The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan Reviews

this game is actually pretty good. it honestly gave me a ton of jump scares. i really liked this game.

The 2nd playthrough when you be a jerk and kill everyone is always the best.

The story is good, but for the price more then 4hrs would have been worth it. played 3 times to make money worth.

[h3] Intro [/h3] I do not think Man of Medan is bad game, but it's not good, either. It is the definition of a 6/10 experience. I feel like much of the vitriol this game received on release wasn't totally deserved, and people's opinions of it were so low because they viewed it as an "Until Dawn successor" when it really wasn't. If you want a game to compare to Until Dawn, use The Quarry, that game actually has the same level of funding and production value as Until Dawn, if not more. [h3] Story [/h3] Man of Medan follows a group of friends and their skipper as they take a vacation to the French Polynesian sea for some late afternoon diving. They are then taken hostage by a group of pirates who take them to an abandoned freighter in the middle of the ocean, the SS Ourang Medan. The pirates want to find some get-rich-quick 'Manchurian Gold,' but it turns out the gold is nothing but a farce, and is rather a codename for a bioweapon developed in China during WWII, which the freighter was hauling to the United States. The Manchurian Gold was designed to cause intense hallucinations to those who inhaled it, and it was intended for use by the U.S. government in case of future conflicts. However, it never fell into U.S. hands after the Ourang Medan itself stopped to investigate a man overboard, which led to the 2nd cargo hold to be struck by lightning, causing the Gold to leak out of its container and spread throughout the ship. This caused the deaths of the entire crew, and it stayed afloat in the ocean, completely unnoticed for about 72 years until the game's main protagonists rediscover it. Here's the thing: I just detailed to you the *lore* of the game, not the *story.* Most of what I just described to you can only be found in text documents hidden around the ship, and unlockables on the main menu, rather than being delivered directly to you. All of this is due to the fact that this game doesn't really have a story. It's more like a theme park ride that happens to have some narrative elements, but overall the narrative isn't really the focus. Theme park rides often rely on your emotions for entertainment, rather than intrigue. You are definitely going to be feeling things throughout your playthrough, mainly hysteria, but occasionally something actually scary happens, and it'll frighten you, which is what this game should do. [h3] Characters [/h3] I gotta say, this game probably has the weakest characters in any Supermassive game. Some may argue the cast of The Devil in Me is worse, but I actually have OPINIONS on those characters, whereas compare that to this game, where all of the characters are kind of nothingburgers, with the exception of one. Alex - Alex is a medical student that wants to pursue a marriage with his girlfriend, Julia. Alex is very intelligent, and level-headed, he's the second most "leader-like" character in the group next to Fliss. However, Alex also suffers from insecurity, and he makes his discomfort with him and his girlfriend's wildly varying social statuses very apparent. Unfortunately, Alex never confronts his insecurity, he's pretty static throughout the whole game. It also doesn't help that Kareem Alleyne gives easily the worst vocal performance in the entire game. Brad - Brad is Alex's little brother, and is basically the token smart guy of the group. Brad is a very shy person, but clearly wants to make a good first impression to Alex's friends. Other than that, I have very little to say about him. He can disappear at the end of Act 1 (depending on the player's choices), and he'll only reappear about halfway into Act 2. You can effectively remove him from the game without the plot changing very much. Conrad - Conrad is Julia's brother, and a love interest to Fliss. He's played by Canadian actor Shawn Ashmore, who played Iceman in the X-Men film series, and Jake from Animorphs, and he easily gives the best vocal performance in this game. Besides that, Conrad is probably the most well-realized character in the game. He's a hedonistic frat boy who likes to party, but can be very brave and confident when faced with danger. Unlike the game's other protagonists, he has a character arc, no matter how short it may be. Conrad is a ladies man, and this is made very clear as he immediately starts flirting with Fliss upon first meeting her, and this can eventually escalate into them becoming a couple. Conrad, along with his tangible character arc, also gets the best and most iconic scene in the entire game. In the chapter 'Glamor Girl,' Conrad is chased by the Sailor Girl, the physical manifestation of his fear of change. He's confronted directly by the fact that he can't just keep leading this lifestyle forever, he won't always have his wealth, his parents, maybe even his sister, not if he takes them all for granted. This scene is especially amplified, because it turns out that Conrad is actually hallucinating Fliss as the Sailor Girl, someone he would've took for granted and probably forgotten about had this trip never went sideways. The things Conrad hallucinate actually tie into his character, and they aren't just "ooooo, big three-armed, two-headed monster that yells at you! how scary!" Fliss - Fliss is essentially the leader of the group, and is a love interest to Conrad. She's not a super complex character, but she's definitely the most likable and competent character in the game. She's a pretty decent foil to the game's main villain, Olson, but they never really have any major interactions except for a final confrontation that is entirely optional. Even then, their parallels are never really acknowledged. Julia - Julia is Conrad's sister and potential Fiancé to Alex. I have even less to say about her than Brad. She's a lot like her brother, being cheerful and positive. She does have a pretty interesting scene in Act 2 with some visual symbolism, where she hallucinates Olson as a doppelganger of Alex, which implies that she sees some similarities between the two of them (both of them are very opportunistic, and don't really care about the rules, so long as they succeed in their goals, they'll be happy). [h3] Gameplay [/h3] The gameplay is pretty much identical to that of Until Dawn. You make dialogue choices, look around and find secrets, do quick time events, all that good stuff. Don't expect something on the same level as Dragon's Dogma or Borderlands. I will say, though, this game probably has the most branching paths out of any game Supermassive has ever made. Remember that Glamor Girl scene I mentioned earlier? That scene is entirely optional. If Conrad escaped on the fishermen's speedboat or died trying, that scene just won't happen. Also, not only are the endings tied to who lives and who dies, but also the crew's method of escaping the ship. They can escape by acquiring the distributor cap from Olson, they can escape if Conrad escaped on the speedboat earlier in the game, they can escape if they called in the military, or they can just not escape at all. If none of the other requirements are met they can just be stuck on the boat and they'll split up to find their own ways out, none of which are successful. They can also all die before escape is even convenient. There's even an ending where the military just executes all of them. Supermassive really went all out with the choice and consequence system here. [h3] Verdict [/h3] Overall, I'd recommend Man of Medan if you just want a replayable, somewhat hilarious time. It's pretty short, most playthroughs are about 3.5-4 hours long, so 100%ing the game isn't too strenuous. There's legitimately enjoyable elements in this game, but it's mainly just pretty mid scares and characters that you'll forget about the next day.

