Directive 8020: forgettable space horror
11/5/2026
Translation: Patrik Stainbrook
Pictures: Rainer Etzweiler
With Directive 8020, Supermassive Games is making the leap from tried-and-true quick-time event horror to true survival gameplay. On its way, the space adventure stumbles through plot holes and dull, drawn-out scenes.
The Dark Anthology series from Supermassive Games is one of my guilty pleasures. I like every entry in the Choose Your Own Adventure franchise, including The Quarry and Until Dawn, of course, even though every game in the studio’s catalogue has its obvious shortcomings. The stories are shallow, characters are stereotypes and the gameplay rarely requires more than pressing the right button at the right moment – a repertoire of mechanics that hasn’t evolved significantly since the invention of the quick-time event in 1983.
And yet, even the weaker entries were always a safe bet for me. Eight to ten hours of solid B-movie fun, ideally with friends I could make fun of as they lead characters to their doom.
However, Directive 8020 has chosen to break off from this familiar path. And unfortunately, it falls short of its ambitions.
A plan B in space
Leonardo DiCaprio was right: our world is circling the drain – a rapid decline, nearly matching the speed at which the actor dumps his girlfriends as soon as they’re old enough to buy alcohol. In Directive 8020, an unspecified climate catastrophe renders the Earth uninhabitable toward the end of the 21st century. We need a new planet, and luckily, we’ve found one about 12 light years away. A small team of specialists is dispatched to determine whether this celestial body will indeed become humanity’s new home.
Well, that’s not going to happen. Just a few hours before reaching its destination, the Cassiopeia, the expedition’s spaceship, is struck by a meteorite. It leaves a gaping hole in the outer hull and lets in a few uninvited guests.
In the intro, you play technician Tomas Carter (Frank Green), tasked with investigating the damage alongside his colleague Pari Simms (Anneika Rose). If you’re familiar with Supermassive Games’ previous work, you’ll quickly notice that Directive 8020 is in a whole different league from its predecessors in terms of technical quality. At its best moments visually, this interactive adventure reminds me of Dead Space, Cronos: The New Dawn and other interstellar horror experiences. Facial animations have also received a major upgrade, moving past the uncanny valley.
What’s more, it’s the first game from this developer with protagonists that don’t move like a tank running on fumes. The initial impression wins me over, which is more than can be said for the astronauts’ risk assessment skills. Both of them shrug the situation off with a casual remark, delivering the first of several outrageous plot choices (over which I have no control), making me wonder whether these people even want to live.
This carelessness comes back to haunt them a little later: a clearly possessed Simms attacks Carter, initially leaving me in the dark about what happens to the two of them.
A rough awakening
After this intro, the rest of the crew wakes up from hypersleep. The Cassiopeia’s still damaged, several systems are only partially operational, and both Carter and Simms are absent from the crisis meeting. Although the two are checking in using a communication bracelet, their behaviour seems strangely evasive.
Pilot Brianna Young (Lashana Lynch) is then tasked with finding out where Simms is. The spaceship offers plenty to explore – Directive 8020 features the most expansive levels of any Dark Anthology title to date. And while the level design still features some narrow, corridor-like sections, they’re regularly offset by spacious areas and optional locations. There’s even a quest marker to indicate where the story’s heading.
The search for Simms leads me into a service shaft, where the game switches to a first-person perspective. Accompanied by ominous sounds and stylish lighting, a claustrophobic atmosphere develops, reinforcing my positive first impression.
One jump scare later, Simms’s decomposing body is found, and the most important plot device is established: the alien stowaway can take on the appearance of your crewmates. You can’t trust anyone. Everyone’s a suspect.
Inspired by cinema classics
Sound a lot like John Carpenter’s The Thing? You’d be right, it’s the same idea. To be fair, I should mention that Carpenter didn’t invent the concept either. It originates from John W. Campbell’s 1938 short story Who Goes There?
So, if you think pop culture only recently ran out of ideas, you’d be mistaken – it’s been the same song and dance for nearly 100 years. But Directive 8020 wasn’t just inspired by one classic – it draws from a wide range of them: Alien, Event Horizon and other genre cornerstones have clearly influenced Supermassive’s latest foray into horror. Whether you see this as a loving tribute or an ambitious rip-off depends on how generous you are. Directive 8020 also draws inspiration from the world of video games – and that’s exactly where my problem with the new release begins.
