The Quarry on XBOX Series X: A Masterclass in Interactive Horror
The Quarry is a standout title in the survival-horror genre. Developed by Supermassive Games, it’s a triumphant return to the studio’s roots, and a worthy successor to the acclaimed Until Dawn.
Gameplay
The Quarry offers a unique blend of gameplay elements, including exploration scenes, conversation choices, quick time events, stealth, simple combat, and Mass Effect-style interruptions. The game trusts your survival to the choices you make along the way. It strikes just about the right balance between simply watching a film and getting to play the lead roles.
Story
The game follows the story of nine camp counselors who get stuck in the woods for one more night at the end of the summer. There’s something stalking them from the treeline, and your choices determine which, if any, of the counselors will be able to survive the night. The Quarry layers three fairly textbook horror plots on top of each other as you progress.
Setting
The title location of The Quarry is a summer camp in upstate New York, Hackett’s Quarry, that’s slowly falling apart. It’s initially designed to look like the most postcard-worthy version of itself, backlit by warm sunlight and spread out across approximately a billion acres of natural splendor. Then the sun goes down, the woods get dangerously quiet, the rot gets more obvious, and the nightmare starts.
Characters
Every character stands out well on their own thanks to the fun and excellent writing. You play as each of the nine camp counselors, controlling one at a time at various points in the roughly 10-hour campaign.
Accessibility
There are a lot of accessibility options built into The Quarry that let you adjust the difficulty of all of these actions, or even switch some of them to always automatically succeed. There’s also a Movie Mode that lets the story play out without any interactivity at all, headed towards one of a few different preset conclusions.
Conclusion
The Quarry is a well-polished and very well-layered entertainment experience that’s worth several playthroughs. It’s a celebration of horror with enough twists and turns to excite even the most jaded aficionado. However, it can be slow-paced at times, and one mistake can be fatal. But for those who enjoyed Until Dawn or fancy a slick cinematic horror experience that’s based more on the choices you make rather than the weapons you carry, The Quarry is a must-play.
