When “Until Dawn” debuted in 2015, it presented a fresh interactive horror drama that resonated with mainstream gaming culture thanks to its campy charm. Featuring a plethora of choices and gruesome deaths, “Until Dawn” provided replayability and fun, especially for YouTubers, making it a highlight in a year crowded with major releases like “The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt,” “Fallout 4,” “Bloodborne,” and “Undertale.”

Supermassive’s methodology was distinctive for its time, heavily influenced by the adventure genre and FMV (full-motion video) games from the past. Yet, a decade and seven games later, this approach is starting to feel outdated. The newest release is “Directive 8020,” the fifth chapter in the Dark Pictures Anthology, set in the far future aboard the starship Cassiopeia.

As with earlier titles, Supermassive shines at making players reflect on their choices in “Directive 8020.” Unlike prior games such as “Man of Medan” and “House of Ashes,” players can now reverse their decisions, enabling them to thoroughly explore the narrative without being tied to a single route. Although this doesn’t significantly modify the story’s delivery, it enhances the experience for those looking to navigate different story branches without having to restart the entire game.

From my experience with the game, provided by Supermassive, “Directive 8020” presents an engrossing story but falls short in gameplay. During the eight hours I spent with the main narrative and testing the rewind feature to gather items and investigate choices, I found some enjoyment in Supermassive’s latest endeavor.

“Directive 8020” draws elements from “The Thing” and “Alien.” Lashana Lynch plays the role of pilot Brianna Young, the main character. The game unfolds aboard the colony ship Cassiopeia, where players guide a team of scientists on an eight-year journey to the exoplanet Tau Ceti to assess its suitability for habitation. An alien entity infiltrates the ship, pursuing the crew and imitating them, transforming the mission into a paranoia-laden nightmare.

The storyline isn’t a spoiler; it’s the core marketing angle of the game, adding dramatic irony to decision-making, particularly during a first playthrough. The cast includes emerging actors, featuring Lashana Lynch in a principal role. Notably, Rami Malek and Jesse Buckley, who shone in previous Supermassive titles, earned Best Actor awards. It’s hoped that Lynch will follow in their footsteps.

Without diving deeply into the plot, Lynch’s character, Brianna Young, awakens from a four-year slumber to discover one sleep technician missing and the other acting strangely. The crew encounters disruptions that jeopardize their mission, which aims to prepare for colonists from Andromeda settling on a new planet.

The narrative is straightforward, heavily influenced by “The Thing” and “Alien.” Alongside Young, the controllable characters consist of Commander Nolan Stafford, ship designer Laure Eisele, engineer Josef Cernan, and Dr. Amanda Cooper. These characters possess somewhat limited depth, a recurring challenge in Supermassive’s games. Eisele is excessively logical, Cernan struggles with existential questions after losing his husband, and Cooper copes with the trauma of surviving a mass casualty event. These motivations lack substance within the broader narrative.

Three additional non-playable characters act as possible mimic targets, providing structure to “Directive 8020’s” five-player co-op movie night mode.

“Directive 8020” creates the illusion of choice and consequence. While the interactive QTE (quick time event) narrative formula is growing stale, players don’t anticipate “God of War” from a Supermassive title. However, there’s a fine line between “light on gameplay” and “repetitive,” and “Directive 8020” often crosses it.

Supermassive has consistently designed its games around the pretense of significant decisions, and “Directive 8020” is no exception. The Turning Points system enables players to rewind choices and navigate different story pathways without restarting the game. While this is a welcome improvement, some choices feel more like traps than meaningful drama.

Early in the game, players must choose to reroute power from either the Cassiopeia’s landing gear or fire suppression system. Both options have lethal outcomes, but in a spaceship horror narrative, keeping the fire suppression active is clearly the sensible choice. Labeling this a meaningful decision is generous.

No matter the choices, the story is crafted to arrive at predetermined conclusions. For instance, the prologue culminates with a sleep technician being mimicked by the alien, triggering a chase. Even if the player inadvertently eliminates the technician earlier, the mimic still emerges, and the chase proceeds the same way. The destination is set, and similar scenarios occur throughout the game’s eight chapters, showcasing the boundaries of the illusion of consequence.

Some secondary features, such as texting the crew during exploration phases, contribute to character development and enable players to