How to Save Everyone in Directive 8020

Saving the entire crew in Directive 8020 — the Everyone Lives ending — is the most demanding achievement in the game. Unlike earlier Dark Pictures titles, it doesn’t just require making the right survival choices. You also need to resolve the mimic storyline correctly and steer Eisele toward the Humanitarian Destiny. Get one wrong and at least one crew member dies.

This guide walks you through every critical decision across all eight episodes.

The Five Survivors

Episode 1 — Establish Trust Early

There are no character-killing decisions in Episode 1, but several early choices affect Trait scores that matter later. Choose Investigate over Retreat when prompted in the Crew Quarters — this builds Eisele’s Bravery trait, which she needs for the Episode 6 duplicate scene. Collect Secret number 5 (The Goldilocks Planet) in the Medical Bay, as this feeds directly into the mimic evidence chain needed to identify the correct Anders in Episode 8. And start working through the Simms Recordings — they provide context that changes a survival-critical dialogue option in Episode 7.

Episode 2 — Do Not Shoot Williams

This is the single most common reason Everyone Lives runs fail. When the game gives you the option to shoot Williams, don’t take it. Choose to lower the weapon instead. The game deliberately frames shooting as the safe or logical choice depending on your prior decisions — it’s a trap. Shooting Williams kills him outright and locks you out of the true ending.

Also in Episode 2: authorise the power reroute in the control room (hesitating here costs Cernan trust points he needs later), and collect Simms Recordings 3, 4, and 5, all of which feed into the mimic storyline that determines your Episode 8 escape route.

Episode 3 — The Airlock Sequence

Young can die here during the airlock depressurisation sequence. When the airlock warning triggers, don’t wait — choose the immediate action prompt. Complete all the quick-time event prompts successfully (the timing is generous on Standard difficulty). After Young is safe, choose Help Young First over continuing the objective. This cements Young’s loyalty, which has a payoff in Episode 7 that you’ll need.

Episode 4 — Cernan and the Reactor

Cernan faces a choice between rerouting power through the safe path, which takes longer, or the fast path, which is dangerous. Take the safe path. The fast path involves a QTE that kills Cernan if you fail it, and the safe path has no downside beyond the extra time. If you’re not confident with quick-time events, the safe path eliminates the risk entirely.

Episode 5 — Mitchell’s Medical Bay

Mitchell’s survival in Episode 5 depends on a decision you made in Episode 3. If you chose to Help Young First back then, Young reciprocates here by providing Mitchell with a critical supply. Use the treatment Young provided when prompted — this option only appears if you helped Young earlier. Do not attempt the risky self-procedure, which can kill Mitchell if the skill check fails.

Episode 6 — The Eisele Duplicate Test

This is the most complicated section of the game, and the one most likely to catch you out even on a guided run. The crew suspects there may be a duplicate Eisele aboard, and the outcome here determines both whether Eisele survives and which Destiny she ends up with — Humanitarian or Scientist — which affects the post-credit ending.

When Mitchell presents the duplicate evidence, don’t rush. Choose I need more time. Use the scanner on both Eiseles. The real Eisele has the anomaly on the left bioscan; the duplicate reads clean. Identify the correct Eisele — the one with the anomaly. When asked what to do with the duplicate, choose The clones are people. This is the Humanitarian path. Do not authorise termination of the duplicate — that leads to the Scientist Destiny.

If you misidentify Eisele, you send the wrong one forward and the real Eisele dies. There’s no recovery from that in the current run. Use Turning Points from the main menu to replay Episode 6 if this happens.

Episode 7 — Williams, Anders and the Scanner

Two deaths are possible in Episode 7: Williams and Anders. When Williams and Anders are in the confrontation scene, don’t side with either character immediately. Wait for the scanner prompt and use it before making any aggressive choices. The scanner tells you which one is the duplicate.

To correctly identify the real Anders, you need Secret number 45 (Duplication Analysis) from Episode 5. If you collected it, choose Trust Anders in the confrontation. If you didn’t collect it, this decision is essentially a coin flip. Load an earlier save and get the secret before proceeding.

Episode 8 — Final Escape

With all five crew members alive and Eisele on the Humanitarian path, Episode 8 resolves cleanly. Confirm Eisele’s identity one final time with the Utility Strap scanner when prompted — don’t skip this step. Handle Young’s message by choosing to broadcast it, which is required for the Homeward Bound ending rather than the Docked variant. In the final boarding sequence, wait for all five crew prompts before triggering the launch. Launching early strands whoever hasn’t boarded yet.

Required Destinies at a Glance

All five Destinies are achievable through the choices above in a single run. If a Destiny ends up wrong, use Turning Points to identify which episode caused the divergence.

Final Notes

The Everyone Lives run is best attempted on a second playthrough, once you know the story well enough to make informed choices. On a blind first run it’s very easy to miss the Simms Recordings that provide crucial context for the Episode 7 confrontation, or to misidentify Eisele in Episode 6 without any warning signs. Know the story first, then go for the clean run.

Completing the Everyone Lives ending with Humanitarian Eisele in a single run unlocks the No One Left Behind trophy on PlayStation and the corresponding Steam achievement, and opens the Beacon ending variant in the Turning Points menu for further exploration.

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