Directive 8020 preview: Until Dawn meets The Thing

The Dark Pictures Anthology feels legendary when it comes to video game narratives, and while the quality of each title varies I think Directive 8020 could be the best entry yet.

This time the series is going full-on sci-fi, with a story that’s basically The Thing but in space, and no Kurt Russell setting people on fire.

I played a brief demo of Directive 8020 at Summer Game Fest and was told a little about what the game has to offer by the developers.

My demo took me through a later part of the story where our new space-faring cast come face to face with the alien entity that serves as the main antagonist. Like The Thing, this…thing can change its appearance to blend in with its surroundings, meaning literally anyone could be a threat.

Like previous Dark Pictures Games, Directive 8020 allows its players to choose how the story plays out, both through actual decisions and general gameplay, as mistakes you made while playing are noted and will probably come back to bite you later.

However, if you make a decision you think you’ll regret, or make a mistake you can’t bear to live with, Directive 8020 will let you rewind to a previous part of the story and choose a different path.

Unfortunately this feature wasn’t available during my demo, but I was told it can either be used to see what could have happened from a purely hypothetical point-of-view or be used to actually change the playthrough, so you don’t have to start again from the beginning.

I made some pretty dire mistakes during my time with the game, so I’ll be grateful to have this feature when the full game releases.

It sounds like Directive 8020 is going to deliver yet another spooky narrative, but this time it’s catering to those who refuse to live with the consequences of their actions.