Supermassive is back to give you a new interactive horror experience. In The Quarry, you’ll follow a group of teenagers going through some horrific events. The developers call this the spiritual success of the critically acclaimed ‘Until Dawn’ but can it live up to this hype? Let’s find out!
A classic horror story
The Quarry follows a rather traditional horror story where a group of teenagers is preparing for the big Summer Camp. It’s the last camp as teenagers so there’s a lot of hype and excitement to spend their last summer together. A shame that it will indeed be the very last summer for some… Before we start exploring the relationships and qualities of the nine teenagers, we take control over Max and Laura who are exploring Hackett’s Quarry, preparing for the upcoming camp. Without spoiling too much, things aren’t always what they seem to be in this mysterious Quarry. There’s far more than meets the eye and rumors of spiritual interference might not be a lie at all. Max and Laura serve as a mysterious introduction to the potential dangers of the Quarry, the real story starts after the prologue, and the real story starts when the group of teenagers is about to leave for their Summer Camp.
Things go south the moment the bus tries to leave for the camp. Due to technical problems, the bus won’t drive to the camp today. Hackett’s Quarry camp director panics and commands the kids to stay in a nearby cabin for the night. Before he drives away in a panic he insists on not leaving the little cabin under any circumstances. It’s here where the story of The Quarry truly starts. Although you’ll be entertained for a couple of hours, the game never goes beyond this initial day and night. It’s your job to keep as many teenagers alive when the sun rises. A task that won’t be that easy…
An interactive movie
Just like other Super Massive games, The Quarry is an interactive experience where you control the faith of the characters by making certain crucial decisions. You can easily compare it to Until Dawn or the more recent Dark Anthology series. This also means that when it comes to the gameplay itself, the game doesn’t really offer intense combat or freedom in controls. Most of the time, you’re just watching the story unfold and making certain decisions along the way. Most of the decisions are made through quick time events, where you need to perform certain tasks (mostly involving some button-pushing) before the time runs out. There are moments when you can roam around freely in claustrophobic environments to solve some light puzzles. Although it won’t be for everyone, I really liked playing The Quarry. I’m a big fan of interactive horror stories but this one certainly raised the bar a bit. Not when it comes to the gameplay elements, it still follows a rather classic formula, a formula the developers invented themselves years ago, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t fun or thrilling the play. The story itself and the modern technology behind it really increases the immersion. I played this on my PlayStation 5 and was extremely pleased with the graphics and level of detail. The actors in the game certainly made a huge impact on the story, making this without a doubt the most realistic horror story to date. If you don’t mind the interactive movie approach, you’re in for the thrill of a lifetime!
Although it might feel like you’re watching a movie, you can’t just leave the controller unattended. Like many other games in the genre, it manages to keep your attention by throwing those infamous quick time events at you at a steady pace. How well you clear those will affect the bond between the playable characters and will eventually change the way they feel about each other, which can lead to one of the game’s endings. There’s no immediate consequence during the game’s regular events but there are key moments where your decision will close a certain path, forcing the story to continue on the other path. If you want to see all endings, you’re advised to replay the game, which isn’t a punishment at all. After clearing the game, you’ll also get access to the different chapters, making it a bit easier to see how different decisions would have impacted the story. Even if you don’t like the uncertainty of your character’s faith, the game offers a special mode where you’re in full control of the ‘movie’. In this mode, you can decide to spare or kill everyone or decide depending on the character. In my opinion, this isn’t how you should play this game but it’s fun to have this mode nevertheless.
Talking about fun mode, The Quarry allows multiplayer with up to nine people. This is a local co-op where you pass the controller to one of your friends who’s in control of a certain character in the game. This is a fun mechanic during gaming nights since you never know what your friends might decide. Of course, you don’t have to be with nine people to enjoy this mode, if you’re playing it together with your partner, you can easily just divide the characters and enjoy a cozy horror night together.
A bit rough around the edges
Although I loved my time with The Quarry, it isn’t a perfect experience. First thing first, this is a very dark game, making it playable in a darker room or during the night. Admittingly, these are the best circumstances to play a horror game but since it’s summer, I often struggled to see what was going on when I played this game after work. A bit of a shame but nothing game-breaking of course. Besides this, the game struggles from small imperfections such as subtitles not always popping up when they have to, some minor graphical hiccups, and awkward motion capture moments. I also found it hard to control my characters in more narrow spaces, the controls aren’t as tight or precise as they should need to be. Nothing to really worry about but these small annoyances did take me out of my immersion a couple of times.
Conclusion:
The Quarry is a great interactive horror story with a thrilling plot and interesting characters. It’s fun to play through the story and even replay it to see what could have been different. It stays loyal to the classic formula but if you’re a fan of this genre, this certainly is a game you should add to your list.
