Supermassive Games, the same company that created Until Dawn and The Dark Pictures Anthology, is responsible for the development of The Quarry. If you are familiar with previous games, then you should already be aware that this one functions more like an interactive movie, but with some gaming components. It’s not going to be easy for me to review this game without giving anything away, but if you look closely enough at a trailer or two and the first few chapters of the game, you should be able to figure out what’s going on for the most part. Despite the fact that the stories in Supermassive games are never as straightforward as you might expect, I’m going to give it my best shot.
The Quarry gives you the opportunity to take control of a group of camp counselors at the end of the summer session. As the plot develops, the game will automatically switch who you play as and give you the opportunity to make decisions that have an impact on the remainder of the story. Even the smallest of decisions can result in the most significant of shifts in later chapters. The decision made very early on in the game on whether or not to break down a door might determine whether or not someone is harmed approximately halfway through the game.
The quarry has a roster of A-list actors such as Ted Raimi, Justice Smith, Brenda Song, David Arquette, Ethan Suplee, and Lance Henriksen, among others.
As I mentioned earlier, this is more of an interactive movie, so that is to be anticipated from the developers at supermassive games. The cast voice acting and animation detail is some of the greatest I’ve ever seen in gaming. There are moments when the lighting would be perfect and all the factors would match in game design to the point where the game models appeared much too real, and not the sort of real that is seen in the uncanny valley. There were times when I completely forgot that I was actually playing a game since it seemed so much like a movie.
Anyone who spends the night at Hackett’s quarry summer camp has the potential to either perish or live through the violent night. Every time I think I have the plot figured out, they throw another twist into the mix to keep me on my toes and keep me guessing about where this rabbit hole will end up taking me. The quarry is one of the best games available now.
During my initial run through the game, I was able to save everyone except two individuals. I came so close to getting that achievement. Nothing really pulled me out of the tale and kept me occupied throughout the night; in fact, I played it all in one sitting, which took me just under eight hours. This was despite the fact that there were some bizarre animation bugs on hair, some pop in, and Emma’s strangely large snake mouth.