Discover everything you need to know about the ultimate choose-your-own-adventure game

By Ross Campbell, Writer

Giving a game multiple endings depending on the player’s choices makes it far more replayable, and game-makers have used this method from the early days of the classic Resident Evil and Silent Hill series right up to the more recent Detroit: Become Human.

Writer Charlie Brooker brought this into TV with Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, and now The Quarry has taken the concept further still with a mind-boggling 186 possible endings.

The interactive narrative comes from Will Byles, the director of Until Dawn. However, The Quarry isn’t a sequel to that 2015 game but more a “spiritual successor”, according to Byles.

Before you scare yourself silly, here are all your questions answered about the game that will keep you up at night…

Hang about… was that Dewey from Scream in the trailer?

The mysterious Jedediah (Lance Henriksen) can’t wait to meet you…

It most certainly was, eagle-eyed reader – someone’s had their Weetabix. David Arquette is one of the playable characters in this beautifully designed teen-horror-cum-date-movie of a game.

You’ll notice a few other horror veterans on the call sheet too, including Lin Shaye (Nightmare On Elm Street, Insidious), Miles Robbins (Halloween), Grace Zabriskie (Twin Peaks) and Ted Raimi (The Evil Dead) as well as Lance Henrikson, a veteran of many horror movies including Damien: Omen II, Scream 3 and The Pit And The Pendulum, as well as games including Mass Effect and Call Of Duty.

The cast also includes Ariel Winter (Modern Family), Justice Smith (Pokémon: Detective Pikachu), Brenda Song (The Social Network), Halston Sage (The Orville) and Skyler Gisondo (Santa Clarita Diet).

As you’ll have seen in the trailer, the game is visually stunning. To achieve the realistic performances, Byles used the same motion capture guys who worked on the Avengers films to put his stellar cast into The Quarry, as opposed to using only their voices.

What do you do in The Quarry?

Camp counsellor Kaitlyn (Brenda Song) is charismatic and fun-loving. Or, at least, she used to be.

Hackett’s Quarry is an American summer camp – the classic setting for things that go bump in the night. The characters are all camp counsellors who work there. Half-cinematic, half-gameplay, it gives you the power to choose how each individual story unfolds, with even the most seemingly insignificant decision having the potential to send everything spinning sideways.

And it’s not just about fight or flight: you’re given the option to control the relationships between characters. There are also a lot of quick-time events peppered throughout the stories, requiring players to stay on the ball as the action progresses.

The Quarry has been designed to allow the story to continue even if your guy dies. With nine playable characters, there’s always another narrative waiting in the wings. Byles explains that “if somebody dies an hour in, the rest of the structure is still there – all those little other spokes are all still headed down towards this sort of ending”.

What kind of horror game is The Quarry?

Travis is sheriff of the ominously named town of North Kill. He’s played by Ted Raimi, brother of director Sam (The Evil Dead and Spider-Man series).

The whole game feels like a homage to the horror genre, drawing inspiration from Stephen King stories, modern slashers like Scream, and creature features like Predator and Jaws. There’s always something lurking just out of view, creating a thrilling sense of anticipation.

In terms of how graphic, gruesome and scary it’s going to be, it’s certified by PEGI at 18+, putting it firmly in the same ball park as all your favourite jump-fests. You can play it from the edge of your seat, or from behind the couch – totally your decision.

Obviously, it’s the interactive element of the story that puts The Quarry in a league of its own. It takes around ten hours to play through but with 186 possible endings, those who want to “complete” the game – squeezing every possible eventuality out it – will be kept entertained for much longer.

Is The Quarry hard?

Abigail (Ariel Winter) is sweet, arty and looking for love… but the cursed camp has other ideas.

There are various levels of difficulty available to players, which will be good news to those who may just be getting into this genre of gameplay, or don’t do well with quick-time events. The team behind the game have also chosen to include the option of a do-over button that they call Death Rewind.

“Death Rewind is a retry mechanic that unlocks after you’ve gone through the story, or if you purchase the Deluxe Edition of the game,” explains Byles. “You’re essentially granted three “lives” that enable you to avoid a character death at the cost of using one of the lives. You’ll be taken back to the moment you made a critical choice that results in the character’s death, so that you can make a different choice.”