In Directive 8020 you can unlock five different endings, which in turn have various variations and take into account all of your decisions during the game. Here we will show you how you can see the best ending and how you can unlock all possible consequences.
How the endings differ
As with all Dark Pictures games, the endings initially differ roughly before breaking down into smaller variations. Based on your decisions throughout the game, you can first reach these main ends:
- The escape succeeds (Homeward & Docked): The crew, or what’s left of them, escapes on Tau Ceti f’s shuttle, either to the abandoned Cassiopeia in orbit or to the booster ring.
- The aliens manage to escape (exposed & massacre): Only non-playable characters and/or the alien doppelgangers manage to escape on the shuttle.
- Nobody can escape (horror): None of the crew and no alien doppelgangers reach the shuttle alive. Everyone dies first.
Best Ending (Homeward)
Activation conditions:
- Choose the “Save Us” option in the final decision in Episode 6 so that Young will send a distress call to the Andromeda in Episode 7.
- Young’s Loyal trait must be higher than the Serious trait at the start of Episode 8. Only then will her destiny “The Heroine” be unlocked. When blowing out the birthday cake, you then have to choose the option “Humanity has priority”.
- At least one crew member must escape the planet alive on the shuttle.
In the best ending, the surviving crew members manage to escape on the shuttle without any other alien doppelgangers on board. Since you have unlocked Young’s Destiny as a Hero, she tells the crew in a video message at the start of Episode 8 about the abandoned Cassiopeia in orbit, left there by a clone crew in a previous cycle. The crew sets sail with the abandoned Cassiopeia Course towards Earth and everyone can save themselves.
The cherry on the cake for this ending is that all non-playable crew members and especially Williams are also on board. If you managed to stun Cooper and Anders Williams in Episode 5 so that Anders could decode his drop drive, Williams reveals the full extent of the cloning program to the crew. You then have to order him to board the shuttle at the beginning of Episode 8. This is how it comes Truth about the cloning program comes to light, which has an impact on the post-credits scene.
Best Ending with a Twist (Sneaked in)
Activation conditions:
- All unlock conditions for the best ending (see above)
- (Option 1) Anders is a doppelganger and will not be revealed in Episode 7. To do this you have to find the wrong Anders in the cave (left path). At the stalactites (right path) the real one is different.
- (Option 2) In Episode 8, during the “Knock, Knock” section, open the door and let either Eisele or Cernan enter. They only appear here if Eisele or Cernan are caught during the escape sequences at the beginning of Episodes 3 and 5 and then you fail their QTEs in Episode 6. In any case, one of them dies and is replaced by a doppelganger.
This ending is a variation of the best ending that takes a darker turn. If one of the two options (1 or 2) occurs during your playthrough, an alien doppelganger will come on board the ship. In this case you see a short additional sequence with the doppelganger flying to Earth with the crew. In this case, Directive 8020 is violated and the earth is contaminated by an alien. However, the effects are not shown.
Good Ending (Docked)
Activation conditions:
- (Option 1) Choose the “Save Yourself” option in the final decision in Episode 6 so that Young will send a warning to the Andromeda in Episode 7.
- (Option 2) Young’s Serious Trait is higher than Loyal Trait at the start of Episode 8 or chooses Survival as Priority when blowing out the birthday cake.
- At least one crew member must escape the planet alive on the shuttle.
If these conditions occur, Young does not tell the crew about the abandoned Cassiopeia in orbit. However, the survivors discover the booster ring in the night sky, still in orbit. Since the crew can survive there longer than on the planet, they decide to escape to the ring. However, the future is uncertain because after docking the crew is stranded in orbit and can only try to to hold out as long as possible until help comes.
However, there is still a glimmer of hope with this ending, provided you reach the epilogue variation “Signal” (see below).
Good Ending with a Twist (Not Alone)
- All unlock conditions for the good ending (see above)
- (Option 1) Anders is a doppelganger and will not be revealed in Episode 7. To do this you have to find the wrong Anders in the cave (left path). At the stalactites (right path) the real one is different.
