leaves her to bleed out, though she presumably dies instantly.

7 Emily's Death (Chapter 8)

Emily Has An Unfortunate Encounter With A Grinder

Emily getting crushed in the grinder

As Emily is escaping the mines in Chapter 8, she can either die directly by the Wendigo or by other means, one of which is a grinder. If she isn't killed beforehand, Emily can reach a conveyor belt and hop on to gain some traction. There's a prompt to jump off, which doesn't do much more than prolong the chase, but if Emily stays on, players have to hit a fairly easy QTE to jump over the grinder safely.

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It's pretty easy to avoid and Until Dawn even gives you two tries to hoist Emily out of there if she loses her footing the first time. If both QTEs are missed, Emily falls into the grinder feet-first and gets slowly crushed to death until her corpse jams the mechanism.

8 Jessica's Death (Chapter 4 & Chapter 10)

Jess Gets Her Jaw Ripped Off

The Wendigo about to tackle Jessica to the ground

In Until Dawn, Jessica can die the earliest (besides Hannah and Beth in the Prologue) if players fail to reach her in time as Mike. In Chapter 3, if Mike chooses the "slow but safe" routes or fails any of the QTEs, Jess will be dead by the time he gets to her. Once inside the mines, Mike comes across an elevator shaft, down which Jess's body will be dropped with her lower jaw missing.

As Matt in Chapter 10, if he tries to run, fails the QTE while hiding, or abandons Jessica, the Wendigo will pounce on her, stick its fingers down her throat and aggressively rip her lower jaw clean off.

9 Ashley / Emily's Death (Chapter 10)

Emily/Ashley Get Their Eyes Gouged Out

Ashley about to get her eyes gouged out by a Wendigo

Both Ashley and Emily share a fairly unique death in Until Dawn. If the Wendigo catches Emily in Chapter 8 before she reaches the conveyor belt, it will grab her by the face and use its razor-sharp nails to gouge out her eyeballs. If Sam chooses not to save Ashley in Chapter 10 (if she makes it that far), this unlocks a "secret" death that mimics Emily's from Chapter 8.

Ashley's face will be grabbed and there are a few tense seconds as the Wendigo's nails hover over her eyes before she plunges them in.

10 Matt's Death (Chapter 6)

Matt Gets Impaled Through The Jaw With A Meat Hook

Matt about to be grabbed by the Wendigo in the mines

When their plan to go to the radio tower goes awry, Matt and Emily are plunged into the mines. As Emily hangs precariously from the demolished tower, Matt has the option to either save her or jump to safety himself. It's instinctive to want to save Emily, but Until Dawn punishes the selfless act immediately.

There are two times that Until Dawn prompts the "Save Emily" response, but if Matt chooses to save her twice and Emily doesn't give Matt the flare gun in Chapter 6, he will be ambushed by the Wendigo and impaled through the chin on a meat hook.

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Until Dawn (2024) Tag Page Cover Art
Until Dawn
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7 /10
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Released
October 4, 2024
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WHERE TO PLAY

SUBSCRIPTION
DIGITAL
Checkbox: control the expandable behavior of the extra info

Developer(s)
Ballistic Moon
Platform(s)
PC, PlayStation 5
Genre(s)
Horror