Directive 8020

The Dark Pictures might be missing from the title screen, but Directive 8020 is a return to Supermassive Games' formulaic design with some new twists and frights.

Directive 8020 may not be the revolution some were hoping for, but it still stands out as an interesting evolution of The Dark Pictures formula. With this new title, Supermassive Games tries new things and experiments, offering us a narratively gripping adventure, though its gameplay unfortunately suffers from an approach that’s far too formulaic. It’s still a solid popcorn game, however, and will certainly appeal to fans of the genre and those who enjoy slightly goofy horror experiences.

The second season of The Dark Pictures Anthology begins with a strong premise, sending players into space with clear inspirations from The Thing and Alien. Directive 8020 is yet another example of Supermassive Games reaching the limits of what this anthology format can offer, with the production’s budget constraints becoming increasingly apparent. Despite that, it delivers an effective horror story with well-written characters and impressive lighting effects. However, it stays a little too close to its inspirations and struggles to establish a truly unique identity. The stealth segments also feel overused and would have benefited from being shortened or replaced with interactive cutscenes.

Directive 8020 is another solid entry from Supermassive Games, even if it falls short of the studio’s best horror experiences. The decision-making mechanics remain as tense and entertaining as ever, especially when playing alongside friends. While uneven pacing, cheesy dialogue, and technical hiccups hold it back from greatness, the game still delivers an engaging sci-fi horror adventure filled with memorable choices and strong atmosphere. Fans of Until Dawn and previous Dark Pictures titles will likely find plenty to enjoy here. It may not be the standout entry in the franchise, but it’s still an enjoyable and highly replayable horror game.

Were it structured like a Dark Pictures game of old, Directive 8020, through its derivative but fun riff on 'The Thing', would be seen as something of a return to form. Sadly, their attempt to evolve the product has resulted in a poorly paced gameplay experience that, by the end of its run, is little more than a sadly stagnant monster closet.

It's dingy and it's not without some mutations, but Directive 8020 is definitely worth exploring - just expect the mundane along the way.

Directive 8020 is a welcome evolution of Supermassive’s The Dark Pictures Anthology survival horror series, offering a more forgiving gameplay experience, improved visuals, and new stealth elements. While the core of the gameplay remains, fans may feel divided on these new additions, as the game leans into more traditional survival horror elements than previous titles, but doesn’t quite hit the mark when weighed up against other heavyweights in the sci-fi genre.

The narrative’s final fumble feels representative of Directive 8020 as a whole. I’m glad to see Supermassive giving itself time to experiment and adapt. Pivotal choices and interactions feel relevant, and reward you for paying attention. There are modes and mechanics here I’d love to see taken forward or even ported back into older entries. But many of those additions don’t quite yet feel finalized, and their inclusion comes at the reduction of other, enjoyable elements. For fans of the Dark Pictures series, the cast and setting make Directive 8020 well worth enlisting with the Cassiopeia. But sadly, it doesn’t quite reach the stellar heights I was hoping for.

Directive 8020 explores enthralling themes and serves up some aesthetically pleasing scares, but its overreliance on bland stealth sections and janky pacing hold the game back. I’m certainly interested in seeing more of the story routes thanks to the cohesive and quick rewind mechanic, but I think I’ll wait a bit before diving back into all those stealth sections.

Directive 8020 is a generally fun romp through a sci-fi horror flick with predictable jump scares and familiar plot beats, though it's often bogged down by utterly torturous gameplay segments that can ruin the pacing of the story. Sometimes, less gameplay really is better.

Directive 8020 flirts with greatness by blending Alien and The Thing into a choice-driven horror that will certainly appeal to sci-fi and Supermassive Games fans alike. While the atmospheric space setting is immersive, the title is hindered by trivial stealth mechanics and a cast that lacks charisma. It’s a safe season premiere that, unfortunately, sacrifices its greatest potential — paranoia — in favor of narrative conveniences.

