This Directive 8020 guide has the locations of all 5 O Death secrets, as well as where to find and view the teaser trailer.

This Doesn’t Belong Here

Episode 8: Come True

The Way Back

After powering up an alternate Server Control Panel for the second time, crouch and crawl through the organic obstructions to some server racks. Lower them to find the final wall monitor and your first O Death secret lying on the ground in the form of an oddly shaped coin. Watch the cutscene.

Finding this O Death secret triggers the remaining four to spawn, but these are all in prior segments of the game. Fortunately, a complete replay isn’t necessary, and you can simply use the checkpoint system to acquire them.

The Man in the Bowler Hat

Episode 1: Little Star

Medical

You will be able to find this O Death secret after lifting the lockdown. Pick up the datapad that is lying on the floor inside the hexagonal control panel station, just before the spacewalk sequence.

Paranoia

Episode 3: The Sample

Search

In the Mess Hall, interact with the all-new terminal that appears to the left of the two vending machines there.

O_DTH

Episode 5: Mr. Williams

Radio Silence

From Bridge Ops, head up the stairs and into the long corridor leading to the Cockpit, check the left side for a wall monitor and the penultimate O Death secret.

Bloodlines

Episode 5: Mr. Williams

Radio Silence

After exiting the Bridge and returning to the upper deck via the elevator, head for the Crew Lounge by approaching the door from the Atrium. Lying on a bench to the left of the entryway is the fifth and final O Death secret.

The game will now treat you to a bonus Curator cutscene, which you can view again in the Main Menu’s Bonus Content section.

How To View The Next Dark Pictures Anthology Teaser Trailer

Once you have acquired all 5 O Death secrets, the Bonus Content section will also list the teaser trailer for the next title in the anthology.

It’s short and doesn’t let on much, but is sure to pique the interest of longtime fans of the series.

Those are all 5 of the O Death secrets to be discovered in Directive 8020, which then unlocks the teaser trailer for the next game in The Dark Pictures Anthology.

This guide for Directive 8020 lists the locations of 10 of the Simms Recording secret collectibles by episode, checkpoint, and room.

Green Tea

Episode 1: Little Star

Crew Quarters

Quarters -> Monitoring Crew -> Side room on the left

Inside the room, look to the right of the entryway for a wall monitor with the video recording.

Patches

Episode 1: Little Star

Medical

Storage -> Lift lockdown -> Medical Reception

Proceed up the stairs for another monitor with a video recording.

Red Alert

Episode 2: Best Laid Plans

Ship Shape

Head up the right side stairs to find a wall monitor with a Simms recording.

Sweet Dreams

Episode 2: Best Laid Plans

Sleuth

Crew Complex -> Locker Room

Step into the locker room and find the wall monitor on the left side with a Simms recording.

Slingshot

Episode 3: The Sample

Gear Up

Hub -> Tool Storage

Inside the Tool Storage room, head left to find another monitor with a Simms recording.

Special Permission

Episode 3: The Sample

Search

Mess Lobby

Descend the stairs and hook left to find a wall monitor with yet another Simms recording.

Hostile Fire

Episode 5: Mr. Williams

Radio Silence

Bridge Ops -> Scan -> Storage

Before entering the Airlock, bear left and over the obstructions to power up Storage. Once inside, the monitor with the Simms recording should be on the far side wall of the room.

Field Agent

Episode 6: Hostile Takeover

Detour

Exec Office

Access the Exec Office and check the left side of the far wall for a wall monitor mounted in the corner.

Rabbit Hole

Episode 8: Come True

Redirect

Deck 2 Locker Room

While sneaking past the creature, power up the Deck 2 Locker Room and then access it to find a monitor on the left side.

At Peace

Episode 8: Come True

The Way Back

After powering up an alternate Server Control Panel for the second time, crouch and crawl through the organic obstructions to some server racks. Lower them to find the final wall monitor and its Simms recording in a room to the left.

Those are the locations of all 10 of the secret Simms Recording collectibles to be found in Directive 8020.

The teaser takes place from the perspective of someone watching old VHS tapes with strange titles, like EVP 2 and Philip Experiment. The tape in the VCR is dubbed Don’t Play Alone, which is just as likely to be the name of an in-universe film as it is a warning to anyone who finds the tape. On inserting the tape, we get distorted footage of strange things on the screen, starting with a deer, and a narrator explaining the four stages of something.

While the first step is knocking, stage 2 is supposed to involve movement, with objects moving on their own. Stage 3 kicks up the supernatural aspects of the story, with the narrator noting that “the phenomenon becomes destructive,” due to a strange presence that “wishes to be heard.” Finally, stage 4 is communication. The final stage is punctuated by doors sliding open into complete darkness, and a strange hand popping out, beckoning the viewer to come closer. The tape ends with someone screaming in the background, with quite a few words flashing on the screen: “YOUARENOTSAFE”, “YOUCANTESCAPE”, “ITKNOWSYOU”, “ITHASSEENYOU”, and “TOBECONTINUED”.

It is worth noting that the full title of this next project isn’t revealed anywhere, with the in-game menu of Directive 8020 referring to it simply as “teaser trailer”. It is unlikely to be another one of Supermassive’s rumored projects—O Death—since that one is specially named as another video a player can watch.

Several of the titles of Supermassive’s newer projects were revealed back in 2022 thanks to the discovery of a series of trademarks. Along with the recently-released Directive 8020, the titles include The Craven Man, Winterfold, O Death, and Intercession. Considering the ominous nature of the text shown at the end of this teaser trailer, previous speculation of The Craven Man revolving around a Slenderman-styled mysterious antagonist might just end up being closer to the truth than we first thought. Then again, the apparent demonic possession could lean closer to whatever Intercession ends up being.

