The Quarry

The overall sentiment towards the story of The Quarry is positive, with many critics praising the engaging characters and the mystery that keeps the player invested. AusGamers, Carole Quintaine, and Game Revolution all mention the great story with engaging characters, while Comicbook.com and Digital Spy highlight the tension and unpredictability of the plot. The game's potential for multiple endings also adds to its replayability, according to AusGamers. TheXboxHub and App Trigger both mention the fun and interesting story that keeps the player engaged, while Digital Chumps and Gaming Age praise the game's narrative-driven experience. However, some critics mention the slow pacing and unsatisfying ending of the story. Push Square mentions that the story takes a long time to get going, with hours of setup that can feel like a slog to get through. The ending is also unsatisfying, according to them. Slant Magazine mentions that the game's pivotal past events and characterizations are relegated to collectible 'evidence' documents or protracted explanations by stiff character models. The ending comes suddenly and characters who seem important feel like little more than cameos. Overall, the majority of critics agree that The Quarry has a great story with engaging characters and a mystery that keeps the player invested. The game's potential for multiple endings adds to its replayability, and the tension and unpredictability of the plot make it a thrilling experience. While some critics mention the slow pacing and unsatisfying ending, the overall consensus is that The Quarry is a fun and interesting narrative-driven horror game that is worth playing.

The gameplay of The Quarry has received mixed reviews from critics. Some critics, such as Game Informer and But Why Tho?, have praised the game's decision-making mechanics, which allow players to make choices that dramatically affect the story's outcome. The game's exploration sections have also been well-received, with several critics, including PlayStation Universe and TheXboxHub, praising the environments' attention to detail and the abundance of collectibles. Additionally, the game's QTEs have been praised by some critics, such as GameSpew and App Trigger, for being easy to follow and not overly punishing. However, several critics have criticized The Quarry's gameplay mechanics. Softpedia has criticized the game's QTEs for feeling primitive and not well-integrated into the game, while Slant Magazine has criticized the game's exploration sections for feeling plodding and forced. The game's dialogue choices have also been criticized by several critics, including Guardian and RPG Fan, for feeling inconsequential and not leading to any in-game consequences. Additionally, some critics, such as Push Square and GAMES.CH, have criticized the game's lack of control and interactivity outside of quick-time events and cutscene choices. Overall, the consensus among critics is that The Quarry's gameplay mechanics are a mixed bag. While some critics have praised the game's decision-making mechanics and exploration sections, others have criticized the game's lack of interactivity and the feeling that the mechanics are there only to determine whether a character survives or not. However, most critics agree that the game's story is engaging and that the choices players make have weight and consequence.

The majority of the critics were impressed with the graphics and visual design of The Quarry. AusGamers praised the game's impressive visuals, great use of light and shadow, and noteworthy animation and object detail. Game Informer commended the art team for bringing the likenesses of the characters to life with a frightening degree of realism, capturing little emotions that can hold a character’s true intent for a split second. TheXboxHub noted that the interiors and exteriors of all the locations are exceptional and that Supermassive Games did a great job with motion capture and facial animations. The Quarry's characters were sumptuously-realised, with every nuance, be it a wrinkle, smirk or flash of horror, helping to accentuate every emotion on screen, according to PlayStation Universe. The Quarry features incredibly detailed and crisp visuals with impeccable cinematography, making playing through the game feel like watching a movie, as per Impulsegamer. However, some critics did have some negative feedback regarding the graphics and visual design of The Quarry. Softpedia stated that the camera often fails to focus on the faces of the characters, the eyelids tend to be glued together, the hair is unnatural, and the water animations are not realistic. But Why Tho? mentioned that the game's hair and water physics were flawed, and the game was too dark at times, making it difficult to navigate. Push Square noted that the game struggles with fire and has some texture pop-in, and the camera work is hit and miss. Overall, the consensus among the critics is that The Quarry has impressive visuals, with believable facial expressions and gestures from the characters, and the motion capture technology is well-done. The game's high fidelity performance capture technology provides meticulous attention to detail, making the performances feel authentic, according to Comicbook.com. The Quarry's charming writing and cinematic presentation make it an engrossing horror caper, as per Guardian. The Quarry has incredible visual fidelity, and solid acting performances, being the cherry on top, according to GamesHub. The Quarry is supremely polished and cinematic, and it looks terrific, with every member of the game's cast being lovingly rendered, and mo-capped performances being excellent, according to Xbox Achievements. The Quarry is one of the best-looking games from a technical perspective, according to RPG Fan.

The sound design and music of The Quarry have been praised by most critics. Impulsegamer, Xbox Achievements, ZTGD, and TheXboxHub have all commended the game's sound design and music choices. The soundtrack has been compared to that of a high-end horror movie, with atmospheric effects that work well for the horror theme. The voice acting has also been praised, with But Why Tho? highlighting the all-star voice cast and TheSixthAxis commending the convincing performances and irreverent banter between the cast. However, there are some criticisms regarding the sound design and music of The Quarry. Carole Quintaine has pointed out that some of the music breaks the immersion in the game, while Softpedia has stated that the soundtrack is forgettable and the voice acting is not spectacular. Impulsegamer has also mentioned that some of the pop songs used in the game ruin serious moments. Overall, the consensus among the critics is that The Quarry has excellent sound design and music choices, with a soundtrack that wouldn't be out of place in any horror flick. The voice acting has been praised for its all-star cast and convincing performances. While there are some criticisms regarding the music choices and forgettable soundtrack, the positives outweigh the negatives, making The Quarry a game with great sound design and music.

