16 Best Games Like Until Dawn But For Xbox One
If you're looking for games like Until Dawn, you're seeking cinematic horror where your choices craft the story. The appeal of similar games to Until Dawn lies in controlling a narrative where your decisions lead to chilling consequences, directly impacting who survives.
At the heart of these experiences is the butterfly effect, a system where minor actions can create deadly outcomes. This branching narrative design, combined with the constant threat of permadeath for any character, creates intense replayability and a deep sense of responsibility for their fates.
Ultimately, the search for games like Until Dawn is for story-rich, atmospheric adventures that favor psychological suspense over action. These interactive dramas merge filmmaking with gaming, focusing on mystery, character development, and tough moral dilemmas where your choices truly matter.
Looking for something specific?
16 Games Like Until Dawn But For Xbox One
1. The Quarry
As the spiritual successor to Until Dawn from the same developer, Supermassive Games, The Quarry is arguably the best game like Until Dawn available. It takes the familiar formula of a group of teenage summer camp counselors and throws them into a terrifying night of horror. The gameplay is centered entirely around making critical choices, surviving quick-time events, and exploring your surroundings, with every decision impacting the narrative through a complex butterfly effect system.
Just like in Until Dawn, every single character can live or die based on your actions, making it the perfect choice for players seeking that same high-stakes, cinematic slasher experience.
2. The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes
Also from Supermassive Games, House of Ashes offers a bite-sized but incredibly intense experience that is deeply similar to Until Dawn. Set during the 2003 Iraq War, a group of soldiers unearths an ancient Sumerian temple inhabited by monstrous creatures. The core gameplay is identical: you control multiple characters and make life-or-death decisions that seal their fates.
It features the same blend of cinematic storytelling, exploration, and choice-driven consequences, but with a focus on military-squad dynamics and creature-feature horror, making it a fantastic alternative.
3. As Dusk Falls
If the choice-and-consequence gameplay was your favorite part of Until Dawn, As Dusk Falls is an excellent choice. Presented in a unique motion-comic art style, this crime drama tells the story of two families whose lives become entangled after a robbery goes wrong. Every decision you make carries significant weight, not only determining who survives but also shaping the characters and their relationships over decades.
It's a powerful, mature story that constantly branches, making it a great game similar to Until Dawn for those who prioritize impactful, character-driven narratives.
4. Life is Strange: True Colors
While it lacks the slasher-horror elements, Life is Strange: True Colors is a compelling choice for players who were invested in the character relationships and central mystery of Until Dawn. You play as Alex Chen, a young woman with the supernatural ability to feel and manipulate others' emotions. The story revolves around investigating the "accidental" death of your brother in a small, picturesque town.
Your choices directly impact your relationships and how the mystery unfolds, offering a deeply emotional and story-rich experience driven by your decisions.
5. Oxenfree
For those who loved the "teenagers in a spooky setting" vibe of Until Dawn, Oxenfree is a fantastic indie alternative. The game follows a group of friends who accidentally open a ghostly rift on an old military island. The gameplay is driven by a unique and natural-feeling dialogue system where every conversation choice shapes your relationships with the other characters and, ultimately, the ending of the story.
It excels at building an eerie atmosphere and a compelling supernatural mystery, making it a great pick for fans of narrative-driven suspense.
6. Life is Strange 2
Life is Strange 2 puts the theme of consequence at the forefront of its experience. You play as Sean Diaz, who is on the run with his younger brother Daniel after a tragic accident. Daniel has telekinetic powers, and your choices and moral guidance as Sean directly influence how he uses them and what kind of person he becomes.
This creates a powerful, long-term butterfly effect that echoes the high stakes of Until Dawn, where your decisions have a lasting and often unpredictable impact on the people you care about.
7. The Walking Dead
A true titan of the genre, Telltale's The Walking Dead is essential playing for anyone looking for games like Until Dawn. This series is famous for its gut-wrenching moral dilemmas and forcing you to make impossible choices under extreme pressure. Every decision shapes your journey and relationships, and just like in Until Dawn, beloved characters can die permanently based on your actions. While it uses a distinct comic book art style, the focus on emotional, high-stakes, choice-and-consequence gameplay makes it a foundational experience in interactive storytelling.
8. The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope
Another entry from Supermassive Games, Little Hope delivers the signature gameplay that makes it a prime similar game to Until Dawn. A group of college students and their professor get stranded in the eerie, abandoned town of Little Hope, which is haunted by a dark history of witch trials. You control multiple characters, and your choices determine who survives the night.
It features the same blend of exploration, quick-time events, and impactful decisions, all wrapped in a terrifying tale of paranoia and historical horror.
9. The Wolf Among Us
If the mystery and investigation elements of Until Dawn were what drew you in, The Wolf Among Us is a must-play. Set in a world where fairytale characters live in secret in New York City, you play as Sheriff Bigby Wolf investigating a series of brutal murders. Developed by Telltale Games, the gameplay is centered around making difficult dialogue choices and decisions that affect your relationships and the course of your investigation.
It's a masterfully told neo-noir story where your choices define your path to the truth.
10. Slay the Princess
Don't let the simple visuals fool you; Slay the Princess is a brilliant and unsettling indie horror game that takes the idea of a branching narrative to its absolute extreme. Your goal is simple: you're on a path to a cabin to slay a princess who will end the world. But every choice you make, every conversation you have, drastically alters the story, the characters, and reality itself.