Supermassive Games has been hiding teasers for its future projects since the release of The Dark Pictures Anthology – Man of Medan, which had a post-credits teaser for Little Hope. Similarly, Little Hope included a teaser for House of Ashes, and so on. The most recent game, Directive 8020, was teased at the end of The Devil in Me.

Directive 8020 marks the start of the second season of The Dark Pictures Anthology. For more details, take a look at our review, where we gave it a score of 8 out of 10 thanks to the strong emphasis on its themes and compelling character dynamics. Our criticisms largely revolved around a lack of opportunity and payout in using interrogation skills, and an over-reliance on stealth sections.

Straight away, you might be thinking about agency – I know I was. Directive 8020 promises to be the series at its most mechanically ambitious, but I’m already detecting a tension between my character’s broader movement and expectations for narrative immersion. The key question is this: can Supermassive Games successfully blend the upcoming survival-horror gameplay with their signature, interactive-drama style?

"Real-time controls’ biggest problem, however, reveals itself soon enough. During the game’s frequent stealth sections, with looping patrols, repeating dialogue, and a predictable structure of sneaking, re-routing power, unlocking doors, and sneaking some more, the design is unarguably formulaic."

And, real-time controls and a sci-fi setting aren’t the only deviations. As each of the game’s eight episodes concludes, you’ll notice a diminished role for the Curator. Episodic summaries aren’t lost entirely; they’re just handled differently. The game is also built for the single-player experience. There’s no Shared Story at launch, although there is a multiplayer party mode, which I’ll get into later. The shift to Unreal Engine 5 supports the game’s cinematic presentation, but these early ambles through dimly lit foyers give the impression that this game is looking closely at Dead Space for inspiration rather than refining its anthology roots.

The biggest shift – those third-person, real-time controls – brings forth a mechanical mindset too, something you’ve likely experienced countless times before, especially if you’ve played the aforesaid Necromorph-slicing horror, The Last of Us, or Alan Wake 2. You’re accustomed to walking, crouching, whipping out a flashlight, and so on. Yet, this fundamental change also introduces something less tangible: for the first time in the series, horror isn’t something you simply react to but something you actively participate in. Together with presenting binary dilemmas – a hallmark of the series, retained for this title – Directive 8020 stands to merge its derivative control schemes with the psychological fallout of following repeated moral quandaries; elevating it, perhaps, into something that still feels like a Dark Pictures game.

Real-time controls’ biggest problem, however, reveals itself soon enough. During the game’s frequent stealth sections, with looping patrols, repeating dialogue, and a predictable structure of sneaking, re-routing power, unlocking doors, and sneaking some more, the design is unarguably formulaic. It’s clear this isn’t Supermassive’s strong suit, and it’s a shade disappointing that stealth happens so extensively throughout. It’s like the game wants me to feel hunted, but rarely did I feel vulnerable; even if, in another switch-up from the Dark Pictures formula, death can occur outside of scripted events, too. The Last of Us comparisons bear more weight here: the threats you encounter are eerily similar to Clickers, in form and function.

But while outdated stealth design ultimately undermines the vulnerability the game is trying to create, the sense that you’re truly exposed is found instead amongst Directive 8020’s core emotional themes: trust and paranoia.

"The game is absolutely at its best when it slows down and lets the characters collide. Their interpersonal dynamics and loyalties are truly put to the test, and with strong narrative pacing, the emotional payoff in most late-game decisions is powerful."

Thanks to an invasive extraterrestrial force, an organism akin to John Carpenter’s The Thing which can replicate any member of the Cassiopeia’s crew, it wasn’t long before I was scrutinising every interaction, looking for shifts in dialogue, expression, or body language to clue me in on who’s who. Even a character’s augmented reality messaging system could be a source for potential deception, as could any voice coming through in-ear communication. Tie into this the interpersonal relationships between certain characters – familial bonds, shared traumas – then any moment of social awkwardness could, in theory, be a mimic, or, perhaps, a hidden agenda, or something else. Throughout my playthrough, I felt the game successfully establishes and escalates trust and paranoia, both through emotional attachment and wider atmosphere.

The immediate counterpoint to this, however, is that I’m unsure how many scenarios I actually faced a mimic and didn’t realise. Now, I know this could be deliberate, but allow me to elaborate. See, if I did interact with a mimic and didn’t know, surely the fact that an alien has infiltrated the ranks would be revealed later. Standoffs do occur, of course, but they’re infrequent. The fear of deception is constant, but the reality felt surprisingly rare.

I consistently engaged in “interrogation gameplay”, but seldom was there clarity. What’s more, characters’ personas switch from one episode to the next. They’d speak with precision or assertiveness, only to soften their delivery later on, leading me to suspect I’m dealing with a nefarious being. But, if my suspicions aren’t addressed either way, I grew to realise that I’m continually being pulled between genuine uncertainty and red herrings. The overriding feeling throughout is that I was an omniscient observer; the only one with an overview of the entire situation, especially during the early episodes before the crew even realises there are shapeshifters among them.

This had a knock-on effect on how I related to certain characters, too, leaving them at the mercy of my own prejudices. Without giving too much away, there’s a crewmate I oppose, so when my dialogue choices led to a clutch moment for this specific character, my uncertainty wasn’t established enough in-game.

Now, that isn’t to say the characters aboard the Cassiopeia are unlikable. The reality is far from it. The game is absolutely at its best when it slows down and lets the characters collide. Their interpersonal dynamics and loyalties are truly put to the test, and with strong narrative pacing, the emotional payoff in most late-game decisions is powerful.

"Still, Directive 8020’s mechanical ambition, tonal shift, and character systems aren’t complex by any stretch, arguably making this entry the most accessible in The Dark Pictures Anthology, albeit less recognisable or distinct."

