History Awesome / UntilDawn

* Mike holding his own against [[spoiler:several Wendigos]] in the sanatorium. He's never even [[spoiler:seen a Wendigo]] before and has never fired a shotgun at a hostile target in his life, yet he keeps his cool, refuses to panic, and survives a hellish gauntlet packed with traps, obstacles, and [[spoiler:monsters]] in a manner that would have made [[EvilDead Ashley Williams]] proud. And if Mike gets in over his head, [[spoiler: Sam bails him out by engaging a wendigo in melee with a steel pipe or shovel.]] To reiterate, [[spoiler:a teenage girl with zero combat training attacks a lightning fast, nigh-invulnerable predator with a blunt instrument and ''knocks it flat on its ass''.]] It's even more awesome if you play your cards right as Mike. First, he [[spoiler: outright kills most of the wendigos chasing him by blowing the crap out of them with an improvised fuel-drum. The lone survivor has its skin burnt, so when Sam saves Mike she's able to kill it herself.]]

* It's kinda minor, but if you do all the QuickTime events right, Jess absolutely destroys Mike in a snowball fight. Considering everything he accomplishes over the course of the game, it's a real shame she was taken out of events so quickly.

* The players get one for managing to have all eight characters survive until dawn. True, its ''definitely'' [[BittersweetEnding not the happiest of endings]], [[spoiler:especially considering what becomes of Josh]], but still. You managed to do everything right and survive all the game threw at you, [[TenLittleMurderVictims subverting]] [[DeathBySex almost]] [[BlackDudeDiesFirst a]] [[RedShirt dozen]] [[SlashersPreferBlondes death]] [[DontGoIntoTheWoods Tropes]] [[TooDumbToLive along]] [[LastKiss the]] [[NeverSplitTheParty way]]. That takes some guts.

* The players get one for managing to have all eight characters survive until dawn. True, its ''definitely'' [[BittersweetEnding not the happiest of endings]], [[spoiler:especially considering what becomes of Josh]], but still. You managed to do everything right and survive all the game threw at you, [[TenLittleMurderVictims subverting]] [[DeathBySex almost]] [[BlackDudeDiesFirst a]] [[RedShirt dozen]] [[SlashersPreferBlondes death]] [[DontGoIntoTheWoods Tropes]] [[TooDumbToLivealong]] [[LastKiss the]] [[NeverSplitTheParty way]]. That takes some guts.

* The players get one for managing to have all eight characters survive until dawn. True, its ''definitely'' [[BittersweetEnding not the happiest of endings]], [[spoiler:especially considering what becomes of Josh]], but still. You managed to do everything right and survive all the game threw at you, [[TenLittleMurderVictims subverting]] [[DeathBySex almost]] [[BlackDudeDiesFirst a]] [[RedShirt dozen]] [[LastKiss death]] [[TooDumbToLive Tropes]] [[LetsSplitUpGang along]] [[SlashersPreferBlonds the]] [[DontGoIntoTheWoods way]]. That takes some guts.

* The players get one for managing to have all eight characters survive until dawn. True, its ''definitely'' [[BittersweetEnding not the happiest of endings]], [[spoiler:especially considering what becomes of Josh]], but still. You managed to do everything right and survive all the game threw at you, [[TenLittleMurderVictims subverting]] [[DeathBySex almost]] [[BlackDudeDiesFirst a]] [[RedShirt dozen]] [[ LastKiss death]] [[ TooDumbToLive Tropes]] [[LetsSplitUpGang along]] [[ the]] [[ way]]. That takes some guts.

* The players get one for managing to have all eight characters survive until dawn. True, its ''definitely'' [[BittersweetEnding not the happiest of endings]], [[spoiler:especially considering what becomes of Josh]], but still. You managed to do everything right and survive all the game threw at you, [[DeathBySex subverting]] [[DeathByInaction almost]] [BlackDudeDiesFirst a]] [[BoomHeadshot dozen]] death Tropes along the way. That takes some guts.

