The Dark Pictures Anthology: Directive 8020
| The Dark Pictures Anthology: Directive 8020 | |
|---|---|
 Box art featuring Brianna Young, one of the game's five protagonists | |
| Developer(s) | Supermassive Games |
| Publisher(s) | Supermassive Games |
| Director(s) | Will Doyle |
| Composer(s) | Jason Graves |
| Series | The Dark Pictures Anthology |
| Engine | Unreal Engine 5[1] |
| Platform(s) | |
| Release | 2025 |
| Genre(s) | |
| Mode(s) | |
The Dark Pictures Anthology: Directive 8020 is an upcoming interactive drama and survival horror video game developed and published by Supermassive Games. It is the first game of the second season, and the fifth game overall in The Dark Pictures Anthology. Continuing the series' premise, the game features a cast of five playable protagonists and a multilinear narrative influenced by player choices. Its decision-making scenes can significantly alter the trajectory of the plot and change the relationships between the main characters; some can lead to the permanent death of the protagonists. In Directive 8020, a colony ship called Cassiopeia crash lands on Tau Ceti f, a planet that is 12 light-years from Earth. Lashana Lynch, who plays astronaut and pilot of the Cassiopeia, Brianna Young, is being marketed as the game's leading actress. Directive 8020 will be released for PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S in 2025.
Development
[edit]Directive 8020 is the fifth game in a series of eight planned for The Dark Pictures Anthology.[2] It will be the first game in the anthology's second season.[3] By mid-October 2022, the game was entering production with a lot of data already shot.[4]
Story and design
[edit]The game stars Lashana Lynch as Brianna Young, an astronaut and pilot of a colony ship called Cassiopeia that crash lands on Tau Ceti f, a planet that is 12 light-years away after setting out to look for a new home to save humanity due to Earth being in the process of dying.[1][5] There was a NASA directive 8020.7G that was about biological contamination control for outbound and inbound planetary spacecraft. However, the directive expired in June 2022.[6] The game takes main inspiration from The Thing (1982) [7] the developers have even described Directive 8020 as "The Thing in deep space".[8][9] Will Doyle, The game's creative director, stated that it also takes inspiration from other outer space themed horror movies such as Solaris (1972),[10] Alien (1979), Event Horizon (1997), Pandorum (2009), Prometheus (2012),[7] Life (2017),[10] and Sputnik (2020) as well as influences from H. P. Lovecraft's cosmic horrors.[7]
Release
[edit]Directive 8020 was first revealed in a post-credits teaser trailer at the end of The Devil in Me,[11][12] which was released on 18 November 2022.[13] However, the trailer leaked online the day before The Devil in Me's release, revealing a sci-fi setting.[12][14] On 31 December 2023, a short video teaser for the game was posted to celebrate New Year's Eve.[15] At Gamescom in August 2024, the game was announced to be releasing for PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S in 2025.[5][16]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Romano, Sal (20 August 2024). "Directive 8020: A Dark Pictures Game Launches in 2025 for PS5, Xbox Series, and PC". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 20 August 2024. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
- ^ Skrebels, Joe (11 July 2019). "Until Dawn Developer's Dark Pictures Anthology Is Planned for 8 Games". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on 11 July 2019. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
- ^ Romano, Sal (17 November 2022). "The Dark Pictures Anthology: Directive 8020 Announced". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 17 November 2022. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
- ^ Jones, Rebecca (25 November 2022). "Urban Legends and Modern Myths: Supermassive on How The Dark Pictures Anthology Ties Together". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on 17 March 2023. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
- ^ a b McDonald, Dan (20 August 2024). "Directive 8020 Launches on PS5 in 2025". PlayStation Blog. Sony Interactive Entertainment. Archived from the original on 20 August 2024. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
- ^ "NASA Policy Directive 8020.7G". NASA. 25 November 2008. Archived from the original on 21 May 2022. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
- ^ a b c Addison, Luke (15 October 2024). "Directive 8020's Will Doyle on Lashana Lynch's Casting, the Departure to Some New Unreal Engine 5 Powered Mechanics, and A "Backlog of ideas" For the Future (INTERVIEW)". Fandom Wire.
- ^ Tamoor Hussain, Lucy James (21 August 2024). "New Supermassive Game Directive 8020 Pulls Inspiration From The Thing | gamescom 2024". GameSpot Youtube. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
- ^ Gould-Wilson, Jasmine (4 September 2024). "Supermassive describes Directive 8020 as "The Thing in space," but even with the survival horror elements, it's a Dark Pictures game through and through". Games Radar.
- ^ a b Leane, Rob (7 October 2024). "The Dark Pictures: Directive 8020 boss talks revamped gameplay and real-life inspirations". Youtube (Radio Times Gaming Channel).
- ^ Dinsdale, Ryan (24 August 2022). "The Dark Pictures: The Devil In Me Arrives this November". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on 24 August 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
- ^ Moyse, Chris (17 November 2022). "The Dark Pictures Teases Season 2 Premiere Directive 8020". Destructoid. Gamurs. Archived from the original on 17 November 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
- ^ The Dark Pictures [@TheDarkPictures] (31 December 2023). "As Earth makes another rotation around the Sun, and we look to the stars on #NewYearsEve, you have to wonder what else is out there...🪐 #TheDarkPictures" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 22 January 2024. Retrieved 22 January 2024 – via Twitter.
- ^ Wales, Matt (20 August 2024). "Supermassive's Dark Pictures Series Returns in 2025 With Sci-Fi Horror Directive 8020". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on 20 August 2024. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
External links
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