Outlast 2 vs The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan
Outlast 2 is an FPS horror game from Red Barrels (2017) while The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan is a horror game from Supermassive Games (2019).
What each one is
Steam files Outlast 2 under FPS and Horror. In contrast, it files The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan under Horror.
Outlast 2 introduces you to Sullivan Knoth and his followers, who left our wicked world behind to give birth to Temple Gate, a town, deep in the wilderness and hidden from civilization. Knoth and his flock are preparing for the tribulations of the end of times and you’re right in the thick of it.
The Dark Pictures Anthology is a series of stand-alone, branching cinematic horror games that can also be played online with a friend. In Man of Medan, five friends set sail on a holiday diving trip that soon changes into something much more sinister.
At a glance
| Outlast 2 | The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 7.6/10 | 6.9/10 |
| Steam rating | Very Positive (91%, 64,380) | Mostly Positive (77%, 13,909) |
| Critic aggregate | 75/100 | 75/100 |
| Price | $4.99 | $19.99 |
| Install size | 30 GB | 80 GB |
| Steam Deck | playable | unsupported |
| Released | 2017 | 2019 |
| Developer | Red Barrels | Supermassive Games |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
Outlast 2 vs The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
Outlast 2FPS horror gameThe Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of MedanHorror gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
Outlast 2Horror, Psychological Horror, Survival HorrorThe Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of MedanChoices Matter, Co-op, HorrorThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
Outlast 2 ✓Score 7.6 · 91% on Steam · 75 criticThe Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of MedanScore 6.9 · 77% on Steam · 75 criticThe GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
Content and scale
Outlast 264,380 reviews · 30 GBThe Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan13,909 reviews · 80 GBReach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
Outlast 2 ✓$4.99The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan$19.99Read live from Steam and subject to change.
On a Steam Deck
Outlast 2 ✓PlayableThe Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of MedanUnsupportedValve's own Deck compatibility rating.
Outlast 2 takes 3 of the marked rounds to 0. That is only what a number can decide, not which you will enjoy more.
The two on the grid
Compare the whole catalogueOutlast 2 and The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan on the axes the GamingPickz Score is built from, on the full 0 to 100 scale so each dot is its real position. Change either axis to compare them on any measure.
2 games have both
Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.
Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.
- Nintendo
- PC
Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.
How positions are decided
No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
- Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
- Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
- No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
- A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
- Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.
Which to pick, by what you want
- The higher-rated of the two: Outlast 2 (GamingPickz Score 7.6)
- The cheaper right now: Outlast 2 ($4.99)
- Better on a Steam Deck: Outlast 2 (playable)
- Lighter on storage: Outlast 2 (30 GB)
- The safer bet by weight of reviews: Outlast 2 (64,380 reviews)
What they have in common
Both are tagged by Steam players with:
HorrorPsychological HorrorSurvival HorrorGoreSingleplayerAtmosphericViolentAction
Where they differ
First-PersonDarkMatureSurvivalParkourIndie
Choices MatterCo-opCinematicQuick-Time EventsThird PersonLocal Multiplayer
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, Outlast 2 is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan is middle-of-the-road on difficulty.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 1 accessibility feature for Outlast 2 and 1 for The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
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Common questions
How different are Outlast 2 and The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan in scope?
Outlast 2 has drawn 64,380 Steam reviews and installs in 30 GB. The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan has drawn 13,909 Steam reviews and installs in 80 GB.
Is Outlast 2 or The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan better?
By the GamingPickz Score, Outlast 2 rates higher (7.6 to 6.9). That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, not our taste. "Better" also depends on price, length and platform, which the table above lays out.
Which is cheaper, Outlast 2 or The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan?
Outlast 2 is cheaper right now at $4.99, against $19.99. Prices move, so this is read live from Steam and can change.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
How we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.