Supermassive Games really leaned into the "B-movie slasher" vibe with their 2022 spiritual successor to Until Dawn. Honestly, though, The Quarry game characters are a lot more than just meat for the grinder. You’ve got this group of nine camp counselors stuck at Hackett’s Quarry on the last night of summer, and they aren't all just stereotypes. Well, okay, maybe they start that way. Jacob is the jock, Abigail is the shy artist, and Dylan is the class clown. But the way the branching narrative works, these kids end up being surprisingly deep depending on the choices you make.
Survival isn't a guarantee for any of them. That's the hook. You can finish the game with everyone breathing or leave a literal mountain of corpses behind. It’s tricky because saving one person often puts a target on someone else's back.
The Dynamics of the Hackett’s Quarry Crew
When you first meet the cast, you might think you know exactly who's going to annoy you. Take Ryan Erzahler, played by Justice Smith. He’s the broody loner who loves podcasting about the paranormal. He’s arguably the "main" protagonist alongside Laura, but he can be frustratingly stoic. He's got this weirdly close relationship with Chris Hackett, the camp director, which complicates things when the fur starts flying.
Then there’s Laura Kearney. She isn't even part of the main counselor group at the start. She and her boyfriend Max show up a night early and immediately get thrown into the meat kicker. Laura is the catalyst. She’s tough, maybe the toughest person in the game, but her single-minded drive to save Max can lead to some pretty brutal outcomes for the others if you aren't careful.
The chemistry between the characters is what makes the stakes feel real. You’ve got the simmering tension between Jacob and Emma. Jacob, the guy who sabotaged the van just to spend one more night with a girl who already broke up with him. It's a classic "dumb horror movie" move, but it makes him oddly human. He's desperate. Emma, on the other hand, is the influencer type—brave, a bit manipulative, but incredibly resourceful when a werewolf is chasing her through a treehouse.
Dealing With the Complexity of Abigail and Nick
Not every character gets a high-octane action scene right away. Abigail Blyg and Nick Furcillo represent the slower-burn horror. Their relationship is sweet, but it’s also the first one to get absolutely wrecked by the supernatural element. Nick gets bitten early.
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Seeing Nick transform from the sweet, shy guy into something aggressive and terrifying is one of the better uses of the werewolf trope in modern gaming. It puts the player in a terrible position as Abigail. Do you shoot the guy you like because he’s acting weird, or do you hesitate and pay the price? Most first-time players hesitate. It’s a natural human reaction, and the game punishes it beautifully.
Why Saving Some Characters is a Total Nightmare
If you’re trying to keep everyone alive, you’re going to have a rough time with Kaitlyn Ka and Dylan Lenivy. They are fan favorites for a reason. Dylan is hilarious, voiced with a perfect dry wit by Miles Robbins, and Kaitlyn is the resident badass who actually knows how to use a gun.
The problem? Their survival often hinges on items you found hours ago. If you didn't grab that stuffed rabbit in the kitchen as Abigail in an early chapter, Kaitlyn’s final showdown in the lodge becomes exponentially harder. It’s those tiny, seemingly insignificant choices that define The Quarry game characters and their ultimate fates.
Dylan also has one of the most stressful "choice" moments in the game regarding his arm. If he gets bitten in the radio hut, you have to decide—right then and there—whether to amputate his limb with a chainsaw. It’s messy. It’s loud. And if you don't do it, he's basically a ticking time bomb for the rest of the night.
The Outliers: Max and Jacob
Jacob is surprisingly easy to kill. He spends half the game running around in his underwear, which, while funny, leaves him pretty vulnerable. If you don't solve a specific circuit breaker puzzle in the Hackett basement, Jacob is toast. No second chances. Just a gruesome end in a cage.
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Max Brinly is a different story. He spends most of the game as a werewolf, largely out of your control. You only get to play as him for a very brief window at the end. The kicker? He can die instantly based on one single choice after he cures his infection. If you choose to swim to shore, he gets intercepted. Just like that. After all Laura did to save him, he can die because you felt like a swim. It’s brutal.