If my favourite character does succumb to space death, however, Directive 8020’s Turning Points system allows me to rewind the clock to retry their pivotal moments, perhaps to change the course of their fate. Through a visible throughline, selecting which scenes I’d like to reattempt is simple enough, but, for me, I felt this feature was too immersion-breaking for a first playthrough. I prefer the tension in choice finality, feeling that the ability to turn back time undermines my original, instinctual decision-making.

Turning Points, instead, feels like an interesting post-game experiment rather than a core design. Or, to frame it another way, it’s akin to replaying an RPG where I create a character archetype that’s rude and aggressive, for example, just to see how far I can push the NPC’s resolve. It’s not me in real life, but it’s fun to take a turn as someone else in-game. But, in Directive 8020, I find it most immersive if I play and react instinctively rather than thinking about how else to behave in a situation.

If you’re like me, but you don’t even want the temptation to re-write a character’s fate, then a Turning Points-less Survivor Mode is a worthy option. Or, of course, you can engage in Turning Points more thoroughly if playing with someone else. It’s here, in the game’s controller-swapping party mode, where it has greater value, where there’s less scrutiny on the unfolding narrative. Instead, my partner and I discussed plot points, sometimes heatedly. Rewinding moments yielded more fun when coinciding with lively discussions.

Now, revisiting specific moments isn’t just a way of exploring different outcomes for the crew, but they’re a chance to steer conversations in a different direction, shaping and reshaping each character’s traits as you go. Establishing traits adjusts a “Destiny” meter for individual characters, too, with each having two that can be unlocked. These can influence a character’s final fate, their overarching narrative arc, and relationship dynamics rather than relying on binary life-or-death choices. Whilst I appreciate this system, like Turning Points, I feel it requires multiple playthroughs to truly understand its depth.

Still, Directive 8020’s mechanical ambition, tonal shift, and character systems aren’t complex by any stretch, arguably making this entry the most accessible in The Dark Pictures Anthology, albeit less recognisable or distinct. And I don’t mean that in an inherently negative way. This is the most confident and forward-looking title in the series, bravely shedding its legacy to pursue something more modern. But, it does come at a cost: what it gains in immediacy, it loses in distinctiveness that previously set the Anthology apart.

"Occasionally, flat facial animations and performance stutters further dilute the experience, the former especially jarring as so much character interaction relies on interrogating expressions and mannerisms."

Yet, for all these grievances for what it isn’t, I must praise what the game is. At its best, it’s driven by a thick, oppressive atmosphere, elevated by excellent sound design, from cavernous groans and piercing cues, to a score leaning on familiar horror motifs – atonal strings, for instance – without losing effectiveness. Alongside character-driven tension, it’s in these stiller moments where the game shines, and Supermassive delivers its suffocating themes of trust and paranoia with confidence.

The studio’s ambition isn’t always matched by execution, with stealth encounters rarely delivering on their promise of vulnerability. Occasionally, flat facial animations and performance stutters further dilute the experience, the former especially jarring as so much character interaction relies on interrogating expressions and mannerisms. But then, saying that, the game underdelivers on its mimic concept overall. They could be among us, but – on my playthrough at least – they rarely revealed themselves.

Even with its inconsistencies, Directive 8020 marks a compelling step forward for The Dark Pictures Anthology, trading the series’ identity for an immersive, real-time leap.

This game was reviewed on PlayStation 5.

Supermassive has worked across horror for years, but Directive 8020 feels like a bigger shift into sci-fi survival horror. How much did that genre change the team’s storytelling and design processes?

The Dark Pictures were always intended to develop new gameplay with each new entry in the series. With Directive 8020, we took a little bit longer than usual to iterate on our gameplay mechanics and raise the quality bar for the ongoing series. As part of this, we wanted to broaden our audience by including more “on the sticks” gameplay while preserving the narrative, branching drama that we’re so well known for. The game has a very interesting pace – you have these spikes of “lean forward” action where your survival is dependent on your own controls, with dips of “lean back” interactive drama where you can catch a breath. It’s important for us that we keep our games as accessible as possible, so gamers can always tailor their experience to their liking using difficulty settings. If you find that the “lean forward” sections are too hard, it’s even possible to make your character invulnerable for those moments.

"The Dark Pictures were always intended to develop new gameplay with each new entry in the series."

The sci-fi setting opens up different kinds of fear than your previous games. What unique opportunities did space, isolation, and the mimic-style alien threat create for horror?

Each Dark Picture game explores a different subgenre of horror, but this is the first time we’ve delved into sci-fi horror. Our story draws on many beloved sci-fi sources, but perhaps most of all, we were inspired by John Carpenter’s “The Thing.” We wanted to create a shape-shifting alien which could pose as a human and infiltrate your ship’s crew, causing you to question who among them you could really trust.

I think space is truly terrifying as you’re effectively locked in a tin can, surrounded by death! Everything beyond the walls of your bubble is hostile to human life. This makes it a perfect setting for a horror story.

Setting the game in space gives us so many opportunities to create feelings of dread (and wonder!). While it’s so vast, it is also intimate, as you’re cooped up together in a vessel. Claustrophobia and isolation are key feelings too.

Scifi was interesting for us, as in the past, we’ve often centred our stories around teen horror. For this one, we wanted to tell a story about scientists using their heads to solve their problems. It’s a very different tone.

As the fifth Dark Pictures game, how standalone is Directive 8020 for newcomers, and what connective tissue still matters for longtime fans of the anthology?

Directive 8020 is a stand-alone title in that you don’t need to have played our previous games to enjoy it, but it’s set in the same shared world as our other titles and is very much a Dark Pictures game. There are plenty of Easter Eggs and connective tissue in the game that reinforce this. I can’t say much more without spoiling!

