The Dark Pictures Anthology: Directive 8020 Guide – How to Save All Characters

But to achieve the best ending for Directive 8020 and save all the characters before the story’s conclusion, you’ll have to be extremely attentive throughout the game. The fates of eight people rest in your hands—here’s how to save each of them.

The Dark Pictures Anthology: Directive 8020 features 44 scenes where major characters die. This means there are 44 possible scenarios in which you can’t confidently claim to have saved all the characters. There are no character deaths in the second episode, “Laid-Back Plans,” and the fourth, “Manhunt,” so I’ll skip them in this guide.

The shortest way to save everyone

Below, we’ve compiled a list of key decisions that will keep all characters alive. We’ll break down each episode in detail below and explain how to avoid all 44 death scenarios in the game, but there are a few particularly important decisions that are best known in advance.

To keep everyone alive, you’ll need to make several key decisions throughout the game:

• Make sure Cernan escapes during the chase scene with Williams in Episode 3. Even if you’re caught, there’s still a chance of survival, but trust me, it’ll be much easier to simply prevent Cernan from falling into the hands of the fake Williams.
• Place Stafford in the chair during the Cassiopeia crash in Episode III. His death will set off a chain of potential problems and deaths in the future .
• Like Cernan, Weasley has a flashback scene that you experience prematurely. Therefore, you absolutely must activate the fire alarm system from Episode 2, “Laid-Back Plans,” to ensure one of the characters survives in the future. If she’s caught in this scene, you’ll have to choose between Andres and Mitchell.
• Either rescue Mitchell from the fire in Episode V yourself, or leave the fire suppression system on so the ship automatically extinguishes the fire and allows him to escape. But if you do, Anders will die.
• In Episode 6, when Stafford points his revolver at Williams, do not shoot him under any circumstances, as he is a real person.
• A little later, when the crew goes through the scanner on the bridge, you need to either wait for the choice timer to end or shoot the real Isley – she is the impostor in this scene.
• During Episode 7, when the group sets out to transmit a distress or warning message (you choose the content in the previous episode), Anders will separate from the crew. Constantly use the comm system to locate the real Anders and follow the correct route. At the fork, take the right path and then find the real Anders in the stalactite cave before returning to the ship.
• Most scenes in Episode 8 feature a huge number of QTEs . Successfully completing every QTE in Episode 8 is crucial if you want to keep everyone alive until the end of the game. There are 23 possible death scenarios during the escape!
• When you’re given a choice about what to do with Williams, who’s talking about what’s going on, you need to take him with you, no matter how tempting it might be to leave the villain alone.
• Help Stafford when he falls, and be sure to successfully complete the QTE, otherwise he will die during the escape at the end of the game.
• Complete all QTEs during the final escape sequence—one missed tentacle hit or fire debris hit can result in the character’s death.

While you can return and change your choices after your first playthrough, keep in mind that the “Turning Points” menu won’t change permanently, and alternate paths will be overwritten if you leave the scene again. It’s best to save everyone on your first playthrough, then return to unlock the death scenes, which don’t require you to progress through the rest of the story from the chosen moment. Once unlocked, they will remain accessible in the same save.

Episode 1. Little Star

The first episode of any Dark Pictures Anthology game typically introduces players to characters who are particularly difficult to save. In Directive 8020, these characters are Carter and Simms, the technicians on duty aboard the Cassiopeia. Both possible deaths in this scene are theirs.

The first occurs during the “Crash” scene, where Simms trips over part of the ship and flies into outer space . As Carter, you must successfully complete a quick-time event (QTE) to allow Carter to grab Simms as she flies past. If you fail the QTE, Simms will die.

A little later, as Carter explores the ship and tries to escape from a monster that looks like Simms, the game prompts him to escape and return to the crew quarters. This is the “Chase” scene. If caught during the chase, Carter will die before he can send a warning message through his tech bracelet.

How to save Carter and Simms

In fact, only two character death scenarios have been discussed above, useful for those who want to complete all 44 crew death scenarios. Whether you help Carter and Simms survive in the first episode or not, they cannot be saved. The crew will subsequently discover the bodies of both technicians on duty (or just Carter, if Simms flew into outer space and Carter was unable to catch her).