* The players get one for managing to have all eight characters survive until dawn. True, its ''definitely'' [[BittersweetEndingnot the happiest of endings]], [[spoiler:especially considering what becomes of Josh]], but still. You managed to do everything right and survive all the game threw at you. That takes some guts

** More Fridge Awesome; [[spoiler: the stranger]] casually notes in his journal that, among other things, [[spoiler: wendigos are completely immune to knives]]. ''How in the world would he know that?'' Given his refusal to make assumptions or take anything for granted, he probably [[spoiler: somehow got into a knife fight with one of the damn things and lived to tell about it. ]]

* When Chris and [[spoiler:the Stranger]] go to try rescue Josh, [[spoiler:the Stranger]] smirks at Chris, saying he knows Chris doesn't know how to use a shotgun. As they get attacked and [[spoiler:the Stranger is killed]], Chris actually proves to be highly efficient with the shotgun, [[spoiler:blowing away any wendigo he comes across]] until he's finally safe inside the lodge. In particular is the moment where he somersaults under a fallen tree, spins around, and [[spoiler: blasts a wendigo back into the tree he just rolled under]].
--> '''Chris''': "Yeah! Suck It!"

* When Chris and [[spoiler:the Stranger]] go to try rescue Josh, [[spoiler:the Stranger]] smirks at Chris, saying he knows Chris doesn't know how to use a shotgun. As they get attacked and [[spoiler:the Stranger is killed]], Chris actually proves to be highly efficient with the shotgun, [[spoiler:blowing away any wendigo he comes across]] until he's finally safe inside the lodge. In particular is the moment where he somersaults under a fallen tree, spins around, and [[spoiler: blasts a wendigo back into the tree he just rolled under.

* When Chris and [[spoiler:the Stranger]] go to try rescue Josh, [[spoiler:the Stranger]] smirks at Chris, saying he knows Chris doesn't know how to use a shotgun. As they get attacked and [[spoiler:the Stranger is killed]], Chris actually proves to be highly efficient with the shotgun, [[spoiler:blowing away any wendigo he comes across]] until he's finally safe inside the lodge.
--> '''Chris''': ''(somersaults under a fallen tree, spins around, and blasts the wendigo back into the tree he just rolled under)'' "Yeah! Suck It!"

* Sam and Mike don't just keep their cool, they [[spoiler: improvise a way to finally destroy the monsters while under severe pressure and unable to speak, with the damn things just a few meters away.]] The plan in question? [[spoiler: Turn the entire building into a giant firebomb via a gas explosion.]] It took guts to commit to that line of action, especially since [[spoiler:whoever trigged the blast would almost certainly be committing a HeroicSacrifice]]. The best part? With a little help from the player, [[spoiler: their plan can work ''perfectly''. [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu The stunned look of horrified disbelief on the Alpha Wendigo's corpse]]]] is one of the best moments of the game. And even if the player fails [[spoiler: and Sam is killed, Mike gets an AwesomeMoment all his own by [[DyingMomentOfAwesome going out like a boss]] and [[TakingYouWithMe making sure that the damn things fry alongside him.]]. ]]

* When Emily is attacked by [[spoiler:the wendigos]] in the mine, her entire escape counts as this. By this point she's the first one to genuinely encounter them [[spoiler: (Jessica being the first one attacked but was injured, dragged away, and possibly outright killed)]], and even in her panic on being attacked by [[spoiler:these monsters]] she's still emotionally strong enough to think of proper ways to escape, setting obstacles for them while never hesitating to take any possible route out and away. Even at one point, [[spoiler:a wendigo]] can latch on to the elevator she's taking, and her first instinct is to not move, which proves to be exactly the way to [[spoiler: evade the wendigos, who can only see movement,]] which she and the others find out later. Two more awesome moments stand out during Emily's escape; the first is when she [[spoiler: stands her ground and headshots the monster chasing her with a flare gun (provided she has one)]]. The second is [[spoiler: having the guts to use a lift car's cable as a zipline, and managing to hold on until the handle she's holding on to reaches the end of the line and breaks off due to the speed it's going. Even after she falls from the cable a good fifty feet or so, she ''[[MadeOfIron gets right back up]] and [[{{Determinator}} keeps running'']], even though she's obviously hurt]].

