There are two Directive 8020 endings. This is, after all, a choose-your-own-adventure game, so your decisions have an impact on the outcome, something we have seen in previous Supermassive Games.
While you can kill each and every one of the Directive 8020 characters, and make what seem like significant decisions about the future of Earth itself, a major twist means that none of it really means anything, and your two potential Directive 8020 endings are just a slightly different monologue. Still, if you want to know more, here's how to get each one.
Warning: the following guide contains major spoilers for Directive 8020.
How to get different Directive 8020 endings
The Directive 8020 ending takes place after the credits, so be sure to stick through them, as the scene prior doesn't tell you how things wrap up.
There are two Directive 8020 endings: Scientist and Humanitarian. Here's how to get each one:
- Scientist: Increase Eisele's Rational Trait
- Humanitarian: Increase Eisele's Sympathetic Trait
You'll be able to change Eisele's traits throughout the game, by making certain decisions, like whether she shows empathy to her crew mates or sticks to her rigid science-first persona.
Directive 8020 endings explained
As you reach the Directive 8020 ending, you'll find out that your crew have been clones all along, and this isn't the first time they've been sent to their doom. The ever-suspicious Williams has always known about the aliens, and has been intentionally sending unwitting clone crews out to discover it to see how they react and what they can do with it, with each mission getting further than the one before.
With this in mind, the Directive 8020 ending becomes about whether the lives of clones should be considered as valuable as the original humans they were borne from, and your choice, though you don't know it, is whether the program should continue or be stopped.
Once you've listened through the crew's interviews during the credits, you'll meet the real Eisele, back on Earth, where she's been all along. There will be slight variation here, as Eisele confirms how many crew members survived your adventure, so check out my guide on how to save everyone in Directive 8020 if you want the whole crew to make it.
Then, Young - the real one - is being reprimanded for her interference in Cycle 13, and Eisele steps forward to make a statement to the panel. Really, though, it's to the player. What she says next depends on which of the above endings you reach, and determines whether you stop the program or let it go on:
- Scientist ending: Eisele will choose to continue the program, with hopes of using the alien matter to save humanity.
- Humanitarian ending: During the final cutscene, Eisele will decide to shutdown the program, sending no more clones to their demise.
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