Man of Medan – First Impressions Spooks

From the developer of Until Dawn comes Man of Medan. If you’ve played Until Dawn, then you can expect a similar cinematic experience from this game.

If you haven’t, Man of Medan is an interactive cinematic experience. Each decision you make in the game will cause a ripple effect, and will change something within the story. You can see “premonitions”, which could or could not help you make better choices. In any case, something bad is probably going to happen if you’re not careful.

The prologue starts innocently enough, with a ship being loaded up. You get your character moments, then your introduction into the core gameplay of making choices. Hold on to that right joystick for dear life, you’re going to need it a lot. Don’t forget the interactions too with R2. Examining things carefully might be the difference in life or death. There’ll be quick time events you’ll have to watch out for. The usual stuff, see.

The game is honestly gorgeous, with everything quite realistically realized. Depending on how you feel about the character models, it might occasionally dip into uncanny valley, but the moment passes quickly. The setting does a lot to draw you in, with the lighting and the sound effects too. You get a sense of foreboding as the tension ramps up, and the hook of mystery catches you as your questions will swirl in your minds.

Play Man of Medan with up to five others and it’s all done on a single Dualshock controller. You’ll be passing it around on the couch from scene to scene as prompted, though of course nothing’s stopping you from tossing it to someone. A good old fashioned diplomatic discussion as the timer ticks down for any key moments, one could say.

The relationship values are back, and you best get acquainted with all those bars. You’ll be able to review your actions and their effects, and also your premonitions. Juggle all of these in your mind as you the game slowly draws you in. There would be the occasional jump scares that is standard, but really, the silence would be far more frightening.

All in all, you’ll learn to get invested in these characters over the course of the game and the decisions that you make. What lies in the ocean? What secrets will you uncover? Will everyone be able to get along, or even get out alive? It rests in your hands.

Man of Medan

Publisher: Bandai Namco Entertainment

Developer: Supermassive Games

Release Date: 2019-08-30

Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S

Part of The Dark Pictures anthology. Five friends go off on a diving trip, what could go wrong?

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