I’m a huge fan of The Dark Pictures Anthology and Until Dawn (The Quarry remains on my backlog, but I swear I’m going to get around to it), so I was excited to schedule time to play the Directive 8020 demo. This game has been on my radar since it was first revealed in the post-credits part of The Devil In Me. The dev team described the game as being heavily influenced by The Thing and Event Horizon, which are two of my all-time favorite movies, so that upped my anticipation.
So Here’s The Thing
The demo kicked off with a cinematic that introduces us to Brianna Young (played by Lashana Lynch) and Nolan Stafford amidst a conversation about their mission. It skipped forward a bit to the main setting, the colony ship Cassiopeia, and the mission has certainly gone sideways – the place has been Thingify’d so there are all sorts of people parts coming out of the walls and bio-organic mess everywhere. Supermassive pulled out all the stops, and the graphics are nearly movie quality.
I controlled another character, Josef Cernan, to avoid the Thing version of him and make my way to a ladder. There’s a handy scanner to show where the monster was, and since I’m terrible at stealth mechanics, I botched this section and had to complete a quick-time event to escape. A cutscene noted that Josef was now injured, and that would certainly come back to bite me if this were the full game.
A Much-Requested Feature Has Been Added!
The devs had me pause after this to show that they have now added the much-requested Turning Point skill tree. This will be a handy feature for completionists and folks like me who try to get the golden endings. There’s also the classic mode where you’ve got to live with your choices.
The demo jumped ahead to a tense scene that reminded me of the infamous blood test scene from The Thing. The crew is trying to determine if the person they have locked up has been turned and is trying to decide whether they should scan him to be sure or just off him. There are a couple of tense quick time decisions, and I used my knowledge of these types of movies to suss out that the person is human. I breathe a sigh of relief. The demo wrapped up with a trailer, and I can’t wait to play this when it drops.
Directive 8020 Key Features
- NEXT-GEN CINEMATIC SURVIVAL HORROR: Experience immersive cinematic storytelling and edge-of-your-seat horror on a deep space mission to save humanity.
- REAL-TIME ALIEN THREATS: Evade a deadly alien threat that roams the dark corridors of the ship, intent on eradicating human life. Overcome your enemies using improvised weapons, lightning reflexes, and stealth.
- TRUST NO ONE: Encounter an alien lifeform that perfectly imitates its prey. Years of training and trust are lost among the crew when their enemy hides in plain sight. Who is human and who is not? Your choices are now more important than ever!
- REWIND DECISIONS: Rewrite your destiny and change the course of your story with our new Turning Points story tree. Uncover multiple endings, unlock hidden paths, and save your crew from their fateful deaths.
Directive 8020 launches on 2nd October, 2025, on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC (Steam).
● Xbox Series X|S – bit.ly//Directive8020-Xbox
● PlayStation 5 – bit.ly//Directive8020-Playstation
● PC (Steam) – bit.ly//Directive8020-Steam
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