Parents' Guide to

Until Dawn: Rush of Blood

By Marc Saltzman, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 18+

"On rails" VR horror shooter stuck by repetition, thin play.

Game PlayStation 4, PlayStation VR 2016
Until Dawn: Rush of Blood Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this game.

  • Until Dawn: Rush of Blood Screen #1
  • Until Dawn: Rush of Blood Screen #2
  • Until Dawn: Rush of Blood Screen #3

Community Reviews

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age 18+

Based on 1 parent review

Chandler A.
Chandler A. Adult
July 8, 2020
age 18+

Rush of Blood

This game is straight of the charts, fun filled gore fest be scared. There are quite few jumpscares that is involved. In stage 2, there is a area where giant 'Pigs' are being butchered and squealing from the pain as saw blades go through them. There is also a werid bit before entering the house, of some sort of werid pedophilla fetish thing? Ofvery huge child dolls (nude). And one is hitting themself with a hammer. There is villians try attacking you and creepy spiders climbung all over you. Some jumpscares get up into your face

This title has:

Easy to play/use
Too much violence
See all 1 parent review

What’s It About?

UNTIL DAWN: RUSH OF BLOOD is an action-horror game for PlayStation VR. You play from a first-person perspective, riding a slow roller coaster through a haunted carnival populated with demonic clowns, zombies, giant spiders, and other ghastly enemies. You'll aim and shoot firearms as they jump out at you or run toward you from all angles, plus you'll need to duck and dodge everything thrown at you, too. You'll play through seven chapters, each with a different nightmarish theme, and can compare your shooting score against a global leaderboard, if you like. While the game is "on rails" -- meaning you don't walk around -- there are multiple paths to take per level, each stage is replayable, and you can choose from multiple difficulty levels.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1):
Kids say (1):

Horror fans who've invested in a PlayStation VR headset will like this game so long as they don't expect an extraordinary experience. First, the good news: The game developers did a great job creating a dark, atmospheric, and decrepit amusement park. There are some legitimately creepy enemies, too, especially if you fear clowns, giant bugs, zombies, ghosts, and other things that go bump in the night. Aiming and shooting these creatures feels incredibly intuitive, thanks to responsive and accurate PlayStation Move controls. There's some variety between the levels, including a climactic conclusion worth working toward.

The not-so-good news: Repetition. The aim-and-shoot gameplay gets a little tiring after a while -- especially with the predictable "jump scares." Repeat a level and you'll learn when and where you can expect a pop-out thrill, which defeats the purpose. While it's longer than some other PlayStation VR games, some might not like that you can finish the game in a day or so. At least, as previously mentioned, you can go back and try to improve your score or opt for a higher difficulty level. It's too bad there's no multiplayer support, extra game modes, or other bonus content to help justify the purchase. The end result is that Until Dawn: Rush of Blood is good but not great. It explores what scarier experiences could be like in VR and puts your trigger finger and wits to the test but bores you with thin, repetitive play.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about violence in video games. Does a "shooting gallery"-like game like this have to be so graphic? Can't a developer make a scary game without the blood and gore? Or is this over-the-top violence what people want in a virtual reality carnival adventure?

  • Talk about spin-offs. This shooter is vastly different from the original game, Until Dawn, but why do you think the developers choose to take movement controls away from the player? Does that help or hurt the gameplay?

Game Details

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