The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan offers you a lot of choices. This concept was one of the biggest factors that influenced my enjoyment while I was reviewing the game. Many of these options will lead to the survival of your main characters or their unfortunate demise. If you followed our “Theatrical Cut” walkthrough, then the guide should’ve nudged you on the way to getting the best possible ending with everyone surviving, and a few surprising post-credits scenes as well.
Still, there are a few paths that might lead you elsewhere. In this mini-guide, we’ll take a look at the various endings in Man of Medan, as well as the related post-credits scenes.
Note: Since we’re discussing Man of Medan‘s endings, there will, obviously, be a lot of spoilers. In any case, you can also check out our Man of Medan guides and features hub for everything you need to know about Supermassive’s latest horror game.
Ross, Rachel, Monica, Chandler, Phoebe… and Joey?
Man of Medan‘s Best Ending: Everyone’s alive, poor rescuers
This ending is obtained if you followed our main walkthrough. Every decision you make will have to be the correct one. Likewise, you’ll have to survive every QTE and “keep calm” mini-game so that all five characters are still around by the time you’re finished with Man of Medan.
Some notable major decisions include:
- Alex proposing to Julia, and Julia saying “yes” during “Dive.”
- Julia not surfacing too early during “Dive.”
- Conrad not escaping via the fishermen’s boat during “Kidnapped.”
- Brad not accidentally killing Fliss with the spanner while he’s hallucinating.
- Fliss not accidentally stabbing Brad while she’s hallucinating.
- Brad not getting discovered while hiding aboard the Duke of Milan, allowing him to explore on his own and grab the gas mask. This will prevent a confrontation between him and Fliss.
- Successfully completing certain quick-time events (QTEs) to escape “creatures” that are hounding you.
- Not making rash decisions that’d get characters killed for no reason.
- Investigating Danny’s corpse so you can grab the engagement ring in “Lower Decks” when you spot Olson.
- Convincing Junior that the mist is inside him so he doesn’t accidentally shoot your characters during a tense scene.
- Still having the Rebreather so you can subdue Junior with it.
- Escaping Olson’s clutches and kicking him away during the final QTE scene in “Flooded Cargo Hold.”
- Alternatively, not letting the rats bite Alex so you still have the distributor cap with you.
- Not letting the distributor cap get destroyed; taking the distributor cap from Olson’s possession.
He liked it so he put a ring on it… again.
You’ll find your heroes and heroines sailing off on the Duke of Milan. Junior even makes it out of the freighter alive. The group will be discussing all the harrowing moments and spooky things they’ve encountered. Alex puts the ring on Julia once more.
The post-credits scene will show the military arriving via helicopter. Two soldiers will enter the SS Ourang Medan only to find a deranged Danny (still alive for some reason), who brings them down with a sledgehammer.
Shock and… oh, what the hell?
The Great Ending: Everyone’s alive, Conrad saves the day
There are a couple of key differences here:
- Conrad has to escape successfully using the fishermen’s boat during Act I – Kidnapped.
- The distributor cap was destroyed.
You’ll find the gang despairing since they have no way of leaving the freighter without the distributor cap. Then, hope appears from the horizon.
“We’re saved!”
Conrad has returned, and he’s got the Coast Guard with him. It’s all hugs and kisses for everyone. The character monologue scenes will be similar to the ones from the best ending above, except that you’ve got the Coast Guard’s vessel as your backdrop.
The post-credits scene will also be similar when the military arrives at the freighter. Conrad’s new boat managed to get away just in time.
Reunited and it feels so good.
The Good Ending: Everyone’s alive, poor Conrad
The conditions to achieve this ending are:
- Conrad has to escape successfully using the fishermen’s boat during Act I – Kidnapped.
- The distributor cap is in your possession.
If you’ve got the distributor cap, then the survivors will escape using the Duke of Milan. They’ll talk about their experiences. Julia, meanwhile, will be very worried about her brother since they haven’t heard from him.
That’s why you don’t split up, ladies and gents.
You’ll then see Conrad heroically leading the Coast Guard to board the SS Ourang Medan. Unfortunately, there’s nobody there since the rest of the gang have left already.
“Fortunate Son” blares in the background for this unfortunate son of millionaires.