* In the second death trap, when confronted with the sadistic choice of [[spoiler:shooting himself or Ashley]] in order to stop a pair of blades from killing the both of them, [[spoiler:Chris]] tries to TakeAThirdOption and shoot the blades themselves to stop them. It doesn't work. But points for trying. Also points to [[spoiler:Josh for setting up the light to pop when shot with the blanks. He somehow managed to predict that's what Chris would do and set it up so that he wouldn't give away the prank early. That's serious forethought!]]

* In the second death trap, when confronted with the sadistic choice of shooting [[spoiler:himself or Ashley]] in order to stop a pair of blades from killing the both of them, [[spoiler:Chris]] tries to TakeAThirdOption and shoot the blades themselves to stop them. It doesn't work. But points for trying.
** Also bonus points to [[spoiler:Josh for setting up the light to pop when shot with the blanks. He somehow managed to predict that's what Chris would do and set it up so that he wouldn't give away the prank early. That's serious forethought!]]
* Sam's very likely HeroicSacrifice of [[spoiler:continuously stalling Hannah's Wendigo until her friends can escape the lodge, even though it's very likely she will be murdered and eaten]].
** At one point, [[spoiler: Hannah's Wendigo even screams directly into Sam's ear and Sam, depending on whether or not you move the controller, doesn't move a muscle, especially taking into account that minutes earlier she waded neck deep in ice cold water while wearing clothes not fit for cold weather, so she must be freezing and her muscles aching to tremble. She's got nerves of steel.]]
*** Sam and Mike don't just keep their cool, they [[spoiler: improvise a way to finally destroy the monsters while under severe pressure and unable to speak, with the damn things just a few meters away. ]]
**** The plan in question? [[spoiler: Turn the entire building into a giant firebomb via a gas explosion. It took guts to commit to that line of action, especially since whoever trigged the blast would almost certainly be committing a HeroicSacrifice]].
***** And the best part? With a little help from the player, [[spoiler: their plan can work ''perfectly''. [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu The stunned look of horrified disbelief on the Alpha Wendigo's corpse]] is one of the best moments of the game.]]
******* And even if the player fails [[spoiler: and Sam is killed, Mike gets an AwesomeMoment all his own by [[DyingMomentOfAwesome going out like a boss]] and [[TakingYouWithMe making sure that the damn things fry alongside him.]]. ]]
* Mike holding his own [[spoiler: against several Wendigos in the sanatorium. He's never even seen a Wendigo before and has never fired a shotgun at a hostile target in his life, yet he keeps his cool, refuses to panic, and survives a hellish gauntlet packed with traps, obstacles, and monsters]] in a manner that would have made [[EvilDead Ashly Williams]] proud.
** And if he gets in over his head, [[spoiler: Sam bails him out by engaging a wendigo in melee with a steel pipe or shovel. To reiterate, A teenage girl with zero combat training attacks a lightning fast, nigh-invulnerable predator with a blunt instrument and ''knocks it flat on its ass''.]]
** It's even more awesome if you play your cards right as Mike. First, he [[spoiler: outright kills most of the wendigos chasing him by blowing the crap out of them with an improvised fuel-drum. The lone survivor has it's skin burnt, so when Sam saves Mike she's able to kill it herself.]]
* When Emily is attacked by the [[spoiler: wendigos]] in the mine, her entire escape counts as this. By this point she's the first one to genuinely encounter them [[spoiler: (Jessica being the first one attacked but was injured and dragged away)]], and even in her panic on being attacked by these [[spoiler: monsters]] she's still emotionally strong enough to think of proper ways to escape, setting obstacles for them while never hesitating to take any possible route out and away. Even at one point, a [[spoiler: wendigo]] can latch on to the elevator she's taking, and her first instinct is to not move, which proves to be exactly the way to [[spoiler: evade the wendigos, who can only see movement, which she and the others find out later.]]
** Two particular moments stand out during her escape; the first is when she[[spoiler: stands her ground and headshots the monster chasing her with a flare gun (provided she has one)]]. The second is [[spoiler: having the guts to use a lift car's cable as a zipline, and managing to hold on until the handle she's holding on to reaches the end of the line and breaks off due to the speed it's going. Even after she falls from the cable a good fifty feet or so, she ''[[MadeOfIron gets right back up]] and [[{{Determinator}} keeps running'']], even though she's obviously hurt]].
** Emily slapping [[spoiler:Ashley]] so hard that it knocks [[spoiler:her]] to the floor. Given that the latter's hysteria can get Emily shot over nothing, [[spoiler:she]] kind of had it coming.
-->'''[[spoiler:Ashley]]''': Emily, please try to understand-

