How Supermassive has filled Rush of Blood with callbacks to the original Until Dawn

We broke a lot of new ground throughout the development of Until Dawn: Rush of Blood for PlayStation VR. There was a lot of experimentation and a tremendous amount of hard work involved in creating a terrifying and thrilling VR experience that we could be proud of. Now that the light at the end of the tunnel is in sight, I’d like to offer a peek behind the scenes and pass on some interesting nuggets about the game.

While intimate knowledge of Until Dawn on PS4 is not strictly required to enjoy Until Dawn: Rush of Blood, we did put a lot of effort into rewarding players who are really invested in the world.

Your guide through Rush of Blood, Dan.T, is played by Larry Fessenden. He’s the same actor who played ‘Jack the flamethrower guy’ in Until Dawn and, along with Graham Reznick, wrote both Until Dawn and Until Dawn: Rush of Blood.

Similarly, the twins from Until Dawn – Hannah and Beth – reprise their roles in Rush of Blood. Despite being separate characters, they are actually played by just one actress: Ella Lentini.

We’ve gone a step further for our loyal superfans and really drenched our world in callbacks and references to the original Until Dawn. While you’ll be fighting through familiar locations from the first game, we have also peppered the world with recognisable props and scene recreations from the original Until Dawn. We even used the gun designs in Until Dawn as a basis for the weapons you’ll be wielding in Rush of Blood.

These nods and callbacks to the original Until Dawn all serve a greater purpose than just fan service, acting as key points in revealing the mysteries hidden deeper within the game. Until Dawn: Rush of Blood is played in first person and as a result you never actually see your own face. You can though can look down and see your body – that’s one big clue as to your identity right there! Keep your eyes peeled and you should be able to piece together all the clues you need to figure out exactly what’s going on.

However, there is one secret buried away for only the most dedicated. Successfully defeat ‘Psychotic’ mode, our single-life, permadeath difficulty setting, to witness the game’s true ending and unravel the terrifying nightmare that is Until Dawn: Rush of Blood.

Creating a sense of presence and getting the player to feel as if they were actually on a rollercoaster was high on our list of priorities when we first started development. Hundreds of details made it all come together, but one of the most effective was the sound of the wind rushing (pun intended) past your ears as you hurtle along a ‘coaster.

We experimented with a bunch of techniques and eventually found that the best way to capture the sounds we needed was also the simplest: blow into a microphone and hit record. We then modulate this sound while you play – based on your speed and the orientation of your head – to really nail the sense of riding an actual ‘coaster.

We have a number of people on the team who, funnily enough, are not too keen on real-life rollercoasters. Because we wanted to create an experience that anyone could play, we put our brave lab rats through a gauntlet designed to test the limits of their endurance. This allowed us to create a suite of techniques and guidelines that resulted in the rollercoaster experience we have today. They suffered so you don’t have to!

So, from the devs here at Supermassive Games, good luck as you barrel into the horrifying unknown! We hope you enjoy the terrifying, disturbing and exhilarating thrill ride we’ve prepared for you…