Here you can find a full The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan Walkthrough of all Chapters and the best ending everybody survives. This walkthrough also includes the best choices to increase relationship stats with all characters, so you’ll know the best things to say.
You can also use this walkthrough for the bad/worst ending. To let everyone die, simply choose the opposites and pick up all weapons (their locations are all pointed out in this guide).
For the best ending (everyone is alive at end), be sure to follow every decision and QTE exactly as described. Messing up the wrong QTE can cause a character to die instantly so be very careful. It is recommended to make a manual save game backup at the start of every chapter (PS4 Settings > Application Saved Data Management > USB or PS+ Cloud). If you make a mistake, you can copy back the save without having to replay the entire story.
During the story there is no chapter select! Only after the story you unlock chapter select, but it’s based on what decisions you made leading up to that certain chapter. Let’s say you were to mess up a QTE early on and a character dies as a result, then the character would still be dead in later chapters through chapter select, meaning you’d have to replay from the early chapter where that character died. This would have you’d end up replaying 80% of the game if you make a mistake early on. So it’s better to keep backup saves and copy them back right away when making a mistake.
If you like, you can do a blind run first, but with this step by step guide you will easily have all characters surviving on the first run if you follow it exactly as described. Remember, if you make one mistake, it can have serious consequences later on and the guide might no longer be applicable to you (because you’d get different dialogues or different scenes altogether).
This Walkthrough is for Singleplayer (“Play Alone” & “Movie Night” modes). In Co-Op things can go vastly different, depending on what your co-op partner decides (which you can’t see on your screen). In co-op your partner also makes choices for 2nd characters that in singleplayer would have scripted responses. Still, you can get a general idea of best steps to let everyone survive in co-op, just know that some dialogues (and entire chapters) might be different. It’s best to stick to a singleplayer mode for this run!
Useful Tips, Tricks and Guides:
- The Dark Pictures: Man of Medan – How to Let Everyone Die (Worst Ending)
- The Dark Pictures: Man of Medan – Story & Endings Explained
- The Dark Pictures: Man of Medan – All Collectible Locations (Secrets & Pictures)
- The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan Trophy Guide & Roadmap
Important: All information in this guide is based on “Theatrical Cut” Mode (the default solo mode). The “Curator Cut” is an alternative pre-order bonus mode which was not available in the making of this guide. It is highly recommended to play in Theatrical Cut, otherwise the solutions won’t apply (in Curator Cut you control different characters with completely different dialogue choices).
Chapter: Chinese Market (Prologue)
What you do during the prologue has no consequences to the rest of the game whatsoever. It plays at a different time and with different people than our main characters for the rest of the game. At the Chinese Market there are the following dialogues and actions:
- CURIOUS “Tell me about my son” / DUBIOUS “Will I be rich?” (no effect on rest of game)
- DRAGON TILE / BAMBOO TILE (no effect on rest of game)
- Defeat (or fail) against the training dummy by pressing the displayed buttons (no effect on rest of game)
After the Chinese market visit, your next spawn will be on a ship. You’ll be locked into a room and can find the key on the left side in a locker that has a white glow on it. Afterward you will find your buddy in a cell. Just follow the corridors, there’s only one way to go. When a guy with a gun comes there will be a QTE to hold still but whether you succeed or mess up has no impact (if you mess it up the guy with the gun will notice you are his fellow soldiers and just run off). After following all the corridors there will be long series of cutscenes before the real game starts with our crew (Alex, Brad, Conrad, Fliss, Julia) boarding a boat. That’s when your choices start to have impact.
Chapter: The Duke – Brad
Brad talking to Alex:
- RESENTFUL “I had to work” Alex ▲
- UNEASY “Not good with people” Alex –
- EMPATHETIC “Must be tough” Alex ▲
- SENTIMENTAL “Go with your gut” Alex ▲▲▲
Brad talking to Conrad:
- RELAXED “Yeah, cool!” Conrad ▲
- GLOOMY “Never” Conrad ▲
Chapter: Wreck – Alex
Alex walks over to Julia, talks with her:
- INTERESTED “Need a hand?” Julia ▲
- SUPPORTIVE “Making a fortune on this trip” Julia ▲
Alex picks up the ID of Fliss (the captain), which sits to the right side of Fliss. This will let him know her license is expired and opens up new dialogues. Then Alex talks to Fliss (captain).
- POLITE “Sorry about earlier” Fliss ▲
- SELF-ASSURED “Dived a couple of wrecks” Fliss ▲
- BELLIGERENT “Who’s gonna know?” Fliss –
Collectible: [White Framed Picture #1: High and Dry] – on wall inside boat
Alex talks to his brother Brad, who is in bed to recover from his seasickness:
- SYMPATHETIC “Don’t worry” Brad ▲▲
Alex walks back to Conrad and Julia on the deck, press to interact with the rebreather. This triggers a dialogue with Julia.
- PLAYFUL “Lookin’ good” – Julia ▲ Conrad ▼
Alex takes the bangstick (right) and the camera (automatically takes picture of Julia).
Chapter: Dive – Julia
This chapter consists only of one very short cutscene (1 minute) of Julia and Alex diving underwater. There are no dialogues or QTEs during this cutscene.
