Supermassive Games are arguably one of the finest developers of interactive horror experiences in the industry today. A large part of that praise can be attributed to the excellent 2015 PlayStation 4 exclusive, Until Dawn, a love letter to 80s teen horror romps with a terrific butterfly effect branching narrative. It also propelled them into the spotlight, making their planned eight-part anthology series, The Dark Pictures, one that appeared near the top of my most anticipated list. The first entry in The Dark Pictures Anthology, Man of Medan, removes us from the confines of a "cozy" cabin in the mountains and drops us on a haunted ship. Not all is what it seems on the deep blue seas, though.



Man of Medan follows a group of young adults who venture out to the sea in search of a fabled sunken treasure. With nothing but flimsy coordinates to go on, they begin their search of a submerged WWII plane. Unfortunately, a storm rolls in - along with some other bad circumstances - forcing them to board a ghost ship in the middle of the ocean.

If you're familiar with Until Dawn's gameplay, Man of Medan will make you feel right at home. While the butterfly effect has been stripped in favour of a more traditional branching narrative, the core concept remains the same: choose dialogue choices and nail quick-time events accordingly in order to ensure the survival of your characters (or not). From a storytelling perspective, while Man of Medan failed to grab my attention as much as Until Dawn's surprisingly monstrous twists and turns, there's still a compelling haunted mystery aboard this labyrinthine vessel. Finding clues scattered around the environment on your own terms is essential to piecing together the mystery at large, giving more context to the unfolding events. Like The Curator - your host of each anthology story played by a certain famous actor - suggests, things are not all what they seem at first glance.



Man of Medan's strengths lie in its staggering high-quality visuals and an atmosphere simply drenched in palpable dread. Many scenic shots took me by surprise due to how photo-realistic they were, adding to the immersion that Supermassive Games have painstakingly perfected in their career. Facial animations have also been significantly improved since Until Dawn, though they're still prone to the odd janky twitch. The motion capture is also fantastic, with each actor providing their likeliness and nailing their performances. Sadly, I never found myself as invested in the characters, which is tragic considering that the emotional payoff and narrative-driven mechanics of the game so heavily rely on how attached you are to them. At best, I found myself occasionally caring for the character of Conrad, played by Quantum Break's Shawn Ashmore - probably the most well-known face out of the bunch too.

Many scenic shots took me by surprise due to how photo-realistic they were...

For the most part, Man of Medan touts itself as a captivating mystery thriller above a horror. It does provide numerous jump scares and eerie encounters, but solving the mystery of what transpired aboard the ship is where the focus mainly sits. This, however, works against playing the game in single-player mode, as repeated visits in subsequent playthroughs to familiar sections of the ship (for the fourth or fifth time) can become a chore. If you really want to get the most out of the experience, playing the game's two multiplayer modes is recommended.



We extensively covered the Shared Story Mode, but apart from a single-player journey, I also dabbled in the couch co-op Movie Night mode. Up to five players can join in on the story, each being assigned a specific character from the narrative. It's their duty to ensure their character's survival, but it also adds some heft to the decision-making as their actions may ripple into the next player character's narrative. This clever approach to multiplayer is what sets Man of Medan apart from Until Dawn, which is a genius move on Supermassive Games' part, but I found that the pacing takes quite a knock as a result. Suddenly, one playthrough can either be as long as a couple of hours, or border on 5 or 6, depending on the choices made. It makes certain sections of the game feel bloated and unnecessary padded out; something that evidently sticks out like a sore thumb if you attempt to play through the same section in single-player mode.

Most, if not all of Man of Medan's twists and big narrative moments can be achieved in a couple of playthroughs...

That said, Man of Medan is, above and beyond, a game best digested as a multiplayer game before a single-player one. Unlike Until Dawn, though, it doesn't have a long shelf life. Most, if not all of Man of Medan's twists and big narrative moments can be achieved in a couple of playthroughs, significantly dulling its replay value - even with the added bonus of experiencing the game's multiple perspectives in Shared Story Mode. Thankfully, since it isn't sold at a premium price point, it might be worth gathering friends together for an evening and enjoying all that it has to offer for a few runs, but beyond that, there's little reason to invest in the game for a prolonged period of time.



Man of Medan is also held back by a few clunky gameplay mechanics and technical hiccups (at the time of writing). Navigating the desolate corridors of the ghost ship is an infuriating task, as characters move with all the conviction and speed of a scared snail. It makes it all the more unbelievable when, just mere seconds ago, they were being chased by something, only to shut a door and merrily stroll down the same dark pathway slowly. It's a tiny flaw but an immersion-breaking one. On a technical front, I was also met with several framerate drops - which included hilarious teleporting characters in one scene - and on two occasions, my game crashed. The second time this happened was egregious as it corrupted my save data, forcing me to replay half an hour of the game. This can be remedied with a patch, but right now, it doesn't promise the best performance. It's also worth noting that I played it on a base PS4, so I can't comment on whether this issue is prevalent on a PS4 Pro.

Man of Medan makes a noble attempt at kickstarting The Dark Pictures Anthology, though to varying degrees of success. The multiplayer components are worth experiencing with a friend as it differentiates itself from Until Dawn quite well, though not to the level of quality we should expect from Supermassive Games. Despite some clunky gameplay mechanics and technical problems, though, the developers brilliance and knack for crafting a riveting interactive horror occasionally seeps through the cracks. There's enough here to satiate die-hard fans of the horror genre, if only for one night, but we'll see if there's little hope for the series in the next game.