* When [[spoiler: Chris and the Stranger go to try finding Josh, the Stranger smirks at Chris, saying he knows Chris doesn't know how to use a shotgun. As they get attacked and the Stranger is killed, Chris actually proves to be highly efficient with the shotgun, blowing away any wendigo he comes across until he's finally safe inside the lodge.]]
* If both are alive, [[spoiler: Matt encounters a badly injured Jessica in the mines, and then they promptly get stalked and chased by some wendigo. His decision to refuse to abandon her despite her being badly injured and barely able to keep up with him, all while being defenseless and menaced by incredibly fast, nigh invulnerable cannibalistic monsters, is just inherently badass.]]
** Increasing the badass factor, at this point [[spoiler:Matt and Jessica]] are the only ones left LockedOutOfTheLoop. They don't know any of the sordid affair behind [[spoiler:the Wendigos]], have no idea who the psycho is, don't know anything except "We're trapped in the mines, [[spoiler:Jessica]] can barely move under [[spoiler:her]] own power, there's something nasty down here with us, and '''''we are not going to die today.'''''"
** You kind of have to [[GuideDangIt know what to do in advance]] to get this moment, but as Matt, [[spoiler: if you get caught by a wendigo in the mines [[AlwaysSaveTheGirl due to trying to save Emily at the collapsing radio tower twice]] [[HonorBeforeReason instead of jumping to safety]], it IS possible to survive. If you disagreed with Em's plan to head for the radio tower earlier, and gave Matt the [[ChekhovsGun flare gun]] when playing as Em, he'll recall that moment in the present as he's being dragged to his death. He'll then pull out the flare gun and, [[PressXToNotDie assuming you don't screw up the QTE]],[[BewareTheNiceOnes damn near put a flare right through the ugly bastard's head]], scaring it off and saving his life.]]
** And even if [[spoiler: Matt is dead by this point, Jessica can still survive all by herself. She's scared to death, she's the still living character who is the most badly injured, to the point she can barely even walk, yet she can still hide and remain perfectly still as the wendigo stalk her. She can't even run, but that does not stop her from tackling and breaking right through several wooden planks out to safety, where she yet again evades a wendigo, this despite her not even knowing about how remaining still is the best way to evade them.]]
* A bit of [[FridgeLogic Fridge]] awesome for the stranger. When the Friends first arrive, the [[spoiler: Wendigos could have slaughtered them all with contemptuous ease, yet the monsters only gradually reveal themselves and don't commit to a full-on attack]] until late into the night. For example, the first [[spoiler: Wendigo to attack Jess and Mike could have slaughtered them at it's leisure]], yet he was only bold enough to launch a sneak attack, fled immediately thereafter, and [[spoiler: may retreat from Mike without a shot being fired. Why? ''Because they fear humanity''. The Stranger [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu had them dead-to-rights for over half a century, exploiting their every weakness, and rendering them utterly helpless and imprisoned within their current bodies]]. After just one human caused them so much grief, [[MistakenForBadass they would naturally be wary when eight more of the damn things show up]]! The stranger didn't just corral a swarm of cannibalistic, nigh invulnerable killing machines; ''[[HumansAreWarriors he put the fear of man in them]]''.]]
* On a more antagonistic side of the scale [[spoiler:the one Wendigo absolutely destroying all the others in the lodge right near the end. It rips the head off one like it was a doll. It really doesn't like sharing its prey.]]
** Bonus points: [[spoiler: That Wendigo is Hannah, infused with the spirit of Makkapitew. The youngest of the Wendigos, and also the strongest]]

** At one point, [[spoiler: Hannah's Wendigo even screams directly into Sam's ear and Sam, depending on whether or not you move the controller, doesn't move an inch. She's got nerves of steel.]]

** Two particular moments stand out during her escape; the first is when she[[spoiler: stands her ground and headshots the monster chasing her with a flare gun (provided she has one)]]. The second is [[spoiler: having the guts to use the lift car's cable as a zipline, and managing to hold on until she reaches a survivable drop. Even after she falls from the cable a good fifty feet or so, she ''[[MadeOfIron gets right back up and keeps running]]'', even though she's obviously hurt]].