For those who love the butterfly effect and want to see just how much their decisions can shatter a narrative, this is an unforgettable and deeply psychological experience.
11. Layers of Fear
For players who were captivated by the psychological horror and environmental storytelling of Until Dawn, Layers of Fear is an excellent choice. This first-person game puts you in the shoes of a disturbed painter trying to finish his masterpiece in a constantly shifting Victorian mansion. The horror is less about monsters chasing you and more about a deeply unsettling atmosphere and a story that unfolds through exploration and surreal events.
It's a great pick for those who enjoy a narrative-driven psychological thriller.
12. Mundaun
If the folk-horror undertones and unique setting of Until Dawn appealed to you, Mundaun is a fantastic indie gem. Rendered entirely in hand-penciled grayscale, the game creates a truly one-of-a-kind, eerie atmosphere. You travel to a remote valley in the Alps to investigate the mysterious death of your grandfather, uncovering a dark secret.
The focus is on puzzle-solving and exploration in a tense, unsettling world, making it a great pick for those who love atmospheric horror and slow-burn mystery.
13. Dead by Daylight
While not a story-driven game, Dead by Daylight lets you live out the slasher-movie scenario that Until Dawn simulates. This is an asymmetrical 4v1 multiplayer game where one player takes on the role of a killer hunting four survivors. It shares the same horror themes and the thrill of trying to outsmart a relentless foe to survive.
It's a great choice if you want to experience the cat-and-mouse tension of a horror chase with friends, rather than guiding a story.
14. Murdered: Soul Suspect
If the central mystery of Until Dawn was your favorite part, Murdered: Soul Suspect offers a unique and compelling narrative hook. You play as a detective who must solve his own murder from the afterlife. The gameplay is focused on exploration, investigation, and piecing together clues to uncover the truth behind a serial killer.
While it doesn't feature the life-or-death branching choices for a cast of characters, its strong emphasis on story, mystery, and a dark, supernatural atmosphere makes it a great choice for players who love a good thriller.
15. Dying Light
It's important to note that Dying Light is an action game, not an interactive drama. However, if you enjoyed the sheer terror and survival aspects of Until Dawn, this game delivers that in spades. It's a first-person, open-world game where you must survive in a city infested with zombies, using parkour to navigate the environment. The day/night cycle, where enemies become far more aggressive and terrifying after dark, creates a level of tension that fans of horror will appreciate.
It's recommended for those who want a more action-oriented survival horror experience.
16. Inside
While it lacks the branching narrative and dialogue choices of Until Dawn, Inside is a masterclass in atmospheric storytelling and is a must-play for fans of cinematic horror. This puzzle-platformer places you in the role of a lone boy being hunted through a dark and oppressive dystopian world. Where it feels similar to Until Dawn is in its incredible ability to build and sustain tension. Every moment is filled with a sense of dread and mystery, and the story is told entirely through its haunting visuals and sound design.
For players who were captivated by the feeling of being in a constant state of peril and appreciated a story that sticks with you long after it's over, Inside delivers an unforgettable and deeply unsettling experience.
Frequently Asked Questions
What defines a "game like Until Dawn"?
Games considered to be like Until Dawn are often called interactive dramas or cinematic horror games. The key features that define them are a heavy focus on player choice and consequence. These games feature a branching narrative where your decisions, big and small, can drastically alter the story, relationships, and most importantly, who lives and who dies. This is often referred to as the "butterfly effect" system. They also feature cinematic presentation, quick-time events (QTEs), and the constant threat of permadeath for their characters, meaning a wrong move can permanently remove a character from the rest of the story.
What other games are made by the developers of Until Dawn?
The developer, Supermassive Games, has specialized in this genre. Their most direct follow-up is The Quarry, which is considered a spiritual successor and is a larger, full-length game very similar in scope to Until Dawn. They are also the creators of The Dark Pictures Anthology, a series of shorter, standalone cinematic horror games that includes titles like House of Ashes, Little Hope, and Man of Medan. If you want the exact same style of gameplay, anything by Supermassive Games is your best bet.
Are there any games like Until Dawn that aren't horror?
Absolutely. If you love the choice-and-consequence gameplay but don't enjoy horror, you have several excellent options. Detroit: Become Human and Heavy Rain, from developer Quantic Dream, are gripping sci-fi and neo-noir thrillers, respectively, where your choices dictate the entire story. The Life is Strange series offers emotional, character-driven mysteries with supernatural elements. For a more grounded experience, As Dusk Falls is a crime drama where your decisions shape the lives of two families over decades.
Can I play these types of games with friends?
Yes, and it's one of the best ways to experience them! Supermassive Games has included multiplayer modes in their recent titles. Both The Quarry and all games in The Dark Pictures Anthology feature a "Movie Night" or couch co-op mode where you and your friends can each be assigned different characters, passing the controller when it's that character's turn to make a choice. It turns the game into a collaborative, and often chaotic, storytelling experience.
What is the difference between The Quarry and The Dark Pictures games?
The main difference is scope and format. The Quarry is a single, large-scale, full-priced game that is considered a spiritual successor to Until Dawn, featuring a bigger cast and a longer story. The Dark Pictures Anthology is a series of smaller, individual, and more budget-friendly horror stories. Each game in the anthology is only a few hours long and explores a different horror sub-genre (e.g., ghost ship, witch trials, creature feature), making them more like bite-sized interactive movies.