The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan

 PlayStation 4
User Score
5.8

Mixed or average reviews- based on 516 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 139 out of 516
  2. Mixed: 233 out of 516
  3. Negative: 144 out of 516
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  1. Reed618
    Aug 31, 2019
    5
    The characters are all pretty annoying and every event just feels way too random. I lost one character because I thought I only needed to press the square button.. turned out I need to press it rapidly.
    Lost two others because I made the wrong dialogue choice... it just didn't feel like I had any control over what was happening which is the point to some extent... but this just felt    The characters are all pretty annoying and every event just feels way too random. I lost one character because I thought I only needed to press the square button.. turned out I need to press it rapidly.
    Lost two others because I made the wrong dialogue choice... it just didn't feel like I had any control over what was happening which is the point to some extent... but this just felt poorly designed.
    The game is also not scary. A large portion of it is set outside of the ghost ship and the reason for the appearance of monsters and ghouls is explained so clearly that it kind of just ruins it.
    There are no massive shocking revelations to be found that chill you... just jump scares and not even that many of them. It's probably better with friends for a laugh but avoid it if you want a scary single player experience.    … Expand
  2. GrumpyReviewer
    Sep 4, 2019
    5
    Pretty mediocre game that does not live to the hype, I'm afraid. I absolutely love 'Until Dawn' and 'Rush of Blood' is, by far, the best VR game in my honest opinion.

    The sound, graphics and overall direction, in 'Man of Medan', is absolutely fantastic. The game has atmosphere, the characters look real (though they can be very annoying). The thing is... the game is not scary. Like AT    Pretty mediocre game that does not live to the hype, I'm afraid. I absolutely love 'Until Dawn' and 'Rush of Blood' is, by far, the best VR game in my honest opinion.

    The sound, graphics and overall direction, in 'Man of Medan', is absolutely fantastic. The game has atmosphere, the characters look real (though they can be very annoying).

    The thing is... the game is not scary. Like AT ALL. Besides a few jump scares, here and there, the game is basically about exploring some corridors while looking for collectibles, making dialogue decisions and pressing the right buttons during QTEs.

    I thought there was going to be a big twist or that the game would get scary eventually. Never happened. It's fun, sure, but gets dull really quick.

    Hope they know what they are doing and that we'll be able to appreciate 'Man of Medan' once the whole anthology has been delivered (if they finish it, that is).    … Expand
  3. bersi84
    Aug 31, 2019
    5
    Long story short: Man of Medan cannot live up to its expectations being a decent followup to its predecessor Until Dawn. Read on for more details on why this is a 5/10 to me.

    Man of Medan tries to followup the footsteps of Until Dawn which was quite successful in creating tension in combination with slapstick comedy and decent QTEs. Man of Medan takes the Ghostship myth and tries to    Long story short: Man of Medan cannot live up to its expectations being a decent followup to its predecessor Until Dawn. Read on for more details on why this is a 5/10 to me.

    Man of Medan tries to followup the footsteps of Until Dawn which was quite successful in creating tension in combination with slapstick comedy and decent QTEs. Man of Medan takes the Ghostship myth and tries to combine it with the known mix of character relationships, QTEs and discovery mixed together with dense atmosphere to create a horror-esque blockbuster... and fails miserably in most regards.

    Graphics // Sounds // Engine:
    The game engine provides a decent graphic quality that suffers overall in oddly placed loading sequences, some texture pop-ins and a some dull movement set both on the character models itself and especially the facial mimics. The picture quality is still decent and the sound placement creates a fitting atmopshere. Overall this is a mediocre mix on the goods and bads but more to the good side in my opinion.

    Controls // QTE // Choices that matter:
    The controls are straightforward, so are the QTEs. World indicators show what items are actually interactable and let me tell you this: there is not much to interact with (subnote: that is actually worth interacting with). Some events are dispersed throughout the game and decide mostly on which characters will die or live together with relationship developments between them. The subline here is: there is not much to do and the design choices are so bad that most decisions dont even matter. The QTEs decide on life or death but dialogues dont change much, e.g. you decide to be extra careful yet get caught anyways. Rinse and repeat.

    Final thoughts and game length:
    Man of Medan creates a nice atmosphere, the presentation is decent and also the voice acting is not bad. Sadly where it matters the game falls apart completely: there is not much to do, loading sequences break the immersion, choices dont matter and sometimes the dialogue placement is so bad that it does not fit any emotional setting. Also I would like to see more horror then simply placed jumpscares. Together with the price tag and a game length of possibly 3 to 6hrs I really cannot recommend Man of Medan, although it might be worth a grab on a decent sale.

    As Man of Medan is the first piece of an anthology set we can only hope that the progress of the next -already announced- anthology piece can be improved until its release in 2020. After all we all love horror and would like more of these scarcely developed games.    … Expand
  4. Alphamike14
    Sep 1, 2019
    2
    This game had a LOT of potential that it totally wasted. The graphics are great, but thats the only good thing I can say about it. The "horror" element relies almost entirely on cheap jump scares. The relationship mechanic in the game is pointless and changes nothing. The voice acting is laughably bad. The story is less than 4 hours long. Almost none of the questions that you'll have areThis game had a LOT of potential that it totally wasted. The graphics are great, but thats the only good thing I can say about it. The "horror" element relies almost entirely on cheap jump scares. The relationship mechanic in the game is pointless and changes nothing. The voice acting is laughably bad. The story is less than 4 hours long. Almost none of the questions that you'll have are answered by the end of the game. The climax is abrupt, and the ending is totally unsatisfying. All in all, its not worth the 30 dollar price tag by a long shot. I sincerely hope SuperMassive gets there collectove crap together for future entires into this horror anthology, because this isn't a good start.… Expand
  5. inmh
    Aug 31, 2019
    7
    Pros:
    -Beautiful graphics
    -Lots of good jumpscares/generally eerie atmosphere -Excellent replay value -Great acting -The STAY CALM! segments were a nice translation from Until Dawn's DON'T MOVE! segments. -The price reflects the length of the game (iirc it was like $29.99 USD) Cons: -Not happy that you HAVE to play co-op to get certain collectibles (and therefore, their    Pros:
    -Beautiful graphics
    -Lots of good jumpscares/generally eerie atmosphere
    -Excellent replay value
    -Great acting
    -The STAY CALM! segments were a nice translation from Until Dawn's DON'T MOVE! segments.
    -The price reflects the length of the game (iirc it was like $29.99 USD)

    Cons:
    -Not happy that you HAVE to play co-op to get certain collectibles (and therefore, their trophies). I thought going into this that co-op was going to be an added feature, not something you HAD to do if you wanted to get, like, half the trophies for the game. I expect that with stuff like Far Cry and RDR2, but not narrative-heavy games like this.

    -Game starts very slowly. Takes a while to get to the scary stuff; Until Dawn did much better at injecting that tension before we actually hit anything genuinely scary.

    -Characters were not as well-developed as they were in Until Dawn; which is a shame, because Until Dawn had some genuinely unique and fun characters.

    -Maybe it was the length of the game, or maybe it was because they just give too many hints in-game, but it's not difficult to figure out the reason behind why everything is happening. I wish they could have made it more ambiguous until the end as to what the REAL explanation for everything was. Fell a little flat for me as a result.

    -ETA: Due to the way they structure the post-game chapter selection, if you decide to pick a chapter to replay, you get two options: Overwrite your save, or create a new one. And if you accidentally hit "Overwrite", guess what? You've now LOST your ability to choose the chapters you replay, because you've just lost the post-game save. So you get to replay the game and finish it again before you can replay another chapter. I'm tempted to lower my rating because that is BULL.

