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. 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
  2. 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
  3. 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.
  4. 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
  5. Larry-Poste
    Feb 19, 2021
    4
    Pretty bad, weird command, caraters are slow and story make no sense. I enjoyed the two others but this one is pretty bad
  6. 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
  7. 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
  8. 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
  9. 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
  10. Izzmoney
    Aug 21, 2021
    4
    Slow paced cheap scares and boring. Just going around just picking up objects could have been better.
  11. 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
  12. 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
  13. Gonoru
    Mar 11, 2020
    3
    Weak story and the actors performances and dialogs are even worst. Lots of jump scares...too many
  14. 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
  15. danield80
    Feb 27, 2023
    3
    Man of Mrdán is an interactive film that tries to convince you it's a story with several different walkthroughs and outcomes. This is not true of course since every possible playthrough consists of the same levels. The only difference is when you kill a character their scenes are cut out therefore, making the game an incoherent mess.
  16. 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.
  17. 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.
  18. 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.
  19. 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.
  20. 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
  21. 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
  22. 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
  23. 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
  24. SuperClaudio64
    Mar 6, 2021
    3
    La Supermassive Games non mi aveva colpito neanche con Until Dawn, ma Men of Medan è molto peggio. La struttura narrativa del gioco ha la stessa formula del predecessore e ho trovato solo la prima ora del gioco interessante, ma quando si passa alla parte horror il gioco diventa una sequenza di corridoi farciti di documenti e jumpscare per allungare il brodo. L'ho giocato insieme ad altriLa Supermassive Games non mi aveva colpito neanche con Until Dawn, ma Men of Medan è molto peggio. La struttura narrativa del gioco ha la stessa formula del predecessore e ho trovato solo la prima ora del gioco interessante, ma quando si passa alla parte horror il gioco diventa una sequenza di corridoi farciti di documenti e jumpscare per allungare il brodo. L'ho giocato insieme ad altri due amici e a nessuno è piaciuto, sopratutto per la sua linearità e la pessima trama.… Expand
  25. Simosonic
    Sep 29, 2022
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The game doesn't last more than 4-5 hours and the endings don't make any sense to me, the choices aren't well explained and very often characters die for this, the game lag as hell during quick time event and freeze a lot.
    Needless to say graphics are really good but there's nothing else, i played this game in co-op as it was meant to be played, and still didn't like it, can't imagine in solo.
    Overall a very bad game.    … Expand
  26. AhmedMobis
    Sep 25, 2022
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. اوك ختمت اللعبه و الله أن تقييمات ميتا كريتك كثير عليها مره WTF ليش كدا يعني اللعبه التحكم فيها سي تعابير الوجوه مره سيئه أداء الصوتي للشخصيات أكثر من سي كثير من الخيارات يكونو الخيارين غير منطقين اللعبه رعب و ما في رعب بس چامب سكيرز رخيصه حتي مو چامب سكيرز متعوب عليها ادا تقني لك عليه كل هذا و قلنا ماشي هذه لعبه قصه المهم القصه نبغي نشوف القصه و نهايته و تنتهي القصه و ما تعرف في النهايه ايش كانت تريد نهايه غريبه و ما في منها أي هدف كل هذا بس علشان تقولي ايش هو الدهب المنشور هذا طيب ترا عرفت ايش هو من بعد ساعه او ساعه ونصف في القصه… Expand
  27. 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
  28. 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.
  29. 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
  30. 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
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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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