Directive 8020

Directive 8020 is arguably Supermassive's best game since Until Dawn. The wait was well worth it. Here they have crafted a fun and intense sci fi space horror game. I immediately wanted to play again as soon as it was over.

Directive 8020 represents the best that The Dark Pictures games have had to offer thus far, proving that Supermassive Games is right at home within sci-fi horror.

Directive 8020 is everything you could want from a sci-fi horror game: Body horror aliens, the unwavering dread that all of us are insignificant when set against the great expanse of the universe, and fun QTEs.

Directive 8020 rockets Supermassive’s horror anthology into the stars with a homage to Ridley Scott, John Carpenter, and all things body horror, while delivering a stellar narrative twist that’s out of this world.

The best game since Until Dawn: Directive 8020 breaks with the old formula and gets you excited about the future of the Dark Pictures series.

Directive 8020 is a strong interactive narrative with some less-than-exciting gameplay. Quick-time events and impactful decisions maintain a solid element of player interactivity, but the title would be better off ditching its weak stealth segments and walking-simulator gameplay in favor of a more direct, cinematic approach. Despite this, fans of the genre and those looking for a good narrative experience with some player influence are bound to enjoy what this latest entry in the Dark Pictures Anthology has to offer.

The overall plot, cast and character dynamics carry the story forward, and the bug-free experience, full stealth gameplay and other new mechanics set a new standard for future Supermassive games.

Creepy, cruel—it goes down like a ride on a ghost train. The Dark Pictures Anthology opens its first science fiction chapter. Fans of the anthology series should definitely climb aboard the spaceship for Directive 8020.

Set aboard a familiar alien-infested spaceship setting, this solid branching adventure from Supermassive Games captures the atmosphere and tension of the very best moments from the cult horror classic Alien.

When I finished Directive 8020, I immediately wanted to replay it. I was content with the ending I got, but was fascinated by all of the other possible endings and diverging paths that led to them. There are so many permutations of the storyline and secrets to uncover; I know for sure that I’ve got a couple more playthroughs in my future. It’s the mark of a great choice-based game.

Directive 8020 left me far more invested in its crew than I expected to be. Turning Points is a smart addition that could use more support, and the Destiny system gives even smaller choices a bigger sense of consequence. It may not land every idea as strongly as it should, but Directive 8020 still delivers a tense, entertaining, and surprisingly character-driven sci-fi horror story that pushes The Dark Pictures Anthology in the right direction.

Directive 8020 is a step forward for The Dark Pictures Anthology in terms of spectacle and storytelling, making it a chilling and impressive start to the second season of the series.

Directive 8020 does most of the important stuff well. Player choice is at the forefront, and it's centered in an effective story that is light on jump scares and more focused on organic horror than something cheap. Inconsistencies in the voice acting and a lack of brevity in stealth gameplay are frustrations, but neither negatively affects the overall package too much. I'm more disappointed that co-op is limited to local, pass-the-controller style storytelling and curious about the curator and overall "Dark Pictures" nature of the game taking a backseat than I am concerned about the execution of the existing content. The "new season" of The Dark Pictures is off to a promising start.

Directive 8020 is Supermassive Games doing what it does best: making a horror adventure out of genre fiction. In this case, it’s body-snatching, Alien-hunting sci-fi and a diminishing crew under increasing pressure. Both its setting and time-jumping narrative construction make it unique, but it never strays very far from the constraints of its inspirations. Impressive visuals, effective performances and generally polished mechanics are countered by a muted tone, some dull exploration sequences and stealth. The game’s pacing and momentum sometimes feel out of whack. Still, both fans of Supermassive’s approach to storytelling and classic sci-fi will enjoy their time on Tau Ceti f.

Directive 8020 is still another good quality release from Supermassive Games, and if you were a fan of Until Dawn, The Quarry, and/or previous Dark Pictures Anthology games, you will definitely enjoy it; at least so long as the space-faring setting is of interest to you. There’s a lot to enjoy in the storytelling, and so long as you have the patience to put up with repetitive stealth scenes, I think it is a game worth playing. Directive 8020 is just another example of how well they’ve nailed down their formula, including all of its oddities and quirks for better or worse. Fans of the series will consider the quirks almost a requirement, so don’t write it off too quickly. There’s a lot to love.

As a new direction for the Dark Pictures series, Directive 8020 gets the job done. It makes it clear that Supermassive Games can adapt to changing tastes and offer a streamlined, accessible version of their most famous product. It’s only a pity that the script can’t match up to the gameplay. Moment to moment, as an experience, this is some of the best work Supermassive has ever done — but pull back and look at the whole, and narrative flaws appear. Hopefully they’ll take everything they learned on this one and use it to present equally robust systems with a more coherent story next time around.

Directive 8020’s over reliance on stealth segments, cheap jump scares and jarring story transitions prevents it from being one of the best in the series. However, it impresses with strong performances, atmosphere and the addition of the Turning Point system that makes replaying the game to see new plot points more convenient than ever, making it a solid new entry in the Dark Pictures Anthology.

Directive 8020 is the studio’s first sci-fi horror game, and it delivers on the genre’s expectations with new gameplay mechanics, a wide range of difficulty options, and a bleak story full of surprises. Its slow start and gradual build-up of pace are another plus. However, the repetitive nature of the stealth mechanics, the studio’s persistent performance issues, and the repetitive enemy types slightly undermine the project. Still, it’s a must-play for fans of the genre—a dark space and human ethics nightmare.

Directive 8020 isn’t the best game The Dark Pictures Anthology has to offer, but it is better than most of them. The story has some fantastic twists and turns, the characters are likable if a bit too shallow, and it's intensely replayable with an absolutely astounding amount of variance.

