Summer is a time for flings and making new friends, however, sometimes those relationships do not last and end. Remember boys and girls, stay in your cabin at night, or else you might be in for a very big fright. The Quarry is the story of teenagers being unable to let go of their summer fun and unwilling to listen to authority.
The game is inspired by the classic horror movies Friday the 13th, Sleepaway Camp, Evil Dead, and The Thing. Throughout the game, players will easily notice elements and even easter eggs referencing a variety of horror movies.
For our review, we dive into The Quarry Deluxe Edition playing on an Xbox Series X. The Quarry Deluxe Edition features 80s-inspired character cosmetics, Death Rewind Option, Movie Mode, and three different camera filter options (Indie Horror, ’80s Horror, Classic Horror).
If you are looking for a fun horror movie night but don’t want to pass the controller, players can choose movie mode and select how they want the night to play out. Now let’s take a bite and get a taste of this Summer’s thriller and see why it was nominated for Best Innovation and Accessibility at The Game Awards.
The Quarry
Developer: Supermassive Games
Publisher: 2K
Platforms: PlayStation 4 & 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X (Review), and Steam
Release Date: June 10, 2022
Players: 1 to 8
Price: $59.99 USD (Currently on sale for $29.99)
Story
The Quarry is the story of camp counselors who have just spent the last two months at Summer camp. Before we are introduced to the main characters, the player gets a small teaser about the story’s dark plot.
Two of the counselors decide to head to camp a night early; their only mistake, heading to camp during a full moon. Lost without a signal, the two swerve off the road to avoid a creature laying in the middle of the road.
After swerving off the road, the two get stuck when the car gets stuck in the mud; thankfully, a cop, sees tire tracks leading into the woods, finds the two trapped, and is able to pull the car back to the main road.
Once on the main road, the sheriff instructs the couple to stay the night at the motel rather than heading to camp. Rather than heeding the officer’s instruction, the two decide to head to camp. This is just one example of teenagers refusing to listen to adults.
Main Game
Fast forward two months and camp is now over. The two we met in the prologue never arrived for Summer camp and it was presumed they made other plans. Now, the final seven counselors are set to leave camp at the request of the head counselor, but one has other plans; rather than accepting that the Summer romance is coming to an end, he decides to strand the group with the hope of convincing his summer love to do long distance.
Stuck an extra night, the head counselor instructs the young adults to stay in the cabin and lock the doors. No one in and or out until the morning. Just like most horror movies, the children do not listen to the adult in charge and pay the ultimate price.
A night meant to be one last hurrah turns into a thrilling evening. After encountering the first monster and the hunters, the kids are on edge. Depending on the player’s choice, the story can take a drastic turn with none, some, or all of the kids will survive or become monsters.
With the Deluxe edition, if a character dies, they have three chances to save the character before they are permanently dead. This feature was originally only available once the player completed the game the first time. For those perfectionists who want everyone to live, this feature allows them to achieve their dreams.
Story Thoughts
Most of the choices seem rather straightforward when running through the story and the mystery behind the overarching plot isn’t surprising. If a character dies it is either due to a poor choice, delayed response, or a missed quick-time event.
Sometimes it is better to think about those you are with than to worry about the unknowns. At the end of the day, it is better to be responsive than predict based on the what-ifs. During our playthrough, we found multiple ways to save or kill each counselor. The clues, Tarot Cards, and other collectibles give the player the tools they need in order to survive the night.
Each character is relatable in some manner and you can easily see people you know as each character. This is one of the key things we can appreciate about Supermassive Games’ titles.
Graphics/Audio
While playing through The Quarry, we noticed only a few issues with the game visually. Typically, the visual issues only occurred when there was a change in the scene. Outside of that, the only other visual issue we noticed was how shadows interacted with the characters.
Visual effects looked realistic as if you were watching the events unfold in front of your eyes. The detail that the developers put into the character’s faces using scans and motion captures of their actors made each character stand out.
Outside of the shadows and the rendering times at the beginning of scenes, the only issue we had were with the deluxe edition. The game’s Movie Mode addition will jump around without showing the actors moving; so the game will show the important factors such as clues while still showing the characters’ actions but will jump from one thing to another without showing the actor moving to it.
The Quarry uses realistic sound effects, suspenseful music, and superb voice acting to make each scene suspenseful and dramatic. Character deaths can be a small whimper or a slow torturous process where the sound of human flesh being torn off the bone can send chills down your body.
Don’t grow attached to any character or a bear trap might snap them away. Light-hearted moments make players feel happy or lustful. Meanwhile, suspenseful scenes can have you on the edge of your seat.
Verdict
Diving into The Quarry, we were expecting a suspenseful character-driven narrative based on experiences with other Supermassive Games titles. Needless to say, we got exactly that. The characters are relatable with each character’s personality resembling an aspect of at least one person we all know.
Although the monster at Summer camp genre can be rather cheesy based on previous excerpts and adaptations in the genre. The game offers a variety of outcomes for the player to experience with over 100 possible variations.
The Quarry does what New Tales from the Borderlands failed to do, providing a variety of outcomes based on the player’s decisions. Between lighting, filters, sound effects, music, and voice acting each scene can go from calm to suspenseful in an instant.
The game’s controls are fairly simple and can be adjusted for the highest possibility of accessibility. The game is only enhanced by its Deluxe edition granting different camera filters, cosmetics, and game mode alternatives.
The Quarry Deluxe Edition was reviewed on Xbox Series X|S using a code from 2K. You can find additional information about Niche Gamer’s review/ethics policy here. The Quarry is now available on PC, PlayStation 4 & 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X (Review), and Steam.
