Directive 8020 is the latest Dark Pictures Anthology entry from Supermassive Games, and like its siblings it builds completion around branching choices, Turning Points, character deaths, collectibles, and multiple endings spread across eight episodes. The fastest way to clear every trophy is not a single perfect run but a planned three-pass cleanup that protects the save-everyone route first and then uses Turning Points to backfill alternate deaths, endings, and missables.
Quick answer: Complete one full playthrough, aiming to keep the crew alive and unlock the Humanitarian Destiny on Eisele, then use Story Tree Turning Points to branch into alternate deaths, the other four endings, missed collectibles, and any Movie Night or co-op specific trophies without redoing the entire game.
Completion route order
Trophy hunting Directive 8020, like a linear game, wastes hours. The game's Story Tree and Turning Points let you rewind to any major decision point, so the efficient path is to build a strong base run, then branch outward into destructive content.
| Pass | Goal | Why this order |
|---|---|---|
| Run 1 | Save-everyone run targeting the Homeward Bound ending and the Humanitarian Destiny. | Establishes the best-ending base and unlocks the hardest single trophy chain in one playthrough. |
| Run 2 | Endings cleanup using late Turning Points to swap final choices. | Reaches the Hitchhiker, Docked, Not Alone, Retreat/Massacre, and Lone Wolf finales without replaying earlier acts. |
| Run 3 | Death scenes, choice-locked trophies, missing collectibles. | Rewinds single Turning Points to fail specific QTEs or change one trust decision at a time. |
| Final pass | Movie Night co-op, Deluxe Heirlooms mission, and any mode-specific trophies. | Easier once you already know which characters live and where every secret sits. |
Carter and Simms are scripted to die. Both are playable in the opening hours and cannot be carried into the finale, so do not waste branches trying to save them past their fixed exits. You can still influence whether they suffer earlier deaths, which matters for the death-scene trophies later.
Best ending base run: Homeward Bound and the Humanitarian trophy
The "everyone lives" route hinges on five Destinies, careful Turning Point choices each episode, and a clean run through every QTE and stealth section in the back half. Lock these decisions on Run 1.
Step 1: In Episode 1 (Little Star), pass the QTE when Simms slips on the way back to the airlock at the Disaster Turning Point, then survive the Chase sequence. This keeps both opening characters alive into their scripted exits and locks Carter's Caretaker Destiny.
Step 2: In Episode 2 (Best Laid Plans), choose Dismiss when Mitchell asks Stafford whether he trusts Anders at the Little Faith Turning Point. Disable the Landing Computer at Power Games, then have Eisele reactivate Fire Control during Pursuit without being spotted by Simms. These three choices together lock in Mitchell's survival in Episode 5.
Step 3: Build Young's Loyal trait and Eisele's Sympathetic trait aggressively through dialogue. Young's path leads to The Hero, and Eisele's path leads to The Humanitarian. These two Destinies are non-negotiable for the best ending and the matching trophies.
Step 4: In Episode 3 (The Sample), sneak past Williams in No Games as Cernan, keep Stafford seated during the Crash, complete the QTE when Williams wakes at Rude Awakening so he shows injection side effects later, and find Carter's Utility Strap by following the beeping in the Mess Hall as Cooper. As Stafford in Mystery, agree that Simms suffered an isolation episode and tell Eisele she was right to be concerned. This unlocks Stafford's Commander's Path.
Step 5: In Episode 4 (Dragnet), get past Williams during Overwatch as Cooper, refuse the firearm in Loaded Question as Eisele, survive the Drawbridge as Young, and pass every QTE in the Fight Turning Point.
Step 6: In Episode 5 (Mr. Williams), activate the three breakers without being caught by Stafford. At Suspicions, help Anders drug Williams. At Under Pressure, have Young save Anders. Because Fire Control was preserved in Episode 2, Mitchell survives the same scene. Volunteer Eisele as backup when Stafford goes on the SEV mission.
Step 7: In Episode 6 (Hostile Takeover), do not shoot Williams in Point Blank, since his nosebleeds and reaction to being called "Mr. Williams" confirm he is the real one. Pick the correct Eisele in Eisele's Test by watching which version goes for the firearm. Pick "Save Our Souls" when Directive 8020 is revealed on the Bridge. Sympathize with Stafford in Making the Call and plead with him in The Crown Falls to upgrade his Destiny to The Father.
Step 8: In Episode 7 (Revelation), during Search Party, take the right path at the fork where the scanner reads two signatures, leading into a cave with stalactites. Send an SOS as Young at the Charybdis pod. Survive the stealth encounter in Pod Room as Young and Geoscience as Cernan.
Step 9: In Episode 8 (Come True), choose Humanity First at the Wish Turning Point to lock the good ending. Insist Williams stays with the crew in Second Chances. Do not approach the crying Mitchell in Atrium. Save Stafford in Snap Decision. At Knock Knock as Cooper, let Mitchell in. Pass every QTE during the SEV search. Eisele's final choice to end the cycle unlocks both the Humanitarian and NDA Breaker trophies.
Confirmation that the route worked: the Homeward Bound ending plays out with all eight survivors making it back, followed by the epilogue revealing the cloning program on Earth.