For Directive 8020, we have settled on the tagline “A Dark Pictures Game”, which tells our fans that it is part of the shared universe, without suggesting that it is an essential follow-on to other games in the series.

We had feedback that many newcomers thought that they had to play through our games sequentially – partially due to terms like “Season.” So, we wanted to ensure that our messaging is clear for our audiences.

"There are plenty of Easter Eggs and connective tissue in the game that reinforce this."

Turning Points is one of the game’s biggest new ideas. What problem were you trying to solve with that feature, and how did you make sure it adds flexibility without undercutting tension?

Our main goal with Turning Points was to show players how much branching there is in the game and let them easily jump back to decision points to make the experience of exploring the story as graceful as possible. In essence, it is a visual map of the story that shows your path through the story – by selecting turning points, you can “rewind” your story to redo your choices. We know people often give our games multiple playthroughs to find out all the different branches. So, it’s just really showing players that there’s an easier way to access these different points.

Choices are really important in our games – the magic of our game structure is that the story keeps rolling even if characters die when you make the wrong decision. But we also know that some players will stop playing when their beloved character dies. With rewinds, we’re giving them the opportunity to explore the story freely.

Many of our players love that classic “no second chances” style: if they want to play the original way, where every choice is irreversible, we have a Survivor mode playstyle mode that lets them see the decision tree but turns off rewinds.

Survivor Mode seems aimed at players who want the classic no-safety-net Dark Pictures experience. How important was it to preserve that old-school pressure alongside Turning Points?

It’s really important to us that players can play Directive 8020 how they like. We want to be respectful of their time. Some players will really appreciate the ability to rewind or explore different branches in the story – and they will really like Turning Points. Our testing with the system has really surprised us with how popular it is, even on first playthroughs.

However, we also know that many players will want the classic experience. This decision pressure is something that resonates with many of our players. Survivor mode is for them, and we expect this will be a popular mode too, especially on first playthrough.

"It’s really important to us that players can play Directive 8020 how they like."

Directive 8020 appears to push more into real-time danger, stealth, and direct threat management than earlier anthology entries. How far were you willing to evolve the formula without losing the studio’s core identity?

The key reason is we wanted to keep upping the fear. There’s nothing scarier than when you are being hunted by a creature in real time. However, a lot of hide-and-seek games can feel pretty relentless – for us, we wanted to sprinkle these moments through the game to create a unique tempo. They’re intentionally quite simple. It’s really not a hardcore stealth game.

Directive 8020 is more hands-on than our previous titles, but it still features impossible dilemmas, intense cinematic drama, secrets, and everything else you love from our previous Dark Pictures games.

Movie Night returns with up to five-player couch co-op, and online multiplayer is planned as a free update after launch. How did you approach the social side of horror this time around?

Couch co-op is our classic “Movie Night” experience, where up to five players take turns controlling the cast and play the game together to survive the story. In couch co-op, you only need one controller, which is passed around the room as different turns come into play. This has always been our most popular multiplayer mode, so we wanted to bring it online for the first time and allow players to get together with friends wherever they are. This online mode is looking really good but we just need a little longer to finish it.

So, Directive 8020 will launch with offline couch co-op play, with the online version following as a free update soon after. One of the cool things that online couch co-op play supports is multiple users on the same connection – for example, you could have two people playing on one machine, connected to three people playing on another. We call this “bringing living rooms together” and we expect it to be quite popular!

"Directive 8020 is more hands-on than our previous titles"

Were there any lessons from The Quarry or earlier Dark Pictures titles that directly shaped how you approached pacing, character control, or replayability here?

We are always learning and improving the art of telling branching narrative stories. Each story has a different narrative shape, and each learns in some ways from those that came before. We’ve experimented with extremely branching stories – Man of Medan is an example of this – and we’ve tried more focused stories like Little Hope. It’s important that each story is shaped differently to avoid predictability.

In Directive 8020, the end of the story has one of the most unpredictable setups we’ve ever made. For the final episode, practically any combination of characters is possible – it’s even possible to have just one survivor for the entire episode. It’s also possible to end the story half-way through the game in a calamitous event we call the “death spiral.”

For pacing, we were mindful that a good game story needs regular spikes of action. In Directive 8020, this was one of the reasons for us including “flash forward” scenes to up the tempo in the earlier stages of the story.

Replayability was the reason for including Turning Points. We trialled a similar system in the Casting of Frank Stone, but Directive 8020 has really honed it into something special.

The “trust no one” premise seems central to the story. How do you build paranoia into both the writing and the player’s decision-making without making outcomes feel random?

It was important to make the mimics in our story very good imitators – we didn’t want them to speak or act in a distinct way that would make them too easy to identity. There are certain “tells” that the player can pick up on (which I’m not going to spoil here!) but on the whole, they are good at their job!

The shape-shifting aspect of our creatures is a really fun part of the story, but it’s not the whole story – the organism goes through various stages across the game, with some forms much more monstrous. We really leaned into body horror for some of these moments!

"There are certain “tells” that the player can pick up on (which I’m not going to spoil here!) but on the whole, they are good at their job!"

What were the biggest creative influences behind the setting and story? Were you looking more to classic sci-fi horror, modern survival horror, or something else entirely?

John Carpenter’s “The Thing” was probably the big inspiration, but the story also draws on movies like Aliens, Sunshine, Life – and books, including H.P. Lovecraft’s “Mountains of Madness.” Our games are very cinematic, so we’re always asking ourselves “how would this happen in a movie?”. It’s a good guiding light.