    Overall not a bad game. But when they release Little Hope, I seriously hope they reduce the amount of necessity that goes into co-op to get basic completion trophies.    … Expand
  6. NicoPerciani
    Sep 2, 2019
    5
    Thats the definition of a half-assed game. Everything it needed was there, if polish and attention were given. Quite disappointing actually, given that Until Dawn was a really nice game.
  7. DaveAus
    Jul 12, 2022
    0
    Good opening and premise. But it is soon ruined by horrible characters and cringe dialogue.
  8. Hyde_333
    Jun 29, 2022
    0
    This game is not scary at all, not even slightly. The writing is tired and the plot devices feel forced and unnatural. The character development is slow and I found myself disliking all of them rather quickly. Quite the opposite to Until Dawn, I was hoping that all the characters would die so I could end this terrible game and forget that it had ever happened. Poorest excuse for a horrorThis game is not scary at all, not even slightly. The writing is tired and the plot devices feel forced and unnatural. The character development is slow and I found myself disliking all of them rather quickly. Quite the opposite to Until Dawn, I was hoping that all the characters would die so I could end this terrible game and forget that it had ever happened. Poorest excuse for a horror game I have ever seen. Don't buy into the hype.… Expand
  9. Akschnhiro
    Sep 1, 2019
    5
    Overall not worth the money. Finished the first playthrough in about 4 hours, the characters are not likeable, the controls feel wonky.
    You can see some Until Dawn vibes, but most of the times the game forces jump scares.
    If the Game is 10 bucks or less, give it a go.
  10. Bruno2K
    Apr 19, 2020
    4
    Ótimos gráficos, porem alguns glitches, historia muito curta comparado a outros jogos com until dawnn, life is strange, o enredo é mal explicado e o final deixa muita coisa em aberto, sem falar no preço alto que não corresponde com o jogo
  11. Ghoster
    Oct 28, 2019
    4
    Uhh.. Hmm... Don't know what to say. I was expecting masterpeace like Until Dawn, but this one is just not really good. Game last about 3-4 hours and probably point is to replay it numerous times to find all branches. Sadly, game is not really interesting enough to replay it even once, and specially few times. Ghost ship story is not really nothing special, not scary at all and gameplay isUhh.. Hmm... Don't know what to say. I was expecting masterpeace like Until Dawn, but this one is just not really good. Game last about 3-4 hours and probably point is to replay it numerous times to find all branches. Sadly, game is not really interesting enough to replay it even once, and specially few times. Ghost ship story is not really nothing special, not scary at all and gameplay is basically walking/talking simulator with annoying QTA!… Expand
  12. Beast979
    Sep 3, 2019
    7
    overall was fun and I enjoyed the coop aspect....The only problem was the game was too short.
  13. Steyraus
    Jan 6, 2020
    3
    I really liked Super Massives last game Until dawn. Navigating a group of very attractive young people through a horror movie setting, the character were very likable and a couple not so likable, which Made trying to keep them alive or get them killed a really involving adventure..Man of Medan misses nearly every mark the Until dawn hit.. The characters are all unlikable and extremelyI really liked Super Massives last game Until dawn. Navigating a group of very attractive young people through a horror movie setting, the character were very likable and a couple not so likable, which Made trying to keep them alive or get them killed a really involving adventure..Man of Medan misses nearly every mark the Until dawn hit.. The characters are all unlikable and extremely either unattractive or straight up weird looking, meaning I didnt care about them , didnt care if they lived or died, didnt care about their story.
    Also the game is now nearly all cut scenes now, less exploring and player involvement, that coupled with the bad story , bad characters and muddled plot, made this fell like watching one of those horrible b grade horror movies, that somehow keep getting made. Its a grinding, grating experience, irritating characters, dumb jump scares, just stupid plot, no game play, ugos everywhere, it sux.
    Its not even so bad its good, its just dull, and the dialogue , man if how ugly these characters looked didn't make them hard enough to like, when they start talking , that will do it..
    After being completely blown away by how bad this game is, I looked at all the other games these guys have made, and pretty much every game is a stinker, even their VR games were not at all good. Untill Dawn was literally the only game they made that was good..They have been held up by Sony for all these years, and in their arrogance, they split from Sony after their first and only Hit, (Untill Dawn)..
    Now they are back to making stinkers and it makes you wonder how long they can stay a float without Sonys backing. Goes to show, dont get to cocky, and dont crap on a company that has been so good to you, they should have stayed at Sony and made Until Dawn 2, but they thought they had their Golden Goose formula and wanted all the cash to themselves.
    Apparently the want to do 8 of these crappy games over 2 years, so if that dosent break them, nothing will.. I think its time for this long running Studio to be put out to pasture, even when they do finally have a success they mess it up.. Now that takes talent... Anti-talent.    … Expand
  14. fabricioacm
    Aug 15, 2020
    4
    This game is literally the worst horror game in a long time, some good characters but with a terrible development and the story gets SO boring when you realize whats happening. A huge step back for Until Dawn's developer.
  15. scorp332211
    Jan 25, 2021
    1
    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 andThis 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. There's just no way someone should give this a 10/10!… Expand
  16. aioaugusto
    Sep 19, 2020
    2
    I love this kind of games. But Man of Medan is terrible. Characters, Story, Voice acting, movement. Really disapointed once Until Dawn was an amazing experience...this one was just the oposite. At least the torture is fast, once you can finish in 3-4 hours.
  17. JimmieReview
    Sep 1, 2019
    7
    A decent follow up to Until Dawn. The story is interesting enough, good mix of building up tension, fights/escaping and some nice dialogs. Graphics are real good, as expected and so is voice acting. It does fall a bit bellow what I had hoped for because the game is just to short. I would have preferred more of just about everything, deeper characters, more environments to explore, a longerA decent follow up to Until Dawn. The story is interesting enough, good mix of building up tension, fights/escaping and some nice dialogs. Graphics are real good, as expected and so is voice acting. It does fall a bit bellow what I had hoped for because the game is just to short. I would have preferred more of just about everything, deeper characters, more environments to explore, a longer story, more dialogs. What is here is good, but its a much shorter story than until dawn. It is of course much cheaper too, but I would have preferred a more expensive version that was fully fleshed out… Expand
  18. GrimmjowUK
    Oct 18, 2020
    0
    Lots of bugs and glitches. We were playing co-op with my friend, the game was %67 and I tried to open a door using candle stick with Conrad and the game stopped at that scene. Tried reloading many times but same glitch over and over again. Don't pay money for this game
  19. HeavyMetalSloth
    Jan 3, 2020
    6
    After playing Until Dawn a couple years ago I was impressed with what Supermassive Games had to offer. So when Man of Medan released I knew I had to get it. After playing and finishing it in solo mode I was disappointed in the story and also how the game abruptly came to an end. This game is meant for co-op as it makes it more enjoyable because I found myself bored towards the end. UntilAfter playing Until Dawn a couple years ago I was impressed with what Supermassive Games had to offer. So when Man of Medan released I knew I had to get it. After playing and finishing it in solo mode I was disappointed in the story and also how the game abruptly came to an end. This game is meant for co-op as it makes it more enjoyable because I found myself bored towards the end. Until Dawn was a way better game than this and I think I replayed UD once or twice, but the chances of me replaying this game is slim to none.… Expand
  20. Skollie
    Dec 8, 2020
    6
    Playing this game after Until Dawn really dampers the experience. Until Dawn was infinitely better than this, but the main reason for me is the characters.

    The characters in Man Of Medan are very unlikable and I don't know who the hell decided that the actor playing Alex was a good actor. He's expressionless and his lines are delivered in a way that feels like he just wanted to get this    Playing this game after Until Dawn really dampers the experience. Until Dawn was infinitely better than this, but the main reason for me is the characters.

    The characters in Man Of Medan are very unlikable and I don't know who the hell decided that the actor playing Alex was a good actor. He's expressionless and his lines are delivered in a way that feels like he just wanted to get this over with and go home.

    The game did have some really good jump scares, which I appreciate and the graphics are really good as well. I just hope the studio find better actors for these roles in future games as I can't invest anything in these bland characters.    … Expand
  21. Sathoreal
    Feb 18, 2020
    3
    Очень короткая игра и не страшная. Своих денег не стоит. Я ожидал от него большего, в некоторых сценах (во многих) локации прогружаются прямо на глазах, первая игра вышла намного интереснее и лучше.
  22. 613th
    Aug 15, 2022
    3
    It was horrible.

    it is not a good game, it is not a good movie, it is not an interesting story. It is bad technically (I don't remember worse optimisation than here), the characters are very very bad in all aspects.

    If you don't play it, you will not loss anything.
  23. Deus667
    May 28, 2021
    0
    This is not Horrorgame!
    Its just a Teenie-Splatter and an action adventure. Dont buy it if you are a horror fan. You will be disappointed.
    This Kids with 10 rating also gave Last of Us 2 6 day after release a 0 Points. If TLOU2 is 0 points worth why did he play it until the end? He is just upset about the ending. He obviously didnt even play it. I would give this game a 3/10 But    This is not Horrorgame!
    Its just a Teenie-Splatter and an action adventure. Dont buy it if you are a horror fan. You will be disappointed.
    This Kids with 10 rating also gave Last of Us 2 6 day after release a 0 Points.
    If TLOU2 is 0 points worth why did he play it until the end?
    He is just upset about the ending. He obviously didnt even play it.

    I would give this game a 3/10
    But with Fanboy correction for a more realistic end value, i corrected it with -5
    But i cant give this game a -2/10

    I just bought it because the German Wikipedia said it is a survival-horror game. The English wiki said its a "interactive drama" which is a bit more correct.
    Such games are called action adventure!
    It is a kind of horror but only the subgenre Splatter.

    Even most action games are brutal than this., so it doesnt deserve the title horror, not even Splatter

    Dont let kids define whats real horror is. If you usually dont play horror games it could be a bit creepy, but this only horror for kids or cowards.    … Expand
  24. Arrc84
    Oct 19, 2020
    0
    Very short and very underwhelming for the money.
    Also not particularly good - this game is a cash grab
  25. DavidHoltzer
    Jul 24, 2021
    5
    This game is pretty mediocre. The story is kinda dumb, very predictable and way too short, the characters are one dimensional, there is not really any character development and the voice acting isn't great either. The only good part is the variety of endings, that's it.
  26. GrimStomper
    Sep 1, 2019
    4
    Until Dawn had a promising style of interactive gaming. Man of Medan tries to improve upon it, but forgets why Until Dawn was liked in the first place.

    One of the main things I didn't like about the game was the characters. You need to have good characters that are fleshed out. They don't have to be likable, but you at least want to be able to see their motivations. The characters just    Until Dawn had a promising style of interactive gaming. Man of Medan tries to improve upon it, but forgets why Until Dawn was liked in the first place.

    One of the main things I didn't like about the game was the characters. You need to have good characters that are fleshed out. They don't have to be likable, but you at least want to be able to see their motivations. The characters just feel awkward in this game. One of the greatest things about Until Dawn is how your opinions of characters can change over time when you see more of actions they do; however in Man of Medan you feel none of that. It doesn't help that the voice acting is a downgrade from Until Dawn.

    The plot itself is very disappointing. I was hoping the game would go in a completely different direction, but I couldn't help but feel I was just playing Until Dawn: Sea Edition. As for the "horror" element, it's pretty much nonexistant (jump scares). You won't get scared of this game in the slightest.

    The "gameplay" is still mostly unchanged with the same quick time events and pointless intractable items (there are more of them in this game than in Until Dawn). For a game like this that relies heavily on story, you would want to have your gameplay, or in this case the choices you pick matter. However like Telltales: The Walking Dead only at certain decisions does the game change. For the most part, your decisions are worthless.

