Author’s Note: To avoid spoilers, I opted to not include any screenshots. Enjoy!
I’m wrapping up the month of October with another spooky game that’s serving as a perfect endcap. It took me a few years, but I finally got around to playing The Quarry. Another cinematic survival horror game from the makers of Until Dawn, The Quarry has similar elements, visuals, and style to what we’ve come to expect. I liked Until Dawn a bit more, but The Quarry is an exceptional game that fans of horror will enjoy.
The game begins with two camp counselors Laura and Max headed to Hackett’s Quarry summer camp. After some car trouble, they have an uncomfortably encounter with a power trippy sheriff named Travis. Sheriff Travis orders Laura and Max to spend the night at a motel nearby instead of heading to the camp. Naturally, Laura and Max are young 20-somethings and rebel whenever they can. They end up going to the camp but find it empty. Exploring further, they find an abandoned cellar. You probably know where this is going. The two enter the barely lit cellar, because that’s what you do, and some bad things happen. We then move forward two months where we meet the rest of the counselors: Ryan, Kaitlyn, Dylan, Emma, Jacob, Abigail, and Nick. It’s the last day of work for the group of friends. All of the kids are gone, and it’s time to kiss the summer goodbye. But, one of the counselors wants to have one more night of fun together. Unfortunately, this night will be filled with terror as the truth about Hackett’s Quarry slowly comes to the surface.
The story is by far the best part of The Quarry. It can get slightly wordy during certain times, but otherwise this narrative will keep you wanting to learn more about the truth of these campgrounds. To do so, you’ll be taking control of each counselor during different segments of each chapter. The gameplay is mostly hands off other than some quick-time events. You’ll be simply navigating from point A to point B, looking at your surroundings, gathering clues and evidence, and learning more about the characters. Characters move slow and movement can feel clunky, but it’s nothing offensive.
Naturally, the most important thing you’ll be doing is making choices that impact every aspect of everything: who lives, who dies, which truths you uncover, and more. Sometimes the decisions have to be made quickly. Other times, you’re given time to think. No matter the circumstance, seeing the result of your choices makes it so no two playthroughs are the same. To add, there’s a very handy chapter select feature that allows you to go back and try new decisions to see new outcomes. The Quarry has a lot of replay ability. Almost too much. There’s just more “game” to see in The Quarry so trying to find new outcomes can feel overwhelming at times. One thing that I did find odd was that the game has a limited number of “retries” if a character dies. The game will let you go back to the point where that decision was made. When I think of games like Heavy Rain, once a choice made, you’re stuck with it. There’s no “take-backsies”.
There isn’t much else to say about The Quarry’s gameplay. Actually, there isn’t much else to say about the game in general. The game looks amazing. Some heavy hitting Hollywood folks lent their talents to bring the characters to life. There’s also a varied soundtrack accompanying all of the scariness. Finishing the game unlocks the above mentioned chapter select, as well as some other nifty perks. Depending on how things go, a playthrough can last as long as 5 hours. Getting all of the endings (and unlocking all achievements/trophies) will take much, much longer due to a lack of scene skipping. Like I said: there’s more “game” in The Quarry. I’ll eventually go back for a replay just to see the different choices and results. All gamers of all skill levels that appreciate good horror will enjoy The Quarry.
Overall, 8/10: The power of choice is back, and with it, the potential for a lot more chaos. The Quarry celebrates classic horror in a modern way.