What's The Fastest Way To Get Everyone Killed In Directive 8020?

Published May 15, 2026, 4:30 PM EDT Gabrielle is a staff writer for TheGamer who began working in gaming journalism in May 2022, immediately after graduating cum laude with her Bachelors in English. A lifelong lover of in-depth RPGs and cozy simulation games alike, she enjoys having married her passions for both writing and video games in her work. She's spent her life chasing Platinum trophies and completionist collections, even before a company started paying her to do it on the internet. In a game rife with choices that matter and quick-time events that can kill, it's almost harder to save everyone in Directive 8020, the first game in the new season of The Dark Pictures Anthology. There are dozens of ways your crew members can meet their ends - 44 of them, to be more precise. While some of the deaths in Directive 8020 are canon to the story, there are plenty you can influence in one way or another, especially by exploring the Turning Points in each chapter. Here's a look at how to kill everyone off in Directive 8020. This guide contains spoilers for every episode of Directive 8020. Use Turning Points To See Every Death With a few potential endings in any game from The Dark Pictures Anthology, there's always merit in trying to save the whole crew of the Cassiopeia as best you can and make it to either of the core endings after the credits in episode eight, but there are plenty of ways to end your game early by ending everyone's life. After all, there's no game to play if there aren't any characters left alive to play! Related Directive 8020: Simms' Recordings Location Guide Find all ten of the Simms Recording locations in The Dark Pictures Anthology: Directive 8020 to piece together some backstory on the Cetus Mission. If you're trying to correct any potential mistakes during the 44 possible death scenes in Directive 8020, then you'll want to make ample use of the Turning Points trees as you try to see each death scene in the game. We definitely recommend playing the game through the first time making your own decisions along the way so it feels like a more authentic gameplay experience, but at any point, you can alter history in your save by using the Turning Points chart to return to key moments along the way. You can accomplish quite a lot by rolling credits the first time, and then diving back to unlock more scenes you had to miss along the way due to binary decision-making. You can see how the paths branch out from one another at a glance, and it's easy to track your way back to major decisions to make different ones for sake of logging every scene in the game into your save. Directive 8020 keeps track of how much of each episode you've seen, so consult the percentages on the episode thumbnails to see what's left to do where. Every death in Directive 8020 will be marked with a red skull icon on the Turning Points branch for that chapter, with the same icon available for info at a glance when choosing which episode to look at on the Turning Points menu. You can see your overall game progress here as well, with a track of how many of the 44 deaths you've caused so far available in the top right corner here. When you're examining an episode's Turning Points branches, the same red skull will be present on any scene during which a character dies. If you're trying to go back to kill everyone off for the sake of completionism, though, you'll need to keep in mind that, while the Turning Points do make it much easier to go back and change decisions, you can't see each death on a single playthrough, with everyone's fate impacting everyone else's. Some deaths will even be locked entirely if certain characters died earlier on in your playthrough. If there's a scene you need to see for sake of progressing the game, you'll see different characters swap in with one another fairly seamlessly in most end-game situations. For example, if Stafford dies earllier on, then Eisele will instead be the one you see in most of these scenes. Who's around to attempt those last-second QTEs in episode eight depends on who actually makes it to the SEV in the first place, with roles swapping effortlessly here between any survivors. That said, if you kill everyone in Directive 8020 too early, you'll lock yourself out of a lot of end-game content. There are plenty of times you can trigger an early ending by running out of crew, so decide early on what kind of playthrough you're trying to have. What's The Fastest Way To Get Everyone Killed? While there's always merit to saving everyone in a Dark Pictures game, if you're trying to run back and see every death along the way, then you'll need to know the first time each character can be killed off. These are as follows: Stafford can die for the first time during episode three, when the ship crashes. This is the first major death, and it branches the story pretty heavily from here. When given the choice on when to sit down, fail the QTEs to buckle in. Depending on how you've built Cooper so far, Williams might be the next potential death. Unlock The Medic character destiny for Cooper, and Williams will be attacked and killed instead of drugged. The next potential death is Mitchell, which