Supermassive’s Directive 8020 adds stealth-action sections to its party horror formula, but a preview of the game found the new approach unconvincing and less distinct than earlier entries in the series. [1]
Directive 8020 is the latest game in the studio’s horror run, which began with Until Dawn in 2015 and later included House of Ashes in 2021 and The Quarry in 2022. [1]
The demo covered about two-thirds of episode 4 in a game built around 8 episodes. [1]
In the previewed section, the player was 18 hours into a sci-fi story about a body-snatching alien that has taken over a spaceship crew. The scenario forced the player to sneak around the ship while chaos spread through the team. [1]
The new stealth segments ask players to crouch-walk and watch enemy patrol routes to avoid detection, in a bid to push the game closer to traditional survival horror. The preview said the sections added some tension, but not enough to make the game stand out. [1]
Like earlier Supermassive games, Directive 8020 still leans on point-and-click investigation and quick-time events, but the studio has added the stealth-action parts on top of that structure. The preview said that blend did not land cleanly. [1]
Directive 8020 also reached this stage after delays and studio layoffs during development. Supermassive now heads toward the game’s full release after the preview focused on the middle of episode 4. [1]