    Overall, this game is a step back from Until Dawn. The combination of awful characters, mediocre plot, and lackluster gameplay needs to ring clear with the developers that they really need to take their time on their next game.    … Expand
  27. eimf
    Aug 4, 2020
    0
    I'm a Until Dawn fan. I was excited for this new one from the same studio. But they don't repeat the same work. They relaxed and made a garbage. Plot, characters and gameplay are trash! Worst PS4 game I've ever played. And a lot of glitches. I had to delete and install again the game because of a glitch.
  28. vanvejar1
    Dec 11, 2019
    3
    pesim juego, disfruto mucho los juegos como peliculas interactivas, until dawn, detroit, heavy rain, y este es lejos el mas deficiente de todos, jugabilidad pesima, historia mediocre, traduccion lamentable, optimizacion horrible.
  29. Paulxavierfoste
    Sep 13, 2019
    3
    Man hat das Gefühl, zwei RTL Autoren haben Langeweile gehabt und haben sich gedacht, dass sie Mal ein Horrorspiel machen wollten.
  30. berkae
    Mar 18, 2020
    3
    I was really hyped for the game before it was released and I got it during the premiere. Unfortunately after one couch-play I was so disappointed I left the game somewhere in my PS4 library for quite some time.
    After about half a year later I gave it a try and I finished it twice - solo and on Curator's mode and all I can say it's extremely decent game in all of it's aspects.
    I was    I was really hyped for the game before it was released and I got it during the premiere. Unfortunately after one couch-play I was so disappointed I left the game somewhere in my PS4 library for quite some time.
    After about half a year later I gave it a try and I finished it twice - solo and on Curator's mode and all I can say it's extremely decent game in all of it's aspects.
    I was playing on my PS4 Slim, and the game crashed at least twice during one walkthrough. The graphics was loading during the cutscenes, so the whole visual experience was gone. The game is also really dark, and sometimes I had trouble to find the right way (or maybe it's because the handling is terrible here). The ocean view was just a disaster, because I never had the whole assets loaded in time, so it looked like a bad 2005 game.
    The story is not scary at all and it's not so interesting, although the Medan theme was good (and ship part is quite ok). I wasn't felt anything more than boredom during walkthrough, because even the jump scares were predictable. There's also a problem with choices, how everything is connected and why if I chose one option it led me to something so not connected that in some point I wasn't even trying to think as a character and I was just picking heart (1st play) or brain (2nd play) options just for a trophy, because whatever - it doesn't make sense! But there's another thing that was so irritating - the game is slow and short. The first part where you meet your characters takes ages to get through, and when you are on Medan it's about an 1 hour of gameplay! And you can finish the game in like 4 hours!
    I had decent fun playing Until Dawn (the characters were annoying, but that was part of a theme I suppose), so I wasn't expecting much from a characters here, but they were enjoyable. OFC some of the relations were awkward or annoying, and the Junior character was so bad I never tried to rescue him at all, but hey - we all know someone like Junior irl.

    + Theme
    + The Medan part is quite enjoyable
    + Co-op option

    - Choices
    - Glitches, bugs, errors, crashes and really bad optimization
    - It's boring at the beginning and somehow in the middle
    - Really short
    - Handling is terrible!

    Do I recommend this game? Well, as a couch co-op if you can't predict the jumpscares and it's on a big discount - well, sure. Other than that, not really.    … Expand
  31. BiggieZeke
    Aug 15, 2022
    5
    Good
    * Interactive storytelling
    * Pretty good visuals

    Bad
    * Clunky tank controls
    * Short game
    * Story itself is bland
    * Characters are bland
    * Besides a few jump scares, nothing scary in general
    * Just like Until Dawn, feels like “Traits and Relationships” doesn’t really change anything within the story
    * Wouldn’t play this game for more than $20. Luckily it was free
  32. Jackthegamer
    Sep 15, 2022
    6
    Step back in comparison to Until Dawn. Boring characters and it's pacing isn't great either
  33. mrbrightside39
    Sep 1, 2019
    6
    An overall positive experience throughout but nothing special. It lacks the depth Until Dawn had in both narrative and gameplay. The controls have been simplified down to a few buttons and most the time you'll be walking at a snails pace through the same narrow corridors. It's disappointing to see supermassivegames take away the butterfly system present in until dawn. It makes theAn overall positive experience throughout but nothing special. It lacks the depth Until Dawn had in both narrative and gameplay. The controls have been simplified down to a few buttons and most the time you'll be walking at a snails pace through the same narrow corridors. It's disappointing to see supermassivegames take away the butterfly system present in until dawn. It makes the decisions that are presented to you in this game seem less consequential. The story also ends abruptly with a few disjointed scenes each ending in cliffhangers. It's not all bad though. The graphics, acting, and directing are all top-notch compared to its contemporaries like Life is Strange. It's an enjoyable ride for the most part and I'd recommend it if you enjoy these type of games. I'm curious enough to see where the second one goes aswell.… Expand
  34. DeftDegree
    Aug 31, 2019
    6
    With very mediocre voice acting, weird editing and transitions, poor sound design, and a lack of character development, The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan fails to live up to its amazing predecessor, Until Dawn. However, it’s engaging but slightly predictable story and gameplay kept this game afloat and kept me playing through to the end.
  35. SilverJaye
    Sep 5, 2019
    4
    Played once through, it's a pretty slow game Not much payoff. I'm glad I played but wouldn't again
  36. OnyxX54
    Sep 7, 2019
    2
    Man of Medan may be one of the most unpolished games I have ever encountered on the PS4. Incredibly laggy, buggy and difficult to play as graphics are constantly shifting in and out of focus, which is not helped by the stiff facial animation and lacklustre voice acting. In terms of looks, Man of Medan does not come close to the near cinematic experience of Until Dawn.

    In terms of    Man of Medan may be one of the most unpolished games I have ever encountered on the PS4. Incredibly laggy, buggy and difficult to play as graphics are constantly shifting in and out of focus, which is not helped by the stiff facial animation and lacklustre voice acting. In terms of looks, Man of Medan does not come close to the near cinematic experience of Until Dawn.

    In terms of gameplay, Man of Medan is an abysmal wreck of occasional QTE's, awkward dialogue choices and picking up journals, diaries and notes that offer no value beyond extending the short length of the game. Their is such little 'gameplay' that I would strongly encourage anyone with an interest in this game to just watch a playthrough on YouTube - I guarantee you will have a less frustrating and more enjoyable experience than suffering through the game itself.

    When it game to the 'horror', Man of Medan was again let down by the incredibly poor performance of the game. Due to the lack of synchronisation between audio and visuals, and just general slowness, jump-scares were spoiled before they could actually occur. On several occasions you will SEE a jump-scare and then the sudden sharp sound will occur, making the scares way more goofy than they are actually scary. If you are hoping that this title replicates that invigorating edge-of-your-seat feeling that Until Dawn gave you, you are in for a very very big disappointment.

    If Man of Medan is Supermassive's best-foot-forward with the Dark Pictures Anthology, then Man of Medan's 'ghost ship' isn't going to be the only the sinking.    … Expand
  37. HisRoyalMajesty
    Oct 1, 2019
    2
    After playing Until Dawn, which gave me a lot of fun, I decided to go with the next production of the studio and must say... never have I been so disappointed and frustrated with a game. First of all, the characters are so dull, that at any point throughout the game they did not pick my interest nor I had the actual need to keep them alive. Speaking of which - mechanics! I don’t considerAfter playing Until Dawn, which gave me a lot of fun, I decided to go with the next production of the studio and must say... never have I been so disappointed and frustrated with a game. First of all, the characters are so dull, that at any point throughout the game they did not pick my interest nor I had the actual need to keep them alive. Speaking of which - mechanics! I don’t consider myself a poor player, actually played a lot of games with QTE but there is sth seriously wrong with Man of Medan. Especially Keep Calm sequences turned out to be my doom, as I’m certain there is some kind of bug with it. Shame most of them along with QTE lead to actual death or messing up the entire story.

    In the end, I abondoned this title by almost very end, mostly because of frustration and lack of interest to go on with the story. Now I also know, that any other title I will be taking with caution and for sure not buying it for the full price.    … Expand
  38. Azhael
    Oct 5, 2019
    3
    I think the game is short and weak. I do not recommend. Most of the time, the scenery is too dark and has (very) limited space, which drastically restricts the player's power of exploration. The "scare moments" were based on close-ups and trying to surprise the player. I think the old Until Dawn was much better than this game. Even the Wendigos were more effective at generating publicI think the game is short and weak. I do not recommend. Most of the time, the scenery is too dark and has (very) limited space, which drastically restricts the player's power of exploration. The "scare moments" were based on close-ups and trying to surprise the player. I think the old Until Dawn was much better than this game. Even the Wendigos were more effective at generating public anxiety and dread on their own merits. In fact, the characters themselves were more interesting and had a more believable personality. I did not feel "connected" to the protagonists. If you are struggling to keep them alive, this is a problem. In UD, it was only natural for you to sympathize with certain characters and hate Emily. Lol

    Technically, I also believe that the actors in this game performed worse and the animations - in some ways - seemed to be less "fluid". Some parts of the story / action struck me as strange or ridiculous. For example, instead of the group trying to act stealthy (for good reason), there are times when they talk loudly inside the ship and don't seem to mind making a noise (or getting attention). The story was not as interesting as in UD (I don't even feel there is chemistry and bonding in the current group). I was disappointed.

    I didn't think the idea of ​​the game offering a preview of the upcoming franchise in 2020 was cool. This suggests that they are investing more in quantity than quality because it takes time to make a good game. If i buy another game of the same genre, I'll wait for reviews first.

    In my opinion, buying this game would be justified at half the current price. And yet, I'd rather invest my money in other possibilities.    … Expand
  39. draxd2019
    Nov 9, 2019
    2
    I really did not like this game. Horror is based on anoying jumpscares that mostly happen when you try to explore envinroment. Gameplay is based on walking and QTE that really come from nowhere and request fast respond. Graphics and cinematics are really great but game need to have more than that.
  40. lucasbutcher
    Dec 4, 2019
    6
    é um jogo gostosinho de se jogar, but, é meio incompetente, recomendo, porem tentem pegar na promoção, usado, ou de graça em algum lugar :)
  41. apjs
    Feb 26, 2020
    1
    1 point for the general idea of the story. But unfortunately, there are many inconsistencies and plot holes that are not acceptable. Especially towards the end. Feels like the game had to be published in a rush and the story was finished in a hurry.