The PS5 Pro version has already been detailed publicly with PSSR, ray tracing, and other enhancements. How much do those visual gains matter specifically for horror, where mood and legibility are both so important?

It’s hugely important – lighting matters in horror much more than in other genres. Quality of visuals is also very important for creating a sense of believability. That suspension of disbelief is vital for creating meaningful fear.

Replayability has always mattered in your games, but Directive 8020 feels especially built around revisiting branches and outcomes. How many substantially different playthroughs do you think players can realistically get out of it?

We have a range of choices, some small, some large, that impact the outcome of your story throughout. Some of our outcomes are based on “compound choices” i.e. the sum of multiple choices. Each character, for example, has two different “destiny” moments that are unlocked through traits that can only be changed by conversations with other crew members. At the end of the game, we also have some fairly major ending outcomes. There is also a “hidden link” to one of our previous games that only unlocks if a certain character survives…

As a colony ship, they crash on Tau Ceti f during a survey operation. As if things couldn’t get any worse, a mysterious alien life-form pursues the crew. You would think its ability to tear them limb from limb is bad enough, but it can also shapeshift and assume their appearances, throwing off the rest and sowing distrust.

Your decisions on who to trust could end up deciding the fate of the remaining colonists on board. Of course, failure states are far less binary this time, determined instead by bonds between the crew. And if things happen to go very wrong, you can use the new Turning Points system to revisit previous important decisions and choose another path.

Directive 8020 is available for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC. Check out our feature for everything you should know about it, including how its gameplay differs from Supermassive’s traditional narrative titles.

Featuring five different playable characters that you’ll switch between throughout, Directive 8020 is about a colony ship called the Cassiopeia. It ends up crashing on Tau Ceti f, where the awakened crew encounters a shape-shifting organism that actively hunts them. With the ability to mimic any member of the crew, players will need to discern who’s real and make decisions that could affect the well-being of the others in cryo-sleep.

While offering more action and stealth mechanics than its predecessors, Directive 8020 also features new narrative mechanics like Turning Points. These allow for going back to pivotal decisions and taking a different route – perfect for whenever your favorite character dies (and if you play your cards wrong, they will die).

For more details on Directive 8020, check out our feature. You can also learn more about its PS5 Pro enhancements and how ray tracing makes the experience that much more terrifying.

Most Ambitious Dark Pictures Game Yet

Each entry in The Dark Pictures Anthology is built on cinematic, b-movie immersion, and morally grey, choice-led gameplay, and, generally, the series’ reputation is strong. That said, occasionally stunted dialogue, repetitive QTEs, and an over-reliance on predictable horror tropes leave room for improvement. With Directive 8020, Supermassive Games are set to deliver the most ambitious Dark Pictures game yet by pivoting to real-time survival horror. Supported by enhanced visual fidelity, Directive 8020 is bringing tension and nuance beyond anything the series has produced before.

High-Stakes Narrative

In a future where Earth is dying, a team of astronauts are sent on a scouting mission to a possibly habitable planet twelve light-years away. With humanity’s survival in their hands, the stakes are already high long before things take a turn for the worse. Directive 8020’s story is set up to deliver an emotional gut punch, where not only the fate of individuals rests on your actions but the whole of mankind.

A Crew With Purpose

Unlike previous Dark Pictures entries centred on loosely connected individuals, Directive 8020 puts you in command of a team of highly trained astronauts. For this mission of immense importance, each member has been carefully selected, with their professionalism shaping both their behaviour and the decisions you’ll make for them. However, years of training and expertise are soon out the door once their ship crashlands, and their reality spirals into something truly harrowing. Each has their own personal reason for joining the ship’s crew too. It’ll be interesting to see how they reconcile their individual motivations once colleagues start dying.

More Than Colleagues

Actually, on that note, the crewmates of Directive 8020 aren’t just co-workers thrown together. These relationships run deeper, with familial ties, shared trauma, and long-standing friendships influencing how they interact. You’ll likely wonder how deep their allegiances go during gameplay too, whether they have any hidden agendas, or if they’ll betray their ally to protect themselves. This adds emotional weight, meaning every decision has an impact. Plus, there could be some explosive moments throughout the game once the crew’s trust begins to fracture.

Lashana Lynch Leads the Cast

The central character, Brianna Young, is played by Lashana Lynch, who brings a strong presence to Directive 8020’s story. Coming from a lineage of celebrated spacefarers, Young grapples with her own identity, struggling to identify the type of person she is against the expectations set by her family history. Young, however, isn’t alone in providing an introspection; numerous characters, from Commander Stafford’s prestige spirit, to Science Officer Anders’ relatively unknown origin, suggest unseen and unexpected directions the game’s branching narrative can follow.

A Shapeshifting Threat

Drawing clear inspiration from John Carpenter’s The Thing, the danger lurking on the crew’s marooned planet isn’t just deadly, but deceptive. This alien force can mimic human forms, its most illusory guise a near-identical replica of its subject. In fact, you’ll find yourself face-to-face with unknown copies throughout with only subtle identifiers in your arsenal if you’ve paid attention; studying turns of phrase, mannerisms, and more, will make the difference between survival and disaster.

Your Choices Shape the Wider Story

As with all Dark Pictures games so far, the decisions you make throughout Directive 8020’s story will determine who lives and who dies. However, this time around, there appears to be more nuance in the repercussions of your choices. These won’t be simple, binary outcomes, but your choices will influence character arcs over time. A decision you make in one moment could have drastic consequences for someone else later.

Turning Points System

What’s more, if you want to relive a particular dilemma, now you can: Turning Points is an all-new feature, allowing you to rewind time to revisit pivotal moments via a visual, branching story tree. You can experience sections that you missed, change your decisions, or suffer a fresh set of consequences, especially if you’re trying to keep your favourite character alive.

