For as long as I can remember, I’ve been a fan of the “Horror” movie genre. I grew up in a time when the sub-category of “Slasher” films were the norm – a genre that created my favorite horror movie series in Wes Craven’s “A Nightmare on Elm Street”. But when it came to horror/survival horror video games, I was less than enthralled – though I did enjoy the first four “Resident Evil” games (all for different reasons) and “Silent Hill 2” proved to be one of the greatest feats in creating true suspense and terror digitally.
Then came SuperMassive Games’ “Until Dawn” – a choose-your-own adventure featuring a group of friends stranded in the woods during the coldest of winters with the natural & supernatural attempting to kill them all. “Until Dawn” proved to be a harrowing experience with a narrative that embraced player choices, impressive graphics, and a gameplay style that could only be called “less than fluid”. Following a VR spin-off and prequel to “Until Dawn”, the developers went back to the drawing board in regards to the gameplay, but not so much the story for this first offering in “The Dark Pictures Anthology”, “Man of Medan”. With the promise of being just as memorable as its predecessor, I happily paid the low asking price to see who would live and die because of my actions.
Did I Complete “Man of Medan”?
Like its predecessor, “Man of Medan” gives gamers the ability to control five different characters during various sequences as the protagonists’ intended diving session doesn’t pan out as planned for various reasons. It doesn’t take long before a majority of the game’s mechanics is introduced from character movement, to object interaction, to making story-defining choices. The latter gameplay design is where “Man of Medan” asks you to spend most of your brain power as it ties into everything including the in-game system dubbed “Bearings” – this game’s version of “Until Dawn’s” “Butterfly Effect” – and even character traits like Conrad (Shawn Ashmore) going from “Foolhardy” to “Dependable”. “Bearings” track the choices that change the overall story and determine who lives or dies.
This adds a sense of replayability, as the gamer will probably question the decisions made during certain scenes. In an effort to see how well my decision making would help a group of friends survive such a horrific scenario, my initial playthrough saw me go in cold – no tips, guides or walkthroughs that would help me make the best decisions and understand what to do and where to go during certain situations. My second playthrough utilized the game’s “Movie Night” mode where I played with a friend locally, passing the controller back & forth when it was time to play as the characters we chose at the game’s start. Both playthroughs lasted four to five hours each. In addition to local co-op, friends can play together online with a big difference as the person watching someone else play aren’t able to see the choices of their friend; setting the stage for some backstabbing moments. After discovering so many missable trophies/achievements mostly connected to collectibles, I stuck to simply finishing the story by myself and with friends before using the chapter select option to see how things would pan out if everyone lived, died, or only certain genders lasted throughout the night. The goals I set for myself took around twenty hours and four full playthroughs to complete.
Did “Man of Medan” Live Up to the Hype?
Considering how well received “Until Dawn” was, SuperMassive Games wisely stuck with “Until Dawn’s” presentation style while providing a different environment, characters, and a shorter runtime. The player has the ability to move a character around, interact with certain objects & people with the touch of a button and stare at the pause screen featuring the faces of whoever is being utilized to advance the story (and the sheer terror that envelops them as the game progresses). Unlike “Until Dawn”, there are no shooting segments, though melee attacks pop up from time to time in the form of quick time events. For some reason QTEs in this game, especially in hasty situations like during a chase scene, vary in speed with the player barely having time to react before inevitably failing (this proves to be a definite problem during someone’s first playthrough).
The choices presented in the game range from obvious & straightforward to redundant & vague. There are moments such as opting to drink a beer that appear trivial, but the reaction will make anyone question whether or not performing the action actually means something in the grander scheme. Thankfully, “Man of Medan” goes out of its way to inform the player when something important occurs. Depending on the decision made during a particular choice, a notification will appear so the player can tap a button and read the result in the menu. This becomes very helpful for future playthroughs that can reach upwards of five hours depending on how many people the player can keep alive for the game’s majority. Unfortunately the characters aren’t as memorable compared to their “Until Dawn” counterparts; having rather barren personalities beyond their initial presentations including Conrad being a loudmouth who may make things worse for his group. Even when the characters’ traits change their overall actions & interactions pretty much stay the same.
The co-op options are where it’s at when playing “Man of Medan”. Having quick discussions or arguments over terrible potential choices made can make for a memorable experience during “Movie Night” mode. “Shared Story” mode actually adds to the story when playing online with a friend as certain moments are actually solely connected to “Shared Story”. Not only that, but “Shared Story” mode hides the decisions of the other player that could too change the fate of an entire playthrough. There’s a great chance more games in the genre will implement these features because they add a lot of replayability. The grandiose amount of collectibles from “Until Dawn” return here including pieces of information that adds to the game’s lore and special paintings that potentially reveal the fates of certain characters.
Though playing with others definitely makes “Man of Medan” much more fun, the plot’s pacing hurts playthroughs no matter how someone plays. With a near thirty minute prologue and a lengthy first act where stilted conversations & little tension are the focus, any sane player would want to start a lot later in the story than the developers intend. The horror in general is also lacking with jump scares usually being the basis for spooking the player. Thankfully the incredible atmosphere and certain questionable sights when traversing areas prove to be most frightening experiences in “Medan” beyond the Curator’s sections.
Though “Man of Medan” wasn’t made with impressive gameplay mechanics in mind, the amount of changes between “Until Dawn” and “Medan” in terms of movement & item interactions is minimal. Each character only has two speeds: slow and slower depending on whether or not the player is holding down the “Walk Faster” button. The fixed camera can be problematic at times, shifting suddenly when a player is nearing a corner or an entrance/exit, or simple by moving forward. Graphically the game is both impressive and disappointing. Lighting especially in the few underwater scenes and when going through an abandoned ship is immaculate, but character models & faces are not as detailed as what was seen in “Until Dawn” (more than likely due to this being a cross platform game). Though the characters’ facials were motion captured, facial animations can struggle at times while causing frustrated expressions, for example, to seem wooden & laughable. And then there are the frame rate issues. As the game progresses so does significant frame drops & stuttering – a problem that can greatly affect the success of certain QTEs.
Technical issues, some bad gameplay decisions & a short story that starts off too slow definitely prevents this game from getting a full recommendation. But at half the price of a normal release, co-op modes both locally & online, and the promise of more content in the near future with “Little Hope”, this is a nice follow up to “Until Dawn” that doesn’t surpass its predecessor.
Should You Play “Man of Medan”?
Though “Man of Medan” has some issues technically, it still makes for an enjoyable experience mostly thanks to being able to play with friends. People who enjoyed “Until Dawn” will more than likely find themselves quite pleased with what comes from “Man of Medan” without it outdoing its predecessor in almost every way outside of the co-op mode options. For those who didn’t care for “Until Dawn” or similar games such as “Detroit: Become Human” or the Telltale Games experiences this won’t change anyone’s perception of what the genre can provide especially when a QTE goes wrong and the game autosaves before you can cut off your console.