The post-credits scene will show a traumatized Conrad terrified of something. He is quite the “ladies man,” after all.
Yes, you heard that right. Failing one of the final moments in Man of Medan can lead to a happy ending for Conrad and the gang. Succeeding will actually lead him to a more tragic fate.
Poor fella doesn’t know he’s hallucinating from the effects of “Manchurian Gold.”
The Bad Ending: No hope, no rescue
Since we’re talking about more bad endings, well, let’s just say that the distributor cap’s destruction will figure prominently since you can no longer sail aboard the Duke of Milan.
No rescue will come if:
- Conrad is still part of your troupe and he never escaped earlier.
- You’re unable to provide your coordinates or the ship’s name to the military using the radio.
- You panicked while conversing with the outside world or you ignored the prompts.
- The distributor cap was destroyed during any finale.
The Man of Medan ending you’ll get will have the survivors meeting on the open deck. Alex will say that he’ll try to look for food inside the ship. Julia, if she’s alive, will stay with him. Conrad, if he survived, will also stay with his sister and his would-be brother-in-law. Fliss (and Brad) will have other ideas, though, since the former suggests that maybe she can catch a current that will take the Duke of Milan somewhere safe.
You’re going to have to fiddle around that just to find the distributor cap. If you fail this QTE sequence, say goodbye to your means of escape.
The survivors part ways. The game then cuts to Julia who’s inside the ship, alone. She’s hallucinating and hearing voices, which is never a good sign.
The post-credits scene will show Fliss and Brad, both dehydrated and sickly, stuck on the Duke of Milan. No rescue will come, and the boat’s dead in the water in the middle of the Pacific.
The next post-credits scene will have Julia panicking inside the SS Ourang Medan. A grinning and psychotic Alex, similar to the doppelganger you’ve seen in previous chapters, has found her.
I’m so hungry I could eat a leg.
Another Bad Ending: Imprisonment
You’ll still have some hope that you can be rescued. That’s only possible if you were able to speak to the military via radio and you were able to mention your coordinates.
There are important choices to make that’d let you get this ending instead of the worst one:
- Conrad is still part of your troupe and he never escaped earlier.
- You weren’t able to get the clues that’d let you know the ship’s name.
- You do know the ship’s name but you didn’t mention it to the military.
- The power to the radio wasn’t restored/you ignored the generator’s switch, preventing another character from blurting out the ship’s name.
- The distributor cap was destroyed during any finale.
The interrogation scenes are more similar to Until Dawn‘s style.
Rather than everyone discussing their findings aboard the Duke of Milan, or even mentioning that they should “look inside the ship for food,” or “see if the Duke of Milan catches a current,” the group will just dawdle on the weather deck. The future remains uncertain.
Thankfully, the military arrives. But, since they’ve no clue what vessel they boarded, they’ll take everyone into custody. The survivors then start recounting their experiences. This is more akin to Until Dawn‘s “interview-type” ending scenes.
The post-credits scene will show Alex inside a cell. All he hears are the cries and murmurs of his friends, with no possible escape. They’re all locked up indefinitely.
No escape.
Bonus Bad Ending Scenes
Character Recollections
I would consider Man of Medan‘s additional bad ending scenes to be the ones which have any of your characters dying. For starters, this would change how later chapters would be presented. When the ending cutscene does play, it shows the various characters that have died throughout the game. Hopefully, you’d have at least one or two survivors.
Additional introspective monologues will also be shown, such as survivors feeling guilt or remorse. Notable “bad” endings in relation to character deaths include:
- Julia’s alive but Conrad’s dead – Julia will start talking about how her brother was such an asshole, but he was just looking to make people laugh.
- Alex is alive but Brad’s dead – Alex will mention how he’s tried so hard to look after his brother and he can’t believe his sibling’s gone.
- Fliss getting killed will have Alex starting the Duke of Milan instead.
“My brother’s an asshole, but he just wanted to make people laugh.”
Fliss vs. Brad
As mentioned in our walkthrough, there’s a moment during Man of Medan‘s second act where Fliss and Brad will have a confrontation at the cargo hold. They just don’t recognize each other due to the effects of “Manchurian Gold.”
