Set 60 years before a night of terror befell eight teens on a snowy mountain, The Inpatient explores the history of Blackwood Sanatorium and how it came to be the backdrop for some of Until Dawn’s most intense moments. The release of The Inpatient effectively makes Until Dawn a trilogy of sorts, and perhaps one of the most bizarre trilogies in the history of games. One is a choice-based horror movie mashup that is essentially a playable teen horror flick. Rush of Blood is a strange PlayStation VR gallery shooter trip into the mind of one of the characters in Until Dawn, with a direct connection to the ending of the first game. The Inpatient is the PSVR prequel that sets the stage.
One of the downsides to prequels is that you largely know how it’s all going to end. Some enjoyment can come in the form of shifting expectations and casting previous material in a new light based on previously unrevealed information, but The Inpatient seems to stick to the established narrative. There are some surprises, mostly revolving around the immediate story being told, but don’t expect major new revelations that will change the way you look at Until Dawn’s overall story. Having played Until Dawn before The Inpatient, I found much of the story more rewarding as I came across familiar places and pieced the puzzle together, but it also made for a rather anticlimactic ending. On the other side, those who didn’t play Until Dawn may find the story a bit more confu...