Chapter: Uninvited Guests – Fliss & Julia
Fliss talks to Conrad (note: no matter what you do, Fliss will always have a negative relationship entry with Conrad saying “Fliss did not appreciate Conrad flirting with her, and even though they start off on the wrong foot you can turn things around pretty quickly):
- RELAXED “Sure, why not” Conrad – (note: there will always be slightly negative relationship between them at the start but the next dialogues make up for it)
- SUBDUED “It’s a long story” Conrad – (note: there will always be slightly negative relationship between them at the start but the next dialogues make up for it)
- APPRECIATIVE “That’s very kind of you” Conrad ▲
- RELAXED “Taking advantage of your relaxation time?” Conrad ▲
- PLAYFUL “Too bad charm isn’t among them” Conrad –
- ROMANTIC “I have to keep track of the dive, but…” Conrad ▲▲▲
Fliss Traits Updated: Excited, Witty, Relaxed, Generous
Fliss goes to Brad‘s room and talks to him:
- SYMPATHETIC “Hey, It’s your vacation” Brad ▲
- CONCERNED “Hope they know what they’re doing” Brad –
- CURIOUS “Are you close with your brother?” Brad –
Fliss Traits Updated: Relaxed, Generous, Excited, Innocent
Collectible: [Black Framed Picture #1: Cut and Run] – inside Fliss’s room
Check the console next to the steering wheel for weather forecast. After a little while a cutscene triggers automatically to advance the game (hidden timer). In the meantime you can chat with Conrad again but there are no dialogue choices to pick from. A boat with “fishermen” will arrive in the cutscene.
Fliss talks to Conrad after other boat arrives:
- SAY NOTHING Conrad –
- WORRIED “This feels off” Conrad –
- WORRIED “We’ve got divers in the water” Conrad –
Fliss Traits Updated: Relaxed, Altruistic, Innocent, Excited
Now the camera cuts to Julia (still same chapter). Be ready to press the QTE button so Julia doesn’t cut her leg on the rusty underwater wreck.
[Black Framed Picture #2: Devil and the Deep] – After taking control of Julia, it’s on the left before swimming through first gap
After Julia swims through the first gap in the underwater wreck, there’s a tube overhead that can be investigated with to talk to Alex.
- CONCERNED “Maybe it’s kind of dangerous” Alex ▲
- Missed on this run: [Secret #30: Flight Plan] – You can only get this if you choose the other dialogue “…” and investigate the tube to find a document. Better to get it later via chapter select, getting it would reduce Julia’s standing with Alex.
Julia Traits Updated: Cunning, Excited, Selfish, Generous
After this, follow Alex and you can find two items in the underwater wreck.
[Secret #49: Anti-Aircraft Shell] – In the underwater wreck, right side
[Secret #40: Missing Lifeboat] – In the underwater wreck, left side
When Julia is supposed to open a door and it shows a “hitmarker”, open it (makes your knife break but Alex ▲). Investigate the cockpit and wait around for a while (hidden timer triggers a cutscene after a while). After the cutscene pick the following dialogues:
- ASTOUNDED “We almost died” Alex –
- LOVING “Yes” Alex ▲▲▲
- CAUTIOUS “Damn yeah, okay” Alex ▲
- RELUCTANT “This is taking too long…” Alex ▲
Julia Traits Updated: Truthful, Cunning, Excited, Generous
- ANXIOUS “What’s up with that other boat?” Conrad – Fliss – Alex –
Chapter: Ghost Story – Julia
Julia will talk to Alex at the start of this chapter.
- CHEERFUL “It does have a nice ring” Alex ▲
- SENTIMENTAL “Let’s plan it together” Alex ▲
- REASSURING “Of course” Alex ▲
- ADORING “I love you” Alex ▲
Julia will automatically walk inside the boat and see Conrad making out with Fliss.
- SAY NOTHING Conrad –
Now you walk around as Julia and can either get the document from Alex’s travel case or look at other stuff in the boat, doesn’t matter either way.
[Secret #20: Co-Pilot Badge] – When walking around as Julia on the boat, you can interact with the camera and flip through the pictures Alex took during the underwater dive to see a badge of the co-pilot on one of the images. It sometimes glitches as Julia, so if you don’t get it try coming back to it later in co-op as Brad.
If you take too long Alex will come and get the document himself. Then the friends sit around the boat to have a beer together. Julia will then talk to Fliss and the group.
- APOLOGETIC “Okay maybe” Fliss ▲
- Julia Traits Updated: Truthful, Excited, Selfish, Generous
- SUPPORTIVE “Let’s hear it” Brad ▲
- SAY NOTHING Brad –
- SAY NOTHING Brad –
- APPRECIATIVE “Cool story” Brad ▲
Chapter: Intrusion – Conrad
The fishermen will come on board of your boat at night and tie up everyone. There’s a short QTE at the start, I didn’t press the buttons on purpose as to give them no resistance, but it doesn’t seem to matter. Then you can choose who to untie first:
- UNGAG – Fliss (left) (no effect)
- UNGAG – Alex (right) (no effect)
- Alex will ungag Julia automatically
- Junior (pirate guy) comes to take away Fliss
- UNTIE (no effect)
- Press QTE to avoid getting punched
Now Conrad will be brought out on the deck and the pirate leader (Olson) will punch him. Say the following:
- SERIOUS “What do you want” (no effect)
- AGITATED “Please just stop” (no effect, he won’t cut Conrad’s ear)
- COMPLIANT “Okay” (no effect)
Conrad now gets brought back to Alex in the ship and they talk:
- UNEASY “No. I hope he’s okay” Alex ▲
- CONCERNED “I can sneak around to the boat” (no effect)
Now comes some tricky parts where you must hit a series of QTEs perfectly. At this point you should make a save game backup (PS4 Settings > Application Saved Data Management). You must press to hit a window on the count of 6 (six) when thunder strikes. The timing can be a bit hard to get on first try. Hit the button just as Conrad starts saying the word “six”. Personally, I did hit this correctly on my run but failing to do so won’t have any long-term impact as long as you do the next QTEs perfectly. You can still escape on the boat regardless and nobody gets hurt if you follow the next instructions correctly, so don’t worry if you mess this one up!
