The Dark Pictures: Man of Medan Reviews
Man of Medan does some things extremely well, particularly with its well-crafted story that offers great replay value, and choices having more impact than in Until Dawn. But then it completely fails on other fronts such as the many game-breaking technical problems, a horrible online experience, lack of a flowchart or cutscene skip in Chapter Select, and an absurdly convoluted trophy list.
Bad acting and not that great of a story plus some control issues, really feels like at least one or two steps down from their previous successful game. If Supermassive Games wants to make The Dark Pictures Anthology a great franchise, they need to make big changes because Man of Medan leaves a lot to be desired.
Review in Persian | Read full review
The concept behind Man of Medan does not reach its full potential in the singleplayer mode due to the short play time, missed meaningful turning point opportunities and a lot of technical issues but manages to do a lot right in the different multiplayer parts of the game. If you are looking for a good horror evening with friends in front of the TV or online you should give Man of Medan a chance.
Review in German | Read full review
It may be clever, scary and intriguing, but Man of Medan rarely reaches the heights of its stablemate and elder sibling, Until Dawn. Perhaps its a case of difficult second album syndrome, or more likely, it’s just too weighed down by the tropes and trappings associated with the genre. (And the sooner Supermassive ditches its penchant for fourth-wall-breaking, creepy old narrators, the better.)
In a hard way, The Dark Pictures: Man of Medan is a good game with some undeniable issues in pacing the third act of the story and some framerate drops. A B movie-like Videogame, which gave you a good jump scares, simple but lovely characters, and a standard story. But in a simple way, if you enjoyed Until Dawn and want to play a more focused and shorter version of that with some changes, Man of Medan is a 30$ game that you will like it, but probably not more than what you expect.
Review in Persian | Read full review
Sure, Man of Medan has a few rough edges, but it’s a confident first step in a new series of games. It keeps the core of what made people love Until Dawn and breathes fresh life into it by adding more depth to the branching narrative system, and including an excellent multiplayer side. A little more polish and a bit more bite to the game’s finale would be nice, but this is still a hugely entertaining slice of interactive horror that brings the thrilling uncertainty of other people’s decisions to the murder party.
Looking back at it, Man of Medan isn’t the awesome successor to Until Dawn we wanted, but it’s a good step to delivering that successor. While it inherits a similar structure – and it’s bizarre performance issues – it just isn’t as enthralling as what came before. Some routes are disjointed and the cast and environment aren’t as interesting as the sassy clique that fought off the Wendigos, but it’s still a strong horror experience that makes for a fantastic co-op experience. The look on your friend’s face when you accidentally kill his character is one you’ll never forget.
Despite having a decent story-line and a well-structured choice system, Man of Medan is a typical narrative experience ruined by a medley of messy controls. It does not present you with any moral dilemma, however, it may bring about horrifying premonitions. Therefore, one must tread carefully on uncharted territory and ponder whether probing deeper will have any inadvertent consequences.
The new game from Supermassive Games offers a great entertainment experience, that can also be lived with friends for an unforgettable horror movie night. We can't wait for the next episode of the The Dark Pictures Anthology!
Review in Italian | Read full review
From the creators of Until Dawn, The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan is the first game of a series that looks promising. Although a lot of potential has been wasted in this game, the final result is a really fun experience, specially when played with friends. Man of Medan slows down a lot and sometimes this can interrupt gameplay, which is not what we expected from the guys in Supermassive Games. Over all, Man of Medan is a short and really fun experience that's absolutely worth trying.
Review in Persian | Read full review
Ultimately, Man of Medan is a decent experience, and it does exactly what it says on the tin. But it does feel more like a single episode (which it is), than an entire game.
Despite a few missteps, Man of Medan is an excelent interactive horror experience that fans of the genre will love.
Review in Greek | Read full review
Studio Supermassive Games knows, how to make great story games. Unfortunately, what they once managed to do in Until Dawn, in Man of Medan fails upon its short game lenght, which does harm mainly to the main characters and dialogues. Otherwise beautiful variety of choice, dark horrifying atmosphere and the feeling of never-ending uncertainty hides behind technical issues, which constantly disturb impressive continuity of the story. Man of Medan thrives in bringing something new as perfectly-done multiplayer into the world of story-telling adventure games, but fails in ways, in which others excel.
Review in Czech | Read full review
Man of Medan is a worthy first episode of the anthology The Dark Pictures. The title of Supermassive Games offers a horror experience contained in the single run, but highly replayable and enjoyable especially in co-op or during an evening with friends, thanks to a fun and original local multiplayer. The story from which Man of Medan draws is mysterious at the right point and offers a horror story atmosphere to read during a summer evening. A few smudges in dubbing and facial expressiveness do not undermine a very well-made technical sector that makes Man of Medan a valid product for fans of horror stories.
Review in Italian | Read full review
The moment where everything makes sense, is when the player realizes that if he does not understand in time what the mystery is, he ends up being responsible for the biggest misfortunes that can happen to the characters in the game.
Review in Greek | Read full review
Buy Man of Medan if you liked Until Dawn and want to see how The Dark Pictures Anthology might shape up. Avoid this game if you can't abide performance issues or slow gameplay.
Man of Medan is the first of The Dark Pictures. The game has all the elements of horror to keep you up at night. Still there are some flaws in the acting, but nothing serious. IF you want to get scared of a game, this is a must buy.
Review in Dutch | Read full review