Until Dawn Remake’s New Ending Explained (In Detail)

The new Until Dawn remake presents some changes from the original, including a new ending where the fate of one character can be changed. The new ending redeems a missing aspect of the original and may event hint at a sequel that could expand the game’s story. With a remake of a highly popular game, smoothing out one major bump in the story was sure to be an aspect developers paid attention to.

Releasing almost 10 years after the original, 2024’s Until Dawn remake offers an updated version with enhanced graphics, while also bringing the game to PC for the first time. With an Until Dawn movie adaptation in the works, revisiting the original story and honoring it with slight improvements sets up the future of the franchise. One of the big changes is in favor of an important character’s fate, an element that fans are highly likely to praise.

Until Dawn’s New Ending Lets You Save Josh

One Desired Ending That Previously Did Not Exist

The new ending scenario allows players to save Josh, something that was impossible to do before. In the original game, Josh was fated to die either by being killed by Hannah’s Wendigo or by becoming one himself after being trapped in the mines and feeding on the stranger’s corpse. With no way to save him, the remake changed it so that players may redeem him for his actions, which ends up keeping him alive and being able to be rescued from the mines.

The climax and ending in the remake plays out identically to the original, with Sam and Mike getting their friends out of the cabin and blowing it up with the Wendigos inside. There is also the police interrogation scene during the credits, which an alive Josh will not be a part of if players save him. Players will need to create the perfect scenario for the secret ending to play out.

Until Dawn’s New Ending Requirements

Like Many Choice-Based Games, Secret Endings Are Easy To Miss

In order to keep Josh alive, players need to make the right choices. With the player’s important choices sealing the fate of all the characters being the major focus of the game, picking the right ones to ensure Josh becomes one of the survivors is crucial for those who desire to discover this new ending.

When Josh is revealed as the Psycho and is speaking to the therapist, Dr. Hill, players need to select the correct dialogue options to get the new ending. Being remorseful towards Josh and allowing him to apologize for his actions is the first step to ensuring he stays alive and that he is rescued. Players need to choose the options “They hurt me” and “I’m so sorry” as Josh while speaking to the therapist. His redemption in understanding what he has done fits into the new fate he can receive.

There are more requirements for Josh’s survival and the secret ending. Players need to discover and read Hannah’s diary that can be found while playing as Sam in Chapter 10 after Josh’s scene with Dr. Hill. As she and Mike venture through the mines and walk through the water, the journal is found on the left side where players can climb out of the water. Players also need to keep all characters alive throughout the game to find this secret ending. Reading the journal and saving all the other characters triggers Josh’s secret ending.

Which Ending Is Canon?

Is The New Secret Ending Considered The Canon One?

The true ending of the original version of Until Dawn involves all the characters surviving, except Josh who turns into a Wendigo. The steps into achieving this ending were the same as saving him in the remake, where reading Hannah’s journal gives Josh a chance of survival but he ultimately ends up eating the corpse of the stranger and turns into a Wendigo. With the original’s true ending circumstances turning into a new ending in the remake, it is safe to say that Josh surviving is now part of the canon ending.

Keeping each character alive in Until Dawn is no easy feat, and another addition may have emphasized that aspect. There is a new epilogue scene involving Sam that takes place years after the events of the game. This new scene becomes a part of the canon ending as it comes with Sam’s survival, possibly teasing an Until Dawn sequel. There is only one instance in the entire game where Sam is able to die, which is at the very end when blowing up the cabin, so achieving this new epilogue scene relies on not alerting the Wendigos.

Giving Josh the opportunity for redemption by regretting his actions and apologizing is something many players have desired after playing the original Until Dawn. With the ability to now save all the characters, besides Hannah and Beth who are needed to drive the story, the storyline of the game feels a little more complete.