If you’re into story-focused horror mystery video games, this is what you’re looking for.
The Quarry is an upcoming teen-horror narrative game by Supermassive, the studio that created Until Dawn.
9News.com.au went hands-on with The Quarry, experiencing about an hour of the game ahead of its launch on June 10.
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After a quick video recap, the preview stuck me firmly at the starting line of the action. Teens gather around a campfire for a classic game of truth or dare.
As it starts to heat up, the drama begins — and of course, there’s no mobile phone signal.
There’s seemingly a few horrors at play, from teen relationship dramas to growling monsters in the dark.
But from what I’ve played, I can’t say who the true villain is just yet.
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Among the drama, there are many narrative choices and quicktime events.
During the demo, I experienced minimal active gameplay, with just two short walking sequences and two quicktime major events.
Quicktime events are designed for the player to make quick decisions; time the button press right and you’ll be on your way to success but miss the moment and you’re in for a world of pain.
The full game is expected to open up and allow you to explore Hacket’s Quarry further, switching characters as you go, with collectibles and story-changing clues hidden throughout each act.
The Quarry features a solid cast, starring David Arquette (Scream), Justice Smith (Detective Pikachu), Ariel Winter (Modern Family) and Aussie actor Evan Evagora, who plays Nick.
The acting isn’t half bad, especially considering these are computer-generated faces and animations. There were moments where it felt disingenuous but the voiceover work is up to scratch.
It’s said the story can be dramatically changed and influenced by every decision you make — big or small.
I played through the demo a few times, once with the intent to make all the right decisions, the second time to create as much chaos as possible, and finally to do the bare minimum and miss every quicktime event.
Chaos ensued, but I failed to kill anyone off.
As much as I tried to change the main plot, it seemed to always lead back to the same result.
Sure, there may have been some new dialogue, but the outcome was almost always the same or had little effect.
Consequences were potentially noted, but I haven’t experienced enough to see them play out.
As you progress through the game you’ll unlock scenes that can be revisited in The Quarry’s movie mode, which wasn’t available in the demo.
If you’re looking for an action-packed horror shooter, look away. This game is not that, much like Until Dawn, The Quarry is less of a video game and more of an engaging, interactive movie.
From the hour of gameplay I experienced, it’s clear there’s a much deeper story unfolding and there’s plenty more to discover. I’m looking forward to experiencing the full game come June 10.
9News.com.au was supplied with a PC access code of The Quarry for the purpose of this preview.
Source: 9NEWS