The Role of the Hacketts and the Supernatural
You can't talk about the counselors without the Hackett family. These aren't your typical slashers. They aren't Jason Voorhees. They are a family trying to manage a curse, and that makes them empathetic—sort of. Travis Hackett, the sheriff played by Ted Raimi, is easily the most complex "antagonist" in the game. Depending on how Laura treats him in the jail cell, he can either be your greatest ally or the person who executes you in the final act.
This is where the game gets "meta." The Hacketts are hunting the werewolves, and the werewolves are the counselors (potentially). It’s a messy cycle of violence. To save everyone, you often have to kill the Hacketts, even though they’re technically trying to stop the spread of the curse. It's a moral grey area that most horror games avoid in favor of "scary monster equals bad."
Understanding the Silas Factor
Silas is the "White Wolf," the source of the infection. The lore here is deep. If you want to save The Quarry game characters, you eventually have to deal with the boy in the woods.
Finding the clues about the Hag of Hackett’s Quarry—Eliza—is vital. She appears between chapters to read your tarot cards, acting as a narrator who clearly has her own agenda. She wants Silas protected. She wants the Hacketts dead. If you listen to her too closely, you might end up "saving" the monster but losing all the kids you’ve spent ten hours trying to protect.
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How to Actually Keep Everyone Alive
Saving the whole crew requires a mix of fast reflexes (QTEs) and long-term planning. You have to be willing to do things that feel "wrong" in the moment.
- Be Kind to Travis: This is the big one. If Laura and Travis don't form a shaky truce, the ending is a bloodbath. Don't take his gun in the station. Just talk to him.
- The Kitchen Rabbit: As mentioned, that stuffed toy is a literal life-saver for Kaitlyn in Chapter 10. Don't leave it behind.
- Don't Shoot Unless You're Sure: There are moments where shooting at a rustling bush will kill a friend. Jacob is often the victim of "twitchy finger" syndrome from players.
- The Infection Can Be a Shield: Sometimes, getting a character bitten is actually a good thing. A bitten character is mostly ignored by other werewolves. If you can cure them later by killing the lead wolf, they’ll survive. It’s a risky strategy, but it works for characters like Dylan or even Ryan.
The beauty of the game is that a "perfect" run feels earned. It's not just about hitting buttons; it's about understanding the personalities of The Quarry game characters and predicting how they’d react under pressure. Emma’s bravado, Ryan’s skepticism, and Brenda Song’s pitch-perfect performance as the capable Kaitlyn all lead to a narrative that feels like your own personal horror flick.
Actionable Steps for Your Next Playthrough
If you're jumping back into the game or starting for the first time, keep these specific strategies in mind to manipulate the ending you want.
First, focus on the Tarot Cards. Don't just collect them for the trophy; actually look at the visions Eliza shows you. They are literal spoilers for how a character might die in the next thirty minutes. If you see a vision of Emma getting mauled on a zipline, you’ll know to be extra careful during her island sequence.
Second, use the Movie Mode if you’re more interested in the story than the gameplay. It lets you set the "personality" of the characters and watch the events unfold. It’s a great way to see how the different branching paths work without the stress of failing a QTE and losing your favorite counselor.
Finally, pay attention to the Evidence. Collecting the bits of scrap and photos scattered around the camp doesn't just fill out a menu. It changes the ending news report. If you save everyone but don't find the evidence, the counselors actually go to jail for the murders committed by the werewolves. To get the "true" happy ending, you have to prove the supernatural was involved.
Check the "Tutorial" menu frequently too. It’s styled like 1950s safety videos and actually contains subtle hints about how the game's mechanics—like holding your breath—work in different contexts. Success in The Quarry isn't just about survival; it's about uncovering the truth of what happened in 1953 and ending the Hackett curse once and for all.