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.