Directive 8020 (Review)
Directive 8020, the latest game by the creators of the Dark Pictures anthology series, follows in the footsteps of titles like Man of Medan, Little Hope, House of Ashes, and The Devil in Me. Supermassive Games is also the studio behind The Quarry and Until Dawn. While all of these games are generally high-quality and enjoyable, Directive 8020 stands out as the black sheep for its glitches and audio bugs.
This game marks Supermassive’s first foray into the sci-fi genre within the series. As usual, it features familiar actors and actresses from previous games, with the exception of a single non-returning celebrity guest on each installment. Upon starting the game, I encountered numerous glitches and audio issues. Characters’ legs and heads disappeared during cutscenes, and the problem persisted even after the gameplay began, with my characters’ legs still missing. The game’s setting is intriguing, as it places players in a spaceship, similar to the Alien series, where they must survive a relentless hunter/hunters. However, this is where the similarities end. Directive 8020 clearly draws inspiration from the Alien series, but it stays a little too close to that path in a lot of ways, with the general supermassive twist.
The gameplay is quite disappointing. Players spend a significant portion of the game in stealth, which is poorly executed. Quick time events and the typical gameplay formula of the Dark Pictures series are absent. Instead, the game resembles Mass Effect, where players can choose their character’s dialogue, but even with that being said, their actions have little to no consequence. In previous games, actions and words had real repercussions. Unfortunately, Directive 8020 is a monotonous and repetitive experience. The general gameplay loop is hide, run, open doors, and then encounter a glitch; cutscene starts, rinse, repeat over and over. If you like the other Dark Pictures games, just go into this one with an open mind.
Directive 8020
Directive 8020 is a monotonous, repetitive experience with a generally well-crafted story. Players spend a significant portion of the game in stealth, which is poorly executed. In previous games, actions and words had real repercussions, but unfortunately, that is not the case with this title