The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan is now available on Nintendo Switch, according to a recent announcement by Bandai Namco. However, players trying to keep every Man of Medan character alive will be facing off not just against ghosts and jump scares, but a surprisingly low frame rate as well.
Part of the Dark Pictures Anthology, Man of Medan is a narrative-branching horror title inspired by the urban legend of a supposed ghost ship called the OSS Ourang Medan. The storyline follows five friends who quickly come to regret their diving trip in the same waters as the infamous vessel. Although developer Supermassive Games provides a single-player mode, the title also features co-op for up to five players.
In a recent Twitter announcement, Bandai Namco invited players to "[s]urvive horror on-the-go!" with the new Switch port, adding, "For the first time on this platform, face your inner fears with multiple storylines and heart-pumping life-or-death choices." The announcement includes a video featuring footage of the title running on Switch — but, like other recent releases with inconsistent performance on consoles, it doesn't seem to be running that smoothly.
The Nintendo eShop's Man of Medan page specifically states that the game runs at 24 frames per second, despite that most games nowadays run at either 30 or even 60 FPS. The port carries over all the features found on other platforms, including the aforementioned multiplayer, the Curator's Cut game mode, and various subtitle and difficulty settings. The Switch version even boasts one new feature: an extended playable chapter titled "Flooded." This extra content introduces new character deaths during Man of Medan's finale. But it's the frame rate, not the content, that's giving players pause.
Although most gamers would chafe at 24 FPS for any title, it's especially disconcerting when it comes to horror titles, which rely on smooth performance to deliver their scares as intended. While some ghosts admittedly do look creepier with choppy animations, efforts to react quickly to onscreen action or prompts can suffer at lower frame rates. Plus, an inconsistent presentation absolutely kills immersion, another aspect of paramount importance when trying to maintain tension and thoroughly creep out players.
At least most recent games that have launched with performance issues have the excuse of being new titles. However, Man of Medan originally released in 2019 — causing some confusion over why developers didn't have enough time to ensure it runs smoothly on the Switch. Hopefully, this chapter of The Dark Pictures Anthology won't take as long as Mario 64 to reach the 60 FPS benchmark.
The Dark Pictures: Man of Medan is available for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch.