Conrad Traits Updated: Cunning, Guarded, Impatient, Anxious
Next QTEs (make sure you do all of these perfectly):
- Press to stay still when the pulse becomes visible (total of 5 times)
- ESCAPE (left option)
- (just hammer each button in quick succession)
When done correctly, Conrad escapes on the speedboat! If you fail this, restore the aforementioned save game backup. If you mess up the last prompt (when pirate points pistol at speedboat), he will shoot Conrad and he dies (this is good to know for your “everyone dies” run, but for now we want to keep everyone alive). Afterward, Alex will hold some scissors to a pirate’s throat but Olson (pirate leader) points a gun at Alex. Then Alex lets go and the friends are brought back inside.
Alternative outcomes: Conrad messes up on the first two QTEs during boat escape and gets captured by pirates. Conrad messes up the final QTE during boat escape when pirate shoots at him and dies from the bullet. Conrad chooses to attack instead of escaping, Alex brings out other pirate with scissors to his throat, together with Conrad he provokes the pirates but Olson shoots Julia. The attack option will always lead to the pirates overpowering you or shooting Julia, while the speedboat escape will always lead to Conrad getting away, being shot, or being captured right away.
Chapter: Storm – Fliss
After the friends are brought back inside the ship, they will be seated at a table and Fliss can reply to the pirate.
- REASSURING “We were only talking”
- ENRAGED “How dare you” Alex ▼ (note: both options here have a negative impact, but picking this one leads to Alex apologizing later on in “Chapter: Trapped” and is the best long-term)
- QTE:
Fliss Traits Updated: Excited, Altruistic, Innocent, Relaxed
- DEFIANT “Ask for help”
- SAY NOTHING
- QTE:
- HELP (right-side choice) Julia ▲
- QTE:
Fliss Traits Updated: Innocent, Relaxed, Reckless, Excited
- OPTIMISTIC “He could help” (no effect)
Act 1 Ending
Everyone is still alive. When talking to the librarian, choose CURIOUS “Forwarned is forearmed”.
Chapter: Abandoned Ship – Fliss
Here Fliss just walks through some corridors, no dialogues to choose from. There is one collectible here.
[Secret #26: Guard Duty Note] – After Danny (pirate guy) scavenges through some lockers, you can find this on the side of the corridor
Chapter: Trapped – Fliss
The pirates lock the friends in a dark room.
- QTE (Fliss):
- ASSERTIVE “Take some action” Alex ▲
If Fliss found the last secret, she can also talk to Alex:
- SERIOUS “I overheard them talking about Manchurian Gold” Alex –
- LIVELY “We need to find a way out of this room” Alex –
[Secret #44: 1947 Newspaper] – Inside the room where the friends are locked in
[Secret #28: Private Miller’s Letter] – Inside the room where the friends are locked in
Fliss must now push the large box on the right side of the room to reveal a vent to escape through. Alex will try around if he can loosen the vent, give him a minute, then press on him. Now Fliss talks again:
- CONFIDENT “This is the way out” Alex –
- Fliss Traits Updated: Innocent, Excited, Courageous, Relaxed
- DISTRACT
- REPLACE
Chapter: An Escape – Alex
At the start of the chapter, just follow the path ahead. Along the way you can find some collectibles.
[Secret #14: Guard Duty Roster] – room on left
[Secret #45: Private Reed’s Letter] – in restroom
[Secret #7: Engineer’s Logbook] – after passing over bridge, check book on a wooden console
[Secret #11: Journal] – in room after bridge
[Black Framed Picture #2: In the Offing] – in room after bridge
- DUBIOUS “We need to be careful” Fliss –
- Alex Traits Updated: Deceitful, Witty, Relaxed, Altruistic
- WARN FLISS Fliss ▲▲
Regardless of your choice, Fliss will always get caught by the pirates in this situation, nothing to worry about. Now the next chapter starts when you can walk as Alex again.
Chapter: Caskets – Alex
At the start of the chapter, Alex needs to follow Julia. When you reach a kitchen there are a bunch of things to do.
- Do NOT pick up the kitchen knife on the left side of the kitchen, it’s on a counter where some frying pans are hanging (to the right of [Secret #23: Catering Staff Schedule]). To make everyone survive it’s safer to NOT have any weapons so you don’t accidentally kill one of the of your friends, who appear to you as “demons” while under the effect of Manchurian Gold (the Manchurian Gold mist makes you see your friends as scary demons later on, which isn’t obvious at first. The logic is that if you don’t have any weapons you can’t harm anyone, which is exactly what we want on our “everyone survives” run).
