Last year, Supermassive Games and Bandai Namco had announced that a new interactive horror drama game was the on the way. The Dark Pictures: Man of Medan is the first installment in The Dark Pictures Anthology.
Recently, the developers had sent the game earlier to a few gaming YouTubers such as PewDiePie, Jacksepticeye, and 8-bit Ryan. Thankfully, these guys were able to play through the game and show it on their channels so those of us who are too much of a scaredy-cat won’t have to play it.
Visuals
From the starting screen, you could get that eerie feeling that’s reminiscent of Until Dawn. The resemblance is uncanny with the dark theme and the use of skulls. The game starts off in a dark environment which makes it a bit straining to the eyes. However, that doesn’t stop it from being the visually stunning game we’ve all been waiting for.
“It’s like we’re playing a movie”, said PewDiePie. The cinematic camera angles really give an immersive feel of the game. You can really see the effort of the developers with their careful placing and detailing just from a character’s walk. The texture of the game is so realistic to even the smallest details of the wall, the floor, the clothing, etc. It’s truly up to par with the current visual technology.
Gameplay
First few minutes of the game will have some jump scares, so better watch out for those. The gameplay is pretty much standard as far as being an interactive game is concerned: a choice of dialogue, minimal controls, and a lot of grabbing for inspection.
It is also worth noting that there are still a few bugs with the game because it is an earlier version. Most of these just involve proper movement but this could vary depending on the platform used for playing. The transitioning of dialogue and switching of character focus is a bit rushed or off the pace, as well.
Overlaps from Until Dawn
There were a few things that were carried over from Until Dawn. For one thing, there was the reintroduction of an omniscient character, not to mention some premonitions. A returning character from Until Dawn called Dr. Hill was the only character that addresses the player directly. After playing the introduction, he greets us as the “Curator of Stories” that takes down all of our choices and warns us to be wary of them.
The collection of totems from Until Dawn, which allows us to look into future events and possibly prevent them, was also present in this game. The Curator tells us that there are pictures across the world that we can look at and it also gives us that flash of the future.
So, what’s new?
Man of Medan is a refreshing story that gives life to ghosts in the ocean. It also introduces us to three game modes. In “Solo Story”, you can play alone and control all characters as well as make all their decisions. In “Movie Night”, you can play with up to 4 players and control different characters. In “Shared Story”, you can play with a friend online and both of you make certain effects on the story.
Supermassive also mentioned that they will release a new game every 6 months for this anthology. The Dark Pictures: Man of Medan was released on August 30, 2019, on PS4 for $29.99, Xbox One for $29.95, and Steam for $29.99.
YouTube: The Dark Pictures Anthology – Man of Medan: Launch Trailer | PS4, X1, PC
Photo credits: All images used are owned by Supermassive Games and were provided for press usage.