Episode 3. Sample

To increase Cernan’s chances of survival in the future, he must escape this scene unscathed. Time will jump to the near future, and you will control him before the story returns to the present. If he is captured, he won’t die immediately, but a successful escape significantly increases his chances of survival later.

Despite the crash landing on Tau Ceti, only one death is possible in this episode, but it’s a devastating loss for the team, the consequences of which linger until the very end of the game. During Episode III, Commander Stafford can be lost, depending on your previous decisions and reactions in the QTE sequence.

The scene is called “Crash,” and most decisions will allow Stafford to survive if you act carefully. The safest option is to immediately return to your seat and buckle up, which will guarantee the commander’s survival. However, you can also safely restart the computer if you disabled the fire suppression system earlier in Episode II instead of the auto-navigator. After that, you must successfully complete a series of QTE sequences and quickly return to your seat to survive the Cassiopeia’s crash.

If Stafford does not return to his seat and buckle up before the impact, he will die in this scene.

Episode 5. Mr. Williams

A scene in Directive 8020, Episode 5, that could result in the loss of a crew member mid-game, is called “Under Pressure.” It begins after the scene “Ice and Fire,” in which Anders attempts to freeze alien matter and Mitchell regulates the fuel supply despite the risk of explosion.

As befits a horror game , things quickly spiral out of control, and the rest of the story hinges on a multitude of decisions. You’ll have to choose between saving Anders and Mitchell, as both are simultaneously in danger, and decisions from Episode 2 will once again impact the events.

To keep everyone alive, you need to either leave the fire suppression system on in Episode 2 instead of the auto-navigator, or choose to save Mitchell if you disabled the fire suppression system and left the auto-navigator.

If you choose to save Anders, Mitchell’s survival will depend on the fire suppression system being active. If you choose “Save Anders” when the fire suppression system is disabled, Mitchell will burn to death and die in the scene.

If you choose “Save Anders” but fail to get through the door in time, or fail to make the choice at all before the timer runs out, Cooper will save Anders on his own, and Mitchell’s fate will again depend on whether the fire suppression system is active.

If you save Anders or skip the choice while the fire suppression system is disabled, Mitchell is guaranteed to die, cutting off access to several potentially important survival nodes in future episodes.

Episode 6: Enemy Advance

The first opportunity to lose crew members in the sixth episode, Directive 8020, occurs when you reach the hydroponics bay and see duplicates of the remaining crew members. If anyone is still alive at this point, it will be Stafford and Isley if the girl went with the commander to the hydroponics bay. Or Cernan if she didn’t. In this scene, you need to safely reach the ladder to unlock the “Escape” node in the Breaking Points tree. If you are caught, a character will die—either Isley or Cernan, depending on who is nearby at the time.

Next comes the “Roulette” scene, where the crew discusses what to do with Williams, whose behavior is becoming increasingly erratic . If you want to keep everyone alive in Directive 8020, you must choose not to shoot.

If Williams was previously injected with the drug, the scanner will show it, but even if you didn’t do it in Episode 5, the device will still confirm that he is human (even if you decide to shoot).

Soon after, the group will split up in the “Separation” scene, and Cernan will be on the run. To save him, they had to escape Williams in Episode 3 during that strange scene at the beginning of the chapter, the meaning of which wasn’t entirely clear at the time. If you previously prevented Cernan from falling into Williams’ hands, as required to save all characters, simply escape the monster to unlock the “Cernan Escapes” node.

Even if Cernan was captured in Episode 3, he can still survive if you manage to escape from the monster.

Next up is Isley, who’s been hiding from the Stafford copy in the waste management unit since the previous episode. If you burned the copy in Episode 5 and successfully escaped the monster now, Isley will escape safely, and you’ll receive the “Isley Escapes” node. If Kyo was caught in the waste management unit but escaped now, then everything will go according to plan for now.

If Isley has already been caught in the waste management section, it’s best not to send her to the hydroponics section. If she’s caught there, she’ll die in this scene.

However, within a few minutes, both Eisley and Cernan could die again—it all depends on whether Stafford is alive. During the “Scanner” scene, one of the crew members will take the others hostage until the team is sure everyone is real. Regardless of the crew’s composition, a second version of one of the characters will appear: if Stafford is alive, it will be a second Eisley, and if Stafford is already dead, a second Cernan will appear.