- [Secret #23: Catering Staff Schedule] – poster on kitchen wall
- Investigate the cupboard in the middle of the kitchen, triggers a talk with Julia
- Speaking with Julia: TRUTHFUL “Come look” Julia ▲
- Alex Traits Updated: Relaxed, Deceitful, Eager, Altruistic
- Exit the room
In second kitchen room there are some collectibles, nothing else here to do:
- [Secret #1: Diary] – book on table
- [Black Framed Picture #3: Cut of Your Jib] – black picture hanging on wall
Alex walks to next room, the following dialogues trigger along the way with Julia:
- WORRIED “It’s probably just rats” Julia ▲
- SUPPORTIVE “It is crappy” Julia ▲
Now Alex is in a room with a bunch of caskets, investigate each of them for a collectible:
- [Secret #22: Casket Nameplate] – investigate caskets
- [Secret #23: Open Casket] – investigate caskets
- [Secret #13: Locked Casket] – investigate caskets
- [Secret #35: Small Casket] – investigate caskets
In next room (medbay), head left (no need to investigate the medicine cabinet on the right), and check the room on the far left for two more collectibles:
- [Secret #18: Terrified Corpse] – corpse in corner
- [Secret #39: Electrocardiogram Results] – document next to operation table
The chapter ends when Alex and Julia exit the medbay and see a cutscene with someone holding a hammer.
Chapter: Danny – Fliss
This chapter starts when you’re playing as Fliss again. Simply follow the path ahead, Danny (pirate guy) will escort you.
After a cutscene where Danny takes the hat off what looks like a coprse (but turns out it’s only sacks), you can pick up the hat:
- [Secret #41: Medan Hat] – investigate the hat Danny takes pushes off the sacks during cutscene
In the next room, after a cutscene, there is another:
- [Secret #16: Screaming Corpse] – investigate the corpse
Follow Danny until you see a cutscene where he shoots his gun and suddenly disappears. Afterward you can backtrack a little to a framed picture you just passed by, but could not pick up.
- [White Framed Picture #2: Close Quarters] – after Danny disappears, trace back your steps to look at this picture on a wall
Next, Fliss will have to push open a door and she reaches a cargo hold area with lots of parked cars. Do NOT pick up the knife from the corpse on the left side of the cargo hold (again, to avoid killing someone by accident, it’s better to not carry any weapons). On the right side of the cargo hold, just before the exit, you can find one collectible.
- [Secret #32: Dog Tag] – corpse on floor, just before cargo hold exit (right side of cargo hold)
After exiting the cargo hold, the camera cuts to Brad and the next chapter starts.
Chapter: Finding Friends – Brad
If you followed this guide he should still be on the boat (didn’t cause a big fight with the pirates on your boat so Brad stayed undetected). Now he walks onto the ghost ship and can explore a little. Walk upstairs and through a corridor. A cutscene with many screaming corpses will trigger automatically. Search the area for collectibles.
- [Secret #43: Infantry Badge] – in room with screaming corpses
- [Secret #21: Hastily Written Message] – go back outside the room with screaming corpses the way you came, then go to end of corridor to find this in backroom
Now go through the room with screaming corpses again and into the next room. There will be some lockers and Brad sees corpses inside of them. Investigate the locker on the right two times for Gas Mask.
- Investigate right locker on the right side two times for Gas Mask –> this helps Brad to not be affected by the Manchurian Gold as much (the mist that makes everyone go crazy).
- Go inside the bathroom on the left and check the stalls. Hide and complete the QTE to hold your breath (not sure if it’s necessary to go into the bathroom at all, but it’s what I did on my playthrough)
Advance to the next room after the locker room. There are more interactables here:
- [Secret #4: Locks Memo] – inside the right-hand side room, which you can enter next to the box that you must push. BEFORE climbing over the wall to which you must push a box.
- Push the box and climb over the wall
After climbing over the wall:
- [White Framed Picture #3: Copper Bottomed] – in a room after climbing over the wall (but BEFORE opening the next locked door)
Now you can exit through the next door, which triggers a short black loading screen. Here do the following:
- Do NOT pick up the Wrench (white glowing dot between the hanging corpse and the corpse on box)! This is important, it’s yet again another weapon that could accidentally kill someone, in particular it can kill Fliss during chapter “Ritual” if she sees Brad as a demon and fails to evade his attacks. If you don’t have a wrench, there’s nothing that can hurt Fliss later. So don’t pick up the Wrench!
- [Secret #19: Radio Operator’s Memo] – investigate the corpse by the box for this secret (BEFORE pressing to climb down the area)
That’s all there is to do in this area. Now you can safely climb down where it shows the button prompt, which starts the next chapter.
Chapter: Ritual – Fliss
This chapter starts when you’re playing as Fliss again.
Follow the path until you reach some ghosts attacking you. Complete the QTE.
- QTE: (note: failing this has no impact so don’t worry if you mess up. The ghosts are just imaginary and cannot hurt Fliss, she will black out but wake up unharmed).