Destinies required for character trophies
Each character has a personal Destiny tied to a dominant personality trait. Hitting them in one run is possible if you commit early to the right dialogue choices.
| Character | Destiny | Trait to build | Key checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eisele | The Humanitarian | Sympathetic | Concern for Simms in Suspicions, plead in Decompression, support Eisele in Mystery, refuse firearm in Loaded Question, volunteer in Backup, help Stafford in Snap Decision. |
| Stafford | The Father | Supportive | Dismiss Mitchell in Little Faith, accept the isolation theory in Mystery, check on Williams in Terraforming, defend Anders in Only Human. |
| Young | The Hero | Loyal | Joke in O Death, plead in The Crown Falls, sympathize through Making the Call, Holdout, and Why You Started. |
| Cooper | The Rogue | Playful | Take every joke option available and help Anders in Suspicions. |
| Cernan | The Philosopher | Philosophical | Lean into philosophical dialogue, especially when speaking with Mitchell. |
Cooper's Rogue is the earliest Destiny to lock in, while Young's Hero only finalizes at the start of Episode 8. Eisele's Humanitarian is the last to fire and triggers during the finale's cycle-ending choice.
Hidden choice trophies and how to unlock them
Several smaller trophies sit outside the main survival route and reward specific interactions. None of them are random.
| Trophy | Trigger |
|---|---|
| Humanitarian | Reach the end of Episode 8 with all six core characters alive and unlock Eisele's Humanitarian Destiny, then have Eisele stop the cycle. |
| NDA Breaker | Achieved in the same post-credits sequence as Humanitarian, after Eisele exposes the cloning program. |
| Password1 | Hack Williams's computer when the option is available and copy his drop drive. |
| Is This Decaf? | Triggered during a specific coffee-related interaction in the crew areas. |
| This Steak's Raw | Tied to a specific mess hall or food interaction during exploration. |
| Suspect Acquitted | Reach the point where suspicion shifts away from the accused crew member by following the correct evidence chain. |
| Cat's Out the Bag | Tied to a specific reveal involving a hidden truth about the crew or cloning program. |
Several of these are missable and gated to single Turning Points. After your Run 1, open the Story Tree, scroll to the relevant chapter, and rewind only that point rather than starting the episode over.
Endings cleanup
Five distinct finales plus dark-twist variants exist. After the Humanitarian run, you only need late Turning Points to reach the rest.
| Ending | Core condition |
|---|---|
| Homeward Bound (Best) | Humanity First at Wish, all major survivors present, every finale QTE passed. |
| Hitchhiker (Best with Dark Twist) | Reach Homeward Bound but allow a mimic to slip through the final verification. |
| Docked (Uncertain) | Reach the finale with a reduced crew but still successful evacuation. |
| Not Alone (Uncertain Dark Twist) | Docked path with a mimic survivor unaccounted for. |
| Retreat / Massacre | Choose to retreat without resolving the cycle, with most of the crew lost. |
| Lone Wolf / Masks Off | Only one character survives the finale chain. |
Confirmation that each ending counted: the epilogue card and ending name appear in the Story Tree, and any tied trophy pops during the credits or the Forever and Ever post-credit scene.
Collectibles, Heirlooms, and Deluxe content
Around 60 collectibles are spread across the eight episodes, split between Secrets (lore documents, recordings, environmental clues) and Premonitions (visions foreshadowing future deaths). Premonitions are gated by specific choices, so failing to save a character or skipping a terminal can lock you out of that vision entirely in the current branch.
The Digital Deluxe Edition adds a bonus mission called The Dark Pictures Heirlooms Retrieval. It hides dolls and relics referencing Man of Medan, Little Hope, House of Ashes, and The Devil in Me. Each pickup unlocks anthology lore tying Directive 8020 to the wider universe. If you own Deluxe, treat these as a separate checklist alongside the main collectibles.
Death-scene cleanup
Once the Humanitarian run is locked, use Run 3 to fail one Turning Point at a time and trigger character-specific deaths. The most efficient targets are the choices that are reversible from a single late-game Turning Point:
- Episode 2 Pursuit failure to lose Mitchell later in Episode 5.
- Episode 5 Under Pressure swap between saving Anders and Mitchell.
- Episode 6 Point Blank shooting Williams.
- Episode 8 Knock Knock refusing or admitting the wrong character.
- Episode 8 Snap Decision failing to help Stafford.
Each branch resolves within a single episode rewind, so a full death-scene sweep is faster than a second full playthrough.
Movie Night and Survival Mode
Movie Night is the local co-op pass-the-controller mode and may host trophies tied to assigning every character to a different player or completing certain choices in shared play. Survival Mode disables rewinds, meaning consequences are final, so save any mode-locked trophies until after the Story Tree is fully mapped on your main file. Mixing Survival Mode with first-time exploration almost always costs you a missable.
Note: variants tied to patches, region, or platform-specific behavior may shift after launch updates. If a trophy fails to pop after meeting its conditions, check the Story Tree to confirm the relevant Turning Point shows the expected branch, then advance one episode and reload to refresh the trigger.