In Brad’s case, he spots a decaying shrouded ghoul that’s out to get him. He could end up smashing the creature with a giant wrench, not knowing it was Fliss. Fliss, on the other hand, can fail the QTE sequence to defend herself and she’ll end up getting bashed on the head.
Alex finds out that Fliss is dead when he arrives at the cargo hold during the ending sequence.
In Fliss’ case, she’ll see a grand ballroom where a demonic ritual seems to have taken place. A hooded figure approaches her, and she has the opportunity to stab it. Brad, for his part, might not be able to defend himself.
Alex mourns his brother Brad if he finds him dead later on.
The Super Sad Ending – Julia (The Bends)
This Man of Medan ending scene might be the most tragic one in the game.
Early on, Julia is prompted to decide whether she’ll surface too quickly from her dive or not. If you panicked and you went back up too fast, nothing happens… until Man of Medan‘s ending cinematic fires. That’s when Julia starts suffering from “the bends” or decompression sickness (DCS).
What makes this ending shocking is that Julia remained hale and healthy throughout your playthrough. It’s only during the game’s conclusion when the symptoms of arterial gas embolism start manifesting. She starts having difficulty breathing. Then, she starts coughing up blood while clutching her chest.
“Whoa! Hey, what’s going on?”
This can happen even if you’ve already escaped aboard the Duke of Milan (best ending), on the Coast Guard’s ship (great ending/Conrad rescues the group), or even while waiting on the open deck if the distributor cap got destroyed (imprisonment).
The group starts to panic. Alex will be the one who tries to revive her — though other characters might also do that if Alex already died in your playthrough. Sadly, nothing could be done for Julia.
If you get the “Imprisonment” ending, the interrogation will have Alex constantly blaming himself because he wasn’t able to stop her from surfacing too early. Oddly enough, Conrad doesn’t mention his sister as he’s just fixated on talking about the spooky old lady.
… we wanted to see how a barbeque grill caused an explosion that big.
The Absolute Worst Ending: Everyone dies, military execution
There are “bad endings,” and there’s the “absolute worst ending.” It’s the ending where everyone ends up dead no matter how you’ve tried your best to keep them alive throughout Man of Medan‘s story.
This is only possible if:
- Conrad is still part of your troupe and he never escaped earlier.
- You were able to obtain the clues that’d tell you the ship’s name, the SS Ourang Medan.
- You told the military the name of the ship while at the radio room in the final act.
- If you didn’t say the name of the ship, you turned the radio back on using the generator and another character blurted it out.
- The distributor cap was destroyed during any finale.
Based on scattered clues, you should know that the ship is carrying a bio-weapon codenamed “Manchurian Gold.” The military does not want these secrets getting out, especially now that they know the ship’s name.
Your heroes “get to the choppa” thinking they’d be rescued. Sadly, it wasn’t to be. Once the post-credits screen fades to black, a hail of gunfire eliminates your team of hardy adventurers. On the bright side, once this post-credits scene is done, you do get an achievement for finishing Man of Medan without any of your characters surviving.
Did you think the featured image above would lead to a happy ending?
The WTF Ending: Everyone dies, Terminator Olson
Nothing really says “WTF” like every single character dying for no reason while you’re still playing the game. Sure, it’s possible to botch a few QTE sequences, but probably not all of them.
If ever you do end up with everyone dead before you even reach the actual ending sequence, then The Curator would have a good, hearty laugh at your expense. You can check our character death scenes feature to know when you can kill them off one by one.
Anyway, the post-credits scene will show a wounded Danny making his way through the Ourang Medan‘s lower decks. He picks up Olson’s sledgehammer, which is curiously lying in one corner.
Danny spots “Olson” in the same spot where he and Fliss found a screaming corpse earlier. Unfortunately, it’s not Olson. It’s Cyclops Olson, and he’s ready to “terminate” you based on Skynet’s orders.
Whoa! Relax, buddy!
Note: It’s also possible to get this post-credits scene if:
- You were able to escape aboard the Duke of Milan or via Conrad’s rescue with the Coast Guard.
- You did not give your location to the military via radio.
That does it for the endings and post-credits scenes. If in case you’re looking for other guides and features, then check out our nifty hub for everything related to The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan.
The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan releases on Aug 30. It’s available on Steam.
