We love a good bit of slasher and schlock in our horrors. In particular, those that centre around a hapless group of no-nothing teens living it up at summer camp while reinforcing stereotypes and proving tropes are actually a handy device, no matter how obvious and on-the-nose they are. Which is exactly what The Quarry from Supermassive Games does, and excels at.

With an all-B-star cast and the chops to make the absolute most of what that means, this 80s and 90s horror-slasher homage, that sets its own rules alongside the benchmark for all those to follow, is really something special.

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A lot of The Quarry is passive, in that you’re watching a scene play out as you would when watching a movie. The 10 hour or so length also makes character development and the tension build in a way that feels more like, say, a season of Stranger Things, than the original Friday the 13th. So with that there’s a lot of setup before the “last night at Hackets Quarry Summer Camp” turns into a nightmare. It’s a style that is specific, but it’s also brilliantly executed. For those interested in the idea of an interactive horror movie, The Quarry feels like the new benchmark.

So many of The Quarry’s elements come together it’s hard to fault things like the limited exploration. It’s also hard to fault moments where it feels more on-rails versus something truly open and free. That said, the idea of collectibles as evidence to collect so people would believe what happened post-game is kind of genius. There’s a story that Supermassive wants to tell, and it’s something of a miracle that no matter what choices you make the story you get to see works and feels canonical. Except for the potential ‘Golden Path’ ending where all characters survive the night. That perfect run feels incomplete, which is a good thing. Horror just isn’t satisfying if it all ends well, so that’s more of a videogame thing for those that might want to give that a go.

Click here for our full The Quarry review.