    But the worst part are the quick time events (QTE). They are ridiculously hard - beyond anything you would expect from Until Dawn for example    1 point for the general idea of the story. But unfortunately, there are many inconsistencies and plot holes that are not acceptable. Especially towards the end. Feels like the game had to be published in a rush and the story was finished in a hurry.

    But the worst part are the quick time events (QTE). They are ridiculously hard - beyond anything you would expect from Until Dawn for example - and failing even a single one can kill one of the characters. This is especially bad in a game that allows no manual saving. The game gives an option to „Disable QTE timeouts“ - which is randomly working for like 70% of them. This is extremely frustrating especially since you don’t know in advance which ones are affected and which ones are not.    … Expand
  42. mateusbatatais
    Nov 23, 2020
    2
    A principal caracteristica desse tipo de game, é a história. Assim como os sensacionais beyond two soul... Heavy Rain (entre outros), este jogo tem muito mais cenas do que gameplay. Isso não é um problema pra mim. O problema é que man of medan tem uma história fraca. Acrédito que muitos matam a charada logo no inicio e isso faz com que as decisoes fiquem bobas. Manter os personagens vivosA principal caracteristica desse tipo de game, é a história. Assim como os sensacionais beyond two soul... Heavy Rain (entre outros), este jogo tem muito mais cenas do que gameplay. Isso não é um problema pra mim. O problema é que man of medan tem uma história fraca. Acrédito que muitos matam a charada logo no inicio e isso faz com que as decisoes fiquem bobas. Manter os personagens vivos é só questão de acertar os botões na hora que aparece. Personagens sem sal... O gameplay tem poucas inovações e realmente não da nem vontade de jogar novamente pra fazer algo diferente...

    História: 2
    Som: 9
    Jogabilidade: 4
    Gráficos:7
    Diversão: 1    … Expand
  43. alexandrumna
    Jul 12, 2020
    5
    I have to say that I honestly expected a lot more from this game. Character development sucks, graphics are underwhelming and the controls are sluggish. Maybe they can improve on the next title, like try to make the game scary but cut the annoying jumpscares. You don't get scared by them because at this point, being so many, you already expect them. The most annoying thing about this gameI have to say that I honestly expected a lot more from this game. Character development sucks, graphics are underwhelming and the controls are sluggish. Maybe they can improve on the next title, like try to make the game scary but cut the annoying jumpscares. You don't get scared by them because at this point, being so many, you already expect them. The most annoying thing about this game is that you don't feel like your choices matter. If you make a mistake, character dies. No adding it to the plot like Until Dawn did or whatsoever. Oh and don't get me started on those annoying pulse QTEs. A very mediocre game overall.… Expand
  44. Skulky
    May 29, 2020
    3
    Man of Medan is a huge step backwards from the incredible experience that Until Dawn gave us. Until Dawn gave us characters we loved (and hated), a gripping and intense story with plenty of terror and suspense built in. Man of Medan gave us 2-3 hours of bland characters, basically no story, and cheesy jump scares. Not mention that the game was riddled with technical and graphical bugs atMan of Medan is a huge step backwards from the incredible experience that Until Dawn gave us. Until Dawn gave us characters we loved (and hated), a gripping and intense story with plenty of terror and suspense built in. Man of Medan gave us 2-3 hours of bland characters, basically no story, and cheesy jump scares. Not mention that the game was riddled with technical and graphical bugs at release. The only reason I gave this game a 3/10 is because of the co-op feature, which was genius.

    It seems appropriate that the second game in the Dark Pictures Anthology is called "Little Hope". Because that is what I have for this series after Man of Medan.    … Expand
  45. Izzmoney
    Aug 21, 2021
    4
    Slow paced cheap scares and boring. Just going around just picking up objects could have been better.
  46. AndiGravity
    Aug 30, 2020
    5
    This is another game I wish I could like much more than I do.

    The premise seems fairly solid, if predictable, but the execution is so lacking, it ruins the experience. There are two primary issues when it comes to this game: 1) The controls are not consistent. I don't mean they're poorly programmed. I mean they're downright inconsistent. You can be faced with the same type of    This is another game I wish I could like much more than I do.

    The premise seems fairly solid, if predictable, but the execution is so lacking, it ruins the experience.

    There are two primary issues when it comes to this game:

    1) The controls are not consistent. I don't mean they're poorly programmed. I mean they're downright inconsistent. You can be faced with the same type of situation three different times, and the game will require you to use three entirely different control schemes to get through it. I'm sure the devs thought that was a novel concept, and it is... but it's a novel concept much in the same way getting in your car and finding out the manufacturer has programmed in multiple, random ways to steer the vehicle, and that today you'll be using the steering wheel, whereas tomorrow you'll be using the pedals to steer left and right and the handbrake to control acceleration, while the day after, you're going to have to control your car by rhythmically opening and closing your glove compartment.

    It's not good game design because it is in no way intuitive and requires the game to constantly break your immersion by prompting your every action, rather than doing what most games do, and explaining how to control your character in certain situations throughout the game so you consistently know how to manipulate the environment around you and can immerse yourself in the experience of the game. This brings me to the second problem this game has.

    2) You only get one chance to do anything. That's it. One. If you aren't able to get the game to do what you want because for some reason the devs decided the way you should maneuver through this particular series of events is through a rhythm event that psych! Just kidding! We're going to go ahead and abort that halfway through and then tell you to choose between two different things that will, nope! It's a quick-time event, and... quick, consult your moral compass to... another quick time event, quick time event, quick time ev... oh, too bad! You didn't get through the whole sequence!

    You want to go back and take a second crack at it? That's fine. Start the game again from scratch. That's the only way you're allowed to do it. If you make a single, solitary mistake you want to correct, the only way to go back and correct it is to start the game over from the beginning. And you can't skip anything. Not a single moment. You can't skip tutorials. You can't skip cutscenes you've already seen. You have to go through all of it from the beginning, at exactly the same relentlessly unedited pace. Every. Single. Last. Time.

    Otherwise, you're stuck with whatever screw-up happened for the rest of the game, and it's possible to screw this game up very early on so that it's simply not winnable. The game won't tell you it can't be won. It'll let you go on until the end of the game, and then spring it on you there that something you did way back at the beginning completely screwed you for the rest of the game.

    "But... but... that's how real life works!"

    Yeah, and you know what you don't see me doing in real life? Diving wrecks without properly logging my route, taking appropriate safety precautions, and keeping the authorities apprised of my actions. Taunting Somali pirates. Running around in an abandoned ship filled with hallucinogenic nerve gas.

    Know why? Because one mistake, and I'm stuck living with the consequences forever-- or even worse, not living with them-- because that's how *real life* works.

    The reason I'm playing a game isn't so I can be restricted to the rules of how life works; it's so I can enjoy figuring out how to solve the game, complete with some sort of method of correcting the occasional mistake in order to keep the action flowing so I don't have to stop, go all the way back to the beginning, and suffer the mind-numbing tedium of having to watch every tutorial and every cutscene and make every dialogue choice again, and so on, and so forth, and furthermore, etc.

    Honestly, I picked this game up because I saw an ad for Little Hope which looked amazing, and then found out it was the second game in an anthology, so I bought Man of Medan to catch up, and my experience so far has convinced me not only to stop playing Man of Medan, but to cancel my pre-order for Little Hope. I hope that's the goal the devs were aiming for, because I really can't fathom how they thought Man of Medan would be enjoyable as the experience they programmed it to be.    … Expand
  47. Heirs
    Jun 30, 2020
    1
    Trop de bugs, une histoire banale, des personnages énervants, des graphismes horribles. Ca n'en vaut pas la peine
  48. Redfloda
    Sep 14, 2020
    4
    Very poorly made! I did not like it at all. The idea is not bad but all is so slow and stiff
  49. 14r33c
    Nov 28, 2020
    7
    Graphics [7]
    Gameplay [7]
    Narrative [7]
    Entertainment [8]
    Sound [8]

    [+] Environment and sound effects.
    [-] There are a lot of expected moments; characters could be better; not to scary.

    7 (Good) ▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▯▯▯
  50. SamTheMan123
    Jan 6, 2021
    2
    I made an account just for this game to warn people.

    2-PLAYER CO-OP IS BROKEN AND DOES NOT WORK. IF YOU ARE LOOKING TO GET THIS TO PLAY WITH YOUR FRIENDS, DON'T BUY IT, IT DOES NOT WORK. Single player is honestly a 5/10, its an average game. The editing is really wonky, with some scenes just shaky cam/cutting randomly to 20 different angles of the same shot so you don't know what's    I made an account just for this game to warn people.

    2-PLAYER CO-OP IS BROKEN AND DOES NOT WORK. IF YOU ARE LOOKING TO GET THIS TO PLAY WITH YOUR FRIENDS, DON'T BUY IT, IT DOES NOT WORK.

    Single player is honestly a 5/10, its an average game. The editing is really wonky, with some scenes just shaky cam/cutting randomly to 20 different angles of the same shot so you don't know what's going on. Othertimes the camera just lingers on a characters face for a good 10 seconds...no dialogue, the characters face doesn't change, it just lingers there. I presume this is to unsettle the player, except the animation is sometimes ME Andromeda levels of bad, so its unsettling in a, wow this is bad, kind of way. Some choices honestly don't matter, the dialogue options and relationships don't make too much of a difference in the outcome of whether your characters live or die. Its a huge step back from Until Dawn in all aspects. The "scares" are well...okay at best, laughable at worst. The story you can see from a mile away, they even spoil it to you (making it incredibly easy to understand what's going on and thus get all your characters out alive).

    Did I mention the 2-player Co-Op is absolutely BROKEN. The heart beat is so laggy (internet independent) that it just doesn't work, the QTEs will glitch on you, and the game will crash CONSTANTLY. I don't think me and my friend went an hour without it crashing. Certain sections of the game just won't work, and you'll have to start all over again to get through them. Movie night? Don't bother.

