Genre: Third person/Interactive survival horror drama
Modes: Single-player, Co-Op, Multiplayer (releases on a later date)
Developed by: Supermassive Games
Published by: 2K Games
Release date: June 10th 2022
Platforms: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and Microsoft Windows
Platform I played on: PlayStation 5
Edition of game I played: Deluxe Edition
Spoiler Free: This review is spoiler-free as much as possible and of course won't be revealing any major plot points or twists
The Quarry is another interactive survival-horror drama from the developers behind 2015's Until Dawn and The Dark Pictures Anthology. I managed to get my hands on the deluxe digital edition for PS5 (Thank you 2K and Supermassive Games), which included some bonus content including 3 death rewinds during the first playthrough, a gorefest movie mode, and some pretty neat horror filters including a retro 80's VHS aesthetic filter. Alongside that there's also some cool 80's character outfits coming in July.
Going into it, this was one of my most anticipated games for this year - and it most certainly delivered a little more than I had expected. Despite some minor issues, The Quarry is still a fantastic, fun and gruesome horror experience. With the game confirmed to have 186 unique endings, more than one playthrough is highly recommended for a more full experience. The game is heavily inspired by 1980's horror, but also manages to mesh in tropes from different horror eras - and it's pulled off quite nicely. There's a lot to say about this horror title, so let's just dive right into it starting with the game's story.
Story
Picking up from the end of Summer camp, The Quarry follows 9 camp counsellors in the remote forests of Upstate New York, who are forced to stay one more night after something prevents them from being able to leave. This night would prove to be the worst possible time to stay in Hackett's Quarry. What starts off as an innocent, last hurrah bon fire party, soon quickly turns into fighting their way through a hellish nightmare. With no one else around to help them, it's up to the counsellors to figure out what's truly going on and survive (if you let them).
Throughout this 10 hour or so (depending how you play) experience, you'll play as all 9 counsellors; Laura (Siobhan Williams), Max (Skyler Gisondo), Kaitlyn (Brenda Song), Ryan (Justice Smith), Abigail (Ariel Winter), Nick (Evan Evagora), Dylan (Miles Robbins), Emma (Halston Sage) and Jacob (Zach Tinker). Alongside this ensemble talented cast, it also includes David Arquette who plays Chris, among other excellent talent in this game.
The story starts as a bit of a slow burner in the first few chapters, but once it gets going, it really gets going. With a life or death situation right around the corner, it's up to you to make the crucial decisions as each character whether they live or die, and ultimately whether other characters will live or die depending on your choices. Each choice can also change your relationship with characters, as well as character development throughout. There's a good amount of humour scattered throughout the game with character banter, line deliveries and character actions (which I genuinely did chuckle at a few times). As well as this, the chemistry between the characters feels authentic and genuine, with each character having a unique personality and bringing in an excellent group dynamic.
Other than some minor pacing issues during ACT II and some anti climatic moments, the story overall is still a fun horror experience. The twists are worth experiencing for yourself, and avoiding spoilers if you can.
Gameplay
The gameplay consists of button mashing, QTE'S with the analog stick, walking, aiming, and shooting with the R2 button. QTE'S and controls doesn't quite have the challenge or the high intensity that previous Supermassive Game titles have had, but ultimately the controls are still fine, quick and are responsive. There's also a range of accessibility options, which as always is awesome so more people can play the game.
Though areas are small when you're walking around as any character, the game still wants you to explore. During your time with the game you'll be able to find a bunch of collectibles including clues, evidence and tarot cards. These tarot cards start to make more sense a little later in the story, and are interesting to read and match what they could mean.
Graphics | Design
Right off the bat, the graphics are incredible and is an enthralling, cinematically rich experience to the point where at times I honestly forgot for a second I was playing a game. The overall art design of the game's mise-en-scene horror aesthetics is crafted flawlessly, and by now Supermassive Games know exactly how to create this environment that reflects that.
Glitches | bugs | issues
Throughout my first playthrough, there were a few hair textures on some characters that sometimes didn't sit quite right on their head, and it kept moving when it shouldn't be. I also had a character towards the end of the game that didn't render in correctly (all I got was a characters hair) or not rendering in at all. While it was genuinely funny and that only happened to me twice, there thankfully weren't any ground breaking glitches or further issues that I came across.
Replay-ability
Honestly one of my favourite aspects of this genre of game is the countless playthroughs, and The Quarry is no different. Seeing all the branching choices, character outcomes, character development and relationships, killing everyone off like a maniac or just keeping everyone alive - there's so many reasons to play it over again. With 186 unique endings for this game in particular, I know I'm keen to see how many different variations I can see, and how different they are.
At the time of writing this review, I'm on my second playthrough - but this time instead of keeping everyone alive and getting one of the good endings, i'll be playing the opposite and instead killing everyone off. Much chaos awaits! (Also to get that sweet, sweet trophy)
Soundtrack
The composer of the soundtrack is Ian Livingstone, who has worked on a few other game titles including most recently Total War: Warhammer III and Forza Horizon 5. The score is perfectly fitting with the games tone and atmosphere, and what's even cooler is that the score sounds like each era of horror film from 80's until contemporary time. At the time of writing this review, The Quarry score/soundtrack isn't currently on Spotify or YouTube. The licensed soundtrack is also good and worth checking out. With music ranging from artists such as Alma Cogan, The Monkees and Ariana Grande, the soundtrack does deliver variation of music eras.
There's also a cool feature called streamer mode. If you turn this on, it'll replace the licensed tracks to royalty free tracks so you can stream the game without the stress of copyright strikes. If you play with this setting off, it plays the licensed soundtrack.
Modes
Alongside the traditional single player, the game also features movie mode and couch Co-Op. There's also a multiplayer mode in the works, but that won't be finished until July.
Movie mode features predetermined outcomes where either everyone lives, everyone dies and the directors chair that let's you adjust each character's direction - from whether they'll hide or run in a situation, to how skilled they are with being under pressure. You can be as nice or as chaotic as you like.
The added on movie mode with deluxe edition includes gorefest mode, which plays out the most gruesome scenes in the game. With local couch Co-Op, you can play with up to 7 players, which sounds extremely fun and chaotic if you're looking for a chill night in with your friends or family.
Conclusion
The story overall is a tiny bit more cheesier to any previous Supermassive Game I have played, especially compared to Until Dawn, but that's by no means a bad thing - just an observation. It's not over the top or out of place, it's just the perfect dose of B-movie horror. Aside from some minor issues, every other aspect of the game made this an incredible horror experience. From the narrative that keeps you on edge, to having the fate of every character in the palm of your hands, The Quarry is a game I can highly recommend to both old and new horror fans alike. If you're just looking for a good horror to sink your teeth into, look no further than The Quarry.
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