The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan Xbox Series X|S Review

One thing occurred to me throughout my newest playthrough of Man of Medan: How would I do know if I used to be enjoying the brand new chapter that lately launched alongside the Xbox Collection X|S replace? I’m on my fourth general playthrough now and nonetheless experiencing new issues. So how will I do know the brand new stuff isn’t simply one thing that was in there within the first occasion? 

However that’s the fantastic thing about Man of Medan; every playthrough is exclusive. And with the new Xbox Collection X|S optimised replace, now could be the right time to revisit it. Or play it for the primary time.

Man of Medan is the primary sport in The Darkish Footage Anthology. This, together with Little Hope, Home of Ashes and the upcoming The Satan in Me symbolize the primary season of the anthology, and Man of Medan is an excellent opening to proceedings.

As is customary with Supermassive Video games horror choices, no scary trope is off the desk. And Man of Medan takes on the ghost ship, with their distinctive spin on proceedings. A bunch of good-looking younger adults are eager to do a little bit of diving within the South Pacific. After following some rumours of an unknown WWII airplane wreckage, they head off to search out some treasure. Nonetheless, a bunch of contemporary pirates board their ship, demanding treasure of their very own by robbing the group. However, after studying of one thing referred to as Manchurian Gold together with some coordinates shut by, they determine to take their new prisoners and go exploring for treasure.

The coordinates take them to an deserted WWII ship. You most likely received’t be shocked to listen to that issues go badly fallacious as quickly because the group set foot on it.

All that is overseen by a person referred to as The Curator. This all-powerful being will probably be your information by way of this journey – and all others in The Darkish Footage Anthology – watching your story unfold. He’ll pop up every now and then to both offer you useful hints, warn you of impending hazard, and even let you know if one thing has gone fallacious. He’s as mysterious because the tales themselves. I hope when the anthology is all wrapped up we be taught the solutions to the questions swirling round about this enigmatic being.

This interactive horror story permits gamers to decide on their very own journey. All of the crewmates can die or survive based mostly in your selections. There’s additionally a thriller to unravel while on the ship and doing so could offer you an enormous higher hand in ensuring all of them survive. Or assist you in killing all of them, which is nearly as enjoyable.

Returning to Man of Medan additionally highlights the various connections to the opposite titles within the anthology. Very a lot standalone releases, returning faces, easter eggs to different titles and extra remind you that these titles are a part of a much bigger image.

Nonetheless, additionally on returning and you may see that Man of Medan, a minimum of graphically, is just a little bit behind the others. Character fashions look just a little off, just a little bit uncanny valley.

And from a technical viewpoint, the frequent loading occasions from the preliminary launch have been sped up considerably with the brand new Collection X|S optimisation. They nonetheless stay frequent as the sport frantically switches between refined variations in scenes based mostly in your choices, however they’re very fast now. They are usually extra frequent than in Little Hope nevertheless, and might spoil the momentum.

Additionally on my newest playthrough, my Bearings display – the place you possibly can view precisely how your choices have an effect on the story – was not exhibiting any data. As an alternative it simply introduced me with the loading image when deciding on a Bearing, however then nothing ever loaded up.

That’s the stuff that also stays like a foul hangover after an evening ingesting on uneven waters, however what has been added in? There’s clearly the brand new chapter, the headline inclusion throughout each Man of Medan and Little Hope’s Xbox Collection X|S updates. This new inclusion happens in the direction of the very finish of the sport when Olson is operating round with the sledgehammer and distributor cap. This new chapter may even have you ever setting the ship on hearth. Simply be sure to seize the distributor cap from Olson when you possibly can.

Different new options embody higher accessibility choices comparable to dyslexia pleasant font, subtitle measurement and color choices and the power to vary the way you work together with a few of the QTEs. It’s also possible to select whether or not to run Man of Medan in Efficiency or High quality mode from the graphics choices.

The primary sport in The Darkish Footage Anthology, Man of Medan stays one of many stronger choices. It’s way more replayable than Little Hope with many extra unpredictable jumpscares. Man of Medan is a sport that toys with the characters you play as, but additionally toys with you because the participant. There will probably be occasions you assume you’ve seen one thing uncommon, and the truth is, you most likely truly did. The thriller stays intriguing till the penny drops, however even then it doesn’t falter as a narrative, breathlessly persevering with on till you attain one of many many conclusions. 

When you have but to play any of The Darkish Footage Anthology video games, there is no such thing as a higher place to begin than on the very starting with Man of Medan; much more so now that it’s optimised for Xbox Collection X|S.

Board the new-gen optimised Man of Medan by way of the Xbox Retailer