Man of Medan is an action suspense type of game that was developed by Supermassive Games.
It pits you as five playable characters who’s fates are all in your hands. They can die and remain dead as you adventure through the game, your actions have massive consequences.
You are given optional dialogue throughout the game which can either strengthen or dissolve a characters friendship, depending on what you choose.
Though truth be told we do not know how the friendship levels effected the game, it just seemed to be a nice little feature but did not feel like it gave much of an actual impact. Still I guess it can feel great trying to improve that friendship with each individual and it may even feel like a greater achievement in the long-run, but for us we felt it was a feature that was not necessary.
Each character has their own unique personality and we are often reminded of that through the course of the game and in the actual game menus. This felt like a better feature as their personalities can change during the course of the game and depending on what dialogue options you chose, so for example a social outcast type of person was able to be more free and open depending on how you wanted that character to play out. This we feel was great for character bonding and gave more depth to each character.
The game compromises of a unique storyline which can feel linear as its mainly just focused on one single area. There are several rooms you can explore and collectibles to find which can increase the overall enjoyment and make it feel less linear. However, do not expect much from this title in terms of exploration and sight seeing.
The story focuses on a group of friends who seem to have all known each other for quite a while, they decide to one day have a lovely boat trip and spend a little bit of time on the vast open sea. However, things eventually take an unexpected turn as the group end up hijacked by a group of potential pirates and thus the bulk of the story begins.
OVERALL:
The game though linear still manages to remain fun and enjoyable, with many jump scares and unexpected twists and turns around every corner. The characters are also interesting and of course has the debut of a certain actor who is mostly known for his role in the popular X-Men movie franchise as the Icebox, Shawn Ashmore.
The game seems to play as a story within a story, as it is more or less narrated or at least the player is being led to believe this is how the story is unfolding as a certain character, whom unfortunately we never manage to find more about talks you through the game and can even give you hints in how to keep the party alive. This specific character is very mysterious and dark so it is unfortunate that we do not know much about him as of yet.
What we also felt disappointed with is the fact that this game leads directly to another game in The Dark Pictures game series, we did not expect a series and do not get us wrong, it is a great idea as we enjoyed this specific title. However, what we did not enjoy is the sudden trailer at the very end of the game, it feels as though this game was perhaps rushed in order
to reveal another upcoming game. Otherwise this game was good and highly recommended!
Developer: Supermassive Games / Publisher: Bandai Namco
Release Date: 30th August 2019
Platforms: PS4, PC, XBox One
Genre: Interactive Drama
Main Story Length: 4-5 Hours
Platinum Trophy Length:
Platform Reviewed On: PS4 Pro
Overall Rating: 4/5
Related Guides / Links:
- Man Of Medan – Guides Playlist (Videos)
- Man Of Medan – Guides Playlist (Written)
- Man Of Medan – Game Review
Has been playing video games for her entire life so far. Grew up with the Sega Master System II. Her favourite games include both Resident Evil 2 (OG) and Final Fantasy VIII.
She now writes articles about video games.
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