It’s been four long years since the horror series The Dark Pictures Anthology released The Devil In Me. Now finally, the series is back with Directive 8020! Can this survival horror story in space elevate the franchise to new heights?
Space, The Final Frontier
I’ve had a love affair with Supermassive Games since the launch of Until Dawn. Since that wonderful game released, I have played and enjoyed every single title they have developed. The developers have created these interactive horror dramas. They are driven by the characters and the choices you make and I love this! Needless to say, you can imagine my frustration and anticipation, waiting for Directive 8020. This is a bold new step in the Dark Pictures franchise. Thankfully, it was worth the wait! Directive 8020 is the best entry in the Anthology to date! That is even with some of the issues that rear their ugly heads.
The story of Directive 8020 takes place in the year 2061, a long way away from earth – 12 light years to be specific. Chosen by eccentric billionaire LaMarcus William, the owner of company Corinth, a crew of astronauts and scientists is tasked with a survey mission. Aboard the space ship Cassiopeia, the team’s mission is to survey Tau Ceti f from space. They must gather information for a ship which is landing on the planet six months later. The mission hopes to find an alternative sustainable living habitat to a dying earth. You control five members of the crew: pilot Brianna Young, commander Nolan Stafford, mission officer Laura Eisele, medical officer Samantha Cooper and engineer Josef Cernan. Of course, inevitably, this mission goes completely awry and becomes deadly.
What Could Possibly Go Wrong?!
In typical Dark Pictures Anthology fashion, the survey missions starts well, but it soon plummets into chaos and horror. Approaching the planet, the ship is hit by an unidentified object which begins to generate a growth on board the ship. This growth can take the form of anything it sees or kills; it’s clear the developers have used The Thing as a source of inspiration. Through the game’s eight episodes, you are on a journey of pure tension and atmospheric horror. The narrative is also told in a non linear format with flash forwards and backwards. I became hooked from start to finish. At its core, the game is propelled by a superb cast of characters. There are major twists and turns later on in the game’s penultimate episode. This had me shocked and pleasantly surprised that I had not discovered the twist.
The core themes of the narrative revolve around mortality, paranoia, friendship and desperation. These are all blended into a wonderful concoction of survival and body horror. Brianna Young takes centre stage; she is a brilliant protagonist as you fight to stay alive. Of course, with this being a Dark Pictures game, your choices matter. Every choice can lead to dramatic consequences. The level of replay ability available in this game is also the best to date in the series. Add in the superb new turning point and destiny systems (more on these later), and you have a recipe for a superb space horror that will have you gripping your seat and biting your nails! It is best experienced with as little knowledge as possible to fully feel the mystery!
A Short Stay
My only gripe with the narrative is that it’s a little on the short side. An average playthrough will take you around 7 hours to complete, which left me wanting so much more. The game does a great job at creating a really great environment and atmosphere but it ends too soon. Thus, I hope more titles in the series can return to this unique setting.
A More Refined Experience
The Dark Pictures games are often described as interactive horrors. That is, light on gameplay with more focus on quick time events and story. However, Directive 8020 has attempted to modernize the gameplay, with superb results. Again, the player controls the characters from a third person perspective. Now, the camera is the best it has been, with a tight over the shoulder angle. Movement and traversal are greatly improved from the early days of Man Of Medan. Wandering around the ship and environments feels fluid and responsive; with the scanner, you can inspect the area to find collectibles and text logs. Quick time events return as expected and they increase the tension during climatic moments. In addition, great new accessibility options have been added to fine tune your experience.
The developers have made a concerted effort to implement stealth into gameplay. This works brilliantly, heightening the horror and the tension. In particular, the sections where you are crawling through vents are chilling and pulsating. New to the series is the option to parry in certain chase and stealth moments. Be warned though, this won’t save you every time! There are more than enough jump scares and tense moments to satisfy the horror lovers of the world.
Death Around Every Corner
As mentioned earlier, the two new additions to the formula are the turning point and destiny systems within the game. Turning point allows you to rewind and choose a different path, saving characters from fatal incidents. As this is a Dark Pictures game, death can happen in many different ways. With up to 44 different unique death cutscenes, turning point acts as a second chance. That is, if you’re playing on explorer mode, which allows turning point. Personally, I prefer the survivor mode. This gives you no second chance and forces you to deal with the effects of your choices. I’d also advise caution using the turning point system on a first playthrough. This is because viewing the turning point screen may reveal some spoilers for upcoming scenes in that episode.
Similarly, destinies improve and polish the previous traits and personalities system. For each character, you can improve traits such as playful or serious. If you continue to choose a specific option, you will unlock the trait as a destiny; this can directly affect these characters’ endings or choices. It’s a fun way of experimenting and seeing how characters evolve but it can also lead to locking you out of certain scenes, leading to some frustration.
Finally, a multiplayer mode returns in the form of Movie Night. This allows you and up to four other people to pass the control and play as each different character. This is a fun games’ night mechanic for friends but I am disappointed that the shared story online mode from previous titles has been removed. Some of my fondest online moments have been playing these Dark Pictures games with a friend and dealing with the horror together. A real shame that the developers opted to remove it.
The Beauty Of Space
Visual presentation inDirective 8020 is some of Supermassive’s finest work to date. Everywhere on the Cassiopeia is dripping in detail and beauty. She is a modern, sleek looking ship and it feels like there is mystery in every room you enter. Character models and animations are once again top notch and if you have played previous entries in the series, you will recognise these models! It is a unique touch to have the same character models from every game but it can be jarring, reminding you of memorable moments of old. Add in superb lighting to a game that is very dark and haunting at times and you have a superb visual pallet. Of course the alien itself is horrifying and there’s more than enough blood and gore to go around!
Similarly, audio design and soundtrack are top notch. The audio design creates as much tension for the player as possible. Bursts of sound cause jump scares! Very often I would be lulled into a false sense of security, then a crashing wave of audio would pierce my headphones to create a delightfully wicked moment. The voice acting is also superb and helps bring the characters to life; it made me really care for the crew. The soundtrack of previous Dark Pictures games does not feature this time but is replaced by a different musical track during the end of each episode. I am surprised at how much I loved these songs; each feels unique and perfectly selected to the episode.
Verdict
To sum up, Directive 8020 is a brilliant new step in the Dark Pictures Anthology. It is a chilling, haunting sci fi horror mystery, with great twist and turns. Refined and polished gameplay and awe inspiring visuals help make this title the best in the series to date. Supermassive are the kings of the interactive horror genre and despite the short length and lack of shared story, this is my favourite entry in the series. I hope the developers continue to innovate and improve their formula for many years to come!