The majority of the critics agree that the voice acting in The Quarry is top-notch. AusGamers praises the vocal and facial performances, stating that they are cutting edge and the characters are wonderfully realized. Game Informer also highlights the younger ensemble's performances, making the player want to do everything to keep them out of harm's way one second and strangle them the next. The actors put up an excellent performance, immersing themselves in their roles as teenagers, according to Impulsegamer. TheXboxHub also commends the high standard of the performances executed by the actors, delivering believable performances with relish, comedy, and horror. However, some critics have pointed out some negatives. Comicbook.com notes that due to the different branching paths in the narrative and choices, the game is blending a lot of different takes together, resulting in performances feeling out of sync with the previous line of dialogue. Slant Magazine also mentions that characters who seem important because they're played by big actors feel like little more than cameos. Overall, the consensus among the critics is that the voice acting in The Quarry is very good. Digital Spy praises the motion-capture technology, which does a terrific job of letting the cast's acting talent shine, making the performances feel authentic. But Why Tho? describes the voice work as the best for a Supermassive game, with the delivery feeling like they practiced to get the tone right for each option while staying in character. App Trigger also notes that the characters are fleshed out and distinct, making the player care about their survival. Despite some minor flaws, the voice acting in The Quarry is a standout feature that adds to the immersive experience of the game.

The critics generally had positive opinions about the Technical Performance of The Quarry on PC. GameSpew and Impulsegamer both reported no technical issues during their playthroughs. GameStar described the game as technically uncomplicated but effective. GamesHub praised the game's 'death rewind' system, which allows players to replay a scene immediately after their character's death. These positive opinions suggest that the game runs smoothly on PC and offers a good gaming experience. However, the Technical Performance of The Quarry on Xbox Series X received mixed reviews. Slant Magazine reported that the game had weird fade-outs and abrupt endings, which made the story choices feel disconnected. The tight camera angles and sluggish controls were also criticized. ZTGD reported that the game didn't register the reviewer's inputs during an action scene, resulting in a character's death. These negative opinions suggest that the game's technical performance on Xbox Series X has some issues that need to be addressed. The Technical Performance of The Quarry on PS5 also received mixed reviews. App Trigger reported that the game had some bugs that didn't affect the gameplay, but the controls were the best they've ever felt. The game also offers three chances throughout the game to rewind time and do things differently to save characters. Push Square reported that the game had some visual glitches that could ruin the immersion, and the camera could get in the way. The game was also uneven in terms of quality. These mixed reviews suggest that the game's technical performance on PS5 has some issues that need to be addressed. Overall, the critics had mixed opinions about the Technical Performance of The Quarry on all gaming platforms. While some critics reported no technical issues on PC, others reported issues on Xbox Series X and PS5. The game's 'death rewind' system was praised by some critics, while others criticized the game's camera angles and sluggish controls. The game's technical performance needs improvement on all gaming platforms to provide a better gaming experience.

The overall sentiment of the critics suggests that The Quarry has a high replay value due to its multiple endings, branching paths, and customizable experience. AusGamers, Carole Quintaine, Digital Spy, Game Informer, Game Revolution, GamesHub, Guardian, Impulsegamer, RPG Fan, TheXboxHub, Xbox Achievements, and ZTGD all agree that the game's replayability is a significant positive aspect. The addition of couch co-op, an online co-op mode, and Movie Mode also add to the ways in which players can experience the story. The game's collectible tarot cards, which offer glimpses into possible futures, are also praised by Comicbook.com and GameSpew. The game's spiderweb of paths leading to 186 potential endings is enthralling, especially when they lead to absolute chaos, according to Game Informer. However, Softpedia and Ragequit.gr are critical of the game's replay value. Softpedia argues that the game's structure is needy and fails to captivate players, while Ragequit.gr notes that the lack of skip/fast forward in the dialogue makes subsequent attempts quite tedious. Softpedia also criticizes the game's cutscenes, which act as mini points of no return, making it difficult to go back and collect missed items. The collectibles do not carry over from one playthrough to another, and there is no way to check them from the main menu, which is also mentioned by Softpedia. Overall, the consensus among the critics is that The Quarry has a high replay value due to its branching paths, multiple endings, and customizable experience. The addition of couch co-op, an online co-op mode, and Movie Mode also adds to the ways in which players can experience the story. The game's collectible tarot cards and the spiderweb of paths leading to 186 potential endings are praised by several critics. However, Softpedia and Ragequit.gr are critical of the game's replay value, citing issues with the game's structure, cutscenes, and lack of skip/fast forward in the dialogue. Despite these criticisms, the majority of critics agree that The Quarry is a game worth revisiting multiple times to explore different paths and outcomes.