Now after a cutscene you reach a nice-looking ballroom. It’s very important to know that there’s a hidden timer in this area that triggers the next cutscene. Don’t waste time investigating non-essential objects. It’s highly recommended to make a manual save game backup here (PS4 Settings > Application Saved Data Management). Head straight for the following:
- [White Framed Picture #4: Keelhaul] – In the backroom of the ballroom, to right of stage
- Pull the lever in the backroom to the right of stage –> this opens the stage
- Go backstage and through the door, this makes Fliss go outside on the deck for a moment. When she returns to “clear her head” with some fresh air, the effect of the Manchurian Gold has weakened and she escapes her dream sequence. Now she sees the old ship again as is. This allows you to find new collectibles before the hidden timer runs out.
- [Secret #38: Chemical Leak] – investigate the big box behind stage
- [Secret #37: Broken Wires] – go back to where the ballroom was, investigate electric wires
- [Secret #47: Cargo Ship Manual] – on barrel across from electric wires
- Now just wait for the next cutscene to trigger. If you followed all steps, Fliss should see Brad come crashing down in a casket, that’s the optimal outcome because she doesn’t see him as a demon (if you made a mistake, Fliss might see a demon with a hoody but it’s Brad – don’t attack the Demon as doing so would harm or even kill Brad, especially if Fliss carries the knife from the cargo hold). Quick explanation: if you went backstage and out on the deck to get fresh air, the Manchurian Gold’s effects have weakened so she won’t see Brad as a demon. If Fliss doesn’t go backstage to get fresh air, she would see a hooded demon (Brad) because the mist has messed with her head.
- Fliss talks to Brad: APPROVING “That was quick thinking” Brad ▲
- Other Note: If Brad didn’t find the gas mask and picked up the Wrench, he might be delusional and attack Fliss (because now Brad sees Fliss as a demon due to the mist)! Especially if Brad has the wrench he can easily kill Fliss here, so if that’s happening Fliss must complete the QTE to evade Brad’s attacks.
Assuming you did everything correctly, Fliss and Brad will not be affected by the Manchurian Gold’s effect and recognize each other. Then they escape together, which ends the chapter.
Alternative outcomes: Fliss sees Brad as a demon, gets away and runs off. Brad is affected by Manchurian Gold and sees Fliss as a demon (can kill her if he has wrench). If Fliss doesn’t go backstage she will see Brad as a demon, and if she has the knife from cargo hold, she can kill Brad. If both Brad and Fliss are delusional they will try to kill each other, which means Fliss must evade all of Brad’s attacks but can’t succeed in any of her attacks so both of them remain unharmed.
Chapter: Pressure – Fliss
Note: This chapter only happens if Fliss and Brad recognized each other (neither one seeing demons from the Manchurian Gold mist) and they escape together.
Follow the path and when you come to a room where you’re supposed to climb up, BEFORE climbing up you can find a collectible on the floor:
[Secret #25: Ghost Rumours Report] – before climbing up to floor above
Now climb up. Once upstairs do the following:
- Investigate the old Shovel on the floor with (this will come in handy later to save Brad)
- Investigate the broken-off ladder
- Investigate the hatch on the floor
- Walk back to where you climbed up, press to talk to Brad
- SAY NOTHING Brad –
- Brad will climb down
- When water starts rising and Brad gets trapped pick the following:
- Search (if Fliss didn’t get the knife from cargo hold in Chapter “Danny”) > If Fliss investigated the old shovel previously, she will run over to grab it real quick
- SMASH HINGE
- SMASH HINGE
- Fliss pulls Brad out of the water, both of them survive (Brad ▼)
Chapter: Plunged – Julia
This chapter starts with Alex and Julia gettng knocked into water. Julia will be in a quick hallucination sequence where she’s back in the underwater plane wreck, but it doesn’t matter what you do here (can simply let time run out). Afterward, she can choose what to tell Alex:
- FRANTIC “Stop he’ll drown” Alex ▲▲▲
Now comes a cutscene and the chapter ends when Alex and Julia open a door to get away from Olson (pirate boss).
Chapter: Glamor Girl – Conrad
UNAVAILABLE: This Chapter is unavailable on this “everyone survives” playthrough because we made Conrad escape on the speedboat earlier. Continue to next chapter “Revenge”. If you want to play this chapter, you must replay the game from the “Intrusion” chapter onwards and not let Conrad escape.
Chapter: Revenge – Julia
This chapter starts with Olson (pirate guy) going after Alex and Julia, who are running away from him. There are some QTEs for Julia along the way:
- QTE:
- JUMP (right-side choice)
- QTE:
- KEEP GOING
- Julia Traits Updated: Selfish, Excited, Loyal, Generous
This leads to Alex and Julia escaping and ends Act 2. There will be another sequence with the Curator.
Act 2 Ending
When talking to the curator, pick:
- CURIOUS “I need some help”
Chapter: Open Deck – Julia
This chapter is super short and consists of only one talk between the friends.
- BAFFLED “Where’s the gold” (no effect)
- PROBING “What happened on this ship?” (no effect)
- SUSPICIOUS “This place is weird” (no effect)
- UNSETTLED “Where are the crew” (no effect)
This chapter ends when the friends are done talking and you can walk as Alex on the deck of the ship.
