Directive 8020 (PS5) Review

Gameplay

Graphics

Audio

Narrative

Summary: The Dark Pictures anthology returns with its best entry yet.

4

Trust no-one

With Directive 8020, Supermassive Games takes its choose-your-own-adventure formula to strange new worlds, while refining many of the systems that made the Dark Pictures so compelling to begin with.

After the death of Tony Pankhurst in 2024, I wondered how Supermassive would continue to frame the series after the main face of it was no longer with us. What they’ve done is smart, given the circumstances, changing the Dark Pictures from a faux anthology series with its own Rod Serling, into something more like an HBO series.

It’s a clever choice, and from the off, Directive 8020 feels like a high-budget ‘golden age’ TV series.

It does help that Supermassive has once again dragged in a talented cast of actors who’ll have you saying, “hey that was, what’s her name in that thing,” not because they’re not doing a great job, but because you suck at remembering the names of people in movies, you spend most of your time reviewing video games, and you’re getting on a bit.

Directive 8020 has a simple setup; it’s The Thing in space. The Earth is dying, and a crew of specialists has been sent to scout a new home for humanity aboard the Cassiopeia.

However, when the crew wakes up from hypersleep days away from starting their mission, they find a strange alien organism has crashed into the ship and has a horrible habit of mimicking the crew.

Tale as old as time, you go to do some important scientific work in a remote area and end up getting body‑snatched.

Expect twists, turns, and the latest lead, Marvel’s star Lashana Lynch, to potentially be the only one who makes it out alive. (Did I mention I’m not very good at these games?)

The chances of getting the ‘good’ ending, though — well, the one you orchestrated at least — are much more likely thanks to the new Turning Point system, which lets you go back at any point to change your decisions or retry the QTE section you fumbled that led to a crew member dying.

Though admittedly, this is something I have wanted in Supermassive’s games since Until Dawn, now that I finally have it, it feels like a double-edged sword.

Though the ability to replay chapters and see the various paths your decisions create makes your life a lot easier from a gameplay standpoint. It also destroys any tension or sense of danger or weight that sequences may have had, because if it goes wrong, you can just go back and change the outcome until you get the one you want.

As such, I would definitely recommend opting to do your first playthrough in Survivor mode, which turns off the Turning Points and makes any decisions you make permanent, which in turn makes everything feel far more weighty and gives your decisions more impact.

On a second replay, though, the turning points are a lot of fun because the pleasure lies not in simply trying to survive but instead in manipulating the narrative and getting to see exactly where your first playthrough went wrong, and like Sam in Quantum Leap, “striving to put right what once went wrong.”

The ability to easily replay sections makes the game’s stealth sections, which contain what Supermassive has dubbed “Realtime Threats,” more manageable. In other words, if the monsters catch you, they kill you.

They also start to feel a little repetitive as you get deeper into Directive 8020’s eight chapters, and you get used to the rhythm of the sections, since most of the time you just need to hide behind a crate, avoid the broken glass, and wait for the monster to wander off.

The core of the experience, though, remains compelling as ever. The strongest elements of The Dark Pictures anthology are its writing and presentation, and Directive 8020 is no different.

The core of the experience, though, remains compelling as ever. The strongest elements of The Dark Pictures anthology are its writing and presentation, and The Directive 8020 is no different.

The visuals in particular have seen a decent bump thanks in part to this being the first game in the series that is purely for current‑gen systems and as such Supermassive has been able to push the fidelity of the game’s character models and environments to new heights. The character animation and facial capture in particular are easily the best in the series, yet it still feels distinctly like a Dark Pictures game as it retains the same look and feel of previous entries.

The sound design is also ace, and I would recommend digging out your favourite pair of headphones for the best experience.

Environmental noises are used to great effect to lull players into a false sense of security or ratchet up the tension seemingly on a dime. The score is also cleverly used to drive the action scenes and make stealth sections feel even more nerve-shredding.

There’s also a superb selection of licensed music used to close out each episode, Alan Wake style.

Likewise, the main cast does a fantastic job of not only bringing the solid script to life, but also making you second-guess your decisions and wonder whether your fellow crewmates are still who they say they are.

Final Thoughts

Directive 8020 is easily the best entry in The Dark Pictures anthology thus far. Featuring a solid script, strong performances, and new stealth sections that give your actions even more weight while ratcheting up the tension, it’s easy to recommend Directive 8020 to both returning fans of the series and newcomers alike. Just remember to start with Survivor mode if you want the full (and in my mind superior) ghost train experience.

About the Author

Gareth Newnham

Directive 8020 (PS5) Review