    Considering Movie night and co-op is 2/3 of the game experience, 2/3s of this game don't work, and the 1/3 that does isn't anything special. Hence a 2/10.    … Expand
  51. WashedPotatoes
    Jul 10, 2022
    4
    great graphics but not great facial animation, level design is decent, characters are mostly not well written and the story is insanely bland and uninteresting. only 4 hours of content if you only do one playthrough, which based on the quality of the game, 95% of people are going to do
  52. KoverSamolet
    Oct 28, 2022
    8
    Do sincerely suggest.
    I very much enjoyed Until Dawn, even more i did with Detroit: Become Human. Then i got to Man of Medan. I just wish the game would be a few more hours longer, it finishes too fast in my opinion. Also it felt easier than Until Dawn - wish it was more challenging gameplay wise - it felt like input windows were longer here.
    Nevertheless I had really great time playing,    Do sincerely suggest.
    I very much enjoyed Until Dawn, even more i did with Detroit: Become Human. Then i got to Man of Medan. I just wish the game would be a few more hours longer, it finishes too fast in my opinion. Also it felt easier than Until Dawn - wish it was more challenging gameplay wise - it felt like input windows were longer here.
    Nevertheless I had really great time playing, living through Man of medan. Mindgame was great, but once again, when it felt like everything just has started spinning suddenly you see credits - it is shorter than Until Dawn. Will def see further into this anthology.    … Expand
  53. Gosticouilles
    Oct 2, 2022
    0
    I was enjoying this game, I get a black screen everytime I try to load my file after the storm chapter. I litteraly can't progress any further and this game have been out for years...?
  54. DangerDave1409
    Nov 3, 2022
    7
    Not as perfect as "Until Dawn" but still amazing. Played it two times and can only recommend it. Graphics are bad, but I didnt expect something else. German synchro is **** too
  55. johnnypiede
    Oct 18, 2022
    0
    Random, really random i think they had a bucket and picked what was going to happen. The game is just terrible. It's like a movie but it's supposed to be a videogame.
  56. Vahradrim
    Oct 9, 2022
    1
    NOT WORTH $30 AT ALL!! That's the first game I ask a refund for. The game will literally bug in the middle of it with an infinite loading you can't do anything of. The story is so disappointed and finishes by an explanation that let's you wonder why you're playing to such an non-scary "scary game". All the characters are annoying and you play 40% of the game doing side tasks that don'tNOT WORTH $30 AT ALL!! That's the first game I ask a refund for. The game will literally bug in the middle of it with an infinite loading you can't do anything of. The story is so disappointed and finishes by an explanation that let's you wonder why you're playing to such an non-scary "scary game". All the characters are annoying and you play 40% of the game doing side tasks that don't even matter (why bothering about the radio when we just leave on the boat anyway?? So useless!!) 1/10 for the graphics, waste of timeeee!!!!… Expand
  57. stv363
    Sep 8, 2019
    4
    I was so disappointed by this game. I was a huge fan of Until Dawn, so when I heard this was from the creators I couldn't wait.

    This is everything until dawn wasn't. The dialogue was unnatural, the characters weren't interesting and the pacing of the story was terrible. It took the majority of the game walking incredibly slowly round boring scenes, to uncover little to no storyline    I was so disappointed by this game. I was a huge fan of Until Dawn, so when I heard this was from the creators I couldn't wait.

    This is everything until dawn wasn't. The dialogue was unnatural, the characters weren't interesting and the pacing of the story was terrible. It took the majority of the game walking incredibly slowly round boring scenes, to uncover little to no storyline (with a total lackluster 'twist' at the end) and all of the meaningful action taking place in the last 20-30 minutes.

    There are almost constant glitches, from the laggy cuts during dialogue, difficulty navigating characters, not to mention the infuriating gameplay. The terrible controls cost me every character I lost, from the annoying heartbeat sensor that's totally out of time with the graphics, to the unclear distinction between a spam button QTE and a button click. Given Until Dawn's gameplay was perfect and gave you a real sense you were frantically trying to save the characters life, this is just infuriatingly poor, with hours of gameplay wasted.

    Honestly, I've never been so let down by a game. Won't be buying the next instalment of what I had totally expected to be a fantastic series.    … Expand
  58. TzzzT23
    Sep 11, 2019
    0
    I didn't finished the game yet and I probably don't want to, because this game is pure garbage. I can't believe the dev team behind this game was the one who made until dawn, compare to until dawn this game is sh*t. I regret that I buy this game.
  59. MahdIGH
    Aug 30, 2019
    7
    Some times high graphics and showing details is not enough to make a good game. Yes, things have changed. Maybe some years ago when a company made a high-detailed game, we would appreciate them but now not only should it be high-detailed, but also the game should have a good story. Supermassive changed sth after until dawn. They changed the way of storytelling and making horrifying jumpSome times high graphics and showing details is not enough to make a good game. Yes, things have changed. Maybe some years ago when a company made a high-detailed game, we would appreciate them but now not only should it be high-detailed, but also the game should have a good story. Supermassive changed sth after until dawn. They changed the way of storytelling and making horrifying jump scares. But now we are experiencing Man of Medan. An anthology game. I've never seen an anthology game before, but we should see how were Supermassive successful in performing that. Man of Medan is a good start for The dark pictures and people can buy the next part of the Dark Pictures with confidence. Maybe one of the most important point in horror movies and games is inducing the sense of fear. Players should never know when will they be scared or how. For example, Silent Hill is one of the most successful horror games because it changed the meaning of horror. I don't expect the creators to invent sth new but at least I want sth scary from them. Sth that I would dream when I fall asleep, but they couldn’t scare me like past horror games even Until Dawn.
    Maybe you heard sth about butterfly effect or sth like this. They perform this mechanism as well as until dawn. Every decision can change the way of story-telling or even death of a character.
    In every horror movies or games or even story-based games, the quality of the voices, sounds of the environment or even the sound of the wind is so important. Besides, these games should have great graphics and Supermassive was successful in it but we can see some frame drops and a few technical problems and sometimes the problems can prevent from experiencing a scary scene. One of the weaknesses of Until Dawn was the story. Its ending was predictable and Man of Medan is too. We can't see any surprises after act 3 and it's a very bad weakness for a story-based game.
    Some times the position of the camera can make you feel like watching a horror movie but sometimes It really bothers you because in some places it's difficult to control the characters well.
    The design of the jump scares is really really really good. The game is based on jump scares just like until dawn but they performed it better than until dawn. It's that scary that you will shout for seconds.
    Maybe the game will be a bit boring for some player because players should just press buttons, read notes and books, watch cutscenes, interact with some items and make some decisions, but the combination of all of these make a good adventure game. It doesn't mean that you can press buttons comfortably without thinking. Pressing buttons is one of the most intelligent parts of the game. You may ask why. In some adventure games, players will be bored so they will lose an important decision or even a cutscene. But in Man of Medan every scene attracts you.
    The delusion of making decisions. In some games like telltale's games, you should make some decisions but they really don't change the ending or the way of storytelling and they just change some details in the story. But now I can see that Man of Medan is different if you press a wrong button, you will see a different story with a different ending.
    The story was finished where it had to because if the creators had continued the story, they would have finished the story badly
    Man of Medan is 30 dollar game with 5 to 6 hours gameplay and it has good
    Co-op. In some cases like the graphic and the design of the jump scares, the game is better than Until Dawn but in the way of storytelling and characterizations the game is a bit weaker.
    Overall, Man of Medan is a game for horror games fan and even adventure games fan and they can experience a good game but they shouldn't expect that they will certainly be scared.    … Expand
  60. DrSargeX
    Sep 21, 2022
    8
    Game itself resembles until dawn, Story driven title with alot of different fates depends how you play and progress through the game.
    Totally different genre that most of gamers didn't like but definitely a decent pick for some one looking for a story rich game to play
  61. Liahari
    Sep 2, 2019
    1
    The game is mediocre, played it twice on my own then twice in "movie night" mode with a friend. Last coop we did was to try and have only Conrad survive, but from the looks of it, its not possible to have less than 2 people survive, unlike in Until Dawn, which was very dissapointing. And we also did our utmost to destroy Alex and Julia's relationship, but we went as far as we could and itThe game is mediocre, played it twice on my own then twice in "movie night" mode with a friend. Last coop we did was to try and have only Conrad survive, but from the looks of it, its not possible to have less than 2 people survive, unlike in Until Dawn, which was very dissapointing. And we also did our utmost to destroy Alex and Julia's relationship, but we went as far as we could and it literally has no effect on events, which is dumb. In Until Dawn Chris could be killed because Ashley was mad at him, there's nothing like that in Man of Medan. The relationship system was a waste of game development time. If they'd removed that and spent more time on the story, pacing, sequencing and controls maybe the game would be a bit better. (Side note, it felt like every 5 seconds I was getting a prompt telling me traits had updated, despite looking and seeing practically no change. Annoying to say the least)

    I somewhat enjoyed the game the first playthrough... however it has many issues that make it very "meh" compared to Until Dawn. The movement controls are clunky and slow, even when using the "walk fast" feature, which is almost just as slow and its barely a noticeable difference in speed at all, so steering and navigating around the environment is very difficult at times and the fixed camera angles make it very hard to see where you are supposed to go to progress the game or see collectables. Quick time events were clunky and not very responsive, making it very frustrating when that results in a "bad outcome" to a scene of the game. Pressing the button in time didn't always register and the "keep calm heartbeat" system was a bit difficult to figure out exactly when to press the button, but wasn't too bad compared to other quick times. There also isn't much visual difference to a button mash quick time and press quick time, which was very infuriating when you lose a character because there wasn't indication you had to mash a button instead of just pushing it. The mash system is also a bit clunky, you have to press the button a lot more than you normally do in order to fill it up in time.

