Supermassive Games Makes Fun Stuff, but is Struggling. It's the Same for Much of the Game Industry

The video-game industry seems to, in general, be having a ton of issues. Lots of studios are getting shut down, or people are being laid off, and if you don't sell an insane amount of copies when your title comes out, it is a big problem. I have enjoyed anything from Supermassive Games I've had a chance to play, from "Until Dawn," to, "The Quarry." I just recently had enough free time to dive into, "Directive 8020," which I've been really digging! Without spoiling too much, the story takes place in the somewhat distant future, with a team aboard a spaceship tasked with inspecting a potentially habitable planet encountering... trouble. This issue is extraterrestrial in nature and the plot so far is a mix of, "Alien," with, "The Thing," as you (the player) try to keep everyone alive via a number of ethical dilemmas, some exploration/sneaking segments, and so forth. I quite like it, and when I saw there was a headline about the developer the other day, I was bummed that the news was, "Yep, more video-game industry layoffs." 

It is alarming that video-games seem more popular than ever, yet the industry for making the games is itself a huge mess. At least a bunch of executives with Electronic Arts are happy, however, thanks to selling the company to, "...the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund (PIF), Silver Lake Partners, and Affinity Partners, a private equity firm owned by President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner." 55 billion dollars was spent, and now Trump's son-in-law and Saudi Arabia are in control of one of the biggest game studios around; what could possibly go wrong? I mean, what indeed?

"The Quarry," is a Terrifyingly Fun Game

Way back in 2015 I played and reviewed, "Until Dawn." The developer, Supermassive Games, has their latest big release out now, "The Quarry," and I loved it. With a story that is a bit more focused than, "Until Dawn," and a good number of self-aware jokes about the horror genre, "The Quarry," is a lot of fun for horror fans or those who enjoy interactive dramas (with many possible outcomes). Focused on camp counselors who end up stuck at the camp for an extra night, things start to go horribly awry when it becomes apparent some kind of creatures are lurking in the forest, and they're hungry. The game takes its time getting to anything especially scary, however, instead easing us into getting to know everyone and slowly introducing gameplay mechanics that will later literally mean the difference between life or death.

Yes, the gameplay, my one quibble with all this. Much like, "Until Dawn," there are times you are basically watching the game and get dialogue prompts or choices you can make that drastically impact the story. I like these elements. There are also times you may have to move the joystick or hit the X button for a quick-time event as they are called. These are perfectly fine. Then, at some points, you are given control of a character and can wander around an area looking for items of note until you walk to the right spot to trigger more interactive-movie-style moments. These parts of the game are my least favorite. The characters feel kind of floaty and are not always the most responsive to the direction I'm trying to point them in. Then, I'll be walking along and the game's camera suddenly shifts to a whole new angle and I find myself struggling to point a character in the right direction to go where I want them to slowly amble towards It's a bit tedious, but I enjoyed so much of the game besides those times I had to wander around looking for points of interest that I can't whine too much.

When you see these symbols get ready to move your joystick/mouse cursor.

"The Quarry," is an incredibly fun time and I was amazed how after I beat the game and Googled all the various possible ways the story can go for the differing characters. There is no, "Correct," ending in the game, but some endings are arguably happier than others when it comes to keeping everyone that you get to play as alive (or just intentionally messing up a bunch so everyone dies if you want that to happen as well). I played the game on my PS5 and the graphics were absolutely gorgeous, but it looks quite snazzy on older consoles as well, from what I've seen. Should you desire a good dose of horror or just want a solid story-focused game, "The Quarry," is worth the 7-10 hours it'll ask of your time to do at least one play-through.

5 out of 5 stars.

"Until Dawn" is a Fascinating Game

I recently played and, "Beat," the video-game, "Until Dawn," which can be found on the Playstation 4. I used quotation marks to discuss my finishing of the game because there are in fact numerous ways it can conclude depending on how well you play. You see, the plot of the game is that eight friends have returned to a big mansion up in a snowy mountain-region owned by one of the chum's parents. They are returning a year after an unfortunate accident where a prank led to two friends of the once-ten of them running off and apparently dying. Now, weird things are starting to happen and there may be a killer on the loose in addition to ghosts and all sorts of nastiness.

Clearly, this is kind of a cliché horror yarn, but the intriguing twist in all this is how you are the one controlling the story by playing the various characters, and depending on the choices you make all of them could survive to the dawn, or none of them. A little under half of my characters made it, although one died literally less than a minute before the game ended and I felt kind of robbed, so let's say half survived.

Here is some of the, "cast."
Good luck keeping them alive.

In order to keep your characters alive you need to be ready to tap buttons for the, "Quick Time Events," and make choices that I felt were at times a bit arbitrary and shouldn't have resulted in certain characters dying...although some things I did were just stupidity on my part and I fully, "Earned," some characters' deaths. I'm writing a bit vaguely about the game because a lot of the fun comes from watching the story unfold, and even if the plot is a bit obvious at times there are enough surprising twists to keep things relatively fresh.

If I were to have a complaint, it would be that the controls can be a bit finicky during the parts of the game your character is being directly controlled by you and exploring the mansion or some other setting. The way the camera will occasionally shift to seem more cinematic compliments the stellar graphics and spooky mood well, but can make something as simple as walking around feel relatively uncomfortable and difficult.

Peter Storemare turns in an incredible performance.

Oh, and as for the actors themselves, everyone does a pretty solid job but the only person to really, get my attention is the amazing Peter Storemare (of various shows and movies) as a creepy psychiatrist who interviews the player between, "Chapters," of the game and starts out seeming a little intense before going full-on terrifying in his mannerisms and speech as things progress.

"Until Dawn" has a story that can be at times predictable and controls that will frustrate, but as someone who has loved previous cinematic games such as, "Heavy Rain," or the Telltale-produced, "The Walking Dead," seasons, I really appreciated what the creators were going for. Despite some irritations this still is a fantastic game and should you own a Playstation 4 I would encourage you to play it!
4.5 out of 5 stars.