Directive 8020

Boring....

Very fun with a good story!

Recommended, but with some reservations Directive 8020 is a game I can recommend, especially if you enjoy narrative-driven games and space science fiction, although I do have some reservations about it. First of all, I really like the setting. Space, isolation, science fiction and the mystery surrounding what is happening aboard the Cassiopeia are exactly the kind of themes that appeal to me. The atmosphere is generally good and the game manages to create some genuinely tense moments. That said, don’t go into this expecting The Callisto Protocol or Dead Space. Not only is the gameplay completely different, but so is the atmosphere. Callisto, for example, feels much darker, dirtier and more oppressive. Directive 8020 is much more cinematic and character-driven, as you would expect from Supermassive. My main issue with its tone is that it sometimes feels a little too juvenile. I wouldn’t exactly describe it as a slasher, but there is something in the dialogue, characters and overall presentation that occasionally gives me that young-adult horror feeling. It worked perfectly in Until Dawn, where that tone was completely intentional. Here, considering the science-fiction setting and some of the ideas the story deals with, I would have preferred something more mature, serious and unsettling. Another issue is how extremely linear the game can be. Obviously, Supermassive games have always been heavily scripted experiences and I knew exactly what kind of game I was buying, but Directive 8020 sometimes takes this too far. There are sections where you’re basically moving from one corridor to another with almost no real opportunity to explore. A little more environmental exploration would have helped the Cassiopeia feel like a real place rather than a succession of cinematic sets. Visually, however, I think the game generally looks very good. Unreal Engine 5 delivers some excellent lighting, materials and environments, and certain scenes can be genuinely impressive. My main complaint here is Ray Reconstruction, which can introduce noticeable noise and doesn’t always reconstruct the image particularly well. Aside from that, the overall visual presentation is strong. Sound design is another highlight. With headphones, the machinery, distant noises and environmental audio contribute significantly to the tension and atmosphere. As usual with Supermassive, choices matter and the story can branch into different outcomes and endings. I have only completed one ending myself, but knowing that characters can live or die and that different decisions can significantly alter events gives the game some replay value. I also think this type of game can actually be more enjoyable when played with someone else. Movie Night lets several players share the same PC and controller, passing it between them when their characters take control. I played this way with two people, and for this kind of cinematic experience it works surprisingly well. Discussing decisions, watching what the other person chooses and simply sharing the story makes the slower sections more entertaining. I did encounter some technical issues on PC as well, including crashes/freezes, and I experienced them on two completely different systems, so I don’t believe they were hardware-related. I also had some inconsistent controller behaviour: an Xbox controller had vibration through Steam while my wired DualSense did not. Despite these criticisms, I enjoyed Directive 8020. The science-fiction setting, mystery, choices and Supermassive’s cinematic formula were enough to keep me interested and make me want to see where the story was going. It has good ideas, some very good moments and enough branching possibilities to justify another playthrough. Recommended, particularly for fans of Supermassive and narrative science fiction. Just don’t expect Dead Space or The Callisto Protocol, and be prepared for a very linear experience.

говно

I should preface this by saying I LOVE The Dark Pictures Anthology (TDPA); it's one of my favourite franchises. Hell, I even wrote my BA Game Design dissertation on this franchise. However, for [i] some [/i] reason, Supermassive decided to completely scrap their, frankly, [b] amazing [/b] approach to online co-op for these games with Directive 8020. Firstly, there's no online co-op... at all. Immediate killer. They claim that this will be added "soon" after release (where is it then?), yet this remains to be seen. But, either way, even when/if online co-op [i] does [/i] get added, the way they have approached multiplayer for this new instalment is [b] LEAGUES worse [/b] than how they did the first 'phase' of TDPA games. There's no 'Shared Story' simultaneous playthrough with your friend of separate characters that interplay with each other. No. Instead, online co-op will share the local co-op mode -- their infamous 'Movie Night' approach. Instead of having a shared dynamic story that elevates the cooperative experience tenfold, you'll just take turns controlling the same character(s). How fun! Now, I get that this can be down to limiting gameplay flexibility, and wanting to play around with narrative branches more. I can appreciate that. But, TDPA was built on their Shared Story mode; that was a selling point. So, diverging from that for even one episode feels like a real abandoning of what made their games so great. If you wanted to take this approach, why not have Directive 8020 be a separate game from the TDPA franchise, much like The Quarry was? I could have understood and respected that. I can't personally speak on whether their choice to abandon the Shared Story system to explore more branching narrative potential paid off in this episode though (although, by looking at the critical reviews I can hazard a guess...), as this abandonment is enough for me to skip this game entirely. I'm hoping -- nay, [b] praying [/b] -- that the ditching of the co-op Shared Story system was only for this one episode, so that they could "experiment" or whatever, but something tells me it's not. I love Supermassive Games, and I will always look to support them, but making these anti-consumer choices that significantly worsen (or, in mine and my friend's case, and likely many others', outright [i] remove [/i]) the gameplay experience for a majority of their player base makes it hard to maintain that deep love for them. Don't go down this road, Supermassive. Please.

Bon jeux, assez différent des autres "Dark Picture" bcp de choix possibles, bcp de dénouement possible, erreur cependant plus permissive, avec bcp de phases de cache-cache, les QTE sont bcp plus simple que dans les autres épisodes Note générale : 7/10

que dire...nul, inintéressant, répétitif, lassant....

[CONTAINS SPOILERS, WATCH OUT] For the first time may I say Ive not only played a game to unwind and have fun but also Ive played a game which makes you reflect about your life. I was given the impression that throughout the game, and following each characters background histories (Samantha and her guilt for not saving those people in the boat, Eisele sending those clones to Tau Ceti F, Cernan not having been happy during his life, Anders not feeling to fit in in the group...) it makes you rethink about how you are the one to change what youve been through and therefore you should not stick to the past mistakes youve made. 'What you are is what you have been', 'what you will be is what you do now' & 'Never forget why you started'. It also shows the essence of having a respectful rapport. Im a suppermassive games saga passionate, though its the first time a game made such an exhilarating impression on me. Deffinitely many people could get a learning about this masterpiece, therefore Id recommend it 100% and if possible Id put it at the top of your bucket list of Dark Pictures Anthology's games. Thank you so much SMG, wait was worth the value!!!