Expanded Lore, Collectibles, and Conspiracies

Exploration remains a core pillar of Directive 8020’s gameplay, but this time Supermassive has embedded a host of thematically significant collectibles which flesh out environmental storytelling and series backstory. More specifically, there is centuries of Dark Pictures lore to discover – the circumstances leading to Earth’s downfall since the chronologically most-recent game in the anthology, for instance – plus a special, “conspiracy” category of collectible which unfurl some nefarious motives behind the corporation who’ve invested heavily in the mission.

Movie Night and Multiplayer Options

If you prefer not to play alone, Supermassive has you covered. Movie Night mode returns in Directive 8020, where up to five of you can pass the controller between yourselves and share the burden of decision making together. As for online multiplayer, the developer has confirmed that this is planned as a free post-launch update.

Release Date, Platforms, and Price

Directive 8020 is scheduled for release on May 12th, and will be available on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam. The Digital Edition is priced at £39.99 / $49.99, with physical editions retailing slightly higher, depending on outlet. Also, at present (although subject to change), Digital Deluxe upgrades are currently being bundled into every pre-order.

Digital Deluxe Edition

Directive 8020’s Digital Deluxe Edition arrives with a handful of welcome bonuses: outfit packs, comprising cosmetics inspired by earlier Dark Pictures titles; filter packs to adjust the game’s cinematic aesthetic; a bonus mission, digital artbook, and officially licensed soundtrack.

Built in Unreal Engine 5

Given its track record for patchy performance, Directive 8020 being built in Unreal Engine 5 might not instil you with confidence. However, undeniable is the atmospheric detail the game engine facilitates: skin textures, hair rendering, and facial animation, in particular, all support the game’s bubbling tension, whilst lighting – together with sound arguably most integral to conjuring fear – bathes sterile, suffocating spaces with clinical fluorescence. Let’s just hope Supermassive has had ample opportunity to optimise in the engine.

Advanced PC and PS5 Pro Features

If you’re playing on PC, and if your hardware is up to it, you can take advantage of DLSS 4.5, including support for 6x Multi-Frame Generation, alongside path tracing. On the console side, PS5 Pro brings Sony’s PSSR upscaling tech, advanced ray tracing, and dynamic shadows. These features will deepen the game’s emotional impact through detail and clarity.

PC Requirements

To run Directive 8020 on your PC, at a minimum you’ll need an Intel Core i5-8500 or AMD Ryzen 5 3500 CPU, and a GeForce RTX 2060 or AMD Radeon RX 5700 GPU. To experience the game at its absolute pinnacle, recommended PC specs detail an Intel Core i5-12400F or AMD Ryzen 5 5600X CPU and GeForce RTX 3070 Ti or AMD Radeon RX 6800 GPU. Whatever your setup, you’ll also need 16GB RAM and 40GB storage space.

Forza Horizon 6

Almost five years since we bade farewell to the Horizon Festival, but this time it returns in perhaps the most anticipated location in the series – Japan. Relaxing drives through avenues of Sakura trees in Spring, frenetic Touge battles down winding mountain roads, or just hanging out at Daikoku, showing off your vehicle to all and sundry – that’s only the start. Forza Horizon 6 offers two major avenues to cement your legacy – exploration, gradually defogging Japan and discovering Aftermarket Cars, or racing through the ranks to become a Horizon Legend. Beyond everything else, however, it’s your journey. Fill up the scrapbook with memories. Outfit your garage and build out a base. The choice is yours when it launches on May 19th for PC and Xbox Series X/S.

Directive 8020

Say what you will about The Thing, but it reinforced a deep space fear that continues to resonate through gaming – that someone on your crew isn’t who you think they are. Cue Directive 8020 from Supermassive Games, which focuses on the colony ship Cassiopeia as it crashlands on Tau Ceti f. But things take a turn when a horrifying shapeshifting organism begins hunting the crew. Compared to previous Dark Pictures entries, there’s a bigger focus on stealth and combat, not to mention carefully discerning who’s who. Don’t worry if you choose wrong, though, since Turning Points offers a do-over. Directive 8020 launches on May 12th for Xbox Series X/S, PC, and PS5, and after such a long wait, we’re ready to be terrified.

MOTORSLICE

Between monsters, robots, zombies and everything in between, who would have thought that construction equipment could be a threat? That’s the premise of MOTORSLICE, which is all about P and her chainsaw-wielding, parkouring self as she battles these massive threats in a post-apocalyptic world. But then there’s the megastructure – a winding, brutalist space that goes on forever. With its minimalistic art style and unorthodox premise, MOTORSLICE could serve up some hack-and-slash platforming goodness when it launches on May 5th.

WILL: Follow The Light

Unreal Engine 5 and adventure games go together about as well as…just about any other genre, honestly, but WILL: Follow the Light has a different aura about it. In a way, it reminds us of The Vanishing of Ethan Carter with its atmosphere, except you’re controlling a father who embarks on a journey to return home and find his son. It’s a tough task, especially when traversing by sea, crossing mountains and confronting the ghosts of the past. Maybe it could be a dark horse in gorgeous narrative adventures. Maybe not. Either way, we’ll find out on May 7th.

Luna Abyss

A game after my own bullet hell-loving heart, Kwalee Labs’ first-person shooter sees you banished to prison on Luna and tasked to venture into the Abyss for some “forgotten technology.” Enter the cosmic horrors, which aren’t known for being deep sleepers (or quiet dreamers), unfortunately, and you’ll have to slowly unravel the mystery of Greymont, clinging onto sanity the entire time. Having thoroughly enjoyed Saros and Metal Eden, I’m keen on diving into Luna Abyss and its crimson-tinged interiors when it launches on May 21st for PC.

