The Dark Pictures: Man of Medan Reviews
Man of Medan is an okay introduction to Supermassive Games' stories for Xbox and PC players. PS4 should stick to the previous titles
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.
With more instalments to come in the Dark Pictures universe, there’s definitely space for improvement. And if the entire package is aiming to build on the surprising success of Until Dawn, it needs to make some adjustments.
A cool horror game that sometimes depends on jumpscares a little too much.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Playing with good friends over some beer and chips for a night or two will make this more enjoyable and bearable. A family can play too if guardians don’t mind the graphic content. This is the first among eight series and it is actually a good start. Really good intentions but poorly executed and I just sincerely hope they learn from this release and improves the next. Little Hope gets to be released in 2020 and it showed so much potential. I am quite excited and ready to forgive Man of Medan if the latter turns out great.
If you are looking for a different experience, a leisurely game and with some doses of terror we recommend that you take a look at this Man Of Medan because it is a good title, different and fun to play alone or accompanied.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
It’s not until you start playing around with the possibilities of the online co-op mode, and going over and over the different choices, that it offers pleasures in the complex calculations of its Butterfly Effect system. The fun lies more in the thought experiment of reflections on its myriad mechanics, and not in the murky depths of its spooky seafaring setting.
Man of Medan is a solid horror experience that relies on the strengths of the developers' past success. It's admittedly trashier than its campy predecessor, but the prospect of playing through it with friends feels like the ultimate evening of entertainment. A great mix of creepiness, suspense, and just the right amount of genre silliness.
Players will probably find themselves rattling through the game just to see things through, and might even get a kick out of tweaking some outcomes – but the first Dark Pictures tale is unlikely to linger in the memory for long.
Developer Supermassive Games was on track to pioneering interactive horror in their breakout PS4 exclusive Until Dawn. Unfortunately, Man of Medan doesn't come close to matching that 2015 release. What they've provided is a dull horror story with predictable jump-scares, uninteresting characters, and a story that will leave you scratching your head and saying, "Really?"
Man of Medan is a thrilling introduction to this new anthology and while the buildup is somewhat slow and the ending was an anticlimax, everything in between was a treat and proves yet again that Supermassive has a good grip on the horror genre.
While it lacks the scare factor, the concept of a horror anthology series with co-op multiplayer is pretty unique and executed in a great way. The writing is rather weak for this first entry but the gameplay with its branching narrative offers sufficient replay value.
Man of Medan offers an interesting horror story with a unique way of cooperative gameplay, but it should offer more interactivity and more replayability.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
When played with a group of friends The Dark Pictures: Man of Medan is an undeniably fun experience. However, the main story and core game feel rather skeletal when not being filled out by the real-world flesh and blood of your nearest and dearest. Bugs and performance issues constantly nag, but the real disappointment is that as a horror story Man of Medan is not even close to being as smart or fun as its predecessor. I hope the next entry in The Dark Pictures anthology can recapture the gore and glory from Until Dawn.
Fans of horror and adventure games will have a blast here. Any fan of Until Dawn should not worry, this one lives up to the hype.
Although there were some cringy-dialogue options and I feel as if I spoiled the entire mystery by asking the curator for advice, I enjoyed my time playing through the story and trying to escape with as many – or as few – survivors as possible.
I’m super excited to see the continuing tales coming out of The Dark Pictures Anthology. If Until Dawn proved that horror games being made in this cinematic style can work then Man of Medan shows that even at a smaller scale, they can still be a blast to play. Alone, Man of Medan can be a spooky night in the dark full of terror, with friends, a party game where you tease one another and discuss plans.
Man of Medan is a great start to The Dark Pictures Anthology. While some of the dialogue misses the mark, and the story starts a bit slow, once things get rolling you won't want to put it down.
Man of Medan sets out to achieve two things: spin a good yarn and scare the crap out of you while it does so. Though it is riddled with glitches and controls like a bulldozer, playing with friends helps these negatives take a backseat to the thrills this game has to offer.
There are some issues in Man of Medan than could be fixed via updates, but this doesn't change the fact that the characters don't have any charisma. However, the story can get the players involved and make them scared to death.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review