Chapter: Distress Signal – Alex
As soon as you control Alex and start walking out on the weather deck, there are some collectibles to take care of:
- [Secret #50: Anti-Aircraft Shell Casing] – on left side of weather deck
- [Secret #3: Gas Mask Instructions] – on the right side of weather deck
Now climb up the ledge on the right side of the weather deck where you can press . Up there you can open a door by pressing , in there you can find some collectibles.
- [Secret #42: Ship’s Logbook] – first room
- [Black Framed Picture #4: Loose Cannon] – first room
- [Secret #6: Nautical Chart] – second room
- [Secret #10: Navigator’s Notebook] – second room
- [Secret #29: Radio Operator’s Final Message] – third room (same room as radio, but pick up before going to the radio)
Now walk to the radio to trigger an emergency call to a military station. This is an important moment! If we give them our coordinates, the military will arrive in a helicopter during the final ending cutscene. However, this is not recommended as they will either kill all survivors on sight (this happens when we found out the name of the ship by getting all collectibles that contain hints for it. Basically, because the survivors have seen too much and the military doesn’t want the secrets about “Manchurian Gold” getting out, they will kill them. Collectibles refer to Manchurian Gold as a hallucinogen that the military wanted to weaponize for warfare, so that enemy soldiers go insane and kill each other. Telling the military you found their long-lost ship will get you shot). If they don’t shoot the survivors (didn’t find all collectibles that contain clues of the ship’s name), they will still put them in prison. So either way this isn’t great. It’s much better to escape by boat instead. So in the next step do NOT call for help as it’s a trap!
- SAY NOTHING
Now the friends must decide who goes down the hole. Pick the following dialogues:
- ENCOURAGING “If you’re sure you’re up for it” Brad ▲▲
- Alex Traits Updated: Insecure, Altruistic, Relaxed, Generous
Now Brad and Julia go down the hole, which is the begin of the next chapter.
Chapter: Depths – Brad
After dropping down the hole, Brad responds to Alex.
- HOPEFUL “We’re okay” Alex ▲
While going through the corridors you can investigate for some collectibles:
- [Secret #48: Minutes of Meeting] – in side room
- [Secret #27: Private Patterson’s Medical Record] – in first aid sick bay, at end of corridor after last collectible
Keep walking until you reach a ladder and can press to drop down. This brings you to an engine room.
- [Secret #8: Engine Room Telegraph Log] – engine room, behind the engine
- [White Picture #6: Know the Ropes] – in a secret passage to the right of the generator, just before you find the rebreather
After passing through the engine room, in the right corner there’s a power switch to turn on the electricity for the radio again. Don’t use it, just keep walking into the next room. The reason being that we don’t want to inform the military where we are, so it’s better to keep the power (thus the radio) turned off.
Once in the next room, you will find the rebreather! Taking it with you is the only way to calm Junior down (who will threaten us in next chapter). Without the rebreather, Junior would always kill himself.
- ASSERTIVE “Take it” Julia ▼
- Brad Traits updated: Eager, Excited, Insecure, Relaxed
Now there will come a cutscene in which Olson (pirate leader) kills Danny (pirate henchman). This cannot be avoided and does NOT affect the “everyone survives ending”, because this is a character that cannot be saved. It doesn’t impact the “That’s something, I suppose” gold trophy for keeping everyone alive!
Olson will come out of the room, now you must complete the QTE to stay still by pressing on the pulse points.
When done correctly, Brad and Julia will leave the corridor unnoticed and enter the room the pirates were in.
- [Secret #34: Military Orders] – on the right side of the room where Danny’s dead body is in (only if you succeeded in the pulse QTE and stayed unnoticed)
Olson will come back after just a few seconds, now make the following choices:
- INSPECT (lets Julia find her engagement ring)
Alex and Julia will run off, which transitions into the Junior chapter.
Chapter: Junior
Olson will come after Brad and Julia in a corridor, banging his hammer on the walls. Do the following:
- Succeed in the first Pulse QTE (Olson doesn’t detect you)
- ASSERTIVE “Can’t risk it”
- Succeed in the second Pulse QTE –> you will take the rebreather with you automatically. If you fail a QTE, Julia will grab the rebreather but there will be a button prompt to get it through the next door, be sure to successfully take the rebreather with you!
In the next room, Junior holds a gun at Brad and Julia. Luckily, with the rebreather we can calm him down and earn trophy / achievement “It’s all gone changing on me “.
- CURIOUS
- WORRIED
- DESPERATE
- GRAB PISTOL –> you will overpower Junior and put the rebreather mask on him, which gives Junior some “fresh air” and makes him sane again
- Brad Traits Updated: Insecure, Relaxed, Excited, Deceitful
That’s it for this chapter. We are getting really close to the end now.
Chapter: Matters of the Heart
Alex will jump down and even though he tells Fliss to stay behind, she will follow him. When Olson patrols the corridor, do the following:
- QTE: Keep calm (stay undetected)
- QTE: Jump over broken floor
- Fliss won’t be able to follow. She and Alex split up.
- Olson will die from the Manchurian Gold Mist (he gets a heart attack from being in fear of the hallucinations he is seeing)
- Alex goes after him and finds Olson being eaten by rats
- QTE: –> make sure you press all buttons correctly to retrieve the distributor cap. If you mess up the QTE, Alex will drop the distributor into the elevator shaft and the elevator smashes it. This would leave you no way to escape the ship. So in order to make everyone survive it is vitally important to get this done correctly!
