Directive 8020 has always been a wild card for me. I'm a big fan of The Dark Pictures anthology series, but it never really sold on the space theme. We all have our irrational fears. For some it's clowns, for others the impending sense of our own mortality, and for me it's aliens. The universe in general, really. It all gives me the heebie jeebies.
When faced with a game that is meant to scare, does the greater fear of the object make it better or worse for the person experiencing it? It has definitely been shown to be more effective in eliciting responses. There were many jump scares. I tried to back out of rooms, decisions, and encounters I couldn't back out of in a pathetic attempt to avoid what was in front of me, and my hands involuntarily flew in front of my face several times.
Pour one out to my husband who played Directive 8020 multiplayer with me and had to put up with my constant stream of beeps and noises depending on what was going on. I'm sure it didn't help him when he was in control because he caused more character deaths than I did.
I caused one death. I will protect his honor by not mentioning his death.
Be kind and roll over
There were two shiny new mechanics for Directive 8020. First, the Turning Points system allows you to rewind and undo a fatal mistake at any time, allowing you to protect your crew and aim for the perfect ending on the fly. Second, a real-time enemy threat where you can die at any time outside of the scripted deaths we're used to.
Turning Points is a godsend. We all want to get as perfect a game as we can on the first try. It made me think about all the stupid mistakes I wish I could take back in previous games. Here, I can.
Directive 8020 Preview & Interview: In Space, I Will Absolutely Scream
We spoke with 8020 executive producer Dan McDonald about The Dark Pictures' next spook-filled adventure.
I've always been one to replay and try different branches in The Dark Pictures regardless of whether I got lucky with most survivors or not. It's the only way to get the full picture without punning. But I'm also well aware that many people will finish the game once and not have time to dig deeper or roll the dice again. Turning Points is a gift for everyone, but especially for those who only play the story once.
For die-hard traditionalists, you can play Survivor-style and you won't have the benefit of replaying your bad decisions until you've completed the entire game.
It doesn't completely rule out backtracking. There are times when you make a decision where you won't feel the consequences for a while, meaning you'll have to go back to that pivotal moment or let the chips fall where they may. It's similar to what we're used to with choices in the previous chapter, so Turn Points don't completely remove the element of risk.
Real-time threat intelligence sections are really where your heart is pounding in your chest. Crouching behind crates, trying to avoid the enemy moving around the ship, and using noisy screens to try to distract him are now a staple part of the game. It's in these moments that you really feel the panic – even if it's canceled out by the knowledge that I can rewind whenever I want.
The problem is that the stealth sections get repetitive very quickly. I realize it's hard to offer variety on board a spaceship that pretty much looks the same wherever you are, but if it's a hindrance, why do it at all? It was tiring to have the same goal of going through extremely similar rooms and avoiding creatures.
There are really only a few different variations of what's chasing you, so you'll get tired of seeing the same threat wandering around, and even more tired of having to rearrange a cell or reroute some electrical wiring to open a door on the other side. The same old “puzzles” appearing in the same style of stealth sections only make this problem worse.
There's a puzzle where you have to work out the chemical elements to create the right drug, and even the much simpler task of finding a serial number from the debris around you was a breath of fresh air after the monotony of power puzzles.
That said, I can see the potential of what this constant threat and stealth feature could develop into in future games. With more varied settings, enemies, and obstacles to overcome while trying to stay alive, it would have worked much better.
The core gameplay loop remains the biggest draw of Directive 8020. Still, the QTEs felt lacking compared to previous titles, most likely paving the way for the stealth sections, though they will return with a vengeance at the end of the game. This probably has to do with the fact that the game peaks towards the end where everything becomes more varied and challenging, instead of relying on repetitive mechanics to create inorganic terror.
Boldly going where so much science fiction has gone before
Dark Pictures games usually draw me in with their narrative and mystery, but I rarely care about individual characters beyond wanting them all to live for my own satisfaction. With Directive 8020, it was quite the opposite.
Unless you've been avoiding every trailer and whiff of marketing, you know you'll be dealing with hostile aliens capable of taking on different forms. If that was the case, I apologize. Spoilers. It's also really the only thing you can do on a spaceship, but it takes away from the sense of what's going to happen' and puts a lot more pressure on the why and how of it all.
But I'll be honest. About halfway through I was overwhelmed by the narrative. It wasn't bad, but it didn't grab me either. I felt like I spent much of my playthrough just working my way to an inevitable and obvious conclusion. There are some tidbits in the cutscenes and collectibles to help you build a deeper theory, but mostly it never feels satisfying.
To be fair to the 8020 directive, I didn't correctly predict how big the reveal was going to be. I suppose it was more satisfying overall and I was suddenly invested in what they might do next. But the game is pretty much over by then, and while the twist is surprising, it's not unique.
This time, however, the cast rather stood out. This was the first time I found myself picking favorites and rooting for specific people. In truth, this is the first time I've wanted them to live beyond unlocking an achievement.
Eisele quickly became my favorite and there was no way I was going to let her break her face. If you let her die in your game, we have a problem.
Newly implemented character fates and a focus on character messaging add more story and depth to the crew. We see a greater sense of personality, so you feel more attached to them.
During the emotional moments, there are some moments from the actors, especially the panicked or deliciously gory death scenes, but also some more profound scenes from Lashana Lynch's Brianna Young. The series has improved in performance with each new addition, yet some scenes still feel a little stiff or unnatural. It's not always a linear delivery – the animation also contributes to the fact that not everything comes off as naturally as you'd hope.
The crowning glory, as it always has been, is that the series benefits from that gripping B-movie horror vibe, as it taps right into the feeling of living and playing your typical horror movie. And if you don't love cheesy horror movies, why on earth, or rather alien, are you playing this game?
Hello old friend
While I appreciated the new features that Directive 8020 offered, I felt that the game lost a bit of what made the series special. But the premonitions of The Dark Pictures seem less useful in a game where you can rewind at any time, so I grudgingly accepted their absence. The bigger loss for me was the absence of the Curator – the iconic, mysterious character who weaves the entire series together. Until it wasn't. I won't spoil any details, but if you look hard enough, you will actually find the Curator. It might seem like such a small detail, but the presence of the curator restores some of the soul that I felt the game lost by stepping away from previous titles in an attempt to find a new path.
Directive 8020 offers several changes to the series template, all for the very honorable reason of wanting to evolve and iterate on the core games that fans know and love. Turning Points is a fantastic new addition, but the new stealth sections quickly became repetitive. Still, you can see a promising seed of what this idea could grow into in future games.
This isn't the most distinctive story of the series, but between the traditional gameplay loop we all crave and the various new features, there's a lot to appreciate. As always, due to the nature of the game, to truly appreciate it and fully uncover the plot and subtle details, you'll need to replay and delve into these other possible branches. Good luck staying alive.