    The characters are bland and largely uninteresting, their relationships sort of fleshed out at the beginning but then halting once the events of the game start. The dialogue choices, unless you chose to say nothing, make all the characters seem like a**holes the large majority of the time and it is very frustrating in a "choice" based game when that happens because it feels like the game is forcing you to make poor dialogue choices because it's somehow useful to the plot I guess? During the abandoned ship part of the story, characters are extremely passive and seemingly largely unbothered by what's happening around them unless it's a cut scene of sorts. They don't really talk about the events and seem very blase about the weird stuff happening to them. They basically have non reactions to events most of the time, unlike Until Dawn where the characters were sort of constantly expressing some worry/fear/whatever in some way to events.

    The scares were pretty good, and there were a few on the abandoned ship that got me or their appearance in a dark corner before moving away set a creepy vibe, which I liked, but the rest were cheap and frequent jump scares.

    End of game cutscenes were disjointed and a little out of place, especially the ones for the characters who survived.

    It's also very frustrating that even if you manage to find the Manchurian Gold, it doesn't effect the dialogue. The character who finds it just keeps acting like they don't know what's going on when they do, and they don't tell anyone until later and even then it's poorly scripted. Honestly not worth the $40 I paid for the game. They didnt even make use of the ps4 motion controls once! Not once! Literally all buttons and joysticks. No touchpad and no motion controls. What's the point? Until Dawn had the Don't move! thing, I wish they'd implemented something like that into Man of Medan.

    Story overall was a bit meh and not as interesting as I'd hoped. The Curator also gives out the biggest spoilers as to what's going on and basically kills a lot of the excitement for trying to figure it out. He tells you "its not at all what you think it might be, its this type of thing". And the fact that what's going on doesn't have the sameish kind of theme as with Until Dawn was disappointing. The story was also very often hard to follow and quickly got confusing. I imagine the game would be much better story wise in multiplayer, but as the only way to play is with someone on your friends list who has the game or having someone in the room with you, that's not possible for the majority of players, so playing solo it is.    … Expand
  62. Nico99
    Aug 31, 2019
    0
    After playing Until Dawn and Detroit: Become Human I was really hyped for this even though the critics were mixed.

    **** The characters are all just annoying and you never ever have the feeling like OH YEAH I gotta save them. Then the quick time events are just a shame, after playing through the games I named above with hardly any mistake, I messed up like 50% of them in this trash. And    After playing Until Dawn and Detroit: Become Human I was really hyped for this even though the critics were mixed.

    **** The characters are all just annoying and you never ever have the feeling like OH YEAH I gotta save them. Then the quick time events are just a shame, after playing through the games I named above with hardly any mistake, I messed up like 50% of them in this trash. And not because I was to slow or something, the mechanics didn't work properly... Then just freezed Tv's and laggy and bad cuts. This game doesn't deserve anything but hate!    … Expand
  63. wesker2012
    Sep 15, 2019
    8
    I'm a huge fan of Until Dawn and Until Dawn: Rush of Blood. When I read all the bad critic and user scores, I was pretty bummed out and set my expectations super low. To my surprise, I actually really enjoyed the game! More than Until Dawn actually. For me shorter length does not automatically mean worse quality. I felt the length was fine. I really enjoyed the setting, atmosphere,I'm a huge fan of Until Dawn and Until Dawn: Rush of Blood. When I read all the bad critic and user scores, I was pretty bummed out and set my expectations super low. To my surprise, I actually really enjoyed the game! More than Until Dawn actually. For me shorter length does not automatically mean worse quality. I felt the length was fine. I really enjoyed the setting, atmosphere, theme, characters, and character banter. I like how they kept the overall structure of Until Dawn the same, but didn't just strictly stay to the formula, and added some new features like online co op play which to my surprise, majorly elevates the experience. It's a blast to play with a friend and I hope this new interactive movie/game concept catches on because the online co op choose your own adventure gameplay is a breath of fresh air in the gaming industry and has so much potential. I would love to play other genres of games like this besides horror. The production values are top notch and the graphics/atmosphere look even better than Until Dawn. It really felt like I was watching/playing a cinematic horror movie. The ship was really creepy and the jump scares were really good and startled me several times. I also love the fact that the game was made to be replayed several times to see potentially new outcomes, etc. It seems the game is best played with different online partners/friends to see how their choices affect the plot. In conclusion, I'm really impressed that Supermassive Games retained a strong identity of their Until Dawn hit game but also added a good amount of freshness to the gameplay, so it doesn't just feel like the same old thing. Highly recommend to horror fans and Until Dawn fans! It seems most of the negative reviews come as a result of people not understanding how the developers intended people to play the game which is to play online with a friend and to play through multiple times to get the full experience!!!… Expand
  64. jimmylittle007
    Feb 28, 2020
    2
    Truly a terrible game. Very little actual gameplay, cliche characters with awful personalities that leave you wishing them dead rather than rooting for them to survive. The so called twist is, quite literally, revealed in the prologue about five minutes into the game. Avoid at all costs
  65. abekdd
    Aug 30, 2019
    7
    The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan tiene una apuesta muy clara: la rejugabilidad. Desde esa premisa, el título de Supermassive Games ofrece una aventura de terror que, si bien no pasa de ser la típica que hemos presenciado en mil películas de serie B, puede llegar a dejarte con un sabor amargo dependiendo del devenir de alguno de los personajes. Con fallos puntuales que pueden serThe Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan tiene una apuesta muy clara: la rejugabilidad. Desde esa premisa, el título de Supermassive Games ofrece una aventura de terror que, si bien no pasa de ser la típica que hemos presenciado en mil películas de serie B, puede llegar a dejarte con un sabor amargo dependiendo del devenir de alguno de los personajes. Con fallos puntuales que pueden ser corregidos, como los tirones de FPS o el problema de optimización y carga de las texturas, Man of Medan es un interesante primer paso de cara a un compendio mayor. Y, de momento, resulta difícil otorgarle mayor nota cuando los errores pueden fastidiar la experiencia.… Expand
  66. Fins1399
    Aug 30, 2019
    8
    Not bad! I'm not one for horror games at all. I played Until Dawn so thought, why not?! Having finished it in about 5 or so hours I can say I enjoyed it. The main issue I have is the ending. It seemed very abrupt and left many questions, but then again, maybe it was intended. If you enjoy a game with plenty of jumpscares you wont mind this game. Definitely worth checking it out for 30Not bad! I'm not one for horror games at all. I played Until Dawn so thought, why not?! Having finished it in about 5 or so hours I can say I enjoyed it. The main issue I have is the ending. It seemed very abrupt and left many questions, but then again, maybe it was intended. If you enjoy a game with plenty of jumpscares you wont mind this game. Definitely worth checking it out for 30 bucks. I'll run through it a few times to see what changes for sure!… Expand
  67. ArcadeRice
    Sep 3, 2019
    4
    The game has so many flaws, I can't take the game seriously. the animations being one of the many issues. Some animations felt slow for no distinct reason, like the scene where Joe gets off his bunk bed after hearing gunshot sounds and screaming at the beginning of the game. Why does he sway and lean his head before getting up and why does he rise up from his bed so calmly? You could alsoThe game has so many flaws, I can't take the game seriously. the animations being one of the many issues. Some animations felt slow for no distinct reason, like the scene where Joe gets off his bunk bed after hearing gunshot sounds and screaming at the beginning of the game. Why does he sway and lean his head before getting up and why does he rise up from his bed so calmly? You could also hear the heavy breathing in that scene did not fit with the character's lips. There are so many more instances where the game felt like a **** anime that was dubbed over to English. The eyes as well, it was like staring at a dead fish. Some faces don't even change when they are supposed to express shocked emotion.
    The story and characters are far from great. It's predictable after getting one hint, and the characters, at first was interesting, turned completely bland. I could mix them around and their personalities wouldn't be much different during many situations.

    I am a person that get shocked easily. Not scared enough to bust a lung, but more of a person that would get scared for a longer time instead for the one instance. It would show obvious signs of jump scares, which are most likely intentional. It defeats the purpose of a jump scare, at least for me since I know it's coming. I really can't consider the game to be a horror game. It was more of an action game or a much less impressive game of Detroit: Become Human.

    If you're looking for a scary game, this is NOT it. I do like the voice acting a lot, but that is all the compliment I can come up with for this game. The animation and expressions of the characters are lifeless or just too behind of the voice actors, the story isn't really all that exciting nor scary and there is no hook for the characters. For God's sake, Fliss was basically wearing no clothing, yet she's unaffected, not even shaking from the rain in the middle of the night?    … Expand
  68. LukaszZab
    Oct 21, 2020
    0
    It was and is a neat Horror Games!
    -pro
    You can play with friends(How i played)
    The Story was very godd!
    -cons
    Not scary at all.
    The ending could be better
  69. Sl3v1n
    Aug 30, 2019
    10
    Great horror game! It’s like a choose your own adventure book on acid. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes horror/suspense.
  70. niuxilanren
    Sep 1, 2019
    9
    Man of Medan, while not perfect, is an amazing game, especially for its price. Unfortunately the comparison to Until Dawn is inevitable with this game as Its gameplay, story and even some themes are very similar to those found in Until Dawn. I do believe, however, that there are some things that Man of Medan does better such as the impact of choices, deaths, and characters (in myMan of Medan, while not perfect, is an amazing game, especially for its price. Unfortunately the comparison to Until Dawn is inevitable with this game as Its gameplay, story and even some themes are very similar to those found in Until Dawn. I do believe, however, that there are some things that Man of Medan does better such as the impact of choices, deaths, and characters (in my opinion). What follows is a quick summary of the game's best traits and a brief note of its shortcomings.

    What i believe is the greatest part of the game is the effects of each choice and the impacts they have. While this sounds standard for many games, the length of Man of Medan allows for the consequences to be far larger than in most others. There are several different chapters that are determined by different actions each playthrough and the flow on effects are rather substantial such as different characters grouping up together, becoming armed, entering new areas and of course potentially dying. The differences between playthroughs is quite astonishing even down to small changes such as how a certain scary story is told.