- QTE: Alex will see dead Olson (or a demon instead) and point his knife at it. Do NOT attack it. This is a hallucination! That other person/demon is Fliss. Attacking it, will kill Fliss! Don’t attack.
- BEWILDERED “Who are you”
- Alex Traits updated: “Relaxed, Insecure, Generous, Altruistic”
- QTE (after rat comes out your belly): LET TIME RUN OUT!!! DO NOT ATTACK THE RAT (DOING SO KILLS YOURSELF), DO NOT ATTACK THE OTHER PERSON EITHER (IT’S FLISS!)
Fliss will overpower Alex and save him from his insanity. Together they escape the ship and the final cutscenes start rolling.
Chapter: The End
Enjoy the ending! If you followed this guide, everyone has survived and you earn the trophy “That’s something, I suppose “.
This concludes the Man of Medan Walkthrough. If for some reason one of your characters has died, you will unlock chapter select after the story and can go back to where you made a mistake to replay the game from there. For the worst ending you can check the Man of Medan Worst Ending – Everyone Dies Guide. For the Collectibles that were unreachable on this playthrough, check out the Man of Medan Collectible Guide.
whiteriver087 says
When Julia is supposed to open a door and it shows a “hitmarker”, open it (makes your knife break but Alex ▲).
alex give me his bangstick and I use it. I don’t konw why
PowerPyx says
That’s fine too, it won’t affect anything. You can still max out their relationship.
Von says
I failed to stay undetected because I press the correct button on my controller and I still get it wrong like bruh
Geek_Central says
Can you still max out Julia and Alex’s relationship if Julia crawls through the small space at the wreck? And if you can, which dialogue option should I go with when Alex puts the mask back on Julia?
PowerPyx says
I believe you can still max it if you did that. I made a few mistakes myself, had 3 or 4 red arrows pointing down in relationship history and still got the trophy. The decision in “Plunged” has a lot of impact and makes up for some mistakes. Plus, that’s only two thirds into the story, so some more left to make up for one or two mistakes. It would be even quicker in coop because your co-op partner can choose all replies and “be nice” instead of the scripted responses.
Lightsp33d1987 says
For this part below you can let it get destroyed as Conrad will turn up at the end and rescue everyone as he escaped earlier on in the game as i had no QTE and the elevator just fell and destroyed it.
QTE: –> make sure you press all buttons correctly to retrieve the distributor cap. If you mess up the QTE, Alex will drop the distributor into the elevator shaft and the elevator smashes it. This would leave you no way to escape the ship. So in order to make everyone survive it is vitally important to get this done correctly!
PowerPyx says
True, that works too 🙂
JENNIFER HAYWOOD says
Right because if you don’t let him pick you up…he’s get goes into the ghostship.
DizzyLoco420 says
I think following the guide up until the distributor cap… let it get destroyed that way conrad doesn’t go into the ship…. best ending!!… i felt like junior should’ve said anything .. I mean yah know, they saved his life lol… he was so quiet after the rebreather
Ryan Jones says
Can you show the positive relationship responses for Conrad if he doesn’t escape and you control him at the beginning of Act 2 instead of Fliss?
PowerPyx says
For the purpose of this walkthrough (letting everyone survive) it was better to let Conrad escape, as it gives you a second shot to save everyone if the distributor cap gets destroyed (Conrad comes back to rescue the friends) and he can’t die anymore.
Beyond this, I wouldn’t recommend maxing out Fliss + Conrad’s relationship solo. It’s better to do so in co-op as it can be done in 5 minutes during their first few dialogues on the Duke of Milan (see trophy guide for that). In the trophy guide I have listed all choices to max out their relationship quickly.
Irwyn says
how can I manage Brad stay hidden in Intrusion? He just assist Alex to fight a pirate and get caught.
PowerPyx says
Be “nice” to the pirates, don’t fight them. When Danny (pirate helper guy) brings Conrad back to the room, follow his orders and don’t fight. If you get a choice to save Brad from drowning after boat gets flooded, choose not to help him (he’ll be fine regardless). When a fight inside the boat breaks out the pirates will find Brad.
Irwyn says
PowerPyx, oh, sorry man, I missed that I’m in Curator’s cut mode and play as Alex. As you told in collectible guide, some Glamor Girl collectibles are avaliable through curator’s cut and there is a line that Brad must find gas mask so he must stay hidden (one of the requirements to unlock access to those collectibles).
ace 1 says
so i did everything as i should with fliss and brad in ritual . fresh air , gas mask etc , and still she saw him as a demon : what went wrong huh
Chappy says
This happened to me too. I think the “fresh air” only lasts a certain amount of time, you can go back to the door and stick your head out again after the first time. I did this after getting the collectables and it worked out.
Alex says
[Secret #46: Private Patterson’s Medical Record] – in first aid sick bay, at end of corridor after last collectible
It’s not #46 its’ #27
PowerPyx says
Indeed. I have it in the collectible guide as #27 as well, was a typo here. Fixed it, well spotted and thank you for helping to make the guide better 🙂
ShaunaOH says
Does Junior need to be kept calm for the survival trophy or does it only count the heroes?
