Yesupermassive’s games have always been cinematic, from the compelling performances of the slasher horror Until Dawn to the colder atmosphere of the interactive ghost story Man of Medan. This time, with sci-fi horror Directive 8020, the studio wears its Hollywood influences even more blatantly on its sleeve.
The Earth is dying and humanity’s last hope is a planet called Tau Ceti F. However, as the crew of the colony ship Cassiopeia examines the promising planet, they soon discover that they are not alone. Stalked by a hideous alien organism that can chillingly mimic its prey, the Cassiopeia crew must outwit these predators and return home, with every former friend and crewmate now a potential threat. In other words, it’s a playable mix of Alien and The Thing.
“You have a diverse cast of characters and an alien monster that can infiltrate that setting. “We lean on the systems we’ve already built (in previous games) of choices and decisions, to create that element of surprise and the feeling of not knowing who to trust,” says Will Doyle, creative director of the game.
There is agency over your character’s movement, as well as their choices. Ditching the slow, cinematic Until Dawn sequence, Directive 8020 plays like something closer to Dead Space, allowing players to run, strafe, lunge, and roll defensively as they flee from their gruesome alien attackers. “(But) these people are not action heroes. We didn’t want you to be able to defeat the creature easily,” says Doyle. “You can defend yourself with some tools; you can distract him; but you are never able to take out a gun and shoot.”
The lead role of the pilot Young is played by No Time to Die’s Lashana Lynch. Everyone on board the ship lives or dies based on your (read: your) decisions. Fortunately, you can ask for help and play cooperatively. Up to five people can go online and take control of different characters, something the team implemented after seeing how many people chose to play Until Dawn by passing a controller between groups of friends.
“Every time you see a monster in a movie, its scare factor goes down a little bit,” Doyle acknowledges. “Without giving anything away, we changed the appearance and shape of our creature quite a bit… There’s a constant sense of threat: that you’re not really safe anywhere in this game. With our previous games, you can sometimes tell when you’re in danger just by the structure, so we’ve tweaked it a lot. Now, danger and death lurk around every corner.”
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