Directive 8020

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.

The Dark Pictures, as a broad project, feels like it's at a crossroads with Directive 8020.

Supermassive goes sci-fi horror, with a refreshingly cerebral, slowburn take on its usual popcorn thrills. It's let down by perfunctory stealth and an overfamiliar plot, but a stellar cast helps make it all worthwhile.

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.

There's a push-pull relationship here as The Dark Pictures' classic DNA merges with Directive 8020's newness

But even in the individual moments, Directive 8020 struggles.

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.

A journey that you never knew you needed, but one that you will be glad to have taken, once the fear subsides.

Directive 8020 feels like Supermassive’s response to growing criticism around the Dark Pictures series.

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.