Supermassive Games defied expectations with the PS4-exclusive horror game Until Dawn, which released to strong reviews despite a somewhat troubled development cycle. The studio has since gone on to produce other projects, with its horror anthology series The Dark Pictures playing most similarly to Until Dawn. And if the first game in The Dark Pictures anthology series is any indication, horror fans should have plenty to look forward to with future installments.
The Dark Pictures: Man of Medan sees a group of friends partaking in some deep-sea diving, only to come across what appears to be a ghost ship. What follows is a series of shocking scenes, jump scares, and disturbing imagery, as everyone tries to band together and survive their unfortunate predicament.
Like Until Dawn, The Dark Pictures: Man of Medan is a cinematic, narrative-driven experience where player choice has a genuine impact on how the story plays out. Man of Medan features a strong cast of characters, brought to life thanks to some excellent motion-capture and voice work. Shawn Ashmore of X-Men and Quantum Break fame plays the character Conrad, continuing Supermassive's trend of casting Hollywood talent in certain roles.
Where Dark Pictures: Man of Medan differs from its predecessor is through the addition of a co-op mode. Players are able to assign themselves to different characters in the game, with each player able to control their specific character's actions and dialogue choices. Man of Medan's co-op mode adds a lot to the proceedings and gives the game significantly more replay value than similar games.
The Dark Pictures: Man of Medan is a great choice when it comes to horror games to play this Halloween, especially if someone is looking for a game to play in a group. However, horror fans will also be able to check out the second game in the series, The Dark Pictures: Little Hope, as it is currently set to launch on October 30, just in time for the spooky holiday.
The Dark Pictures: Little Hope looks to deliver a similar experience as Man of Medan, albeit with a major shift in setting and story. Instead of exploring a ghost ship, The Dark Pictures: Little Hope has players unraveling a supernatural mystery in the titular Little Hope, a town that gives off serious Silent Hill vibes. But whether one picks up Little Hope or checks out Man of Medan, it should be hard for horror fans to go wrong with The Dark Pictures series from Supermassive Games.
The Dark Pictures: Man of Medan is out now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
