Directive 8020 Review: Dark Pictures Season Two Gets Off to a Solid Start

by

I’ve been a big fan of Supermassive Games for a while now – they really know how to tell a story! They’ve made some amazing games like Until Dawn, The Quarry, and House of Ashes, which are honestly some of the scariest and most engaging horror games I’ve ever played. But, let’s be real, not everything they release is a hit. A lot of their games are just… okay, you know? They don’t always live up to the standard set by their best titles.

Supermassive Games has struggled with its last few releases over the past three years. Although I enjoyed both Little Nightmares 3 and The Casting of Frank Stone, many fans feel they weren’t quite as good as the studio’s previous work. Because of this, fans are hoping their newest game, Directive 8020, will be a major success.

Directive 8020 is a new game in The Dark Pictures anthology, a series known for letting player choices shape the story. It kicks off the second season of the anthology and aims to be even more interactive than previous games.

I’ve finished playing Directive 8020, and I have a lot of thoughts about it. While it does some things really well, it doesn’t quite reach the same level of excitement as other games from Supermassive Games. This review will cover what Directive 8020 does well and where it falls short, so keep reading to find out more.

For the Future of the Human Race

Directive 8020 centers around the crew of the spaceship Cassiopeia, tasked with exploring Tau Ceti f. This planet is considered humanity’s potential new home, as Earth faces imminent destruction. The crew represents the last hope for the survival of civilization.

The game begins with players as Sleep Technicians, responsible for monitoring the ship while the crew is asleep. This seemingly easy task quickly becomes complicated when the ship is struck by a space rock, causing a system malfunction. While trying to fix the problem, the Sleep Technician discovers that an unknown presence has boarded the ship.

This alien is the central danger in Directive 8020, creating numerous problems for the crew and ultimately leading to the Cassiopeia’s crash landing on Tau Ceti f. Players must try to escape the planet with as many survivors as they can, but this becomes increasingly difficult as they uncover more about the alien and the situation deteriorates.

Okay, so without giving anything away, the story in Directive 8020 is seriously the best part. It starts off sounding pretty straightforward, but trust me, it keeps you on the edge of your seat with some really unexpected twists. Honestly, you can’t take anything at face value, and you definitely shouldn’t trust anyone you meet!

I’m deliberately not giving too much detail, because the real fun of Directive 8020 comes from discovering things yourself. This is Supermassive Games’ best story in years – I was completely captivated from start to finish.

Like other games in the Dark Pictures series, your decisions and actions shape the story’s outcome. The choices you make will decide which characters survive, affect the ending you get, and lead to different events as you play.

Directive 8020 includes a great feature called “Turning Points” – these are key decisions that alter the story’s direction. The game helpfully lets you know when you’ve reached one, and you can take as much time as you need to make your choice and consider the consequences.

Directive 8020 includes a helpful feature letting you revisit and alter choices made during key moments if you’re not satisfied. However, I suggest playing on a higher difficulty level when you can’t change things, as the game truly shines when your decisions have lasting consequences.

I’ve seen how each major decision plays out, and it’s clear your choices really matter. I’m glad that’s true, because it means every playthrough can be unique and different for each player, adding a lot of replayability.

A Great and Not-So Great Cast of Characters

One of the biggest issues with Directive 8020 is the voice acting. I was concerned about this even when I first played a preview version, and unfortunately, the full game suffers from poor vocal performances throughout.

Okay, so this is a weird one. Some of the voice acting in this game is amazing – seriously, some of the best I’ve heard in the Dark Pictures series! But then, other performances just fall flat. They sound really robotic and unenthusiastic, which is a huge bummer because this is a story-focused game, and it totally pulls you out of the experience when it happens.

I’m not going to criticize any specific voice actors, as I appreciate that everyone tries their best. But, honestly, some performances sound like the actors were simply reading the lines, rather than truly bringing the characters to life.

With each character having a role in the unfolding story, it’s unexpected that Supermassive Games didn’t prioritize consistently high-quality voice acting. Unfortunately, less developed characters feel less engaging, which diminishes the emotional weight of their potential deaths.

Even though some of the characters aren’t as strong, the game’s story still shines. A well-written plot with surprising twists more than makes up for it. If you can overlook the less impressive voice acting, you’ll discover a narrative that ranks among the developer’s finest work.

Unfortunately, some voice acting feels unnatural, unenthusiastic, and unconvincing. This is particularly disappointing in story-focused games or experiences, as it can pull you out of the moment and ruin your enjoyment.

Directive 8020 effectively portrays the connections between characters. It’s clear who’s close, and we learn how those friendships developed, leading to genuinely touching moments. A small detail like a unique handshake between two crew members always brought a smile to my face – it’s those kinds of touches that really stick with you.

The actors are central to the Dark Pictures anthology games, and while not every performance has been amazing, I think the cast in Directive 8020 is generally strong, even with the game’s flaws. You’ll likely find some characters dull, but others will stay with you long after you finish playing.

Taking the Stealth Approach

Directive 8020 offers a more interactive gameplay experience for the Dark Pictures series, letting players solve puzzles, sneak past enemies, find hidden objects, and explore for clues. However, it also feels like a step backward overall.

Subscribe for Directive 8020 and Dark Pictures insights

Want deeper takeaways? Subscribe to the newsletter for detailed Directive 8020 and Dark Pictures coverage: in-depth story analysis, Turning Point breakdowns, stealth-strategy guides and character/voice-acting critiques to inform your next playthrough.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

Adding more ways to play was a nice improvement, making the experience much more engaging than just watching a story unfold. However, the stealth sections, while interactive, sometimes create problems for the game’s core focus on choices and consequences.

What makes games like Until Dawn and The Quarry so thrilling is that your choices directly determine who lives or dies. The fun comes from making a decision and then anxiously wondering if your favorite (or least favorite!) characters will survive.

Although Directive 8020 can also lead to character deaths, I mostly lost crew members during stealth missions. There are a lot of these missions, and they’re designed so that failing them often results in a character’s death. Because nearly every crew member has their own stealth mission, you can accidentally – or easily – eliminate anyone without needing to plan carefully.

It’s not as thrilling when removing a character is too easy. But if you’re rooting for someone, their stealth missions can be really gripping – you’ll be on the edge of your seat trying to help them succeed and avoid detection. Those missions can be fantastic when you’re invested in the character’s survival.

The game features many stealth missions where characters can easily fail and die, offering a forgiving experience.

Directive 8020 excels at stealth gameplay. Missions typically require players to find power sources to unlock doors, carefully move through cramped areas, and avoid making noise – like stepping on broken glass – to avoid alerting enemies. In fact, the game’s stealth mechanics are better implemented than in many other titles.

I really wish the game didn’t rely so heavily on stealth, because it started to feel repetitive about halfway through. It would have been great if they’d included some actual combat – there are guns in the game, after all – to mix things up and keep it interesting. To be honest, by the tenth time I had to sneak around, I was getting pretty bored.

Closing Comments

Directive 8020 is a welcome addition to the Dark Pictures series and a strong beginning to its second season. The story is among Supermassive Games’ best, representing a real improvement after a few less impressive releases. Your choices genuinely matter, dramatically changing the story and encouraging multiple playthroughs to see all the different outcomes. While the stealth sections are well-made and create tension, they happen too often and, surprisingly, can make it easy to unintentionally eliminate characters. This is partly due to some uninteresting characters and lackluster voice acting, which might lead players to want to get rid of them anyway. Despite these minor flaws, Directive 8020 is a captivating, story-focused adventure that fans of the Dark Pictures anthology shouldn’t skip.

Read More

2026-05-11 17:11