When it comes to games that make sure your choices and ultimatums matter, Until Dawn is still regarded as one of the best. Set up as a slasher flick in a cabin high in the mountains, you control a group of teenage friends who are pursued by a supernatural force – not to mention torn apart by in-fighting between them.

Full of twists and turns, the goal of the game is to finish with as many survivors as possible. When so many seemingly insignificant decisions can affect a character's chance of ending the game alive, it can be a harder task than it sounds. Here's everything you need to do to end the game with a 100 percent survival rate.

This guide contains MAJOR spoilers for the entirety of Until Dawn.

Updated November 15, 2023, by Sean Murray: Looking for how to save everyone in Until Dawn? We've got you covered in this refreshed guide, now with improved formatting and more breakout tips to keep your squad from being eaten by Wendigos.

How To Save Jessica

In Chapter Four, Jessica will be snatched through the window of the guest cabin by a monstrous hand in front of Mike. Mike will be given the opportunity to chase her through the woods and be met with a series of Quick-Time Events (QTEs) with options to choose the safe or the fast paths.

You should choose the fast paths, as the game will allow you more mistakes without penalizing you.

If Mike makes it to Jessica lying on the elevator and she drops through the floor, it may seem like she's gone, but she will reappear later and has successfully survived this chapter. If he finds her with her jaw ripped off, it's too late, and Jessica dies.

Jessica won't reappear until Chapter Ten if she survived, walking through the mines in an attempt to escape the Wendigo. Either alone or with Matt, she will be given the option to run or hide.

Those who have been paying attention to the game will know a Wendigo's sight is based on movement, so hiding and completing the 'don't move' segment that pops up by keeping your controller perfectly still is the only way to survive.

If Matt is there during this moment, you will need to catch Jessica when she falls by hitting the button on the screen.

Also, while playing as Matt in the mine sequence, you get the option of abandoning Jessica. You must stick together for both to have a chance to live.

How To Save Matt

Matt is known as the most difficult character to keep alive, and very few are successful on a blind playthrough. So many seemingly unimportant choices are key to his survival.

In Chapter Five, you need to disagree with Emily about going to the fire tower. She will force Matt to go regardless, but his disagreement influences decisions later on.

In Chapter Six, there are a number of things to do:

• Do not hit the elk with an ax when cornered. Walk slowly through them instead, and they will not harm you.
• Take the flare gun while playing as Matt, instead of relinquishing it to Emily.
• When Emily falls as the tower collapses, choose to save her twice, and then be ready to shoot a target with the flare gun.

As with Jessica's survival, in Chapter Ten, it's important to hide when the Wendigo is near and stay perfectly still. Plus, make sure you catch Jessica when she falls.

How To Save Chris

In Chapter Six, Chris and Ashley will find themselves tied to chairs across from each other at a table, and Chris will be given a gun with one bullet. He can choose to shoot himself and Ashley walks free, or he can choose to shoot her and walk free.

He should choose himself - the gun will fire a blank and he'll survive. Ashley will appreciate the decision not to try to kill her.

Both survive here if Chris chooses to shoot Ashley, but the decision has a butterfly effect later in the night and is locked in during Chapter Six.

In Chapter Eight, Chris is chased through the woods by a Wendigo. You'll be presented with four targets and must shoot them in time to delay the Wendigo from reaching him.

When Chris reaches the cabin, if he is successful with these events, Ashley is the one who greets him at the door. Choosing to shoot yourself in Chapter Six means Ashley will welcome you into the cabin and be glad you're alive.

Choosing to shoot Ashley in Chapter Six will see her leave Chris outside to die in this scene instead.

While playing as Ashley in Chapter Nine, you should avoid leaving Chris behind by telling him, "We're not leaving you." Even if he does get separated from the group, you can still keep him alive as long as Ashley doesn't die, and Chris doesn't investigate the voice that comes through the trapdoor.

How To Save Emily

Emily is safe at least until Chapter Eight. In this scene, Emily will be chased by a Wendigo and hit a point where she can go left into the elevator to the left, or veer right. Take the elevator when given the choice.

When she gets to the elevator, don't take too long to start the elevator. Then, once you're on higher ground, there are a bunch of QTEs. Missing even one can mean that Emily dies in this scene.

At one point in the scene, Emily climbs up a conveyor belt, and you get the choice to stay on or leap off the belt. Getting off is the safer choice.

Shortly after that, she closes a door on the Wendigo, and you should make sure to lock it.

Regardless, Emily will be bitten by the Wendigo, but she won't die immediately from it. Emily will make it back to the house, and Mike will have the decision between shooting Emily for fear of what the bite might mean, or spare her. You need to avoid shooting Emily here because Mike's shot is fatal if you don't.

Emily can also die in Chapter Ten if the escape from the cabin goes wrong. If Sam succeeds in her QTE and saves Mike, Emily will survive in the process.

How To Save Ashley

Ashley has surprisingly few deaths in Until Dawn. Her first isn't until Chapter Nine when she hears the voice through the trapdoor and is given the choice of whether to investigate.

Don't open the trapdoor's hatch. A Wendigo is inside and will kill Ashley immediately if she opens the door.

Ashley's first chance to die isn't until Chapter 9. Like Chris (if he separates from the group), she hears a voice coming through a trapdoor and is given the choice to investigate. You should avoid this altogether and never open the hatch it's coming from, as it's a Wendigo that will kill her instantly.

Again, her life is on the line during the evacuation in Chapter Ten. For Ashley to survive, Sam must pass her "don't move" segment, save Mike, and then hide when given the choice. Hiding as Sam confirms Ashley will survive.

Can You Save Josh?

Josh's fate is decided when you're controlling Mike in Chapter Ten while he and Sam are wading through the water. Instead of immediately heading toward the water wheel, go left instead and climb onto a small ledge.

You'll find Hannah's diary there, and reading it saves Josh from death. He's still gotten by the Wendigo, but Mike finding the diary decides whether Josh is turned or made into a Wendigo.

Sam And Mike Survive At Least Until Chapter Ten By Default

Sam and Mike are both impossible to kill until Chapter Ten, where you will get a chance to kill not only them but a few other characters as well.

If you've followed every step up until now, the characters should all be alive when hitting the grand finale of the game. They're gathered in the house when multiple Wendigos get in and begin to fight each other, and everyone must stay perfectly still to avoid being seen.

Mike will come up with a plan to blow up the house and communicate it to Sam, who must flick a switch to ignite the fire.

Don't flick the switch immediately! Doing so will see Sam get out and leave everyone in the house for dead in the explosion.

Instead, pass every 'don't move' segment, save Mike, and keep hiding until everyone else has left the house. Eventually, Sam will run out and flick the switch as she leaves, blowing the house up along with the Wendigo.

Bonus: How To Save The Wolf

There's one other character it's possible to kill—the wolf. Mike meets a wolf in the asylum that he can be aggressive toward and chase off or befriend. Befriend the wolf for a companion.

In Chapter Nine as Mike is being chased, hit every QTE (as failing one will mean the wolf takes an attack for you and dies). When leaving the asylum, he should choose to barricade the door to keep the wolf safe from the Wendigo.

The wolf isn't technically a character, but you get a trophy for keeping him alive.

NEXT: The Best Story-Driven Horror Games