Quick Rec: The Quarry

Do you like horror movies with a sense of humor? Do you distrust sleep-away camps? Have you ever yelled at the screen, sure that in a Real Horror Scenario (RHS) you wouldn’t make any stupid decisions?

Have I got a game for you! The Quarry is a choice-based horror game that takes you to Hackett’s Quarry, New York. The game mostly plays out in exploration, dialogue choices, and quick-time events (“Press X to not die,” as the old joke goes) as you attempt to keep a cast of flirty, troubled camp counselors alive through a bloody, summer night.

Branching choices affect relationships, the world around you, and your chances of figuring out the real story of what’s going on.

And if you’ve got a horror-minded friend, the game has a great take on couch co-op. Before the game starts, the players divide up the characters, then pass the controller back and forth as their characters take center stage.

I had a great time with this game, but be warned: there’s lots of ways for the night to go wrong, and you’ll likely need multiple attempts to feel like you’ve truly bested the quarry. And it’s unapologetically gore-y, so it’s not for the queasy. But if those caveats don’t bother you, by all means, enter The Quarry.