Despite technical bugs and lackluster gameplay elements, Directive 8020 marks a solid start to Season 2, bolstered by a highly convenient branching system and a robust choice-driven narrative. While it falls short of Until Dawn's legacy, it successfully retains the series' core appeal of shaping characters' fates, leaving us hopeful for future entries.

Directive 8020 is one of the better parts of The Dark Pictures Anthology, but don't expect it to be a major departure from the series or anything else. It has an interesting setting, an impressive atmosphere, good characters, and a functional story foundation, which creates the basis for a quality interactive adventure game, but at the same time it suffers from perhaps too forced and repetitive gameplay elements.

Directive 8020 marks a noticeable technical leap for The Dark Pictures Anthology, with impressive visual fidelity and a chapter based structure that fits the experience well. The new Turning Points system also makes it much easier to track branching paths and piece together the story. Unfortunately, the same long standing issues still hold it back: the script falls apart under scrutiny, the new interactive mechanics feel shallow, and the "something among us" premise never becomes more than a surface level hook.

Directive 8020 is a solid story-driven thriller that has a few too many pitfalls. I love the story, and it gets significantly better towards the second half, but the first half felt more like a long introduction. The new Turning Point system is a great idea, and it allows easy access to go back and see what we could do differently for another run, which makes it a lot easier to try new pathways. The gameplay itself is a little too simple and easy, but it still has the same emphasis on choices that affect the story. It all works really well, but still falls short in a few key areas.

There's an entertaining, occasionally brilliant horror story here, but Directive 8020's focus on live action stealth to determine the fates of its cast means choice and consequence feel less important here than any other Supermassive game, squandering so much of the potential of a choose-your-own-adventure take on classic sci-fi horror paranoia and isolation.

Directive 8020 is a solid sci-fi yarn let down by some early snark-filled writing. The plot is serviceable in showing you some gorgeous locations full of people you may or may not want to save, and a bevy of monsters you’ll get bored hiding from. If you’ve enjoyed the studio’s previous work, then rest assured that Directive 8020 may well be worth checking out.

This isn’t the series most standout storyline, but there’s a lot to appreciate between the traditional gameplay loop we all crave and various new features. As always, given the nature of the game, to truly appreciate it and fully unearth the plot and fine details, you’ll need to replay and delve into those other possible branches. Good luck staying alive.

Directive 8020 is a good addition to the Dark Pictures anthology and a solid start to its second season. Its story ranks among Supermassive Games’ best work, marking a much-needed step forward for a studio that has struggled to release standout titles in recent years. The decisions players have to make carry real weight, significantly shaping the outcome of the story and adding a ton of replay value for players who want to uncover every consequence of their choices. However, while the stealth sequences can be tense and are well-designed, they appear way too frequently and make it surprisingly easy to kill off characters you dislike, weakening some of the emotional impact. This is an issue mainly because there are characters that are boring and uninteresting due to mediocre voice acting, potentially leading the player to want to eliminate them. Still, even with a couple of shortcomings, Directive 8020 remains an engaging narrative-driven adventure that Dark Pictures fans should not miss.

Directive 8020 is a step in the right direction for The Dark Pictures, giving its choices more weight, its cast stronger performances, and its horror more room to breathe. While the later episodes drag and a few clichés and visual issues hold it back, the journey aboard the Cassiopeia is still worthwhile.

Directive 8020 delivers innovative features like decision rewinding and an engaging messaging system, although it suffers from a sluggish first half. The sci-fi atmosphere eventually shines, yet excessive, mediocre stealth sequences and stiff animations undermine the tension. It remains an entertaining cooperative experience despite failing to meaningfully evolve the franchise's established formula.

These mechanics are supposed to be more immersive, but they're little more than busywork designed to placate any suspicion that you're only truly playing a game if you've nudged a character around with the analogue stick. [Issue#425, p.108]

Directive 8020 is a bold attempt to evolve a familiar format, but ironically the biggest and most ambitious changes only serve to dull the game. The best parts of the title are when Supermassive plays to and builds on its strengths, and it's a shame that this game deviates a bit too much away from that.

In some ways, Directive 8020 feels like a game of missed opportunities, and a bunch of almost-theres. But sometimes Supermassive's ambition pays off. It's a touch too long, it's a little too one-note, and I wish it could have pushed a little harder to find its own identity as it charted so much well-trodden ground. But its existential chills are effective, it's got an earnest spirit, and a phenomenal cast that genuinely made me care. If Supermassive keeps pushing its horror series, I suspect great things are in store.

Despite its impressive visual presentation and strong narrative ideas, Directive 8020 ends up being one of the less compelling horror adventures from Supermassive Games. Its unconvincing characters too often shatter the immersion, which becomes difficult to rebuild after a series of bizarre moments. Unfortunately, the result is a rather mediocre experience.

Directive 8020 turned out to be yet another failed game in Supermassive Games' catalog, which raises legitimate concerns about the studio's future. The developers deserve credit for the ability to replay fragments and a decent plot twist, but the effect is undermined by the uneven narrative delivery, poorly written characters, and outright boring gameplay.

The Dark Pictures, as a broad project, feels like it's at a crossroads with Directive 8020. With plans to do several more installments, I feel like the inherent flaws are giving way to diminishing returns. I've said before that I'd take a new one of these games every year, forever, and I still feel that way, but I think I've hit my limit on forgiving some of the series' increasingly obvious hang-ups. The conscious rejection of Supermassive's past cinematic flair confuses me, while the shoddy voice work creates a barrier between the game's intent and its execution.