    The next thing to mention is the deaths. While there is a large variety of ways to die, the game is actually rather easy to survive. Whenever i got a character killed off, i knew it was entirely my fault and that the outcome was predictable. I have only experienced 3 deaths in my 3 playthroughs and each time someone died, it was either due to my self doubt (resulting in ignoring warning) or simply my curiosity causing me to do something i knew was stupid. While i can't speak for every death in the game as i haven't experienced every situation, can say that keeping people alive is not very difficult and thinking things through can get you through the game as long as your are observant.

    The characters have rather good chemistry with each other and have some nice highlights such as Julie and Alex's relationship. It did endear them to me and made me genuinely want to keep the entire cast alive unlike until dawn where i was waiting for an opportunity to get rid of a third of them. I do recommend making them act nice on your first playthrough as it is the most interesting to experience.

    The replay value on this game is rather strange however. I recommend not taking any hints from the curator on your first playthrough due to experiencing the game for the first time being very different from subsequent playthroughs. The hints may spoil the game early (as they did on my first playthrough) and once you finish the game you essentially learn how to act in every situation to achieve what you want. This makes further runs really entertaining and trophy hunting rather fun but removes the mystery and horror that you can only experience once. playing through the story with friends is also rather fun and trying challenges like killing all guys, killing all girls, killing everyone or killing no one just adds to the replay value.

    It is important to note that this game isn't perfect however. There are a few too many jump-scares, the frame rate dips at times, the visions are not terribly helpful, the characters never quite make it out of the uncanny valley and there are a few bugs. While these are annoying, they aren't deal breakers and while i didn't really mind them too much overall, this wouldn't be a very balanced review without making mention of its shortcomings.

    Overall, The Dark Pictures: Man of Medan is a wonderful start to the series and is a worthy follow up to Until Dawn (in my opinion). I'm looking forward to their next one and trying out the curator cut.    … Expand
  71. simcriss
    Sep 13, 2019
    0
    The cutscene were **** at the end. It was like they put them up together without checking if they were making any sense and they didnt. That game was botched and this is why the game is **** in my opinion
  72. Gonoru
    Mar 11, 2020
    3
    Weak story and the actors performances and dialogs are even worst. Lots of jump scares...too many
  73. Davrosdaleks1
    Sep 1, 2019
    8
    Man of Medan is the first in the Dark Pictures series, which is supposed to be a total of eight short interactive story, horror survival games. It is is also a spiritual successor to publisher Supermassive Games' Until Dawn. Though I can't say this game quite matches UD, I still enjoyed it.

    LOOK: Being a smaller game, this doesn't quite match the visual grandeur or the scope of the    Man of Medan is the first in the Dark Pictures series, which is supposed to be a total of eight short interactive story, horror survival games. It is is also a spiritual successor to publisher Supermassive Games' Until Dawn. Though I can't say this game quite matches UD, I still enjoyed it.

    LOOK:
    Being a smaller game, this doesn't quite match the visual grandeur or the scope of the settings of UD, which basically had a smorgasbord of spooky places. But this game is still entertainingly creepy. There are some pretty well-done scares and threats and the abandoned ship that this game mostly takes place in looks pretty good. I also really liked the opening credits.

    Unfortunately, the character graphics haven't really improved since UD and don't compare to other recent games. (With a new DP installment expected every six months or so, I'm not entirely surprised if this game was a bit rushed.) The hair rendering looks particularly bad in the sunlight. Some scene and screen change transitions are awkward. I also had an error take me out of the game, though it was at a save point, so I didn't have to backtrack.

    STORY:
    Being a shorter game, around five hours give or take, this game also doesn't offer as much story as UD, but I also felt this kind of helps the replay value in that your time isn't as stretched out. (Though there is a little too much hallway wandering and item searching than I'd prefer.)

    I liked the story pretty well. The characters encounter a series of interesting threats. For such a quick game, MoM does offer what appears to be a pretty varied number of endings, even mixing things up a bit more in comparison to UD's just-try-to-have-them-not-die-goals.

    The dialogue, much like UD can be clunky, especially at the beginning. However, also much like UD, the cast manages to elevate the script.

    The DP series has a host the Curator (mocap acted by Pip Torrens). Though he has some nice lines, the character didn't really work for me. You expect a horror host to have some presence, be they creepy, comical, or mysterious. Here the Curator is just kind of there.

    GAMEPLAY:
    This game fixes the hiding events from UD. In that game, in order to hide you had to keep the controller completely still. Unfortunately, the motion sensor was too picky. As a person with slightly shaky hands, I could never keep still enough. Here you have to press the buttons in line with the rhythm of your character's heartbeat. It gets pretty tricky, but at least it's fair.

    What this game doesn't fix from UD is the walking. It's still as slow as last time. Also like UD, the game tells you to press R2 to walk faster, but there is no noticeable effect. The fact that they didn't fix this is a wee bit infuriating.

    OVERALL:
    Despite some of the game's failings, this is still one of my favorite interactive story games. Man of Medan moves at a quick pace and kept me intrigued as to what would happen next.    … Expand
  74. Scarlett27
    Aug 30, 2019
    8
    Short, but fun. Not as thrilling as Until Dawn, but I can say I thoroughly enjoyed it. Looking forward to the next installment!
  75. Prismagic
    Feb 2, 2020
    0
    No juegues esta cosa, esta de hueva... Personajes e historias super chafa....
  76. Zumbie101
    Oct 13, 2020
    3
    Game feels a bit too uncanny valley and seems way to focused on multiplayer. Playing singleplayer was pretty confusing. Story was all over the place however still predictable and there was multiple technical problems. Characters were uniteresting and unlikeable but not in a funny campy way just boring. Game was also very short
  77. Msmiley10
    Aug 30, 2019
    9
    Not sure why the audience score is so low. This is great fun and just as enjoyable as Until Dawn. Love it
  78. unap0logetic
    Sep 1, 2019
    0
    awfuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuulllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll
  79. jackcarlin18
    Sep 1, 2019
    8
    One play-through won’t satisfy anyone, but there two or three times plus (playing with co-op and movie mode) fleshes the story out with vast improvement, adding new scenes and more gore which only makes Man of Medan a strong entry the more you delve into its devilishly delightful story.
  80. kuehnau
    Sep 1, 2019
    1
    While Man of Medan looks impressive, that's the only thing it has going for it. Man of Medan is essentially nothing more than a better looking Telltale Game's Walking Dead.The game has multiple paths and endings, which they also help you keep track of, but I don't really feel like it's a genuine experience due to the fact, there is a narration here and the writers for this game does notWhile Man of Medan looks impressive, that's the only thing it has going for it. Man of Medan is essentially nothing more than a better looking Telltale Game's Walking Dead.The game has multiple paths and endings, which they also help you keep track of, but I don't really feel like it's a genuine experience due to the fact, there is a narration here and the writers for this game does not allow you to work outside of that narration.

    I feel like every time a choice is presented, it should effectively fracture off in to it's own path. Yeah, I get it, that'd be a lot of extra work, but as it is right now, there's plenty of decisions to make that don't effect the story in any sort of meaningful manner and it feels like a cheat.

    TLDR: Nice looking point & click adventure game dressed up to look like a better game.    … Expand
  81. VTL
    Sep 24, 2019
    6
    Juego correcto... corto la verdad, pero rejugable y a precio reduicido. Lo recomiendo juegar con colegas. La historia... bueno, podria ser mejor... Juego bien pero sin duda a ese precio 25-30 € max.
  82. futureyesterday
    Sep 1, 2019
    8
    Man of Medan might not be as strong as Until Dawn but its still a great game. The negative review bombing made me write this review because I'm pretty sure that it's the result of toxic gamers that haven't actually played it (there's a lot of factually incorrect reviews) some of which I'll address below. The store ratings on each platform (where people actually bought it and rated it) areMan of Medan might not be as strong as Until Dawn but its still a great game. The negative review bombing made me write this review because I'm pretty sure that it's the result of toxic gamers that haven't actually played it (there's a lot of factually incorrect reviews) some of which I'll address below. The store ratings on each platform (where people actually bought it and rated it) are much higher than what the metacritic user rating suggests. No spoilers..

    Frame Rate/controls: I played on a ps4 pro. There was a day one patch (1.09) and I only had very minor frame rate drops that happened a handful of times in the entire game. Only once did it freeze for a second and it didn't affect the game. I expected it would perform horribly based on what I'd read but it was totally fine and the minor drops that did happen will no doubt be updated in another patch. Control of the characters is pretty clunky, but its exactly the same as how they controlled in Until Dawn.

    Quick Time Events: If you find quick time events awful or hard to manage - In the options menu you can disable the quicktime events timer. Hate button mashing? You can turn that off too, again in the options menu. So if you find them too difficult just change the settings.

    Characters/Story: The story has a couple of pacing issues but overall I thought it was pretty good, depending on what you 'reveal' during your play through will obviously affect your view on it. I did figure out the twist about half way through but I was ok with that. Just like in Until Dawn - you are stuck with any decisions you make. When you finish you can reload the story and select any chapters you want to replay, so if you really messed something up and you want to try a different outcome you can restart at that point. The story isn't as fun as Until Dawns (it tries to be more serious) but I liked it. Same goes for the Characters. I liked them all by the end - they have 'traits' you can unlock that take the character in different directions.

    Playtime/ending: Obviously this will vary but it took me about 4.5 hours and I got (I assume) the best ending since everyone survived, it had a decent finale and I had revealed the whole story. It has local & online multiplayer and an alternate 'curators cut' version of the game so I'll be going back.

