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. 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
  2. DaveAus
    Jul 12, 2022
    0
    Good opening and premise. But it is soon ruined by horrible characters and cringe dialogue.
  3. 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
  4. 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
  5. 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
  6. 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
  7. 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.
  8. 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
  9. 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.
  10. 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
  11. 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.
  12. 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.
  13. 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
  14. Arrc84
    Oct 19, 2020
    0
    Very short and very underwhelming for the money.
    Also not particularly good - this game is a cash grab
  15. 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
  16. 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.
  17. 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.
  18. 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.
  19. 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
  20. 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
  21. 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
  22. 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
  23. 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
  24. 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.
  25. 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
  26. 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
  27. 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
  28. Izzmoney
    Aug 21, 2021
    4
    Slow paced cheap scares and boring. Just going around just picking up objects could have been better.
  29. Heirs
    Jun 30, 2020
    1
    Trop de bugs, une histoire banale, des personnages énervants, des graphismes horribles. Ca n'en vaut pas la peine
  30. 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
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Awards & Rankings

30
#30 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2019

Critic Reviews

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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.
    Read full review
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