Directive 8020 review: Two giant leaps forward, one small step back

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A star rating of 4 out of 5.

Supermassive Games continues its Dark Pictures horror series with a new, standalone game set in space called Directive 8020. But does this choice-driven experience live up to expectations?

If you enjoyed Supermassive Games’ previous titles such as Until Dawn and The Quarry, and you’re a fan of sci-fi horror films like Alien or The Thing, then Directive 8020 is definitely worth a look.

Like previous games in the Dark Pictures series, this installment features a well-known actor – Lashana Lynch, known for her roles in James Bond and The Day of the Jackal – as one of the characters you’ll guide through the story.

At last year’s Gamescom conference, the developers told me about two new features that are coming to this series, and fans will definitely have strong reactions to them.

The game now features two major updates: Realtime Threats, where monsters actively hunt you in suspenseful stealth sections, and the Turning Point system, which lets you revisit key scenes to redo important decisions and try to survive challenging moments.

As a big fan, I’m so excited about these two changes – they really feel like massive improvements for the series! But honestly, each one has a little catch to it, which is a bit annoying. It’s like for every two amazing things, there’s one small thing that doesn’t quite work, so it’s a bit of a mixed bag.

Realtime Threats definitely increase the suspense and excitement. Depending on the difficulty level, a single mistake while trying to sneak around can lead to your character being quickly and decisively defeated.

Many parts of the game start to feel repetitive. I found myself constantly hiding behind cover, waiting for enemies to move away, more than I can recall in other games. While broken glass adds a small challenge near the end, the constant repetition throughout the eight chapters makes things feel a bit stale.

The Turning Point system is a bit of a double-edged sword. Many fans, including myself, have wished for a way to easily change choices and see how things play out differently without replaying large sections of the game. Supermassive Games has certainly given us that, and it works as advertised.

I did find that the Turning Point system occasionally pulled me out of the experience. Whenever something negative happened, I’d immediately start wondering if I should go back and change a previous decision, and worrying about what the results would be.

The more I played Directive 8020, the more I felt this weird pressure – it wasn’t really enjoyable. It started to feel like I wasn’t just playing the game, but actually editing a TV show. Like I was the one deciding what made the final cut – what scenes worked, what needed to be redone, and even which characters stayed or went. It was a strange feeling, honestly!

I finally had to stop using the Turning Point system, because constantly rewinding time made my choices in the game and during cutscenes feel meaningless. The challenge of overcoming obstacles is a big part of what makes these games enjoyable, and that’s lost if you’re always trying to prevent any negative outcome. If there aren’t real consequences, the story just isn’t as compelling.

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After I accepted the situation and stopped trying to change things, I really enjoyed working on Directive 8020.

The game expertly creates a tense and creepy atmosphere, thanks to its impressive graphics and sound design.

The actors deliver fantastic performances, the plot is full of surprising turns, and the end credits feature a great soundtrack – a special mention to whoever included music by Blood Red Shoes!

Now that I’ve completed the main story, even though I lost some crew members, I’m ready to explore the branching paths and hidden references to other Dark Pictures games.

With Supermassive Games making such significant progress, it will be fascinating to see what they do with the Dark Pictures Anthology in the future.

Authors

Rob LeaneGaming Editor

Rob Leane leads gaming coverage at TopMob, managing content for PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, PC, mobile, and VR games across their website, social media, video platforms, and weekly newsletter. Before joining TopMob, he worked at Den of Geek, Stealth Optional, and Dennis Publishing.

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2026-05-11 17:35