How to get the best ending in Until Dawn

Until Dawn has several endings, determined by the number of survivors. There are eight possible survivors, but it is easy to make mistakes and get people killed by accident. Some survivors are easier to save than others, but the requirements aren’t obvious to the player. Some survival requirements can also clash with each other, and you need to navigate your journey carefully to keep everyone alive.

Keeping everyone alive will also get you the “They All Live” trophy and give you the satisfaction of surviving the night. Here is what you need to do to get the best ending in Until Dawn, i.e., save every survivor, though be mindful of spoilers that can disrupt your experience.

How to unlock the best ending in Until Dawn

Mike

Mike is one of the easiest survivors to keep alive. He cannot die until Chapter 10, allowing you to fail almost everything with him up until that chapter. To keep Mike alive, Sam must pass all “Don’t Move” segments successfully when the Wendigos infiltrate the lodge. Sam must also wait until everyone has run away/positioned themselves properly before running, as running early will kill Mike.

If you can’t keep your hands still, pause the game and find a flat surface, then place your controller on top. This will keep it perfectly still for those segments.

Sam

Sam is another survivor who cannot die until Chapter 10. Her death will come in Chapter 10 if she fails any of the “Don’t Move” segments after the Wendigos infiltrate the lodge. Pause the game and find a flat surface for your controller if you can’t keep your hands perfectly still.

Chris

Chris has several instances where he can die in Chapter 8, though some choices affect that outcome in Chapter 4. To keep Chris alive, you should:

• Choose Ashley in Chapter 4 during the sawblade sequence.
• Point the gun towards yourself first when tied up in Chapter 6, then fire the gun/don’t fire at all.
• Complete all the Quick Time Events when running from the Wendigo in Chapter 8.
• Don’t follow Jessica’s voice in the mines in Chapter 9, especially if Ashley unlocked the trap door.
• Wait for him to run away during Sam’s “Don’t Move” segments.

If Ashley passed the trapdoor in Chapter 9 but didn’t do anything, Chris can still go towards the voice and survive, provided he doesn’t interact with the trapdoor at all. If the trapdoor is unlocked, Chris dies even if Ashley didn’t open it.

Ashley

Ashley is capable of surviving until Chapter 9, where she can die. Thankfully, there are only two instances. Ashley can ignore Jessica’s voice while she is in the mines and go the other way. If she does follow the voice (necessary for a collectible), not interacting with the trapdoor at all will keep her alive.

During Chapter 10, Sam must not fail any of her “Don’t Move” segments to let Ashley leave successfully. If Sam fails the first segment but succeeds during the second, she must choose to save Ashley, or she dies.

Jessica

Jessica can be difficult to save because you decide her fate early on in Chapter 4. When Mike is running back to save Jessica, he must take all the risky routes and is only allowed one instance of stumbling to save Jessica. If he takes any of the safer routes or repeatedly stumbles, she will die in Chapter 4.

If Jessica survives in Chapter 4, she will reunite with Matt in the mines (provided he is alive). If Jessica is alone, she must always hide if running is the other choice, and she must always perform an action if doing nothing is presented as an alternative choice. If Matt is alive, he must successfully save Jessica and not abandon her throughout their ordeal, or Jessica dies.

Matt

Matt is one of the hardest survivors to save, primarily because his survival in good endings depends on having the flare gun.

In Chapter 6, Matt and Emily will encounter a group of deer. Matt should not provoke them to survive. If he does provoke them, he must pass Quick Time Events to survive, or he dies.

Later in the chapter, a radio tower will be spotted. Matt should refuse to go to the tower at first, then choose to keep the flare gun. If Matt wants to go to the tower and gets the flare gun, he uses it immediately, costing him his life.

At the end of Chapter 6, Matt can choose to save himself over saving Emily, helping him survive until Chapter 10. If Matt tries to save Emily a second time, he must have the flare gun and successfully aim it at the Wendigo to survive until Chapter 10, or else he dies.

During Chapter 10, he can run into Jessica if she is still alive. If he is alone, he must always hide if running is an option, and he must always perform an action if doing nothing is presented as an alternative choice. If he is with Jessica, he just needs to hide and always move instead of do nothing successfully.

Emily

Emily has various ways to die, but they can easily be avoided.

• During Chapter 8, Emily must pass all of her Quick Time Events or she gets killed. Getting bitten depends on whether she has the flare gun, but her survival is possible without it.
• Later in the same chapter, if Emily was bitten, choose not to shoot her for her survival.
• During Chapter 10, have Sam pass her “Don’t Move” segments to allow Emily to survive. If Sam fails the first segment but passes the second, she must choose to save Emily or Emily dies. If Sam runs too early, Emily dies as well.

Josh

Josh’s survival will require some detective work, but he is unable to die before Chapter 10. You must find Twins Clue #20 to piece together what happened to Beth and Hannah. If you do not find that clue, Josh will die upon running into a Wendigo in the mines. Twins Clue #20 can be found after going up the water wheel and looking at a journal on the ground.