Bubsy 4D

Bubsy is officially back, and no one is safe. Launching on May 22nd across every platform, Bubsy 4D sees the orange furball embarking on a new 3D adventure across 15 new levels. And it looks…not bad? Pretty sleek even, right down to the legally distinct “rolling around at the speed of sound” ability. While the prospect of the game as a metacommentary on Bubsy’s reputation is interesting enough, this looks like a genuinely compelling 3D platformer. Color us intrigued, if nothing else.

007 First Light

You only live twice, as a world-famous 00 agent once said, and thanks to IO Interactive, we’ll have the opportunity to look at death through the eyes of a younger, brasher, less cynical James Bond. First Light sees him enter MI6 to earn 00 status, but amid the charming arrogance is a desire to prove himself, and maybe surpass his limits. The building blocks of Hitman are all here – exquisite sandbox environments with numerous opportunities for stealth – but Bond goes beyond Agent 47’s capabilities in every way you’d expect. Parkour, sneaking, bluffing his way past guards and staff, clever usage of Q’s gadgets – and when “license to kill” is active, gunning down anyone that stands in his way with an array of weaponry and CQC tactics. And just straight up throwing empty guns at an enemy’s face. All’s fair in the world of super spies when 007 First Light launches on May 27th.

Thick as Thieves

A new stealth game from Warren Spector and Paul Neurath, whose credits include Deus Ex and Thief, respectively? Say less. Its alternate-history 1910s city and procedurally generated mission layout, which encourages quick thinking and improvisation, initially left us skeptical due to the PvEvP element. But that’s been changed to focus more on single-player and co-op, delivering an experience befitting the Thief legacy, as you hone your skills to become a legend in the business. Thick as Thieves is available on May 20th for PC.

Deep Rock Galactic: Rogue Core

Have you ever seen all the Deep Rock Galactic praise, heard all the calls of “rock and stone,” but could still never really get into it? Maybe a roguelite spin-off will do the trick. Entering early access on May 20th, Rogue Core focuses on the Reclaimers squad, which the Company calls in when there are some serious threats. In every run, you’ll need to make use of any weapons along the way while battling the Core Spawn and improving your skills. With how much work has gone on since its October 2023 announcement, one can only hope that Rogue Core lives up to the original’s brilliance.

Yoshi and the Mysterious Book

Nintendo hasn’t necessarily managed to recreate the magic of Yoshi’s Island, but the Mysterious Book could be a cosy, easy-breezy platformer, much like Yoshi’s Crafted World. The premise this time involves venturing through the pages of Mr E, where Yoshi meets different creatures. Harness their abilities on top of the usual gliding, egg-hurling, and sprinting that the series is known for, and voila (hopefully). Yoshi and the Mysterious Book launches on May 21st, exclusively for Nintendo Switch 2.

LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight

Freshen up on your knowledge of the Dark Knight because Batman returns to the video game world on May 22nd. Granted, it’s in LEGO form, but Legacy of the Dark Knight is going out of its way to pull from every single piece of Batman media in existence, from multiple Batmobile types to the bizarre Batmite outfit. If that vast open-world of Gotham, coupled with the Arkham series’ Free Flow combat, wasn’t enough, there are seven other characters, including Catwoman, Nightwing, Robin and more to play as.

ZERO PARADES: For Dead Spies

Yes, it’s not exactly all that appealing considering the whole ZA/UM business and how the original Disco Elysium creators were ousted. There’s really no getting around that particular detail. Still, if you’re in the mood for something in the same vein, albeit with an espionage bent and exerting yourself as operant Hershel Wilke, caught up in a conflict between three factions, Zero Parades may suffice when it launches on May 21st for PC.

Better Than Dead

Bodycam first-person shooters are no longer all that new as a concept, but embarking on a quest for vengeance in Hong Kong, hunting down targets while ensuring no one ends up like you? That immediately skyrockets Better Than Dead for us, and the obvious influence of old-school Hong Kong action films just adds that extra bit of hard-boiled grit. It enters early access for PC on May 12th.

Dark Light: Survivor

You’ve swapped between first and third person in Resident Evil Requiem, but how about top-down and third-person (or even between realistic and pixel-like visuals)? That’s one of the many quirks of Dark Light: Survivor, a roguelike survival where you venture on the Phantom Train, venturing through a terrifying multiverse, gathering resources to keep the engine running. Two maps are available when early access launches on May 15th alongside Artifacts, persistent upgrades, weapons, and more. It may be all about the destination, but right now, the journey of Dark Light: Survivor is shaping up into something intriguing.

Withering Realms

From the developer behind the unsettling Withering Rooms comes Withering Realms, where you control a creepy doll ferrying a ghost, as they venture through Penwyll – a town where surely nothing horrible resides. “Bloodborne” is obviously the first influence to come to mind, but the hack and slash action, perspective, and visuals lend an almost Nightmare Creatures vibe to it all. Withering Realms launches into early access in May, and, surprisingly, will be playable from start to finish with plans for 1.0 to launch later this year.

And in a landscape where many games compete on the number of marketing bullet points, that sense of clarity could end up being its biggest strength. Directive 8020 doesn’t immediately present itself as the biggest game of 2026, or even a notable release – but the more you examine what it’s trying to achieve, the clearer it becomes that it has the potential to dominate conversation in a completely different way.

A lot of that potential starts from its narrative foundation, which appears to be built around themes of isolation, uncertainty, and human fragility under pressure. Set in a high-stakes sci-fi scenario, Directive 8020 places players in a situation where survival is never guaranteed, and where the biggest threat isn’t always obvious. What makes this setup especially compelling is how much emphasis it places on player choice. It’s not surprising for anyone familiar with Supermassive games, but this is a story that adapts and reacts, allowing decisions to shape the trajectory of events in meaningful ways.

