Supermassive Games has published the newest game in their horror library. Famous for “Until Dawn” and the Dark Pictures Anthology, Supermassive Games has received both incredible praise and incredible criticism in response to their games. Their new game, titled The Quarry, is no exception to this tradition.
The Quarry is a fast-paced horror game set at a summer camp in a place called Hackett’s Quarry. You play as counselors trying to survive the night and investigate the mysterious Hackett family. As a fan of Until Dawn and a critic of the Dark Pictures Anthology, I found The Quarry to be a welcome return to form. It’s a a game that feels like a genuine spiritual successor to Until Dawn, with cheesy one-liners and all. If you’d like to play it blind, please go do so, then come back to hear my thoughts on it.
This article is a story discussion, not a comprehensive gameplay walkthrough. That being said, the game waits to reveal that the beasts are werewolves. I will not. We are working with traditional, full moon, old lycanthropy lore: werewolves.
The prologue does a fantastic job setting up the story. I actually like the juvenile and cheesy ‘Officer Hackett is a bad guy – no, wait, he’s complex’ plot twist in the later game because few stories and games do camp right. This a game that knows it’s over the top, that it’s ridiculous, and that it has the freedom to be silly and stupid. What other modern game fulfills its genre so well? There’s a fundamental difference between being tacky on purpose and poor writing. That’s what I loved about Until Dawn and it’s what Supermassive has been missing since.
“Chapter One: Hackett’s Quarry Forever!” takes place two months after the events of the prologue. We see the last bus of campers leave, being waved off by the counselors. These are the main characters of the game and you will play as each of them. You learn about them through the game. For readability, I will list their basic information now:
- Abigail – The art tutor. Abi is a caring and sensitive soul, she’s an artist who is always carrying a sketchbook. She has a crush on Nick.
- Emma – The theater coach. Emma is an internet content creator. She hides her complexity behind her pretty girl persona. She is a people pleaser and perfectionist. She dated Jacob as a summer fling, and broke up with him today.
- Dylan – The camp DJ / radio technician. Dylan is incredibly intelligent but uses camp as a break from academic pressure, so he can just be a typical guy. He is gay – evidenced by the fact his character has no options to flirt with the opposite sex. The player can have him fall in love with Ryan.
- Jacob – The sports coach. He’s a jock who’s sweet and also a bit dimwitted. He thought his relationship with Emma wasn’t just for fun. He causes the entire night by secretly breaking the car, forcing everyone to stay instead of going home, so they can have ‘one last party together’.
- Kaitlyn – The activities coordinator / nurse. Kaitlyn is a natural leader. She’s mischievous and likes to cause drama. She’s great at reading social cues and reasoning with people to get what she wants from them. The player can choose to have her fall in love with Ryan.
- Nick – The cook. He’s a preppy Australian who knows he’s charming. His beast attack is unavoidable and his main purpose is to show the group they’re dealing with werewolves. Nick has a crush on Abi.
- Ryan – The sailing coach / campfire storyteller. Ryan is quiet, shy, and a loner. He loves the paranormal and often listens to podcasts about it. He is the counselor who is closest to Mr. Hackett and is the only one who calls him by his first name. He also might know more than he lets on. Ryan is bisexual and can fall in love with either Kaitlyn or Dylan.
Other than giving a basic introduction to these characters and the location itself, the chapter’s main purpose is to set up the starting conflict. Jacob breaks the van and Mr. Hackett’s reacts by demanding the group just lock themselves in the main cabin for the rest of the night ‘for safety’. The group decides to party the second he leaves instead of listening to his warnings. This sets up the player for a hell of a night.
We know there are werewolves, but the counselors do not. Mr. Hackett’s reluctance in telling them is understandable. A big plot hole here is that he didn’t simply drive them to the nearby motel mentioned in the prologue. Also, why did they end camp on the day of a full moon?! That’s bad planning all around.
All in all, the plot’s quick start is appreciated. I sincerely thought we’d have at least one chapter of ‘party time’ before the werewolves joined in. That was quite the shock. I also love that instead of keeping the Hacketts to the shadows entirely, Supermassive made the creative choice of showing Bobby, and showing him saving Jacob, which gave us such important information about him.
LeAnne McPherson
Reporter