Directive 8020 Kicks Off Dark Pictures Season 2 with a Whimper

Directive 8020 is here, and it’s clearly being propped up as a major turning point for the Dark Pictures Anthology. I’m a big choice-based narrative fan, and even though every Dark Pictures chapter hasn’t always been a hit for me, I’ve still had a lot of fun with most of the entries. Overall, I found Directive 8020 to be a solid entry. It’s not perfect by any means, but the game’s Alien-inspired body horror is something I always have a soft spot for.

Whether the game is a good addition to the growing lineup of Dark Pictures Anthology games is deeply subjective, but there’s no doubt that Directive 8020 is the start of a new era. Supermassive Games’ cosmic horror story is the first entry in the anthology’s long-awaited Season 2, and the developer is clearly trying something different this time around. On the one hand, some of these new features can be seen as much-needed improvements. However, it also sometimes makes Directive 8020 feel far removed from the anthology series that it’s trying to keep alive.

If You Don’t Like Dark Pictures Games, Directive 8020 Might Still Be For You

In a recent interview with GameRant, Directive 8020 director Will Doyle spoke on how the game aims to broaden the Dark Pictures Anthology’s reach.

It Feels Like Supermassive Games Wants Directive 8020 to Be a Dark Pictures Game, But Also Not

The biggest divergence from past games in the series is the simple fact that Directive 8020 doesn’t feature the Dark Pictures Anthology in its title anymore. The official full titles of Season 1’s games were names like Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes and Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me, but Supermassive Games has stepped away from that with Season 2. In the studio’s defense, Season 2’s debut title foregoing the Dark Pictures Anthology label sounds a lot cleaner. The big issue, though, is that it doesn’t make it clear that Directive 8020 is part of the anthology at all. Without the brand tied to the title, it just makes Directive 8020 look like a random sci-fi horror game.

Guess the games from the emojis.

Easy (120s)Medium (90s)Hard (60s)

Season 2 Lacking the Dark Picture Name Feels Like an Identity Crisis

The Dark Pictures Anthology Season 1 features four mainline entries, and they have built up a formula that makes it easy for gamers to understand what to expect from each chapter. Seeing a game titled Directive 8020 doesn’t give any indication that it’s part of this franchise, and that might throw some players off, especially if they aren’t familiar with the series.

With the way Directive 8020 is presented, it gives the impression that it could be more similar to games like Dead Space. There are definitely some Dead Space influences happening in Directive 8020 with its embrace of survival-inspired mechanics, but the differences aren’t exactly drastic enough to scratch the itch for gamers who want another Dead Space-like game to jump into.

Every Mainline Dark Pictures Anthology Season 1 Game in Order

Man of Medan
Little Hope
House of Ashes
The Devil in Me

Directive 8020’s Missing Features Are Jarring for Longtime Fans Like Me

I need to be clear that I see some of the changes as an improvement. Not everyone is going to feel that way, and that’s fine, but the change to how Directive 8020 approaches stealth compared to past entries adds a greater sense of control. A staple mechanic in past series entries is the Keep Calm system, which tasked players with completing a heartbeat rhythm mini-game when hiding from monsters. It was directly inspired by Until Dawn‘s Don’t Move system, which required players to keep their controllers completely still to stay undetected. What Supermassive Games managed to do with Until Dawn‘s gameplay was really cool at the time, but the Dark Pictures Anthology‘s heartbeat-focused take on the survival mini-game got repetitive over time. Directive 8020‘s gameplay keeps the heart of Dark Pictures intact, but the tweaks to stealth are shocking at first.

The New Stealth is a Divisive Change

Instead of the heartbeat mini-game, Directive 8020 actually lets players control stealth via controller joysticks. This isn’t really a groundbreaking move for the many great horror games out there that require careful sneaking, but it is for the Dark Pictures Anthology. Even though I found the heartbeat mechanic growing stale, joystick-focused stealth is a level of difference that makes Directive 8020 feel even further from the series it’s part of. In its defense, the stealth definitely kicks up the tension, but including a new take on the mini-game in addition to the player-controlled moments may have helped the change feel less dramatic.

The Curator’s Absence is Felt Throughout the Story

The Dark Pictures Anthology‘s Curator has been a staple character throughout the series, and he’s mostly left out of this chapter. It’s important to mention that Dark Pictures‘ Curator actor, Tony Pankhurst, died back in 2024, so that may have something to do with his absence. Only his likeness was used for the character’s appearance, though. The Curator’s voice and motion capture acting was done by actor Pip Torrens. Since it’s a fresh season, a new Curator could have been introduced if Supermassive Games was concerned with honoring Pankhurst. This would have been a meaningful way to pass down the torch and give Season 2 a more unique identity.

The Curator will appear when players collect the Obol Coin and all the “Oh Death” collectibles found in Directive 8020.

Directive 8020 Feels More Like Necessary Growing Pains Than the Thrilling Start of Something New

Since this is a new era for the Dark Pictures Anthology, there are going to be some hiccups along the way. It’s good that Supermassive Games is trying out different ideas instead of repackaging Season 1’s go-to mechanics. However, Directive 8020 is a reminder that Season 2’s first entry is largely a testing ground for what will become the season’s trademarks and what will be left behind as each new chapter arrives. Between Directive 8020‘s story length being longer, new stealth controls, and the rewind-like Turning Point mechanic, Supermassive Games is working to evolve the Dark Pictures Anthology into a stronger franchise.

More involved gameplay and changes to a few ingredients of the recipe need to be careful not to lose sight of the series’ original identity, though. Directive 8020‘s changes to the Dark Pictures Anthology are a step in the right direction, but Supermassive Games hopefully doesn’t stray too far away.