    Overall I thought it was good and I'm looking forward to the next game in the anthology. If you like this style of game I'd say it's an easy recommendation.    … Expand
  83. DenisOff
    Sep 1, 2019
    9
    Игра шикарная, играл с девушкой и оба остались под впечатлением. Не знаю за что ее так не взлюбили. Давно я такого удовольствия от игры не получал. Атмосфера, звуки и картинка радуют на протяжении всей игры. Крайне рекомендую играть именно в компании с другом или подругой)Игра шикарная, играл с девушкой и оба остались под впечатлением. Не знаю за что ее так не взлюбили. Давно я такого удовольствия от игры не получал. Атмосфера, звуки и картинка радуют на протяжении всей игры. Крайне рекомендую играть именно в компании с другом или подругой)
  84. Pipe_9696
    Sep 3, 2019
    9
    Tremenda ambientación. Extrañaba estos tipos de juegos desde la nostalgia que dejó detroit.
  85. almostfamousguy
    Aug 31, 2019
    10
    Awesome game.
    Supermassive games do it again.
    Incredible ghost story.
    Motion capture perfect job.
    Why gamers so toxic?
    I'm waiting next chapter!!!
  86. Jrb9207
    Sep 1, 2019
    8
    I am enjoying this game and can’t wait for the next one! Does it have some issues yes, but every game does and these people who are Whining and CRYING about them need to realize that there is NO SUCH THING AS A FLAWLESS GAME!!! I think the story is good and I believe the studio will only get better with the future games
  87. Videojuego1234
    Aug 30, 2019
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Eh estado toda la noche y dia jugando el juego, lo recomiendo mucho, no me gusto traducindo en las voces pero en las voces originales si que lo recomiendo mas, gran historia y suspense del principio al final… Expand
  88. PaulMatt
    Sep 1, 2019
    8
    Evoluiu o que foi criado em Until Dawn, e renovaram com dois modos multiplayer totalmente diferentes, divertidos e sem deixar de ser assustadores.
    O primeiro game da franquia The dark pictures anthology, é obrigatório para fãs de games de terror, e um presente para os fãs de Until Dawn.
  89. Nadom
    Sep 1, 2019
    10
    Supermassive Games never disappoints. The first series of The Dark Pictures, Man Of Medan is the horror game I’ve been looking for in a long time. I’ve tried other horror games but nothing delivered a good scare like Man Of Medan. I highly recommend this game for anyone who is looking for a good scary and history.
  90. Boby33gold
    Aug 30, 2019
    10
    Foarte bun ,excelent bravo ,nu au dezamagit.Nici nu aveau cum ,ei au facut Until Dawn....
  91. Ararat
    Sep 4, 2019
    10
    Одна из лучших игр в жанре интерактивное кино. Интересная история и хорошая графика.
  92. Jozef
    Sep 4, 2019
    10
    Great game by Supermassive Games, as always. A must play if you like horror movies!
  93. DanPratama
    Oct 9, 2019
    8
    Despite of the rough transition, rushed plot and many downsided compared the Until Dawn, level design, sound, graphic and the actor did a amazing job. Man of Medan showing a promising new series of Horror. Co-op and Movie Night feature is amazing. Play it with your friend.
  94. mathieuP
    Jun 26, 2020
    5
    Tres beau visuellement mais pas très bien optimisé du coup ça rame un peut sur console.
    Histoire correcte bien qu'un peut clichée
  95. Joe2539
    Jan 3, 2023
    10
    Very Good Good Good Good Good Good Good Good Good Good Good Good Good Good Good
  96. drlowdon
    Dec 24, 2022
    6
    A group of divers discover a sunken WWII plane in the South Pacific, and soon find themselves facing dangers from local fisherman as well as other more supernatural entities.

    Man of Medan is largely a narrative lead game with player interaction involving making decisions for the characters and the odd QTE. Unfortunately failing the QTEs (which can appear suddenly and easily catch you    A group of divers discover a sunken WWII plane in the South Pacific, and soon find themselves facing dangers from local fisherman as well as other more supernatural entities.

    Man of Medan is largely a narrative lead game with player interaction involving making decisions for the characters and the odd QTE. Unfortunately failing the QTEs (which can appear suddenly and easily catch you out) seems to have more of an impact on what happens than any of the decisions you make, and along with a cast of mostly unlikeable characters, it doesn’t make for a particularly satisfying experience even when played co-op.    … Expand
  97. sylvioros
    Jun 19, 2022
    4
    Chato, história meio sem graça, mas que evolui até que bem. Mas é o pior jogo da Supermassive. Ao invés de seguirem a fórmula do Until Dawn, simplificaram o extremo e deixaram o jogo muito mais col cara de filme do que de jogo
  98. sityoazzdown
    Jul 5, 2022
    6
    A little bit better than little hope, but so far the first two games of the anthology has some of the most monotonous gameplay, even for a interactive game. It does have a better story, decisions, and characters, but still falls flat in terms of horror and the interactive genre. Not bad if you want to snag it on sale , though.
  99. Kinokee
    Mar 16, 2020
    5
    The story reveals itself before it's half over and the rest of the game loses any sense of horror or tension. There's laggy custscenes in multiplayer. Button prompts don't disappear when you look at items so you have giant x's on your screen. There are giant loading disc symbols that pop in over the whole screen when the game is loading. It's too easy to know what choices to make to notThe story reveals itself before it's half over and the rest of the game loses any sense of horror or tension. There's laggy custscenes in multiplayer. Button prompts don't disappear when you look at items so you have giant x's on your screen. There are giant loading disc symbols that pop in over the whole screen when the game is loading. It's too easy to know what choices to make to not kill anyone and the game shoves the plot twist down your throat a third of the way in so you lose any sort of tension the games first quarter built up. The controls are also clunky and very stiff to move the characters around. Feels rigid like an older PS2 game at some points. Also the QTEs are all laggy which may result in you routing differently which also sucks for a game that's so built on your own choice and path. But now you're stuck going one route or with someone dead because the game can't handle its own quick time events.

    The best thing this game has going for it is the new multiplayer system but I didn't get credit for any of the collectibles I picked up at one point which is total **** for a game that has 50 of those damn things scattered around.    … Expand
  100. ammilner
    Mar 11, 2020
    7
    “Man of Medan” certainly leaves quite the impression for what is to come from the rest of "The Dark Pictures Anthology" (the good parts and the not so good parts). Overall, it’s a very impressive title considering the price point ($30) and the fact that they’re supposedly going to be releasing a new entry into the Anthology twice a year, with the next game “Little Hope” due to come out in“Man of Medan” certainly leaves quite the impression for what is to come from the rest of "The Dark Pictures Anthology" (the good parts and the not so good parts). Overall, it’s a very impressive title considering the price point ($30) and the fact that they’re supposedly going to be releasing a new entry into the Anthology twice a year, with the next game “Little Hope” due to come out in the Spring-ish of 2020, though for anybody who follows gaming and the consistency of developers being inconsistent with their release dates that probably means the Summer or Fall of 2020 more realistically.

    The biggest strength that “Man of Medan” has going for it is that you can actually play it with other people. Multiple characters have been a thing in the past with choice-based games like “Heavy Rain” and “Until Dawn” but this is the first one I’ve really seen (aside the soft-boiled attempt in “Beyond: Two Souls”) to actually bring friends into the mix. For my first play through, I played with a buddy and each of us controlled 3 of the games 6 characters (though it’s really 5 and I got the short end of the stick but I’m not trying to give away too much info here) and it was exactly the kind of experience that I’ve always wanted from a game like this. It’s like having a scary movie night but we were actually engaged instead of just texting on our phones while off-and-on paying attention to “The Cave” (it’s a terrible movie what can I say). Bonus, the multiplayer mode is even called movie night!

    Being able to play through “Man of Medan” with a friend is obviously the intended experience and it’s certainly my recommendation as well. Having to deal with the anxiety that your friend could get both their characters, and even your characters, killed off added a ton to the tension of the game and, because the narrative is meant to be played in one sitting (running only 3-4 hours at most), there wasn’t any room for things to become stagnant. “Man of Medan” is a pretty straight forward horror title, it has it’s fair share of jump scares (some work but a lot fall short too) and the cast is relatively one-dimensional but where “Man of Medan” falls short it makes up for it in replay-ability, variance, and vision.

    If you’ve ever played a choice-based game before, you probably know all too well that the first play through is great and your choices really feel like they matter but the moment you go back for a second time, it becomes pretty easy to see that, while the game might’ve tried to look like there were a lot of options, there’s usually only a few main modules that change outcomes and the rest becomes circumstantial. "Man of Medan" is one of the few games that actually does have more variance after more than one run and while it still does adhere to some choice-based runarounds every now and then, it’s a pretty varied experience. For example, after beating it with my friend and coming away with 4 out of 6 characters alive, I went back in to save everyone and instead, beat it solo with only 3 out of 6 alive. Even though I thought I knew all of the beats, just the act of saving a character that I lost early on in my previous play-through threw enough of the things that I had already experienced on a different path that led me to actually do worse my second time around and that's something very rare to find in replaying anything.

    “Man of Medan” certainly isn’t my game of the year, and it lacks some polish and uniqueness that could’ve made it stand out as more than just a lower priced game to play with your friends on a Friday night but it accomplishes what it set out to do.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

30
#30 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2019

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
69

Mixed or average reviews - based on 70 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 29 out of 70
  2. Mixed: 38 out of 70
  3. Negative: 3 out of 70
  1. Carole Quintaine
    Jan 29, 2020
    75
    Even though Man of Medan is far less inspired than its studio predecessor Until Dawn, it offers an enjoyable horrific atmosphere, with good ideas and well thought out sequences. Unfortunately we would have appreciated more surprises and an extended lifespan, which would have given us the time to be really afraid. Everything is going too fast and we have the feeling that the story is sloppy. Too bad because this first chapter of The Dark Pictures has a good potential, but all it does is just scratch the surface.
    Read full review
  2. CD-Action
    Oct 25, 2019
    60
    Supermassive’s newest work is a step back from Until Dawn on every level – including visual design which, though solid, ends up monotonous in comparison. [12/2019, p.58]
  3. Gaming Nexus
    Oct 11, 2019
    70
    Man of Medan starts out well enough but just falls apart towards the end leading up to a pretty anti-climatic ending thanks to a twist that was given away at the very beginning of the story. It's not terrible but it's not nearly as good as Until Dawn. Still, as a fan of Until Dawn, I still enjoyed the story for what it was but I didn't really have a desire to go back and play through it again after finishing it the first time.
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