Directive 8020 Hands on PC Preview
Nearly 4 years after Supermassive’s last Dark Pictures game, it’s long-awaited foray into space is set to come out next month. I was able to get my hands on a preview version of the game, and was pleased with some of the innovations Directive 8020 brings.
The preview build starts with a section where we need to create a distraction to lure away a wandering crew member who’s acting suspiciously. As one character guides us over comms, we take full real‑time control of Medical Specialist Samantha Cooper, crouching, hiding behind cover, vaulting over objects or crawling through vents. If spotted, we have to fend off the stalker enemy we’re trying to avoid with a QTE.
Directive 8020 boasts full, real-time gameplay sections unlike the preceding Dark Pictures games, which makes it feel very fresh and interactive, instead of walking from place to place and interacting with set points.
After successfully avoiding the antagonistic crew member, we jump back a few hours in the past to the ship’s Command Center, where the crew is being briefed by the Commander and his Senior Mission Officer.
The Cassiopeia, the vessel our crew mans, is the colony ship with a course to planet Tau Ceti f and has suffered a hull breach and crashed on the planet. Hit by a meteor, the ship has suffered severe damage, and said meteor has infested the ship with some sort of growth. The ship is grounded, and the crew’s only option now is to hold out and survive for help to arrive. In classic charming Supermassive fashion, some of the mocap is a bit iffy.
We’re playing as the Mission Officer, Eisele, at this point. One crew member is missing and acting suspiciously, and a mission is being set up to find and entrap them by sealing off sections of the ship and clearing out the maintenance tunnels to flush them out of hiding. Brianna Young, the pilot, offers herself up for the mission. Commander Stafford, who’s leading the mission, is hesitant at first, but ultimately he agrees to let her go, with Medical Specialist Samantha Cooper backing her up.
Commander Stafford brings out a revolver — the only deadly weapon on the ship. He authorizes it for use by Brianna, and asks Eisele if they agree. The revolver only boasts six shots. I agree, and let the duo take it with them. It’s at this point that the game introduces its Rewind feature.
During Turning Point decisions like this, you’re able to immediately rewind and pick a different decision to see what happens without the hassle of having to reload a save. Handy if you clicked an option by accident or have immediate second thoughts, like some Dark Pictures players.
We take control of Brianna, as her and Sam go to investigate the maintenance tunnels to flush out the missing crew member from hiding. After restoring power to be able to open a vent, I noticed the game has a message feature, akin to the Life is Strange games. You are able to open a text channel and send messages to every crew member for extra interactions and tidbits of lore.
Sometimes you’ll be sent a message or an inquiry, letting you make choices that may be relevant to the plot. I was able to express support or doubt about Eisele’s possible future role as a Commander, given that she is next in line if anything were to happen to Commander Stafford.
Crawling through the maintenance tunnels is a tense ordeal, as we explore section after section searching for the missing crew member based on their movements. Eventually we find them… dead.
But something is still moving around the maintenance tunnels? As we attempt to cut it off, we get attacked by a masked figure. The struggle separates Brianna from Sam. Eventually, our attacker loses sight of us and wanders the area trying to find us.
This is where another sneaking section starts. Our objective is to activate a bridge to reconnect with Sam. Doing so requires getting a power cell. And between us and the power cell? The creature, of course. After managing to worm our way around with a distraction or two, by activating some panels that play recordings, we get our hands on the power cell, make a run for the bridge and activate it to cross the ship and get back to our colleague. However, the creature is right behind us.
In a final struggle, and thanks to the fact that I was authorized to bring a weapon with me, we manage to kill the creature with two shots of the revolver. That’s where the demo ends. The growth seems to be having a weird effect on the people on board, and strange creatures seem to be wandering the ship. What this is all about, the full game will have to show.
Final Thoughts
The fact the game boasts full, real-time gameplay is extremely refreshing. It also plays surprisingly well. Movement is smooth, and a character automatically takes cover near any wall or box if you crouch next to it. Other than that, Directive 8020’s acting performances and story beats seem in line with previous Supermassive games. It’s definitely a Dark Pictures game, so expect campy horror charm – but in space!
It seems Supermassive’s previous delay of the game was to make more of Directive 8020 sport that real-time, full gameplay, with sneaking and all aboard. After the positive reception their demo from a while back got, I can only agree with that decision. The game looks gorgeous and ran extremely smoothly, minus a graphical glitch or two.
I’m curious to see how the crew will fare trying to survive whatever creature they’ve got on board, given that I’m already liking some of the characters.
Directive 8020 launches on the 12th of May, 2026.
About the Author
Lander Van Poucke Lander is a passionate gamer from Belgium with a flair for the dramatic. Valuing storytelling & narrative in games, he favours single-player games, RPG's & fighting games for their lore and vast array of characters.
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