The Quarry (video game)
A spiritual successor to Until Dawn with 186 possible endings.
Supermassive Games and 2K released The Quarry in 2022, an interactive horror drama where players guide nine teenage counselors through a final night at Hackett’s Quarry summer camp. Facing supernatural threats and violent locals, every choice impacts character survival, relationships, and the story’s outcome. A spiritual successor to Until Dawn, it borrows from slasher and monster films like Friday the 13th and The Thing.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- Supermassive Games
- Publisher
- 2K
- Director
- Will Byles
- Producer
- Michael Burnham
- Rick Blanco
- Selen Ceri
- Designer
- Nik Bowen, Dan Hooley
- Programmer
- Michael Bailey
- Artist
- Liam Grice
- Writer
- Graham Reznick
- Will Byles
- Alex Farnham
Facts from the source article.
Gameplay
The game is played from a third-person perspective, with the player controlling nine teenagers who must survive a night at Hackett's Quarry. Decisions made by the player affect character development, plot, and relationships between characters. All nine playable characters can die in multiple ways, and early deaths may shorten the game's roughly ten-hour length. The game is divided into ten chapters, plus a prologue and epilogue. Between chapters, a fortune teller named Eliza addresses the player directly and guides future choices using tarot cards collected during gameplay. The branching storyline leads to 186 different endings, influenced by player choices, quick-time event performance, and evidence found. After the first playthrough, Death Rewind is unlocked, allowing the player to undo three character deaths in subsequent playthroughs. Players can disable elements like button mashing and quick-time events. Local multiplayer lets players take turns controlling characters, while online multiplayer allows up to seven other players to vote on key decisions. A movie mode lets the player set character personality traits and let the story play out automatically. Downloadable content includes early access to Death Rewind and an 80s throwback outfit mode.
Development and release
Supermassive Games, a British studio, created The Quarry as a spiritual follow-up to their 2015 title Until Dawn. The game draws heavily from teen slasher and monster movies, leaning into classic horror film conventions more directly than the studio's other series, The Dark Pictures Anthology. Creative director Will Byles explained that although the story takes place in the present, the setting and characters carry a distinct 1980s vibe, with Sleepaway Camp and Friday the 13th serving as key references. The rural residents around Hackett's Quarry were given a retro feel, inspired by The Hills Have Eyes, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and Deliverance, while Evil Dead and The Thing also influenced the team. The developers aimed to mix horror tropes from various decades, with Byles likening the experience to a horror theme park. They applied lessons from Until Dawn to build suspense gradually instead of relying on frequent jump scares. To capture the essence of classic horror, Supermassive assembled a large cast including David Arquette, Lin Shaye, Lance Henriksen, and Grace Zabriskie, and worked with Digital Domain on motion capture. The script ran over 1,000 pages. A Movie mode was added, along with expanded multiplayer options, to attract viewers and casual players, with accessibility features for less experienced gamers. Compared to The Dark Pictures Anthology, The Quarry targets a wider audience and puts less emphasis on gameplay.
Reception
The Quarry received generally favorable reviews on PC and Xbox Series X/S, while the PS5 version received mixed or average reviews on Metacritic. Destructoid praised its ability to fluctuate between tension, drama, and levity. Game Informer lamented limited player agency but praised the quality of choices and narrative. GameRevolution thought highly of character development, graphics, Movie Mode, and branching narrative, but found exploration slow and the camera claustrophobic. GamesRadar+ noted a slow beginning, pacing issues, and an excessively large cast, but praised engaging plot points, voicework, and graphics. GameSpot praised the dialogue, cast, love for horror, and weight of choices, but criticized walking speed and pacing. IGN favored the script and cast but disliked the lack of interactivity and missing quality-of-life features. PC Gamer felt the game retained the developer's strengths but showed improvement only in production values. Shacknews praised branching storylines, characters, homages, and scares, but noted issues with the fixed camera and inability to fast-forward on repeat playthroughs. The Guardian gave it four out of five stars, calling it an engrossing horror caper often at its best when not actively played.
Frequently Asked Questions
When was The Quarry (video game) released?
The Quarry was released on 10 June 2022.
What platforms is The Quarry (video game) available on?
The Quarry was released for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and Xbox Cloud Gaming.
Who designed The Quarry (video game)?
The Quarry was designed by Nik Bowen and Dan Hooley.
Who composed the music for The Quarry (video game)?
The music for The Quarry was composed by Ian Livingstone.
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