will happen during episode five when you're testing the alien matter just after the scene with Williams, but you have an important decision to make during episode two when choosing which system to cut the power for when redirecting it as Young and Eisele. If you turn off the fire suppression system in episode two, then Mitchell will be without any backup in the fuel room in episode five. When given the choice, save Anders. Any other situation results in Mitchell's life being spared. The sixth episode can end poorly for whoever ended up going to Hydroponics, either Cernan or Eisele. Either way, if you get them caught during earlier episodes, they're too tired to fight back when they get caught here as well and will die in the struggle to get away. The next potential death happens moments later, when the crew has to choose what to do about Williams and his odd behavior. If you're trying to kill everyone during this run, the first chance to end Williams' life is right here if you choose to shoot when given the choice. Whichever character did not appear in the chase in Hydroponics, either Cernan or Eisele once again, the other's life is on the line during the Split Up scene in episode six. If they got caught earlier in the game and are caught again here, then like the other character, they will be too tired to fight off the monster and perish in the fight. From there, if anyone should happen to be left alive, it's fairly easy to kill them off during episode eight's QTEs. Related Directive 8020: All Characters And Their Voice Actors Meet the real people behind the crew of the Cassiopeia in Directive 8020. All 44 Possible Deaths In Directive 8020 All Deaths In Episode One: Little Star Though you can't save Simms and Carter in the end, you can still have a hand in how they die during the first episode of the game, as is normal in Supermassive titles. Simms has the first death in Directive 8020, and it happens when she and Carter are outside the Cassiopeia trying to repair the hull breach in the first episode. She'll trip over some debris and be sent flying from the ship, but she engages her thrusters and flies back toward Carter to try and save herself. If you're trying to kill everyone in Directive 8020, then you'll need to fail to catch her and watch the tender scene of her floating away while on comms with Carter. But Simms as a character isn't done yet - she reappears on the ship and tries her best to kill Carter when he discovers her acting strangely, and she chases him down. When you're fleeing from the monster as Carter, getting caught at any point will kill Carter during this scene, locking in both death scenes early. Episode Two: Best Laid Plans Decision While there are no potential deaths in episode two, there are still a handful of decisions to make now that can make it easier to get the crew killed later on. When Young and Eisele have to choose between which system to leave online when diverting power in the second episode, choosing to cut power to the Fire Control system locks in a death during episode five. You'll also discover Carter's body at the end of the episode, no matter what happened to him earlier. All Deaths In Episode Three: The Sample There's only one potential death during the third episode of Directive 8020, but it's a major one that branches the story in a pretty major way this early one. That potential death is for Stafford, no matter what has happened so far. When the Cassiopeia is crash-landing onto Tau Ceti F, Stafford says he may be able to help reengage the landing gears by venturing over to a control panel on the wall. Regardless of which system you cut power for during episode two, your best bet is to send Stafford to try and fix it, even if you know it's disengaged. Doing so wastes a good amount of time in Eisele's countdown, and Stafford will try to get back to his seat before the crash. You're given a few QTEs to get Stafford to his seat during this scene, and if you fail enough of them, Stafford will run out of time and not be buckled in when the ship crashes and will perish when it happens. All Deaths In Episode Four: Dragnet While nobody dies anew in the fourth episode of Directive 8020, this is where you'll discover Simms' body. It does not count as a death for the scene, though, and Dragnet technically features no potential deaths. All Deaths In Episode Five: Mr. Williams When it's time to test the alien mater, a disaster breaks out - Anders will be trapped in a room where the temperature is dropping rapidly, while Mitchell will be nearby when a fuel line explodes and causes a fire during episode five. Though there is a choice on who to save here, there's a critical decision that you need to have made earlier - you need the Fire Controls deactivated going into this scene. Even if you fail to save Anders, someone else will save her, so the only death you're really able to influence here is Mitchell. If you're trying to kill him, you'll need to disengage the Fire Controls during episode two, and choose to save Anders when it's time. Unable to get out, Mitchell is locked in with the fire and burns alive. All Deaths In Episode Six: Hostile Takeover Things really begin to heat up in episode six, with 13 potential deaths