While predictably light on actual gameplay, Supermassive’s kick-off to their Dark Pictures Anthology is a welcome return to form that ticks all the right boxes for a scarily good time. Whether alone or with friends, raise the sails and weigh anchor aboard Man of Medan’s ghost ship if you dare.
The Dark Pictures Anthology - Man of Medan
Supermassive Games · Aug 30, 2019
About
The story of Man of Medan starts off on a dive boat in the South Pacific. With a rumoured WWII wreck to find, and plenty of on-deck partying to be had, our group of 4 young Americans and their skipper Fliss get ready for what should be the trip of a lifetime…but it doesn’t go quite to plan. As the day unfolds, and a storm rolls in, they find themselves trapped on board a ghost ship. Subjected to unimaginable stress and terror, they must try to find a way to escape the ship and its sinister history.
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Critic reviews
- 7.5Given that Man of Medan is meant to be the first of several episodes in the Dark Pictures Anthology, I already expected it to be short. I didn't, however, expect to complete the game in a little over three and a half hours. It was a wild ride and got a couple jump scares out of me and had me curious about the mysteries behind the SS Ourang Medan. For the most part, it was a compelling experience.
- Man of Medan may not have had the surprise benefit of Until Dawn, a game that came out of nowhere. It also had to make people forget about average attempts like The Inpatient and Hidden Agenda, as well as downright awful games like Bravo Team. What it did do was show us that Supermassive still has a brand that they deliver on. They figured out that they are also games that deliver better with slightly smaller doses.
- 8.5Man of Medan shows a lot of promise for The Dark Pictures Anthology. I never thought it was too difficult, and the scares really did get me a few times as well as my friends. Some may say it is too short, but I think it was the perfect length for the story and the great thing is, we’re getting a new story and game in less than a year. Fans of horror and adventure games will have a blast here. Any fan of Until Dawn should not worry, this one lives up to the hype.
- 9.0Overall then, Man of Medan is an absolutely brilliant take on the interactive horror genre, with excellent acting and story telling, amazing visuals and plenty to warrant multiple plays. The fact that you can now also do this with friends adds to the experience greatly, lending an extra air of uncertainty to proceedings. Some slight technical and presentation issues aside, I’m glad that more people get to experience Supermassive’s work. Here’s hoping the rest of the anthology can keep up the good work.
- 6.5Man of Medan is a great start to The Dark Pictures Anthology. The slow pace of the start won't appeal to everyone but comes together in the end. With each decision leading to a ripple effect down the line. However, the slow movement of the characters and the inability to skip dialogue and cutscenes does mean you'll have to replay large sections to see alternative takes. Regardless, Man of Medan delivers a solid horror narrative full of reasons to come back and play again.
Gamer reviews
Ond of the best horror games ever made!
With the Butterfly Effect, and the Instant feeling of paranoia, added up with the fantanstic story, this is one of my favorite games ever made! Your choises shapes how the story unfolds!
It's a different type of game, being somewhat similar to life is strange but very unique. The graphics are pretty good and there is a heavy focus on storyline. Recommend to play this game with your friends, it supports both couch and online coop. I really enjoyed playing with my buddy. Just one thing where this game looses is that it's very short. From my side, this game is a must play title.
I used to watch the gameplay of this game a few years ago, but it was so long ago that I didn't remember anything, like nothing at all. I was scrolling through game pass games a few months ago and came across this, and all the memories of watching people play this game on YouTube came to me (i don't even remember anything). It's a game that you can finish in one night, it takes about 2hours to complete. It's quite short. It's like a movie night (there's a game mode "Movie Night). And there's a co-op type of style where you pass the controller to the next person. And there'll be a turn for everyone. **Story:** it's about a few people going on a trip to the sea, fishing and scuba diving. And when the unexpected happens. Their ship/boat got kidnap and there are taking hostage. Not going to spoil the rest of the story, it's amazing and something you should experience without any spoilers. There's a relationship system in this game. Choose whether someone hates you or like you. There are couples and friendships in this game. **Secrets.** There is a lot of secrets in this game. Some having an impact on your situation. And some being random Easter eggs. Like in my play through, I was able to find a knife, that came in handy with the situation I was in. And most of the time you'll find some strange secrets, and those secrets are for you to discover. It's a horror game, if you haven't yet realized. When it's horror, there are killers and blood and other stuff killer related. And if there is blood, there are deaths. And death is something you should really look forward to. There is a quick moment reaction time when you are supposed to press a button before your character dies or something. And it can lead to death, when your character dies, the story changes and so as your outcome of the game. There are a few characters in this game. And you'll get an achievement if you keep your team alive. The narrative story in this game is pretty spectacular. The narrator talks about your outcome and what you did in the game that changes the story and so on. Which is like a movie or some sort. And there is DLCS? And men of medan games. This game is really amazing, even though it's short. Make that few hours amazing. Graphics-wise. It's decent, not the very best, but it's decent. Nothing special or anything that caught my attention while playing the game. But maybe I'm blind and didn't spot the details. There's an online mode too and that gives you achievements. And if you hate your ending on your game, you can restart and play again. While this is a story game. Once you finish it, it's not that much fun to play it again knowing what will happen. Unlike open-world games, it's open world. There are a lot of side quests and stuff to do. While it's psychological horror. There is quite a few jumps scares that made me shiver (kinda?) And it's quite scary. The thing I love about this game is. * Narrator * Movie night with your friends or family * How smart the characters are in the game When I mean by “smart” they are actually quite smart, when they are stuck in the ship, they found a radio, and they instantly say their location and asked for help rather than saying help and suddenly the radio turned off. It's quite smart and something I never thought of. **Opinion: Men of medan is a horror game that I always wanted. While it isn't very scary. The narration and “Movie Night” was something I didn't know I love. While I barely played any horror games, men of medan make me want to see what other games have to offer with the same type of genre. In my opinion, this game is amazing. 10/10** If you haven't tried it yet. It's something you'll either forget immediately or something that you wanted more of. There are other men of medan games. Which i have yet to play. YOU SHOULD TRY.
This game doesn’t live up to Supermassive’s “Until Dawn”. This game is extremely boring and not scary at all. The few attempts it makes to scare you just aren’t scary. It all takes place mainly on an old WW2 ship. It could have been so much more scary. It doesn’t have nearly as good of a setting as Until Dawn. The game just doesn’t seem polished or maybe even finished. This game and “Little Hope” are both this boring and not scary. Hope Supermassive takes a note from these bombs to create something much better the next time around. It’s also only 4 hours long and not worth the price. Definitely don’t recommend.
Just coming off of playing Until Dawn, I had hopes for this game but it was lackluster. The pace was much slower which kept it harder to stay engaged. The concept was interesting; not what I had expected. It was ok however I wouldn't play again.
What a disillusion! It was so bad! I loved Until Dawn so I was excited for this one but damn, so lame! The story is not interesting and predictable, the characters are cliches, choices are not so great, and it was not scary at all! There are so many jumpscares that it becomes "funny"! And graphics are not good. Worst narrative game I played.
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