When it comes to finely tuned interactive horror experiences, developer Supermassive Games are masters of the craft. Until Dawn set the bar that was mostly upheld by The Dark Pictures Anthology, which is still ongoing annually. However, The Quarry marks a return to the studio's standalone horror IPs - the first since Until Dawn - and it had big shoes to fill. Where it lacks the surprise-per-minute punches of its predecessor, The Quarry crafts a wonderfully compelling campfire story with a terrific ensemble cast and a strong focus on character writing.

*Note: this review is spoiler-free.



The Quarry follows a group of camp counsellors who are stuck in a lodge for one memorable night, despite the desperate warnings of its camp leader to not leave the lodge. Naturally, the young counsellors decide to disobey orders and embark on a night of partying and debauchery in the woods. Let's just say, things start to go wrong very quickly when they're faced with something beyond their comprehension.

First and foremost, the ensemble cast deserve some praise. Like Supermassive's previous games, The Quarry is packed with familiar Hollywood names from Justice Smith, Brenda Song and Ted Raimi to Ariel Winter, David Arquette and horror queen Lin Shaye, among others. Some definitely pull their weight a bit more than others - especially the headstrong Brenda Song and Ted Raimi's condescending sheriff - but they all complement each other remarkably well, even if Justice Smith feels like he's phoning it in at times.



Miles Robbins steals the show as the reserved and wise-cracking Dylan, who has an interesting dynamic with Smith's character Ryan, that forms the backbone of some great emotional turmoil and conflict. Lin Shaye also plays a very different and more commanding role this time than her psychic character in the Insidious films, but I won't spoil anything further. Arquette, best known for the Scream series, unfortunately doesn't get enough screen time here, which is tragic considering his prestige in the horror genre. Overall, the acting is superb and it's helped by some truly phenomenal motion capture work.

The Quarry excels at being one of the developer's most immersive and visually arresting games yet.

The Quarry immediately separates itself from Until Dawn thanks to the refined motion capture and facial animations. This is perhaps Supermassive's most impressive work to date in terms of mo-cap, punctuated by the actors' fantastic performances across the board. Thanks to a firm understanding of the Unreal Engine, the game excels as a graphical juggernaut and it has clearly come a long way since the stilted and twitchy facial work of past Supermassive titles.



As for gameplay, if you've played one Supermassive game, you know more or less what to expect here. Through solo or couch co-op, you play as eight characters (comprising of all the camp counsellors) and have to make on-the-fly decisions or pass QTE checks to ensure each counsellor's survival. Thanks to some great writing, the characters all have unique dynamics between each other that are established in the first few chapters - most of them by your hands. Whether fueled by love triangles and squabbles, anxiety and trauma, or something more sinister, The Quarry nails its central cast as being just likable enough to get attached to before crap hits the fan.

Unlike Until Dawn, however, The Quarry seems less interested in the butterfly effect-style of gameplay and more focused on a choose-your-own-adventure narrative. Decisions made in the initial chapters will still have disastrous consequences in later events, but there's a more concise path towards certain objectives. House of Ashes worked on a kind of dice-roll system that ensured you were never making the "right" choice at any given time, but if you pay close enough attention to The Quarry's story and make informed choices, you're almost always rewarded with a satisfying outcome.



Understandably this might upset some who liked House of Ashes' anxiety-driven and almost unpredictable choice-making, but The Quarry presents more straight-forward paths to the finish line if you're considerate enough. This is evident in Until Dawn as well, though never as clearly defined as The Quarry's narrative which is rather refreshing at times, but with one major downside (we'll get to that in a bit). That said, be prepared for a whirlwind of consequences in the last two chapters that lead to many - and I mean many - twists, turns and split-second slip-ups.

As long as you're attentive to the story and characters, you'll always have a fighting chance of making it through the night in one piece...

In at least two of my endings, I walked away with only two or three perished characters - a very high success rate given my tendency to accidentally kill off over half the cast by the end of Supermassive's games. As long as you're attentive to the story and characters, you'll always have a fighting chance of making it through the night in one piece, which, like I said, can be quickly derailed in the end without important foreshadowing collected from Tarot cards hidden throughout each chapter.



That said, this brings me to one of The Quarry's biggest drawbacks depending on who you are: it's cinematic to a fault. The Quarry has a more fleshed out story than Until Dawn, but it takes the wheel away from you at pivotal moments where it feels like a decision could've been made by the player. This is especially evident in the last few chapters where at least one character death could've been avoided had it given me the fight-or-flight choice. The cutscenes, animations and visuals are truly cinematic-level, but maybe Supermassive gets carried away trying to create a movie over a game sometimes.

However, one element that I absolutely adored (that might not be talked about enough) is the soundtrack. This is a collection of some phenomenal pop and indie rock music - enough that I had to scout out the entire soundtrack as soon as I rolled credits. It might sound odd at first as it doesn't always fit with the mood of the scene, but upon closer inspection, it gives The Quarry a distinct identity that separates it from its predecessors and ends up working in its favour. Seriously, go listen to it.



The Quarry isn't without some flaws, but it held my attention from beginning to end in ways only a veteran studio like Supermassive Games could pull off. The story-telling is twisted and captivating, the characters are well-written and entertaining, the visuals are top-notch and the soundtrack is terrific. It may not scale the ambitious heights of Until Dawn and House of Ashes - or really give you complete agency like those either - but it serves as another winning entry in the developer's growing list of solid horror gaming experiences that shouldn't be missed.

*Review code provided by 2K Games | Reviewed on Xbox Series X