PowerPyx says
Personally, I did keep Junior calm on my playthrough that popped the trophy. But I had some people tell me they got it without Junior. I’d say keep him alive if you can, just to be safe. But even if he dies and it doesn’t give you the trophy you’ll know why and can fix it via chapter select.
Ben G says
secret #26 is also able to be found by Conrad during that same section in solo mode.
Chloe says
In my play through, during ‘Distress Signal’ it was decided that Fliss and Brad would jump down into the hole so during ‘Matters of the Heart’ the demon turns out to be Julia instead but I ended up killing her. If Julia is the demon do the same rules that apply for Fliss during that chapter apply to Julia as well? And is it possible to keep everyone alive if the distributor cap is dropped and crushed in the lift just before the demon appears?
PowerPyx says
The same rules apply to Julia as they apply to Fliss in that situation.
With the Distributor Cap gone there are still 2 ways to escape:
– Conrad escaped on Speedboat during “Intrusion” and comes to rescue the group
– Military comes with helicopter to pick them up, puts them in prison (if they didn’t tell them to name of the ship over radio, otherwise military shoots them to protect the ship’s secrets)
Ben G says
You got the locations for secrets 21 and 43 reversed.
laura says
Also if you messed up like me and my friend did in co-op you can save Conrad still and get the trophy (hopefully because we are still replaying it to keep everyone alive) but if you’re Conrad or your friend is don’t hide as Conrad. Keep running. Fliss will follow him up to the top of the boat and you can still save him. Choose to confront fliss. Conrad will come to his senses. DO NOT JUMP There’s a few qtes. I missed one as fliss climbing up the ladder and she fell and died.
Cny says
When Julia is supposed to open a door and it shows a “hitmarker”, open it (makes your knife break but Alex ▲).
I did this but she opened the door with the bangstick, the knife wasnt used for some reason?
Lockonvalentine says
I followed your guide to a T and messed up on only 1 QTE (which was Brad not staying hidden in the bathroom stall). I’m now stuck on the first part of Junior’s chapter. You say to complete the first QTE, then be assertive (which is actually after the second pulse QTE) and then do another pulse QTE. Then if you fail, Julia will take the rebreather but you will have to go through a bunch of button prompts. If I fail, my Julia leaves the rebreather there and just runs into the room. Why isn’t she taking it like your guide said?
PowerPyx says
It may vary depending on when into the QTE you fail (like if Olson gets too close Julia may not have enough time to grab it, or if you messed up a QTE she may have left it behind there and not taken it to the next QTE, there are a lot of variations to it). Normally, if you do the 1st QTE correctly you come to a new room with a collectible and Julia’s ring inside + the body of Danny. Then Brad and Julia have a dialogue in there before the 2nd QTE.
The game is very complex, and if you mess up just one decision or QTE, the guide will no longer apply to your playthrough.
Regardless, this shouldn’t lock you out of best ending and its trophy – you’re nearly there. You can’t save Junior in your playthrough anymore without rebreather, but the best thing you can do is that he shoots himself and not Julia or Brad. Even though I saved Junior on my run I don’t think he actually matters for the best ending trophy because he’s not a playable char. Even if he matters, you unlock chapter select after the story and can replay the last 20 minutes from Depths chapter to fix the rebreather part.
Jason says
So I managed to get the 4 of them to escape and then Conrad comes back to notice we’re not there and he dies, where did I go wrong ??♂️??♂️
Dean says
On mine the ending is wrong if you get the distributor Conrad comes back after everyone leaves on the Duke and goes on the ship by his self, so I let the distributor drop down the elevator and everyone goes out on the deck and Conrad comes with the coast guard
Meg says
What happened to Conrad though? He goes back on the ship in the end
N says
I mostly followed all this but accidentally turned the radio back on from below. Luckily it did not trigger any military shooting and I still got the trophy ?
Monte says
I now play through the game with heart decisions for the fifth time and just don’t get the Go with your gut trophy. nor have I been able to collect the Golden Picture so far despite the fulfilled conditions. someone a tip?
Helix says
I don’t recommend to get the distributor cap if you managed to make conrad escaped. As it will make him trapped inside the ship thinking the crew still in there, bad ending.
Angel says
I accidentally turned on the radio and destroyed the distributor cap, thankfully Conrad came with the coast guard and saves everyone lol
Jakerz says
I just followed your guide, but panicked a little near the end and messed up in a few spots.
I examined the generator as Brad, but didn’t activate it. The other character said what are you doing and turned in on instead. This turned the power on and alerted the military of my coordinates.
I didn’t collect the rebreather after the QTE with Brad. The pirate henchman died.
I also failed the QTE with Alex and the rats, and the cap broke. I had no way off the pirate ship.
HOWEVER!
Since Conrad escaped earlier in the game, he came back with a Coast Guard ship, and we were all able to escape before the military arrived. This still gave me the achievement. The distributor cap and coordinates is not necessary as long as Conrad escapes earlier in the game.
Eric says
I escaped on the Duke, with Conrad dead (Conrad fell to the bottom of the funnel/smokestack) and Alex (killed by the “stage door”) dead. The military chopper showed up in the final cut scene (during the credits) and Danny killed both of the soldiers with a sledgehammer
Alexandra Good says
How do you get conrad to stay with you throughout the entire game? The ending felt a little hollow without him there.