Directive 8020 Review Calls 7-Hour PS5 Thriller a Supermassive Letdown

2 articles · Updated · Push Square · May 11

Roughly 7 hours aboard the Cassiopeia left the reviewer entertained but underwhelmed, saying Directive 8020 delivers only a fraction of its Alien-meets-The Thing premise.
About seven playable crew members face constant branching choices, deaths and multiple endings, but bland characters, shallow stealth and a dull spaceship setting blunt the tension.
Later chapters improve with stronger twists, grotesque horror and a few standout identity-paranoia moments, while a new rewind system feels at odds with delayed consequences and replay-driven design.
PS5 and PS5 Pro performance was stable across 30fps, 60fps and 40fps VRR modes, yet the review joins earlier criticism that Supermassive's latest falls short of Until Dawn's promise.

Is Supermassive's first self-published game a brilliant reinvention or a disastrous gamble that will define its future?

Can an optional 'survivor mode' redeem a horror game whose central mechanic is accused of destroying all tension?

Is Directive 8020’s story an uninspired sci-fi ripoff or a clever narrative twist that early critics have missed?