Pack your sleeping bag, s’mores kit, and anything you may need to fend off sadistic creatures that lurk in the woods because Supermassive Games is returning with The Quarry–a brand new choice-based survival-horror game. Teaming up with publisher 2K, The Quarry serves as the spiritual successor to 2015’s hit game, Until Dawn, and will soon release on June 10th. Featuring similar gameplay and aesthetic elements as Until Dawn, The Quarry is stacked with talent such as Ted Raimi and David Arquette, and boasts a myriad of endings that hinge upon choices that the player(s) make throughout the game. However, while Until Dawn took place in the frigid, treacherous mountains of Washington, The Quarry has completely shifted gears and taken players to the lush, vibrant woods of every kid’s summer camp dreams…or so you think.
Jumping into the preview, I was introduced to exactly what you’d expect from the cast of an 80s camp slasher: Jacob, the goofy yet charming jock, Emma, a popular influencer, and Ryan, the mysterious loner are just a few to name of the counselors that are finishing up their last day at Hackett’s Quarry Summer Camp. From the jump, it’s clear that this is Supermassive Games’ most visually pleasing title to date. Exploring the camp as it’s speckled in pockets of shadows at twilight gives a nostalgic vibe, made ominous by the camp motto “What doesn’t kill you will make you stronger” which seems to punctuate every other interaction between the characters. A motto made even more ominous by the fact that two counselors, Max and Laura, apparently never made it to camp that summer.
As slashers go, lust leads the group to its demise as you control Jacob, who chooses to sabotage the group’s truck–the only way back home–so he can spend one last night with his crush, Emma. Moments before, I was given the option as Ryan to eavesdrop on a conversation that Mr. Hackett was having on the phone. The tidbits of the conversation that I caught made it clear that he wanted the group away from the camp ASAP. Needless to say, he wasn’t thrilled at the revelation that the group was now stranded, and sped off after giving the mysterious order to stay indoors for the night. Does the group listen? Of course not–they decide to throw a rager instead!
Hopping between characters, I explored and investigated Hackett’s Quarry as the group grabs supplies for the night. Playing as Emma, I encountered a pile of camping gear seeping with bloodstains hidden in the camp store, which led me to a brand-new feature now introduced to the series–Evidence. A brief tutorial explains that this time around, players should maintain a keen eye for things around the camp that suggest something suspicious is going on, and even snap a picture of it when possible. This seems to function in two ways: one, whoever survives the night is going to need to explain to the cops why the hell there’s blood and guts spilled all across Hackett’s Quarry, and two, to incentivize for the players to piece together the story and history of the camp. While Emma and Jacob raise their eyebrows at the creepy camping gear, they flippantly chalk it up to Bears Or Something, snatch the beer they set out for and go on their merry way.
Eventually, as night descends upon Hackett’s Quarry, we find the group buzzed and huddling around a bonfire under the full moon. The counselors decide to play a game of truth or dare, which inevitably leads to a smooch fest between those crushing on each other (bonus points as there appears to be a queer romance option–happy Pride Month!), and as you’d expect, some feathers get ruffled in the process and the group separates. This is when the action kicks in, when counselors Nick and Abigail are suddenly ambushed by a strange creature in the woods. Similar to Until Dawn, we aren’t shown exactly what it is that is attacking our unlucky characters this early in the game, but it’s big and ferocious enough to take a chunk out of Nick and injure Abigail in the process despite my best efforts to succeed with every Quick Time Event (QTE).
To make matters worse, when Abigail leaves Nick to look for help and the group returns to patch him up, a strange hick from the woods covered in blood is now trying to drag him away as well. The group manages to fend off the stranger and drag Nick back to camp, who is now a little worse for wear. Based on this, it appears the danger of The Quarry is two-fold–there’s definitely some type of bloodthirsty creature on the prowl in the woods, and also some The Hills Have Eyes-esque dwellers in the woods looming over the counselors as well.
The preview gave me just enough information to not fully divulge the secrets of Hackett’s Quarry, but allow me to start theorizing what’s to come. It very much feels like a different flavor of Until Dawn–the formula, gameplay, and cinematic elements are still there, and any fan of Until Dawn should feel very at-home with it. The addition of accessibility options is very exciting as well; Supermassive Games has clearly listened to fans may be seeking a more casual experience by enabling players to adjust the QTEs to fit their needs, and are even including a full-on cinematic mode where you simply toggle some settings and watch the events unfold hands-off. If you’re on the excited about the 80s comeback in media and especially horror right now, The Quarry will be right up your alley.
The Quarry will be available on most platforms on June 10th, 2022.
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