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The journey for the upcoming PS4 exclusive horror game Until Dawn has been an interesting one. Originally revealed as a PS3 exclusive utilizing PlayStation Move, the game has since been moved to the PlayStation 4, dropping PS Move in favor of a more traditional control scheme in the process.

Since being moved to the PS4, development on Until Dawn ramped up considerably, and now the game is just a little over one week away from release. Until Dawn takes its inspiration from Hollywood slasher films and video games such as Heavy Rain, tasking players with making plenty of choices as they progress through the game. Now Sony has released a new trailer that reflects the spirit of Until Dawn's gameplay rather well.

The new trailer, dubbed "Choices", is live action, interactive, and in the style of Choose Your Own Adventure novels. Players assume the role of a nameless female protagonist as she hops in the shower, only to hear a strange noise coming from the hallway. Viewers of the trailer then have a few seconds to choose whether they wish to defend their position, explore the area, or leave, with the story evolving from there. It's a horror trope that's been done to death, but that's part of the fun of Until Dawn, getting to put oneself in the shoes of the slasher movie victims we've all made fun of other the years, seeing if we're actually smart enough to keep them alive.

The director of the interactive trailer had this to say about the game:

"We took our inspiration from the many choices presented in the game and from its cinematic style. We want to give the viewer a feeling of what it's like being caught up with a killer on the loose - having to make life threatening decisions on the run. Most people can relate to watching a horror [movie] and disapprove of the decisions made by the main protagonists. Now you can actually have a say in them - and carry full responsibility if the protagonist gets away or is killed in a brutal way...we find that extremely cool!"

This interactive trailer is a creative way to promote the game, and the fact that it fairly accurately showcases Until Dawn's choice-based gameplay is an added bonus. In fact, it's probably one of the few live action trailers for a video game that actually offers players a genuine idea of what the gameplay will entail.

This interactive trailer is much preferable to another recent trailer for the game, which had a camera pan around a house with words popping up, indicating where player choice could be made. While serviceable, it honestly wasn't a great way to build up excitement for the game. However, this new trailer may actually even make more people aware of the game than before, as its Choose Your Own Adventure nature could make it appealing even to those that don't normally play video games.

Until Dawn will be available next week, August 25th, exclusively for the PlayStation 4.

Source: PlayStation