The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan

About The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan

Man of Medan was made by Supermassive Games, the studio behind Until Dawn, and published by Bandai Namco in August 2019 for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Upgraded versions came to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S in September 2022, and a Switch version followed on 4 May 2023. It opens The Dark Pictures Anthology, a series of standalone horror stories introduced by a narrator called the Curator.

You play in turns as five characters: brothers Alex and Brad, Alex's girlfriend Julia, her brother Conrad, and Fliss, the captain of their hired boat, the Duke of Milan. A dive to look for a sunken wartime plane is cut short when pirates seize the boat, and the night ends aboard a rusting freighter that vanished decades ago, its corridors full of dead sailors and its holds full of things that should not be moving. You walk, look and pick up clues, then answer dialogue choices and quick-time events, and the story bends to what you do.

The fear is the cinematic kind: tight dark corridors lit by a single torch, faces looming out of the gloom, sudden shocks, and the steady knowledge that anyone can die and stay dead. Relationships and traits shift with each choice, so the same moment can end very differently on another play. Pictures hidden around the ship give brief premonitions of what may happen later, and whether a vision comes true depends on you.

The upgraded version adds difficulty settings, warnings before quick-time events, faster walking, subtitle sizing and a longer final chapter called Flooded with new deaths in it; on PC it was a free update for owners. After finishing the story you can play the Curator's Cut, which replays the night from the other characters' side with new choices. A first run takes about four and a half hours, short enough for one long evening.

It suits players who liked Until Dawn or The Quarry, and it works best with friends arguing over each call. Steam also offers a demo to try before buying.

How to play The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan

1. Get it on Steam, PlayStation, Xbox or Switch (Steam has a demo) and choose a mode: Theatrical (alone), Shared Story (two players online) or Movie Night (up to five passing one controller).
2. In Movie Night, give each player the characters they will control before you start.
3. Explore each scene, look at objects and pick up secrets and premonition pictures.
4. Answer dialogue choices and react to quick-time events in time; a miss can cost a life.
5. Play to the end to see who survives, then try the Curator's Cut or a new run with other choices.

Tips

• Turn on QTE warnings in the settings if you want a moment to get ready before each prompt.
• Search the corners of each room: the hidden pictures hint at deaths you can avoid.
• In heartbeat moments, keep calm and press in rhythm rather than mashing.
• Play with friends on one couch; arguing over each choice is half the fun.

Questions