All about stealth
Supermassive’s games have followed a tried-and-true formula so far: you jump back and forth between a handful of potential slasher victims characters, collect bits of lore, eavesdrop on conversations, survive QTEs and make life-or-death decisions. Alternatively, you can explore with up to four friends in co-op mode. Directive 8020 retains the basic framework but makes some adjustments: fewer reaction tests, a bigger emphasis on dialogue. Decisions don’t have an immediate impact on the story; rather, their consequences often don’t become apparent until several chapters later.
There are also a few puzzles, though I’m using the term very loosely. In nine out of ten cases, you’re tasked with finding a battery to open a door. You can usually find them just a few steps away. Puzzles already felt out of place in The Devil in Me (2022), but they’re even more annoying here since there’s hardly any variety.
Directive’s real problem, however, lies with the stealth passages. The most heavily promoted new feature falls flat across the board, and every section plays out exactly the same: you’re in a spacious room with a few waist-high tables or crates, faced with an enemy on a fixed path you’ll have to get past. If you get caught – which won’t happen often since the AI’s completely useless – you can defend yourself with a tool. As often as you’d like, which takes away any sense of urgency from these sections.
What serves as the highlight of games like Outlast or Soma devolves into a clunky retro experience in Directive 8020, feeling akin to a 5/10 PlayStation 2 title.
I could overlook this as an occasional break from the otherwise minimalist gameplay, but the stealth sections seem to take up about a third of the playtime. They’re used excessively, especially in the last two chapters, turning the finale into a repetitive chore.
Blast into the past
Another new feature – well implemented this time – is the Turning Points system. If you mess up a QTE or regret a decision after the fact, you can rewind the game to specific points and try again. Sounds a bit craven – and in a way, it is. However, the choice of whether to use the system is entirely up to you: there’s still a permadeath mode.
As a result, Turning Points are less of a safety net and more of a convenience feature for completionists who want to see every possible outcome without having to plough through the same chapters six times.
In space, no one can hear you scream, «What the hell?»
Choose-Your-Own-Adventure games present a narrative dilemma: more options for the player entail more variables for the developers, and thus a greater chance that the story will go off the rails. So far, Supermassive has had the format pretty much under control. However, in Directive 8020, this routine starts to break down. Sure, the series thrives on its, to put it nicely, aversion to logical storytelling from start to finish. There’s just one problem: it only works as long as plot holes don’t become the norm. Here, they are.
During the last few hours, half my squad’s off the table. Characters disappear without warning and reappear in places that only seem plausible with a great deal of goodwill. Decisions that are being touted as setting the course for the future turn out to be nothing more than window dressing, leaving me with as much freedom of choice as a North Korean voter. This lack of context feels less like intentional suspense and more like missing pages in the script.
It’s no secret why this is. In 2024, founders Pete and Joe Samuels left the studio; shortly thereafter, more than 130 employees were laid off in two rounds. What’s happening on screen sounds a lot like what went on behind the scenes: too many gaps, not enough coherence.
The Dark Pictures series thrives on a blend of endearing B-movie charm and genuine passion – perfect for a homemade haunted house experience. But for an ambitious survival horror adventure, it’s about as useful as a flashlight on the moon.
Directive 8020 is the wrong move at the wrong time – and, unfortunately, also the wrong outcome for a studio that desperately needs a win.
Directive 8020 was provided to me by Bandai Namco for the PS5. The game has been available for PS5, PC and Xbox Series X|S since 12 May.
Header image: Bandai Namco
In a nutshell
Cosmic horror lacking any identity
Ever since the first teaser dropped in 2022, I’ve been looking forward to Directive 8020. I’d have been fine with Supermassive continuing the Dark Anthology series in the same style. Yet they chose a different path, and the result is a game that takes one step forward, two steps back.
The Turning Points system is a clever addition, but it’s undermined by a disjointed storyline and underdeveloped characters. Technical improvements add to the atmosphere, but this is hampered by endless slow-paced sections.
The game manages to scrape by with a passing grade thanks to its co-op mode, which has been thankfully left intact, as well as its solid foundation. It’s strong enough to withstand even the most mediocre design choices. However, a good deal of what once made the series great has been lost with Directive 8020.
Pro
- Technically impressive, with some outstanding animations
- High replay value
- Turning Points system
- Co-op mode
Contra
- Stealth sections
- Story loses its thread
- Extremely basic puzzles
- Pretty repetitive toward the end
- Lack of focus on series’ strengths
Rainer Etzweiler
Freelance Editor
rainer@rockstar.chIn the early 90s, my older brother gave me his NES with The Legend of Zelda on it. It was the start of an obsession that continues to this day.
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