Man of Medan: A Ghost Ship Adventure Where Every Choice Haunts You
This week I got to dive into probably the most bone-chilling game I have EVER played thus far.
A story designed in such a way that you overthink every choice you make, hoping for the best possible outcome.
Man of Medan is the first game in The Dark Pictures Anthology, a series of interactive horror games developed by Supermassive Games and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment.
Known for its reactive gameplay and intense atmosphere, Man of Medan combines horror, suspense, and player-driven storytelling to create an experience where each choice impacts the outcome.
The story follows five young adults—Alex, his girlfriend Julia, his brother Brad, Julia’s brother Conrad, and their captain Fliss—on a diving expedition in the Pacific.
While initially on a carefree adventure something which was meant to be fun, things take a dark turn when they discover a ghostly, abandoned WWII freighter.
This ship is rumored to be cursed, with a dark history tied to supernatural phenomena. As the group explores the ship, they encounter terrifying visions, disturbing hallucinations, and life-threatening encounters that seem to defy logic.
Man of Medan is a psychological and supernatural horror theme, where hallucinations and paranormal elements blur the line between reality and illusion. Inspired by classic ghost ship legends, particularly the real-life story of the SS Ourang Medan, the game brings forth feelings of dread and mystery throughout.
For those of you who do not know the classic ghost story of Ourang Medan, allow me to give you the short version…
The SS Ourang Medan was said to be a Dutch freighter operating in the waters of Southeast Asia, in the late 1940s. The ship’s name, Ourang Medan, roughly translates to “Man of Medan” in Malay.
According to the legend, in June 1947, a distress signals from the ship were intercepted by nearby vessels and coastal stations. The bone-chilling message broadcasted that the entire crew was dead.
An American merchant vessel, the Silver Star, reportedly responded to the distress call and located the Ourang Medan. When the Silver Star crew boarded the freighter, they were greeted by a horrific sight: the entire crew of the Ourang Medan lay dead, with eyes wide open and faces frozen in expressions of terror. Some accounts claim that the crew members had their arms extended as if defending themselves from some unseen horror.
Adding to the mystery, no visible injuries were found on any of the bodies, and the cause of death was unknown. The air on the ship was reportedly ice-cold, despite the tropical climate, and a heavy feeling of dread seemed to shadow the ship.
Spooky right? It kinda reminds me of a movie I watched a while back, Ghost Ship… Have you seen it?
Okay, jumping back to the game.
Man of Medan is structured around reactive gameplay, where players’ decisions drive the story and determine who survives or meets a grisly end.
The game uses a mix of exploration, dialogue choices, and quick-time events that require players to react quickly to avoid fatal outcomes.
Overall, Man of Medan made a strong impression on me, for the ability to create a sense of fear and its focus on how the choices you make shape the story’s outcome. While this is only the first story in the series and my first time playing the game, I must say the run I had was not all that bad I think… while I may want to change one single outcome I had for a character, the game was brilliant, the characters where well designed, diverse and grasping. I truly felt a connection, empathy towards the characters, fear of losing someone, and an exciting motivational drive to have everyone survive. I found myself rooting for everyone’s survival just to have my success stolen at the last seconds of the game, still now, just thinking of it, frustrates me to no end.
So for fans of this interactive horror, Man of Medan set a strong foundation for The Dark Pictures Anthology, and I look forward to playing the next installment Little Hope.
Perhaps I can make better choices now that I know the game likes tricking you into thinking you make the right choices only to steal the victory from you at the very end. Could there have been a better outcome for some of my characters, well yes. Will I suffer through all the jumpscares again to try and save them all, most likely yes. And the best part about the game is, now that I will have to make other choices to save someone, the game’s story will also adjust and change… leaving me in unexplored waters.
Now the only question that matters next is, will you be playing the game?
Maybe you are someone who rather enjoys watching someone play these kinds of games instead of diving in deep yourself… well next week I am tackling Little Hope, the second game in the series, so be sure to catch the stream on Twitch/AzuraCub should you wish to see the next outcome.
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