- (Option 2) In Episode 8, during the “Knock, Knock” section, open the door and let either Eisele or Cernan enter. They only appear here if Eisele or Cernan are caught during the escape sequences at the beginning of Episodes 3 and 5 and then you fail their QTEs in Episode 6. In any case, one of them dies and is replaced by a doppelganger.
There can also be a twist in this ending if an alien doppelganger has escaped on board the shuttle. The survival of the crew on the Booster Ring is clearly in danger before help can arrive.
Bad Ending 1 (Lone Wolf/Unmasked)
Activation conditions:
- Only alien doppelgangers manage to escape on the shuttle. To do this, the last crew members must die before the shuttle doors lock, while alien doppelgangers wait in the shuttle.
- (Option 1) Anders is a doppelganger and will not be revealed in Episode 7. To do this you have to find the wrong Anders in the cave (left path). At the stalactites (right path) the real one is different.
- (Option 2) In Episode 8, during the “Knock, Knock” section, open the door and let either Eisele or Cernan enter. They only appear here if Eisele or Cernan are caught during the escape sequences at the beginning of Episodes 3 and 5 and then you fail their QTEs in Episode 6. In any case, one of them dies and is replaced by a doppelganger.
With these conditions, an alien doppelganger appears at the shuttle’s doors and orders the mutated monster to get off the shuttle. In this way, the doppelganger can get to the ring and wait for help to get his to spread infection.
Bad Ending 2 (Retreat/Massacre)
Activation conditions:
- Only non-playable crew members (Mitchell, Williams and/or Anders) and alien doppelgangers manage to escape on the shuttle.
- (Option 1) Anders is a doppelganger and will not be revealed in Episode 7. To do this you have to find the wrong Anders in the cave (left path). At the stalactites (right path) the real one is different.
- (Option 2) In Episode 8, during the “Knock, Knock” section, open the door and let either Eisele or Cernan enter. They only appear here if Eisele or Cernan are caught during the escape sequences at the beginning of Episodes 3 and 5 and then you fail their QTEs in Episode 6. In any case, one of them dies and is replaced by a doppelganger.
In this ending, the alien doppelganger(s) kills all remaining crew members aboard the shuttle in a bloodbath.
Bad Ending 3 (Horror)
Activation conditions:
- No crew member or alien doppelganger can escape on the shuttle. Everyone dies first.
The worst ending of Directive 8020 occurs when the crew is completely killed and that Ship completely engulfed by the growth becomes. In a longer sequence, this process is shown to you at various points on the ship and ends with an image of many Young doppelgangers screaming into the camera – a real nightmare ending.
Epilogue (Forever and Ever)
After each of the endings you get to see the epilogue. Three months have now passed and the next crew of clones have awakened to explore Tau Ceti f.
Epilogue variation (signal)
Activation conditions:
- Crew members survived.
- Choose the “Save Us” option in the final decision in Episode 6 so that Young will send a distress call to the Andromeda in Episode 7.
- Young’s Loyal trait must be higher than the Serious trait at the start of Episode 8. Only then will her destiny “The Heroine” be unlocked. When blowing out the birthday cake, you then have to choose the “Survival is priority” option.
If you sent an SOS with Young but chose survival over humanity, you may experience a variation of the epilogue where the new crew receives an emergency signal. So if you got the docked ending, this epilogue gives you the resolution that the new crew will probably be able to save their stranded predecessors. Unfortunately, how the clones meet is not shown.
Eisele’s decision (scene after credits)
After the credits with interview videos of the crew there is also a post-credits scene. The perspective changes one last time to the original Eisele, whose fate determines the final scene.
- The humanitarian: If Eisele’s compassionate trait is stronger, she decides to stop the cloning program for moral reasons.
- The scientist: If Eisele’s rationality is more pronounced, the cloning program will continue out of scientific necessity.
During the scene, Young is also present in handcuffs for violating secrecy, NDA and confidentiality and informing Cycle 13 about the cloning program. Eisele’s decision probably also has an impact on how severely Young is punished.
The various endings also unlock trophies and achievements from Directive 8020. You will find a comprehensive guide for this in the linked guide.