Supermassive Games’ Dark Pictures Anthology series takes on heavy themes about the darker aspects of humanity, free will, and morality. Players learn to make decisions for survival on the fly and deal with the outcomes of those decisions, sometimes impacted by choices of characters centuries before them.
The first game of the franchise, Man of Medan, was released in 2019, and the world has since expanded across five games of pure terror, with fan-favorite narrator, The Curator, walking players through numerous puzzles and questions in hopes of finding out the central mystery that connects back to the mysterious narrator himself.
The recently-released fifth installment of the series, Directive 8020, takes place into a new outer space setting. In a mission to save a dying Earth, the colony ship Cassiopeia travels 12 lightyears away to Tau Ceti f, a planet that offers humanity hope. When the ship crashes on the planet, leaving the crew stranded, they come to the horrifying realization that they are not alone. Faced with their dire reality, the crew must escape a shape-shifting alien life form that turns them against each other.
Now, some players are voicing their concerns about the direction of the franchise with the creative decisions in Directive 8020, which differ from the usual beloved action-driven format.
The Dark Pictures Anthology series has provided a unique action-based player choice game format that invites players to play as some of the protagonists of compelling horror stories, allowing them to live through their biggest horror movie fantasies. A shared multiplayer decision-making experience, the franchise tailors its player experience around community, sharing the controller, and making decisions that affect your friends. The experience at times invokes the same rage as “Draw 4” in UNO, when your friend puts you in a do-or-die scenario that could have been avoided with a choice to react calmly, not with distrust.
The execution of this concept, along with some unique storytelling mechanics, has led to the franchise’s increase in popularity with many fans regarding its third game, House of Ashes, as the creative peak.
However, that leads to concern that the franchise may have hit a minor speedbump. Directive 8020 currently has mixed reviews on Steam, with 874 positive and 504 negative reports. The overall consensus has rated it as a good game, but lacking in the continuous tension that made the franchise so notable.
“Instead of ‘The Thing – In Space,’ it’s more of a stealth game with few good ideas,” a user wrote on Steam. “The only part I really liked was the setting itself and contacting the crew members and [seeing] how they respond. Sadly, it’s another horror game ruined by bad gameplay and a mediocre story.”
The lack of action-based choices, especially in a crew of physically fit astronauts, isn’t the best choice for the game. With most of the options being sneaking and running, there is a distinct lack of offensive gameplay that isn’t typical of Dark Pictures.
There are further complaints about the frequency of the stealth scenes, which players say took away from the player experience. Character interactions and relationships feel weaker than in past games, especially in a storyline that prioritizes character relationships. Reddit users on r/DarkPicturesAnthology commented on the lack of depth of the characters, who feel bland and display little development, despite the trait development system that affects choices.
The emphasis on building character relationships is lost with the weak conversation choices among characters. The paranoia that should be involved in an Alien meets Body Snatchers-like scenario is missing from the gameplay.
Directive 8020 marks the start of season two of the Dark Pictures Anthology. While it feels like Supermassive Games decided on a safe beginning, there is still plenty room for adventure.
Hopefully, the next installment has enough action to make Lara Croft look like an amateur.
Directive 8020 is now available on Steam, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.
