Supermassive Games is a studio that loves to tell stories. Their big breakthrough in that area is undoubtedly Until Dawn. Released exclusively on the PlayStation 4 a few years ago, that game was a delightful teen horror game. Then the company came out with a trio of smaller horror games. With The Quarry, however, you get another game that is more similar in size and style to Until Dawn. And that’s only good news.
The Quarry takes you to a camp in the American countryside. After a prologue, you find yourself at the end of summer. The children of the camp have gone home and the camp leaders are packing their last belongings to make the trip as well. But due to some heartbreak, one of the leaders decides to sabotage the car to drive home with, so one has to stay one more night at the abandoned camp. For begins as a last chance to get to know each other and a classic case of “Do, dare or truth” culminates in a thrilling adventure, in which no one’s life is certain. These are the points that struck me.
The Quarry Review
A captivating story
From the beginning, the story of The Quarry manages to grab me. It begins with a prologue, in which two of the camp leaders make the journey a day before camp begins. After an accident, they end up in the wilderness and it becomes clear that things are not quite right in the woods. Then a jump in the timeline is made and it becomes clear that after the camp all sorts of things threaten to go wrong. It all starts fairly innocently with a tease here and there, but it ends in a delicious horror experience. You as the player must make choices and various quick time events at the right time activate. Or not, because in the game it is possible to let everyone die horribly. It just depends on what you feel like.
A delightful story (Image: 2K Games)
Characters are interesting in The Quarry
For The Quarry, Supermassive Games has once again chosen to work with various talents from the film and series world. These have also been incorporated into the game with their own faces, so in some cases you can clearly see who the actors are. And they have done a good job. The various characters have here and there some clichéd roles, but soon it becomes clear that there is really some depth to it. In this way you really sympathize with them and I wanted to make sure they stayed alive. Except for one character: he was allowed to die as soon as possible. Who that is, you may discover for yourself.
You know this one from Scream (Image: 2K Games)
Exciting moments
The broader story in The Quarry captivated me and so did the characters. What completes it all is that the game is full of exciting moments. Sometimes you’re in a full-on chase scene, where you then have to time your character well to avoid going down on his or her luck. At other times, the tension is a little more subtle and it’s mostly the threat that makes it scary. You know that there is a danger, but you don’t know where or how it will manifest itself. That threat makes you want to get further each time to find out what the deal is.
Exciting (Image: 2K Games)
Walking around remains a bit wooden at times
The Quarry is really a wonderful game and also has a movie mode, which makes it easy to watch the game with friends and not have to do too much yourself. Then you have the advantage of not having to walk around in the game so lumbering. Because the animations in that area are not always that strong. Also, the camera angle that you are then presented with regularly manages to get in the way of your experience.
Not the best animations (Image: 2K Games)
But beyond that criticism, The Quarry is a delightful game. Also to do a second time and then see what happens when you make different choices. The game is available now. Want to read more about gaming? Visit our overview page here.