before you move onto the next chapter of the game. Whoever you sent down to Hydroponics is in danger of being conquered by a body double during a fight, so get ready for some QTEs again while they fight it out. Close Encounter Title: Send Eisele to Hydroponics, and get caught. Point Blank Shot Down: Choose to shoot Williams when given the chance. Spit Up Frozen Over: Have Cernan get caught in episode three, volunteer him to go to Hydroponics, and then have him get caught again. Acid Rain: Have Eisele get caught earlier in the episode, volunteer her to go to Hydroponics, and then have her get caught again. Eisele Interrogated Eisele Slain: Order both Eiseles through the scanner. Hold Fire: Time out on the decision of which Eisele to shoot. Eisele Shot: Choose to shoot the newcomer. Cernan Interrogated Cernan Slain: Order both Cernans through the scanner. Flatline: Miss the QTEs after the original character is killed. Cernan Shot: Choose to shoot the newcomer. All Deaths In Episode Seven: Revelation The potential deaths in episode seven of Directive 8020 all depend on who's on the mission with you, and how they fare in getting back to the ship. While it doesn't kill her right now, you can lock in a later death for Anders during the Search Party scene where you're looking for her after the group gets separated. If you find the impostor here instead of the real Anders, you'll bring a mimic aboard the ship and leave the real Anders to die at the end of the game when you leave. She'll watch the ship fly off without her and be left behind on Tau Ceti F when the crew escapes. There are, though, a few direct deaths here that will come if you fail to evade the monster as the crew attempts to get back into the ship to regroup with anyone else who may be left alive. During the Pod Room scene, you're likely playing as Young if you've gotten here at all. If she gets caught by the life form in the Pod Room during this sequence, then Young dies here. Either way, you'll move into Geoscience from here, possibly playing as Cernan, but if you escape the alien here, you'll also need to complete the goals in the scene titled The Hunt that comes immediately after. Being caught during either of these scenes will kill Cernan during episode seven. If both characters are killed during these scenes, then you'll proceed into the Cut Off scene where you'll see Anders and Mitchell, if he's still around, killed off by or both of the of the aliens. All Deaths In Episode Eight: Come True As you might expect if you've played a Supermassive Games title before, the last episode of Directive 8020 holds the most potential for chaos, with 23 potential deaths here to throw a wrench into your plans at the eleventh hour. The majority of them are again caused while you're running from the alien, which means there are plenty of quick-time events during the final scenes of the crew trying to flee the planet's surface. Each of these deaths will depend on which characters are alive to experience them, so we'll be giving the scene name and the characters that might die during it, as well as what happens to cause that death in Directive 8020. Redirect - Killed by Eisele Get caught by the Eisele monster. Atrium - Killed in Atrium Get caught by the monster while navigating the Atrium Mess Hall - Killed in Mess Hall Get caught by the monster while trying to escape the Mess Hall. Shoggoth - No Escape Get caught by the monster during this chase scene. Tentacle Flail - Tentacle Stab Miss the first QTE while running through the narrow hallways when the monster swings its tentacle at your character. Creeper - Stabbed Miss the QTE and get caught by the tentacle. Snap Decision - Self-Preservation Choose "Run" when given the choice. Snap Decision - Double Kill Choose "Save" when given the choice, but fail the QTE to do so. Knock Knock - Swarmed If Mitchell is alive, and either Eisele or Cernan are as well, choose to abandon Mitchell at the door. Return of the Beast - Flattened Miss the QTE at the door. Uncontained - Flattened Miss any of the QTEs to dodge the container. Teardown - Mitchell Sacrifice If Mitchell is still alive, fail the QTE to dodge the beam. Teardown - Impaled If Mitchell is dead, fail the QTE to dodge the beam. Teardown - Eaten Alive Dodge the beam from Teardown, but miss the QTE to dodge the monster that attacks immediately after. Fueled Up - Devoured Fail the QTE to detach the fuel line. Seal the Exits - Grabbed Miss the QTE to close the door of the SEV. Grappled - Explosion Fail the QTE to blow up the O2 container in the monster's mouth if Anders is the original Anders. Grappled - Slipped Fail the QTE to get the oxygen cannister into the monster's mouth, and fail the QTEs to keep hold of the ship. Stranded Find the impostor Anders during the Search Party scene in episode seven and escape Tau Ceti F on the Cassiopeia. Nightcap Choose to Leave Williams when given the choice on how to handle him not wanting to leave with the group. Horror (Ending) Have too few crew members left alive to continue into any ending. Retreat - Massacre (Ending) Have the impostor be the only one to escape on the SEV. Next Directive 8020: Achievement/Trophy Guide Here's how to unlock all achievements and trophies in Directive 8020.