If you decide to check both versions, you’ll have to make a choice: shoot the impostor if you know who he is, or, if in doubt, wait for the timer to run out and not shoot at all. If you order both of them to go through the scanner, you’ll avoid having to choose who to shoot when the monster attacks the group anyway. In this case, both Isley and Cernan will survive the scene.

If you decide to check them manually, the real Aisley is the one that came later.

During the “Attack” scene, when the doppelganger attempts to kill Stafford or Eisley, a QTE sequence must be successfully completed for the characters to survive.

If Stafford is already dead and Isley dies in this scene, you’d better hope you have enough crew members left to continue the game – otherwise, the story might end right there.

Episode 7. Discovery

In the seventh episode of Directive 8020, there are only three ways to lose crew members, and all of them concern the group sent on an external mission to transmit the message chosen in the previous episode.

Although Anders won’t die immediately, it’s crucial to find the real Anders in the “Search Party” scene when the team splits up. Use the communication system to talk to the real Anders—she’ll direct you to a cave with stalactites on the ceiling. At the fork, take the right path to find the real Anders.

The next death opportunity will appear in the “Capsule Room” scene if you get caught while playing as Yang. Hide from the monster and restore power to the blocked door in the room to escape the enemies.

After this, you’ll be interested in the “Geolab” scene with Cernan. Everything here works on the same principle—you need to hide from lifeforms. Then, in the “Hunt” scene, the monster will begin pursuing you, so be sure to escape the creature to keep Cernan and Anders alive.

Episode 8. Not a Dream

If you’ve played Supermassive games before, you won’t be surprised to learn that more than half of the 44 character death scenarios occur in Episode 8. By this point, you need to master the QTE sequences perfectly, as almost every way to save the crew in the final chapter boils down to successfully completing a QTE.

Once the team is back together, and if Williams is still with you—and he should be if you’re aiming to keep everyone alive until the end of Directive 8020—you need to take the project manager with you, despite his objections.

What follows is a whole series of escape scenes and QTE sequences that must be completed in order for all the heroes to make it out alive.

• Misdirection – Escape from the mimic Isley without him killing any of the crew. If you fail the scene, Stafford will die here.
• Atrium – Escape the mimic Isley in the atrium again. If you don’t make it, the real Isley will die here.
• Dining Room – Escape from Mimic Isley in the dining room for the last time. Isley may die here again if she survived the atrium, but will be caught in this scene.

If all characters are still alive, you’ll see the “Cleanup” scene, where the team clears the elevator shaft and escapes the area. The crew will then begin refueling and exploring in the “Way Back” scene, but a chase will begin during the “Shoggoth” sequence. You must outrun the monster—if it catches you, Eisley will die. A successful rescue will lead to the “Road to the Reactor” scene.

More QTE sequences will follow. During the “Thresher” and “Sneak” scenes, the characters run away from the monster and can die. Successfully escape with Stafford and Isley, after which Stafford will trip and fall into the field.

To save him, choose to help Stafford and be sure to successfully complete the QTE sequences to ensure both astronauts survive. If you simply run away, Stafford will die. If you try to help but fail the QTE sequences, both Stafford and Eisley will die.

If everyone is still alive at this point, the game will skip the “Knock Knock” scene and all the associated forks, moving directly to “Return of the Beast,” where you’ll once again be faced with a series of quick QTE sequences that you’ll need to complete to keep everyone alive until the end of Directive 8020.

QTE Sequence Warning in Directive 8020

• Return of the Beast – Successfully complete the QTE and Cooper will close the door. If you fail, Cooper will die.
• Heavy Cargo – Avoid containers using QTE sequences to save Yang. If a container hits her, Yang will be crushed to death.
• Dismantling – When the monster tries to crush you with a beam from the ceiling, avoid it through the QTE sequences. If you fail the scene, Isley will grab and kill the tentacle.
• Full Tank – Disconnect the fuel line in time via QTE sequences and help Isley get safely to the ICA. If you don’t make it in time, she’ll die.
• No Pass – Successfully close the exits via QTE sequences to allow Cernan to enter the ICA.
• Entanglement – Cooper will have a QTE sequence where she throws an oxygen container into the monster’s mouth and then detonates it. Successfully destroy the monster to complete this scene.