A favorite common memory thatUntil Dawnplayers surely share is the experience of sitting together with friends and collectively choosing paths for their presumably doomed characters. That title from Supermassive Games took familiar horror film tropes and somehow blended them into something fresh and novel—andthe studio’s next title,Man of Medan, appears to be continuing whereUntil Dawnleft on, from a thematic perspective.
This is the first entry ofThe Dark Pictures, a horror anthology game series, with plans for two entries every year. IfUntil Dawntook heavily from the “cabin in the woods” subgenre of horror cinema,Man of Medanis a “ghost ship” take on theUntil Dawnformula. While my hands-on demo forMan of Medanat PAX East 2019 didn’t feel as fresh as my first experiences withUntil Dawn, I can certainly imagineThe Dark Picturesentering the same audience’s Halloween game party line-ups.
[pullquote]“IfUntil Dawntook heavily from the ‘cabin in the woods’ subgenre of horror cinema,Man of Medanis a ‘ghost ship’ take on theUntil Dawnformula."[/pullquote]
LikeUntil Dawn,Man of Medanis overtly a choose-your-own-adventure cinematic experience. This particular demo started with a “Previously On” recap, with brief flashes of a story—a group of friends embarks on a diving trip in search of a wrecked ship. Upon arrival, some supernatural and fatal hijinx ensue. The recap didn’t help too much in defining any of the characters, which I felt was a key aspect ofUntil Dawn, but I imagine the final game will go deeper into relationships and dynamics.
The demo was very in media res, with the character of Fliss escorted by an armed character through the depths of the wrecked ship. There’s a sense of fear and paranoia in this dark and rustic environment, but while I imagine the sound design would add further to the atmosphere, the particular demo I played appeared to have some volume issues. Additionally, some lip-synching was off, further adding to an uncanny valley feeling.
There weren’t too many mechanics demonstrated, rather than the familiar element of character choices. Players select between options through a compass that appears in the HUD, with the player using the right analog stick to point in the direction of one out of several choices. Before jumping into the action, I was prompted to choose between emotion versus rationality—do I think with my heart or with my head? As I only played through this demo once, I’m curious to see how that early choice permeates through the game’s story.
[pullquote]“There’s a sense of fear and paranoia in this dark and rustic environment, but while I imagine the sound design would add further to the atmosphere, the particular demo I played appeared to have some volume issues."[/pullquote]
It was a demonstration of atmosphere and tone rather than gameplay, with nothing as deep or puzzles or the like. Instead, the demo walked the player as Fliss through a number of rooms, finding and interacting with clues—an abandoned hat, a trail of bodies, and a dog tag, all suggesting something sinister at the end of your path. The end of the demo presented a choice, the familiar “save yourself or save someone else” choice that one would see in a Telltale-like game, followed by an obligatory jump scare.
LikeUntil Dawn,Man of Medanseemed to take inspiration more so from films than survival horror games. I briefly spoke to Supermassive’s Head of Marketing James Scalpello, who cited the filmGhost Shipas an inspiration for this entry. I asked Scalpello about what subgenres of horrorThe Dark Pictureswould invoke, and while he was not specific, he did mention that Supermassive found at least 39 subgenres to take advantage of. Judging from my brief conversation with Scalpello, the future entries of this anthology should very much play the same, with a new setting and cast of characters for each game but the same focus on multiple characters, choices, and the possibility of any of the characters living or dying by the end of a playthrough.
[pullquote]“I asked … about what subgenres of horrorThe Dark Pictureswould invoke, and while he was not specific, he did mention that Supermassive found at least 39 subgenres to take advantage of."[/pullquote]
While these games are said to be about four to five hour-long experiences, I was ensured that the number of choices would encourage multiple playthroughs. During my brief demo, I glanced at some other demo stations and noticed very subtle differences, such as a character accompanying Fliss who had not yet appeared at the same point during my demo. That character met a rather unfortunate end on my end—so I remain curious about how I can avoid having him befall that fate if I were to try again.
Otherwise, expect the same quick-time events from other games of its ilk. While I would have liked to see other features in this demo, say a puzzle or two, the atmosphere and the similar “butterfly effect” fromUntil Dawnmay be enough for me to give this anthology series a go.
My primary gripe might be that as of now, it doesn’t appear thatMan of Medanimplemented anything that serves the audience who playedUntil Dawnwith friends on the couch, or even going further with that audience with say, a feature for streamers to allow viewers to weigh in on choices. Still, those who crave for moreUntil Dawn-like experiences will be satisfied enough, if the final game can deliver on the characters.
The Dark Pictures: Man of Medan will landon PS4, Xbox One, and PC sometime this summer.