Directive 8020 isn’t a bad game, but it feels slow and repetitive. The universe is interesting, the atmosphere often works really well, and some sequences are genuinely effective, but I wish the game was more dynamic, more tense, and above all, scarier. It’s a survival horror experience that still lacks the polish and mastery needed to become a true standout in the genre.

I really wanted to love this game and there are elements about Directive 8020 that I thoroughly adored. It could have been up there with the greats, sitting alongside House of Ashes for best Dark Picture. Sadly, Directive 8020 fails from a narrative and gameplay standpoint, and while it does redeem itself from an overbearing saggy middle, it doesn't do enough for me to ignore its glaring flaws. If you don't mind the repetitive gameplay that flatlines any built momentum and tension, then Directive 8020 may hit like Until Dawn did back in 2015. It had huge potential, but may have needed more time in cryosleep.

The Dark Pictures Anthology resumes its journey grounded in certain constants—its horror roots, its focus on plot and character, and its narrative branching—but also introduces significant new elements, chief among them a fresh setting and revamped gameplay mechanics. Unfortunately, this ambition to innovate was not fully realized; the stealth mechanics in *Directive 8020* prove too rudimentary to sustain the sheer volume of sequences that rely on them, while the sci-fi setting remains anchored to stylistic conventions so ordinary that they prevent the title from standing out from the crowd. The narrative fails to build the sense of gravity that ought to define a mission to save the entire human race, though it recovers slightly thanks to a body-horror-infused finale and an intriguing concluding twist. The new map system, based on "Turning Points," is a godsend for completionists, who can finally explore every nook and cranny of the story without having to needlessly replay entire chapters; meanwhile, on the graphics and performance front, Supermassive has done a solid job, despite the lackluster nature of the art design.

Although enjoyable, especially in local multiplayer, Directive 2080's science fiction story feels too familiar. Mechanically, Supermassive Games is stuck in the same formulas.

Directive 8020 continues the trend of the earlier Dark Anthology games: entertaining B-horror where you constantly make decisions (sometimes under pressure) that determine whether your characters live or die. At its core, this is still a successful game, with plenty of fun moments, while the clear timeline and the option to rewind to earlier scenes are welcome additions. Yet for me, this is the least memorable entry in the series, as weak dialogue, mediocre performances, and overly frequent stealth sections often undermined the tension and made the formula start to feel worn out.

The makers of Until Dawn unleash a new interactive sci-fi horror, whose polish and narrative twists are undermined by under-informed choices and an awful lot of walking about in dimly lit corridors.

I played single-player exclusively, but that said, I struggle to see how groups will find this as enjoyable as other Dark Pictures titles. There are less big, dangerous choices to be made and far more opportunities to die because you’re not good at stealth, or stealth and management of scanning and puzzles at the same time. Fans of Supermassive will find enough here to justify a purchase, though I’m in that camp myself and finished things up hoping for a tighter experience.

The game delivers believable virtual actors and a sci-fi horror that's at once familiar and fresh, but Directive 8020's focus on lacklustre survival-horror gameplay over a meaningful, choice-driven narrative dilutes what originally made the studio's brand of cinematic horror stand out.

Directive 8020 had some serious potential, but it fails to conjure up anything of any real substance. There are little sparks of enjoyment in there, and I liked the Cassiopeia’s gradual descent into a gloopy, fleshy hell. But a dull setting, uninteresting characters, and overly simplistic gameplay segments left me fairly uninterested in seeing how else I could play out this branching narrative experience.

Directive 8020 also gives us the ability to rewind time and make different choices, or to replay these sessions, in order to ensure that more survivors make it to the end of the game.

Directive 8020 attempts to channel the claustrophobic paranoia of The Thing into deep space, but ultimately crashes under the weight of poor writing. Supermassive Games delivers a weak narrative lacking proper foundational context, populated by an unlikable and inconsistently written cast that makes it nearly impossible to care about their survival. The game's trademark branching choices are frustratingly executed, often resulting in illogical, delayed consequences without adequate narrative support. Coupled with an overreliance on tedious stealth sequences and surprisingly tame body horror, this sci-fi nightmare is a thoroughly missed opportunity.