Characters aren’t just part of the narrative – but they are variables within it. Relationships can evolve, fracture, or collapse entirely depending on how situations are handled, and that level of reactivity transforms the story into something deeply personal.

That personal nature is what gives Directive 8020 an edge. In many narrative-driven games, the element of choice exists – but it often feels limited to small variations that ultimately lead to the same outcome. But with this game, the scope is much broader since the decisions carry weight, not just in terms of immediate consequences – but also how they ripple across the entire experience.

A moment of hesitation, a risky call, or even a seemingly minor interaction could have long-term effects that reshape the story in unexpected ways. That unpredictability is crucial, because it ensures that players remain engaged on a deeper level. You’re not just progressing through a story – but you’re actively responsible for shaping it while playing the game.

The game’s approach to mechanics reinforces that philosophy, and that’s not something that most developers would dare to do in today’s day and age. Directive 8020 doesn’t appear to rely heavily on traditional combat systems or power fantasies. Instead, it seems to prioritize decision-making under pressure. Moments of danger aren’t simply about reacting quickly or executing precise inputs – but those constraints force you to mak judgments.

What do you do in a crisis? Who do you trust? What risks are worth taking, and which ones could cost you everything? Even if there are action-oriented sequences, they seem designed to support the overall tension rather than define it. There’s no fail state; one wrong decision and you have to stay and bear the consequences. That shift in focus makes a significant difference because it ensures that every moment feels meaningful.

The gameplay isn’t just something you perform; it’s something you think through, constantly weighing options and consequences.This design philosophy opens the door for a kind of emergent storytelling that few games can fully capitalize on. Rather than relying on scripted sequences to create memorable moments, Directive 8020 appears to generate them organically through its systems. The most powerful experiences in a game like this don’t come from pre-written set pieces – but they come from situations where everything could have gone drastically differently. A last-second decision that saves one character at the expense of another, a misjudgment that leads to an irreversible outcome, or a risky move that pays off in unexpected ways – these are the moments that players remember and talk about. They’re also the moments that give the game an element of longevity, because they encourage replayability and discussion.

That element of replayability is most likely going to be one of Directive 8020’s biggest strengths. When a game is built around branching outcomes and player-driven narratives, it naturally invites multiple playthroughs. But more importantly, it creates a shared space for discussion. Players don’t just talk about the game, but they talk about their version of the game.

They compare choices, debate outcomes, and explore alternative paths. That kind of engagement extends far beyond the initial release window, keeping the game relevant long after the credits roll. In an industry where attention moves quickly, that ability to sustain conversation can help make the game a lot more popular in a really organic fashion.

The setting of Directive 8020 is not just cosmetic, but it holds a lot of weight in terms of accenutating the element of tension and unpredictability. A confined, high-stakes sci-fi environment is the perfect backdrop for such high-stakes moment, and Directive 8020 seems to be using that to its advantage. You see, isolation amplifies every decision, making even small actions feel significant. There’s a constant sense of vulnerability, a feeling that things could go wrong at any moment.

The environment isn’t just a backdrop – it’s the most crucial character that helps in shaping how players perceive risk and safety. That sense of place is essential for immersion, and it’s something the game appears to be prioritizing heavily.

Supermassive Games has always been known for standout visual quality, and Directive 8020 is no different. The environments appear detailed and carefully constructed, with a focus on lighting, atmosphere, and spatial design to create a sense of realism. Directive 8020 doesn’t try to overwhelm the player with visual spectacle, but focuses on crafting spaces that feel believable and immersive. Environmental storytelling plays a big role here, with small details spread throughout levels and well-placed props hinting at larger narratives. This approach aligns well with the game’s overall design philosophy, reinforcing the idea that every element should contribute to the experience rather than distract from it.

Another factor that could contribute to its success is its pacing. Many modern games struggle with maintaining a consistent rhythm, often leaning too heavily on constant action or, conversely, dragging out quieter moments. Directive 8020 appears to be aiming for a more balanced approach, allowing tension to build naturally before releasing it in carefully timed bursts, and we know that Supermassive is great at creating that infectious rhythm. Of course, that kind of pacing is essential for horror and suspense-driven experiences because it ensures that moments of intensity feel earned rather than forced.

Of course, the success of any game, including this one, ultimately depends on execution. The systems that enable player choice need to feel meaningful and not superficial. The narrative needs to remain coherent even as it branches in multiple directions. The tension needs to be sustained without becoming repetitive. These are significant challenges even for a veteran developer, but if Directive 8020 manages to overcome them, the payoff could be substantial.

What makes Directive 8020 especially exciting is the possibility that it could become an organic hit. As previously mentioned, games that generate strong player-driven stories often spread organically, with players sharing their experiences and encouraging others to try it for themselves. We have seen similar things happen to titles like Breath of the Wild or Valheim, and many more games have found their way into the very fabric of pop culture. It’s not just about initial sales – but about staying relevant, about continuing to be part of the conversation weeks and months after launch, which will help Directive 8020 in the long run.

To conclude, the biggest factor that sets Directive 8020 apart is its confidence in its own identity. It knows what kind of experience it wants to deliver, and it builds everything around that core idea. In an industry where many games try to do everything at once, that kind of focus is refreshing. It allows the game to refine its strengths, to ensure that every element serves a purpose. This is precisely why Directive 8020 is shaping up to be one of the biggest games of 2026.

Not because it’s the most expansive or the most technically ambitious, but because it has the potential to leave a lasting impression. If it delivers on its promise, it won’t just be another release in a crowded year, but it will be one of the games that define the year.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.