We’ve all been there. It’s 2 AM, the lights are off, and you’re staring at the "Butterfly Effect" menu in Until Dawn, realizing that a single missed QTE just got Chris's head ripped off. It sucks. But it’s also exactly why we love it. That specific blend of teen slasher tropes, high-stakes decision-making, and the constant fear that you’re one bad choice away from a total party wipe is hard to replicate. Honestly, finding genuine games like Until Dawn is harder than it looks because most developers focus too much on the scares and not enough on the actual branching logic that makes Supermassive Games' breakout hit so special.
You want something that feels like a playable movie. Not just any movie, though—a 90s horror flick where you actually have the power to stop the blonde girl from running upstairs when she should be running out the front door.
Why The Quarry Is the Only True Successor
If you’re looking for the closest thing to that 2015 Blackwood Mountain vibe, you have to start with The Quarry. It’s basically the spiritual sequel. Supermassive Games had a bigger budget here, and it shows. They traded the snowy mountains for a summer camp in North Pine, New York. You get the same "group of teens" dynamic, but the writing feels a bit more self-aware. David Arquette is in it. Brenda Song is in it. Even Lin Shaye shows up. It’s a powerhouse cast.
The mechanics are almost identical, but they tweaked the "Don't Move" mechanic. In Until Dawn, you had to hold the controller perfectly still, which was terrifying if you had a slight hand tremor or a cat that liked to jump on your lap. The Quarry replaces this with a "Hold Your Breath" mechanic. Is it better? That’s debatable. Some fans think it’s a bit too easy compared to the original, but the branching paths are arguably more complex. There are 186 different endings. No, that’s not a typo. While many of those are just slight variations, the sheer volume of "who lives and who dies" permutations is staggering.
The Dark Pictures Anthology: Bite-Sized Terror
Then there’s the Dark Pictures Anthology. These are shorter. Much shorter. While Until Dawn takes about 8 to 10 hours to wrap up, games like Man of Medan or Little Hope can be beaten in a single sitting of four hours. This changes the pacing significantly. It’s less of a slow burn and more of a sprint toward the finish line.
Man of Medan takes place on a ghost ship. It’s clunky. I’ll be honest, the movement feels like you’re steering a fridge through a narrow hallway. But the multiplayer? That’s where it shines. They introduced a "Shared Story" mode where two people play different characters simultaneously. You might be in the engine room seeing something terrifying while your friend is on the deck thinking you’ve lost your mind. It creates a level of paranoia that the single-player experience just can't touch.
House of Ashes is widely considered the best of this bunch. It moves away from the "is it all in their heads?" trope that frustrated players in earlier installments and dives straight into creature-feature territory. Set during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, it forces enemies to work together against an underground threat. It’s intense. It’s messy. It feels like Aliens meets The Descent. If you want games like Until Dawn but with more action and a tighter script, this is the one you play first.
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Telltale Isn't Dead, but It Is Different
We can't talk about choice-based horror without mentioning Telltale's The Walking Dead. Look, it’s not a "slasher" in the traditional sense. You aren't hiding from a masked killer in a cabin. But the emotional weight of the decisions is arguably heavier. When Lee has to make a choice, you feel it in your chest.
The technical side is different, though. Until Dawn uses the Decima engine (the same one behind Death Stranding), which makes the faces look eerily real. Telltale uses a stylized, comic-book aesthetic. It’s less about "uncanny valley" scares and more about the "I can't believe I just did that" realization. If you haven't played The Wolf Among Us, do it. It’s a noir mystery with fairytale characters, and while it’s not horror, the tension is identical.
Beyond the Big Studios: Detroit and Heavy Rain
Quantic Dream is the other big player here. David Cage’s games like Heavy Rain and Detroit: Become Human are the mechanical cousins of Until Dawn. They don't do horror often, but they do "consequence" better than almost anyone else.
In Heavy Rain, your characters can actually die. Permanently. If your detective fails a fight in a scrapyard, he’s gone, and the story just... continues without him. That was revolutionary at the time. It lacks the supernatural element of the Wendigos, but the "Press X to Not Die" energy is exactly the same. Detroit takes it even further with a literal flowchart you can view after every chapter. It shows you exactly where the story branched and how many people took the same path as you. It’s a completionist's nightmare but a narrative lover's dream.
The Indie Gems You’re Overlooking
There are smaller titles that capture the vibe without the $60 price tag. Killer Frequency is a weird one, but hear me out. You play as a late-night radio host in the 80s. A slasher is on the loose in your small town, and callers phone into your show for help. You have to use clues in the studio and your own logic to guide them to safety. If you give them the wrong directions, you hear them die live on air. It’s clever. It’s fresh. It’s a different way to experience a "slasher" game.
And then there's Fears to Fathom. This is an episodic indie series based on "true" stories. It’s lo-fi. The graphics look like an old VHS tape. But the dread? The dread is paralyzing. It captures the vulnerability of being a normal person in a bad situation better than any AAA game. You aren't a buff teenager with an axe; you’re a kid home alone or a hiker in a lonely lookout tower.
Common Misconceptions About Choice-Based Horror
A lot of people think these games are just "walking simulators." That’s a mistake. A walking sim like Gone Home is about discovery, but games like Until Dawn are about survival. The "game" isn't in the movement; it’s in the mental gymnastics of trying to outsmart the developer.
You also don't need a high-end PC for most of these. While The Quarry needs some decent specs to look its best, many of the Dark Pictures titles are well-optimized for older consoles. Don't let the "cinematic" tag fool you into thinking you need a PS5 Pro to enjoy them.
Practical Steps for Your Next Playthrough
If you’re ready to dive into another nightmare, here is the best way to approach it.
First, check the co-op options. Most people play these games solo, but Until Dawn and its successors are peak "couch co-op" material. Even if the game doesn't have a dedicated "Movie Night" mode (which The Quarry does), passing the controller whenever the perspective shifts to a new character makes the experience ten times more engaging. You’ll start arguing over choices. You’ll blame your friend when they kill off your favorite character. It’s great.
Second, resist the urge to reload. The biggest mistake you can make in a choice-based game is "save scumming." If someone dies, let them stay dead. The story is meant to be flawed. A "perfect" run where everyone survives is actually the least interesting way to experience the narrative. The grit and the grief of losing a character five minutes before the credits roll is what makes these games stick with you for years.
Third, pay attention to the environment. These games love to hide "totems" or "premonitions." In Until Dawn, these were wooden carvings. In The Dark Pictures, they are pictures or stone tablets. They give you a five-second glimpse of a possible future. Most players ignore them or forget them immediately. Don't. If you see a vision of a character dying by fire, and ten minutes later you’re asked to hide in a kitchen or a basement, you’ll know exactly what to avoid.
Finally, if you want something that bridges the gap between horror and high-concept sci-fi, keep an eye on SOMA. It’s more of a traditional survival horror game, but the philosophical choices it forces you to make about identity and consciousness will leave you staring at the ceiling for hours after the credits roll. It’s not a "teen slasher," but it hits that same "what have I done?" nerve.
The genre is growing. We’re seeing more developers realize that players want to be the director, not just the actor. Whether you're heading back to a summer camp in The Quarry or exploring a cursed ship in Man of Medan, the core appeal remains the same: the power to choose who makes it to sunrise.