It really does feel like for the last six to seven years, Supermassive Games have been trying to see if lightning can strike twice. In 2015, they hit it big with Until Dawn, an acclaimed choose-your-own adventure throwback to classic horror films, and the majority of their output since then has consisted of Until Dawn spin-offs (Rush of Blood, The Inpatient) or their Dark Pictures Anthology games (Man of Medan, Little Hope, House of Ashes), which have largely come off as miniature Until Dawn games in all but name only. And all of those game have failed to live up to the initial thrills of Until Dawn (though we still have one game left to go in The Dark Pictures Anthology's first season).

So after all of that, it sort of makes sense that Supermassive would want to return to a game similar to Until Dawn in terms of gameplay and scope, which seems to be the case with their upcoming game, The Quarry. In fact, having had time with an hour-long preview covering some of the second and third chapters, it would be easy to see The Quarry as basically Until Dawn II or an Until Dawn remake. It has a similar setup: a bunch of teenage kids consisting of different horror move archetypes wind up isolated in the wilderness and find themselves having to survive the night while being hunted by what seems like a variety of threats, some clearly supernatural, others not so much. There's branching paths, relationship mechanics, collectible clues to find...heck, one of the choices between a QTE-filled shortcut or a safer yet longer path that seemingly determines the fate of a friend is almost taken directly from Until Dawn.

That all being said, there's nothing wrong with sticking to a winning formula as long as you still find ways to add interesting tweaks to it. I'm a die-hard Mega Man fan, having seen tons of similar games there that could easily described as "tried-but-true." And from what has been seen in this little sneak peek of The Quarry, it does seem to have enough twists to keep things fresh. Some of them are subtle changes, like with the collectibles which provide visions. Where Until Dawn had totems and The Dark Pictures Anthology has paintings that each immediately give you a vision of a potential choice-based outcome, The Quarry has tarot cards, but any visions can only be provided by the between-chapter host, a fortune teller named Eliza. And they don't just provide visions, but give you a full reading, allowing for a more detailed hint about what to possibly do.

There's also a "Don't Breathe" mechanic, which comes into play when being hunted. Where The Dark Pictures Anthology had sections where you press buttons in time with one's heartbeat to stay calm or Until Dawn had those annoying Sixaxis section where you had to keep the controller steady, The Quarry keeps it simple: during sections where you're being hunted, hold down a button to hold your breath in order to avoid detection. The twist is that if you wait too long, hold it for too long, or let it go at the wrong time, you give away your position. So whereas previous mechanics were all about timing and dexterity, these moments in The Quarry are all about proper judgement, which is a nice change of pace that fits the tone of the series more.

One notable addition, though, is combat sections. The various playable characters can each get their hold on a gun at certain points, and there will be sections where they have to use it against a possible threat...or not use it, since choices matter here. Gameplay-wise, it's simple, just a rail shooter-esque screen where you aim and shoot. You're not armed with a rifle or pistol, however, but a shotgun, with only a flashlight to help aim. And because it's a shotgun, spread is taken into effect, meaning it's more effective at close ranges, which suggests having to judge the right time to fire it on incoming threats. Our preview session even closed with a rather tense section, highlighting this mechanic, as our injured friend Nick was being dragged away by a seemingly insane hunter. I chose to fire, but with only a flashlight to judge and Nick's closeness to the hunter suggesting they could easily get hit by the spread or something more fatal, would I be able to accurately line up a shot in time? Should I even shoot under these conditions?

Little additions to gameplay like that helped make for what feels like a potentially improved adventure (not to mention other touches like sections with full camera control, carrying over from House of Ashes), but what will likely keep players intrigued in The Quarry is one of the same reasons Until Dawn was a success: its story and characters, and its willingness to go all in on the classic horror tropes. The Quarry, while set in the modern day, clearly aims for classic '80s slasher vibes, what with its summer camp setting, '80s aesthetics like VHS filters and fonts, and cast of horny teenagers stuck at Hackett's Quarry because they purposely disable their car in order to give themselves one more night after the last day of camp in order for one last chance in order to be intimate.

Said teens have been warned to leave immediately by camp head Chris (voiced by David Arquette), and once stranded, are told to remain indoors until he can get back. Rather unsurprisingly, our camp counselors ignore that warning, and one store raid and a fireside game of Truth or Dare gone south, find themselves split up and being hunted. Hunted by what, exactly, has yet to be seen. You have redneck hunters seemingly posting a sign saying they're ready to bag humans, a more straightforward monster lurking in the woods, or something else. We're also treated to the seeds that help set up the intriguing mysteries even further, such as a corpse anchored at the bottom of the lake, Chris having a room filled with creepy surveillance monitors, photos pointing to secret siblings, and at the end, the aforementioned hunter having let Nick go after a successful shot...and then shooting one of their own fingers off. That was a massive "What the heck?" moment which alone had me wanting to know more about what the hell is going on in Hackett's Quarry.

Our main cast, meanwhile, is full of characters that are rather likeable, like the take-charge Kaitlyn or the charming Nick, or ones that could easily be fun to hate, like the dudebro Jacob or the rich manipulator Emma. Will they have hidden depths or will we want to see them ripped apart by the unknown? Either way, the all-star cast seems to have good chemistry in the dialogue interactions presented, so I'll be rooting for all of them to live. And of course, it's always a hoot to see more of veterans like Arquette or Henriksen, and what skeletons their characters might possibly be hiding.

The Quarry may not be breaking much ground for Supermassive, but as seen with the likes of the recent fifth Scream film earlier this year, you can still deliver a classic horror film that revisits old ground while adding new touches, and it can still turn out to be an enjoyable time. Both The Quarry and Scream even have David Arquette for good measure. And thanks to a promising batch of characters, an impressive setting filled with various secrets and intrigue, and tried-and-true gameplay, The Quarry still looks to be a nightmarish yet fun blast when it comes out June 10 for PC, Xbox and PlayStation platforms, courtesy of 2K Games.