Good game but a bit short and sudden ending. It is worth the buy.

It's really hard to recommend this one.. The mystery is immediately spoiled in every single scene of the game, most of the gameplay is long and slow pseudo-adventure segments where you walk like a snail and turn like an elephant, trying to control the camera, which is on the right stick, just like your character's torch, except the latter rotates around the character model and the camera just pans around the scene at different set angles, so you can never get both correct at the same time. I like games like this, though, and I think they should make more of them. Get it with a deep discount. It also has a really cool ship model in it, including some interiors!

Refunded, really want to play it but it kept giving me an SMG019 crash. Unplayable at this state, if anyone has a fix then I would be happy to buy it again. For now, negative review.

its good a little buggy LIKE REALLY BUGGY but its not that bad actually. oh and the dialogue is rough sometimes.

[table][th]▶ MY RATING:[/th][th] ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✘ ✘ ✘ [/th][th]7 / 10[/th][/table] The atmosphere, the soundscape and the lighting effects are great. The camera angles and character movement also remind me of old school horror survival games like RE1. The overall story is interesting even if the horror aspect are kinda cheap. I would've loved a bit more creepier / weird scenes where your mind knows something is off. I would love to see that psychological creep factor play out a bit more instead of using jump scares to get the horror across. However, the game is definitely re-playable and I do recommend it if you like these type of games.

[h3]From the Depths of the Ocean to the Depths of Fear[/h3] Man of Medan is an interactive horror game that plunges you into a mysterious story of five young people who find themselves trapped aboard a derelict World War II military ship. What starts as a casual diving trip quickly turns into a nightmare filled with dark secrets, hallucinations, ghosts of the past — and an unknown evil lurking in the shadows. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3347257915 [h3]Every Choice - A Chance to Survive or Die[/h3] The story unfolds through cinematic scenes and branching choices where every decision can lead to a character's survival or death. The atmosphere is a thick blend of maritime isolation, old legends, and the creeping feeling of losing your grip on reality. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3379717520 [h3]Fear Crawling from the Depths of the Mind[/h3] What stands out: - Intriguing, layered plot with unexpected twists. - Constant tension and unease: you never know what's real. - Strong psychological horror without relying on cheap jump scares. - Excellent visual design of the ship: narrow hallways, fog, rust — everything breathes fear. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3386011202 [h3]A Perfect Horror for Dark Nights and Strong Nerves[/h3] If you're into dark sea-bound mysteries and games where your choices shape the fate of the characters, Man of Medan offers a powerful experience. Best played at night, with headphones — and maybe not alone.