Does it matter who you kiss in The Quarry?
Straight up: no, who you kiss does not significantly alter The Quarry‘s overall plot or endings. As a choice-driven cinematic horror game, the priority is keeping your counselors alive through tense quick-time events and key choices that have direct life or death consequences. Romance takes a backseat.
However, that doesn‘t mean the kissing choices don‘t matter at all. Let‘s analyze the actual differences, character reactions, and relationship mechanics in more depth…
Alternate Dialogue and Reactions
While the core story stays largely the same regardless of your kissing decisions, the different options do lead to some alternate scenes and dialogue.
For example, if Ryan chooses to kiss Dylan during a game of Truth or Dare, Dylan reacts very positively:
Dylan‘s happy reaction to kissing Ryan (via SuperBunnyHop on YouTube)
However, if Ryan kisses Kaitlyn instead, the game outright states that Dylan is disappointed by this.
Another moment is when Emma is dared to kiss either Jacob or Nick. If she chooses Nick, Jacob becomes jealous and outraged. These small character interactions help spice up replays by seeing how the various personalities respond differently.
Character Relationship and Romantic Interests
While brief, we can analyze the romantic leanings and interests of The Quarry‘s cast based on their reactions to various kissing prompts:
| Character | Their Love Interest | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Dylan | Ryan | Very happy if Ryan kisses him, disappointed if he doesn‘t |
| Kaitlyn | Ryan | Dialogue states she‘s interested though plays it off as not caring |
| Emma | Nick | Chooses to kiss him over Jacob during dare |
| Abi | Nick | Shy around him, they share a mutual crush |
| Laura | Max | They are a couple at the start |
A table like this summarizes who seems to like who based on their scripted words and actions around potential kisses. It paints a web of teenage romantic entanglements typical of a summer camp setting.
Prioritizing Survival Over Relationships
Unlike narrative adventures such as Life is Strange or Telltale Games titles, player-choice driven horror games have always emphasized dire life-or-death decisions over building relationships.
Looking at its cinematic horror predecessors like Until Dawn, romance and even friendships ultimately took a backseat to escaping deadly scenarios through tense QTEs and split-second choices.
So in keeping with its genre‘s legacy, The Quarry also minimizes lasting relationship ramifications from kissing decisions and instead zeroes in on survival-based game mechanics and their immediate reactions. Making out takes lower priority to not getting everyone killed or infected.
Passionate Gamer Perspective
As someone who grew up on horror games and movies, I‘m fully accustomed to seeing romantic sub-plots quickly shredded apart by the carnage (farewell Jack and Rose!).
That said, I believe The Quarry‘s affectionate moments remain strong enough on their own without needing profound narrative implications. The talented acting and dialogue writing still sell these hormonal campers‘ friendships and crushes as genuinely as possible before all hell breaks loose.
Seeing who pairs up and gets jealous over kisses entertains during replays. But I‘m here mainly for the scary werewolf attacks, not make-out sessions. Focusing on dire split decisions with branching consequences overrelationship management aligns better with my genre expectations.
The Verdict
So in summary: no, kiss selections do not dramatically influence overall outcomes in The Quarry. The story adheres firmly to choice-driven horror conventions emphasizing survival tension over romance.
But there are certainly short-term reaction differences and revelatory character insights gained from the kissing opportunities across replays. Just don‘t expect lasting relationship shake-ups or endings affected like in a Mass Effect. Stick to keeping counselors alive and you‘ll get that satisfying resolution you crave.