** Two particular moments stand out during her escape; the first is when she[[spoiler: stands her ground and headshots the monster chasing her with a flair gun (provided she has one)]]. The second is [[spoiler: having the guts to use the lift car's cable as a zipline, and managing to hold on until she reaches a survivable drop. Even after she falls from the cable a good fifty feet or so, she ''[[MadeOfIron gets right back up and keeps running]]'', even though she's obviously hurt]].

* Mike holding his own [[spoiler: against several Wendigos in the sanatorium. He's never even seen a Wendigo before and has never fired a shotgun at a hostile target in his life, yet he keeps his cool, refuses to panic, and survives a hellish gauntlet packed with traps, obstacles, and monsters.]]

** It's even more awesome if you play your cards right as Mike. First, he outright kills most of the wendigos chasing him by blowing them up. The lone survivor has it's skin burnt, so when Sam saves Mike she kills it herself.

** And if he gets in over his head, [[spoiler: Sam bails him out by engaging a wendigo in melee with steel pipe. To reiterate, A teenage girl with zero combat training attacks a lightning fast, nigh-invulnerable predator with a blunt instrument and ''knocks it flat on it's ass''.]]

*** Sam and Mike don't just keep their cool, they [[spoiler: improvise a way to finally destroy the monsters, while under pressure and unable to speak, with the damn things just a few meters away. ]]
**** The plan in question? [[spoiler: Turn the entire building into a giant firebomb via a gas explosion. It took guts to commit to that line of action, especially since whoever wound up triggering the blast would almost certainly be committing a HeroicSacrifice.

****** And even if the player fails [[spoiler: and Sam is killed, Mike gets an AwesomeMoment all his own by [[DyingMomentOfAwesome going out like a boss]], and [[TakingYouWithMe making sure that the damn things fry alongside him.]].
* Mike holding his own [[spoiler: against several Wendigos in the sanatorium. He's never even seen a Wendigo before and has never fired a shotgun at a hostile target in his life, yet he keeps his cool, refuses to panic, and survives a hellish gauntlet packed with traps, obstacles, and monsters.
** And if he gets in over his head, [[spoiler: Sam bails him out by engaging a wendigo in melee with steel pipe. To reiterate, A teenage girl, who has zero combat training, engages a lightning fast, nigh-invulnerable eldritch horror with a blunt instrument and ''knocks it flat on it's ass''.]]

*** Sam and Mike don't just keep their cool, they [[spoiler: concoct a decent plan to finally destroy the monsters on the spot, while unable to speak, with the damn things just a few meters away. ]]
**** And the best part? With a little help from the player, [[spoiler: their plan can work ''perfectly''. [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu The stunned look of horrified disbelief on the Alpha Wendigo's corpse]] is one of the best moments of the game.]]
***** And even if the player fails [[spoiler: and Sam is killed, Mike gets an AwesomeMoment all his own by [[DyingMomentOfAwesome going out like a boss]].]]
-->'''Mike''': [[spoiler: Huh?! Huh!? How does that feel, [[PrecisionFStrike you FUCK!]] ''(Lights his lighter, with a GrinOfAudacity plastered on his face)'']]
* Mike holding his own [[spoiler: against several Wendigos in the sanatorium]].
** And, if he gets in over his head, [[spoiler: Sam comes to his rescue by engaging a wendigo in a melee with steel pipe!]]

* On a more antagonistic side of the scale [[spoiler: Hannah absolutely destroying all the other Wendigo in the lodge right near the end. She rips the head off one like it was a doll. She really doesn't like sharing her prey.]]

* After most of the friends have reunited and Emily encountered [[spoiler:the wendigos]], [[spoiler:the Stranger]] visits them to inform them about [[spoiler:the wendigos]]. When he knocks on the door, Chris and Mike open the door with the latter ready to hold [[spoiler:the Stranger]] at gunpoint. [[spoiler:The Stranger]] simply kicks open the door after Chris unlocks it and calmly walks towards Mike and effortlessly disarms him. The friends realize that this is reason enough for them to listen to what he has to say.