There are a lot of choices to make in Until Dawn and honestly that’s kind of the point of this choose your own adventure game. But what’s interesting is that some choices have an immediate consequence, good or bad, and others won’t play out until entire chapters later.
There are a lot of moving parts in this game and you need to balance individual safety with group safety to make sure everyone survives until dawn. With that in mind, here are the most important choices you can make and strong suggestions for which you should pick.
10 Be A Gentleman Or Prankster
Near the beginning of the game Jessica and Mike will head off to the privacy of the guest cabin further into the woods for some alone time. Along the way the characters will find a shed next to a stream that Michael will explore.
Inside is a mask that Michael can take to prank Jessica or he can leave it behind. If you want a bit of fan service later on and for Jessica to be in a better mood for the rest of the walk then leave it alone. If you feel a little impish then put it on, startle her into falling in the cold river, and listen as she understandably complains the rest of the trip.
9 Emily Get Your Gun
As Matt and Emily explore the fire tower they’ll come across a flare gun. This is surprisingly a handy weapon, but can easily be wasted and make later parts of the game harder.
Though it might be tempting to signal for help or give it to Matt, the single best option you can choose is to have Emily keep it and not use it. This choice will let her have it when she starts confronting Wendigos in the mines later and makes a particular moment much easier to survive.
8 Don’t Listen To The Voices
Both Chris and Ashley will have an encounter in the mines where they hear voices in the distance. The characters will wonder if they're hearing cries for help, but also if it’s the Wendigos playing tricks on them. Ashley has an option to explore the voices and encounter a totem, but it’s very risky and she can die as she infamously does in Youtuber celebrity Markiplier’s playthrough. Chris will die if he does.
Honestly it’s better to ignore the voices and stay with the group. Nothing good ever comes from investigating mysterious noises on your own, in the dark, in a cave, in a horror story.
7 Let Her Fall
This is an important decision that can lead to the survival of two characters or the death of one, but it requires going against your instincts and everything the game has taught you. After the fire tower falls into the mines and is threatening to drop down further the player, controlling Matt, can choose to save Emily or jump to safety.
Surprisingly leaving Emily to fall is the safer option for both characters. If he tries to save her Matt will die from the fall or wind up in a Wendigo lair where he will be skewered on a hook. Be selfish, leave the girl to seemingly die and have Matt jump to safety.
6 Let Emily Live Or Die
It sounds awful but a quick browse through fan discussions about the game and many argue that letting Emily die early on makes the game more enjoyable. At times her character can be annoying, cold, and often rude so many prefer to sit back and watch what happens when her life is in danger.
By no means is this method being advocated, but it’s certainly something to keep in mind as you’re progressing in the game. Interestingly Matt’s odds of survival get much better if you let her die, suggesting maybe even the developers have a problem with her attitude.
5 Self-Sacrifice
When the Stranger puts Chris and Ashley in a Saw situation where Chris must choose to shoot himself, shoot Ashely or do nothing that will cause both their deaths it can be hard to decide what to do, especially if you want to keep everyone alive.
Under no circumstances should you have Chris shoot Ashley as that’ll lead to his death later in the game, so your only options are to have Chris shoot himself or do nothing. Surprisingly the best option is to have Chris shoot himself, have fun finding out why.
4 When To Move
The last moments are the game are pivotal and a lot of things are happening with a lot of choices to be made. It is very, very easy to screw this up if you’ve never played before and don’t keep track of where everyone is and what they’re doing in this moment.
Generally speaking your best options are to save the others, don’t move, and hide whenever possible. It’s risky and requires steady hands, but it’s the only way to ensure everyone gets out in one piece. Although if you have trouble holding still, running when you can is an option, just be prepared for some consequences.
3 Risky Or Play It Safe
Quick time events are an old game mechanic meant to keep the player engaged, make it feel like a game, and to introduce tension. It’s lazy and poor game design, but it surprisingly works fairly well in Until Dawn.
Typically you’re faced with taking the safe route or taking risks when chasing or escaping. If you want fewer quick time events, want to progress quickly, and have good reflexes then choose the risky option. If you hated Simon Says as a kid or have poor reflexes you can take the safer route, it’ll just take longer and you’ll have more quick time events as a result.
2 Be Kind To The Animals
Throughout the game you are presented with the option to be cruel to animals or treat them passively. It is almost always in your best interest to be nice in these situations. Don’t shoot the squirrel, don’t pelt the bird with a snowball, comfort the deer as it dies, and don’t try to hack the herd to death.
While the choices by and large don’t impact the overall story, except the last one, they do make everything harder and you’ll notice quick time events are tighter. The one exception to this rule is to kick the dog and then apologize with a bone later.
1 Therapy Session
The most impactful choices you’ll make in this game are at the beginning when you’re being questioned by Dr. Hill on your fears and anxieties. The game has a clever system in place that incorporates whatever you answer into the game.
Depending on the answers the player gives the Stranger can appear as a clown, scarecrow, or zombie. Other choices will affect Dr. Hill’s office and the man himself, spiders will appear, sores will break out on Dr. Hill’s forehead, and other events to make the game scarier. Be careful what you choose in these moments.