Repeating the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result each time can be defined as insanity. However, this is not what Supermassive Games does, rather it repeats the same thing over and over again hoping the result stays the same. The British studio has been doing it since its acclaimed debut adventure slasher Teenager Until Dawn, and while it might not be the definition of cool, the concept seems to have worked surprisingly well. It is true that The Dark Pictures trilogy did not reach the same level when it premiered, but it was interesting and attractive enough to arouse the interest of a large number of gamers. Although the studio wanted to make Man of Medan, Little Hope, and House of Ashes, the spiritual sequel to Until Dawn was the goal from the start, and we finally made it happen. The Quarry is out now and it’s no surprise it’s following exactly the same pattern again, thankfully more for the better than the bad.
Like its predecessors, it’s an interactive love letter to the genre, and anyone who’s played at least one of the games above will recognize it instantly. In Until Dawn, the setting was an abandoned ski resort, but this time Supermassive decided to set their game in an American summer camp, which is usually very popular in the context of horror movies. You can already imagine, wooden cabins, a dense forest, a small lake with a jetty and a family that is at best a little crazy and at worst completely crazy. There are many reasons why this scenario is excellent for killing teenagers. It’s a secluded, shallow idyll, and there are plenty of ways to hide if you feel a villain’s breath on the back of your neck. Unlike its sources of inspiration, which are often set in the 1980s with banging rock, leather pants and lots of hair, The Quarry plays in the present with everything that goes with it. Cell phones, podcasts, and dialogue that talk a lot about real-world issues like alienation, ghosts, and worries about the future, but always follow the same style of jokes and puns. If Until Dawn was already a teenage slasher inspired by movies like Friday the 13th, Halloween and Scream, this new adventure has a clear influence from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Hills Have Eyes, and with no intention of gutting it, screams Stephen King.
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As I mentioned earlier, the premise is well known. The player has to approach it like in a horror movie, making difficult decisions and controlling the different characters through the so-called Quick Time Events (QTE). This consists of pressing a specific button or moving the joystick in a specific direction in a specific situation in a short period of time. All choices affect the outcome, and what might seem like a seemingly inconclusive decision early in the game can later decide a character’s fate. For example, is it a good idea to lift a pair of keys in the air or drop them on the ground? Do I ask to make sure it’s one of my friends in the bushes, or do I shoot first and ask later? Sometimes even a successful QTE isn’t the way to go, so sometimes it’s even better to fail. All five senses come into play, and if you can also generate a sixth, extrasensory perception, you gain a lot. This sixth sense is obtained through the hidden cards of the tarot, which are used to reveal a small vision of the future: usually death. Will they be able to find a way out of the madness, or will they just be devilish bait?
The Quarry, like its predecessors, begins with a little joy. Fun and laughter, as the children say, with campfires, kisses and alcohol. A little “I never” doesn’t kill anyone, does it? They’re there as monitors and have clearly said to stay home when night falls, but saying that to teenagers who are alone at a summer camp can only come with a big sleeve cut to the norms, the patronizing and the sense of community end. It’s summer, after all, and our young leads, unsurprisingly, are emerging from childhood and entering adulthood. College, student loans, and long-distance relationships are right around the corner, and this could be your last summer vacation together. Which also makes a lot of sense, albeit for very different reasons than what they imagine.
As in any self-respecting slasher, the set is riddled with stereotypes. The freaky jock, the nerd, the clown, the prom queen, and of course the complicated introvert who totally understands how it all works. It’s the ABC of horror, and thanks to the flashbacks, we also get a good portion of history, where it’s not just told why there’s a summer camp in the quarry and who the people are behind it. They also tell us how many skeletons the various characters have in their closets, why two of the trainers never made it to their destination, and even end up explaining a possible reason why Hackett’s Quarry is hell on earth. Familiar names from Scream, Aliens, Twin Peaks and Evil Dead make an appearance, a nice addition to a horror movie where you are the director. As in previous Supermassive games, all characters are playable and you decide their fate.
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Whether the goal is to save the entire party or brutally ensure no one survives (I’ve tried both), The Quarry takes its time to plunge the player into slow, awe-inspiring suffering, then ends with a surprising ending in the Final. last hours. We know from the start it’s not going to be a fun camp for Dylan, Jacob, Nick, Kaitlyn, Abigail, Emma and Ryan, but we’re not sure why. There is a big question mark hanging over the whole story that will not be resolved until the group begins to understand what is really going on in the darkness of the forest. That means there’s always excitement and the desire to keep exploring non-stop is addictive. Every cliffhanger makes you want to take your hands off the controller. It’s pretty too. Very pretty. Of course, looks aren’t everything, especially when it comes to a game, but this one is extremely beautiful. From the lush forests where light breaks through the shadows to realistic human skin and facial expressions, even if an unsettling part of the ensemble appears to have been born with a serious underbite.
I cling to the chair and feel the adrenaline rush. It’s not particularly scary, at least not for a fan of this genre who’s experienced it before, but it’s intense and exciting, and most importantly, well done. At the end of the day, Supermassive knows how to create an atmosphere that just makes you feel trapped. They don’t open the doors right away and release the terror bit by bit. Little by little they give little hints which lead to evidence which in turn leads to a truth and there I sit with a big smile on my face before my jaw drops after a relief from the narration.
Any problems so far? Since the perfect game doesn’t exist and The Quarry is no exception, the answer to this question is yes. Whether we judge it as a spiritual sequel to Until Dawn or as a standalone game, there are things that squeak a bit. By far my biggest problem is the inability to fast forward or skip sequences that I’ve already seen. This has always been a problem in games developed by Supermassive, and since The Quarry features much longer cutscenes than previous titles, the problem is compounded. The Quarry is slightly less playable overall than Until Dawn, and by that I don’t mean that it’s unplayable due to bugs or glitches, rather it has fewer sequences where you’re in control. While Until Dawn was full of mysteries that had to be actively solved through interaction, The Quarry is more of a solo piano. There are long periods where, as a player, you become absorbed in the story instead of allowing yourself to be a part of it. This may seem negative as you read it, but I found the overall experience better and the story stronger. You could say that if Until Dawn and The Quarry had been movies, the second would have won by a wide margin, although the first is a bit sharper as a game.
We’ll have to wait until July 8th for multiplayer, but you can enjoy staying in Hackett’s Quarry with friends. Local co-op lets you team up with up to seven other players. It’s still the same game, but each player controls their own character. So if it’s because of a specific character, you’ll have to pass the order along. There’s also a movie mode where, as the name suggests, you can play The Quarry as if you were at the cinema. In this mode, the character makes the decisions and you, the spectator, observe the action on the entire screen and without the possibility to intervene. It wasn’t clear to a server why you would want to watch a game without playing, but I’m not the one to judge. After all, if there’s a streaming drought, The Quarry is a better horror film than many on offer today, and it’s eight to 10 hours long.
If you enjoyed the previous Supermassive games, you will also like The Quarry. It’s certainly more of the same, but the developer has also honed her skills and improved her storytelling. It’s true that some of the novelty is gone, as it’ll never be like playing Until Dawn for the first time, but nothing lasts forever and there’s no one quite adept at the genre. So if you’re looking for an interactive adventure that will leave you nostalgic and scared, this is your game.
