Directive 8020 Shows How Horrifying Space Can Be On The Steam Deck - Preview

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Ever since it was announced, one of my most anticipated games has been Directive 8020. I am a sucker for sci-fi narrative games, and as a fan of developer Supermassive Games’ previous titles, like the Dark Pictures Anthology and Until Dawn, I was very excited. I got even more excited after trying it for myself at Summer Game Fest. However, I now have had a chance to try it on my own time in a new section, giving me a further glimpse of the full release, while also giving me more time to play around with its systems. And after my time with it, I am still just as excited as I was before.

My preview started off in episode four, where we have to escape from “Williams.” We have to distract and sneak past him while also following orders from our teammate, who is guiding us. After that, we will go a bit into the future, where we are brainstorming what to do about this enemy. Ultimately, we will have to sneak through vents, survive a confrontation, and figure out exactly what we have to do next. I don’t wanna go too far into the details of the story, since this is a preview of how to start in the middle of the game.

I can say that the acting and animations are on point. That, paired with the visuals, made it feel very high stakes and believable, while setting it up for an interesting tale. It looks like the crew was sent to look at a new planet for terraforming, but their ship got hit by a meteor, so they are grounded and need to repair their ship and wait for rescue. And I, for one, can’t wait to see how the full story will shake out. The section I played did feel a little lacking in thrilling developments, so I hope the full game will have a bit more.

However, there was enough gameplay for me to get a general feel of what to expect. It really feels like Until Dawn meets newer Resident Evil gameplay. The story-driven choices that send ripples throughout the rest of the tale are back, with even little decisions affecting conversations and moments throughout the game. For instance, I had the choice to authorize the use of a gun earlier on, which did prompt some scenes later. While I initially said yes, choosing not to change the outcome of a few different moments, it was enough to make me curious what other changes I could make.

And that’s why I like the new Turning Point system so much. This system actually shows the branches of the story, along with a few hints on how to unlock that branch. On top of that, as long as we are playing on the right mode, we can go back to different points on this tree to see how different choices will affect the story. I usually like playing through the story once without making modifications, but the system makes it much easier to go back afterward and just see how the story could change without needing to replay the entirety of the game.

Gameplay-wise, I got a good look at how it would be walking around and the stealth mechanics. The general walking around, mixed with the environments and cinematic storytelling, feels just like the other Dark Pictures games in the series, which is nice because the setting is a huge change from the previous games. Still, that doesn’t distract from the feeling, with the sci-fi setting still feeling as impactful as the more realistic environments of the previous games.

From what I’ve played so far, the stealth is pretty basic, but it works well. The areas I played mostly consisted of me, crouching and hiding from enemies walking around, and if I got caught, take part in a quick QTE to get out of the hold. It reminds me a lot of Resident Evil because of the third-person viewpoint, but it feels more like the newer gameplay that is focused on stealth over action. Still, it does exactly what it needs to, but I do hope the emphasis for the rest of the game will be on the story more. These moments aren’t terrible, but it feels a little slow and basic.

Directive 8020 Steam Deck Performance So Far

With this Directive 8020 preview being one I can play on my own time, I got to check out how it’s running on the Steam Deck so far. I had previously talked to developer Supermassive Games, who had mentioned that they had a plan to make sure the game is going to be playable on the Steam Deck, and it seems they are keeping their word, with some compromises.

I also wanna make sure I mentioned that this is a preview build of the game, so the performance may be better or worse for the full game. This is a great way to see how it’s running so far and whether it's worth it to hold on hope for portable play, and I would say I have hope.

The first thing I did was look at the settings to see if they have a specific configuration for the Deck, and while it just seems like everything is on low settings, there is a specific preset for the Steam Deck. It seems to be exactly the same as the low preset, but we have the specific wording for the Deck.

Based on the areas I played, the performance is pretty solid. It was able to stick to 30 FPS throughout all of the gameplay moments, though there was some high battery drain that I noticed. Cutscenes were mostly stable at 30, though I did notice a couple of scenes where the framerate would drop to around 24 FPS at some angles. I also noticed some slight stuttering when going into new areas, but it fixed itself pretty quickly.

As for the visuals, the game looks decent. I wouldn’t say I’m missing out on any of the major features that I would’ve hoped to see, and I did like the shadows and lighting for the most part. The shadow quality can look a little pixelated at the ends, but the TSR upscaling is working well. Most of the areas and models still look very clear, which is great, especially in these cutscenes.

Ultimately, I walked away curious about what was going to happen next in Directive 8020 and what could have possibly happened before. The story is solid and engaging, even in the small section that I’ve played, and the gameplay is decent, even if it’s on the basic side. But the visuals, animations, acting, and story make up for it. On top of that, I’m enjoying it more than I expected on the Steam Deck, and I can’t wait to test the full game to see if it stays that way throughout its entirety. But based on what I’ve played so far, I would say having hope for portable play is not asking too much.

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