The Quarry

It's definitely an enjoyable game, but a step down from Until Dawn. The story's pretty good and the game is very polished, with good graphics and presentation. I definitely had fun with it and it had me engaged from beginning to end. However, there are flaws. It feels like the choices they give you in regards to dialogue don't have a ton of consequences. Oftentimes, two different dialogue choices lead to the same outcome. Also, the ending sucks. It felt so anti-climactic and abrupt. There was nothing like the interview with the surviving characters at the end of Until Dawn. Instead, they had some dumb podcast where they talk about what happened. It just didn't feel fulfilling. I also think the characters in Until Dawn were overall a little more likable. There wasn't any character as good as Mike for example. And the game is slightly forgettable. The story isn't something that will stick with you. Overall, worth playing if you like these types of choose-your-own-adventure games, but not anything too exceptional. I'd give it a 7.5/10 overall.

Hogwash. The choices are awful and are in no way descriptive enough. I got, like, 6 characters killed because of it and bugs. Until Dawn was so much better.

[Spoilers]

In an interview with IGN, Game director Will Byles boasted about The Quarry's 186 endings. Obviously, that number is only technical, and the true number of distinct endings is probably much less. 186 can be revised to, perhaps 15, one for each of the game's story paths (as indicated by those mock vhs films in the menu). Unfortunately, this number too is inaccurate. Some of the story paths do affect a character or two's ending. For example, Love Labour's Lost has Jacob and Emma reunite in the final chapter. Jacob admits to sabotaging the van and their relationship definitively ends. Arc resolved, nice. Whether this can be considered an ending is dubious, though, as it only impacts that specific arc. Other story paths will influence minor aspects of the game's plot and ultimately just determine whether a given character lives or dies. Worst of all, however, is those paths that influence nothing at all, such as Watch Your Step (which is predicated on a literally meaningless choice- it doesn't impact the plot, who lives, or even collectibles).

So 15 is a stretch, okay, whatever. We can be more strict with our definition and then say there are 4 or 5 main endings based on whether or not the curse is lifted and who survives. Except, are there really distinct endings for each of those states? Does the preservation of the curse actually affect the ending? I would argue not. In fact, I would argue that the true number of endings is 0, because The Quarry doesn't end. It stops, abruptly, before it even has the chance to. What actually happens is that Silas is either killed or kills, the game cuts to a brief word by his mom, survivors are listed, and then roll credits. Okay, sure, we're told how each character lives or dies, but that's not an ending. With the exception of maybe 2 or 3 (from the story paths), every single relationship and character arc is left unresolved. Let's take Nick and Abi. If they both survive, do they get together? If only one survives, does the other mourn? If neither survive, how do their friends feel? We don't know, because the game doesn't have a single scene (besides that arduous podcast) to establish what happens after-the-fact. Essentially, we have no idea what happens to any of the characters beyond their survival. The game spends hours developing these characters and their relationships only to completely forget them. It's all set-up with no pay-off. Why? A single scene with all the surviving teenagers assembling in the morning would be all that is needed.

Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed The Quarry. Up until its non-ending, I would give the game 8/10 stars. Yes, it deeply flawed in some respects, but I just couldn't put the the thing down for the 3 days that I played it. However, the lack of a resolution just sours the entire experience for me. For a narrative driven experience to disregard its characters like that is honestly unbelievable. Anyway, I love these kinda games and I'm excited to see what Supermassive brings out in the future, although from now on I'll be extremely hesitant to buy anything at full price.

Until Dawn is generally agreed upon to be lightning in a bottle, a watershed moment for this genre of cinematic choose your own adventure games never to be repeated, and though The Quarry is probably the closest to come to that crown, it still being a ways off just proves how goddamn great of a game Until Dawn still is. The setting of a cabin in the woods is so tired that this game making fun of the cliche is itself playing into a cliche, but this is saved by some of the best horror moments in gaming in a while, with some excellent cinematography and pacing, at least during all of the actual horror parts. The dramedy of the camp councillor experience is hit and miss, with some great acting on the part of everyone save for Ryan (Justice Smith), and some cute snappy dialogue and somewhat relatable emotional tension, but the overall backdrop is as dry and predictable as any of the campy horror movies The Quarry is aping, with few modernisations or tweaks to the formula; the first two hours are drab as a result, save for the excellent prologue.

And though I'm harsher on the gameplay than I should be, considering a narrative based game like this shouldn't be too demanding in mechanics, the formula is feeling a bit stale and makes all the little problems add up even as the bigger picture feels kind of awesome. When we're this close to escaping the uncanny valley, any technical issue is going to feel so much bigger, and some of the animations were laughably janky, belonging more in a SFM meme video than a high-budget game. The narrative is ultimately rewarding in both mystery and emotion but has some arguably stupid moments, and though it's not Dark Pictures bad, it's still overly fragmented in a way that shows the seams holding this game together. Much of the game's licensed music is used terribly, breaking the mood of an otherwise schlocky but engaging horror adventure. There's a general lack of consistency to The Quarry's script and pacing that keeps it from greatness, the kind of consistency that could make me froth at the mouth about Until Dawn for hours. But this is the best product Supermassive has put out in ages, and still carves a unique niche in the modern gaming sphere.