With Layers of Fear, Observer and Blair Witch on the resume, developer Bloober Team can now call itself an expert in the field of horror games. With The Medium, the Polish developer shows that expertise well.
In The Medium, the leading role is given to Marianne, the titular medium. She lives an apparently normal life in ‘our’ world, but can also step into the Spirit World. This ghost world is a kind of withered, moldy reflection of the ordinary world, just like The Upside Down in the Stranger Things series. The interaction between both dimensions not only plays a major role in the story, but is also an important part of the many puzzles.
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Between two worlds
A mysterious phone call leads Marianne to Niwa, a dilapidated hotel built by the communist regime for the Polish population. Developer Bloober does not hide his Polish roots. Niwa was closed after a mysterious massacre took place. Immediately upon arrival, Marianne feels that the location is closely linked to the Spirit World. It is the ideal foundation for a real psychological horror story
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As you explore the communist vacation resort in search of the man who called you, you make frequent trips to the Spirit World. Sometimes you step into the other world completely, but there are also times when you navigate through both worlds at the same time. At those moments The Medium is at its most special. The game then splits the screen in two, allowing you to explore both worlds simultaneously.
Sometimes you will find objects in one world that help you further in another, or you come across a passage that is not open or even does not exist in the other world. It is always puzzling how exactly you get ahead.
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For example, at some point you have to rewind time with a clock in the real world in the spirit world, to a moment when a specific door is open. Behind that door you can then provide a power switch with energy, so that you can continue in the real world. The puzzles are original and surprising with this type of insertion, but never get really complicated
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Struggling with the controls
The challenge is more in the wooden controls. Following the example of Silent Hill, The Medium has fixed camera angles and you cannot look around freely. That has a certain charm, but the precise button prompts that must appear before you can take an action, unfortunately often appear frustratingly late, or even only when you are in exactly the right place. Sometimes you walk around a room several times without it being clear what – and in which dimension – you have to do exactly, or you sit around a little strange circles in a place until the button prompt appears.
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Furthermore, The Medium offers little challenge: there are no weapons and the fights should actually have no name. You walk through the game quite quickly – in about eight hours – and then, if you look a little further than your nose, you will also find most of the collectibles. There is therefore no valid reason to play the game a second time.
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In the beginning, the game manages to surprise quite a few times with plot twists that help the story get started, but the puzzle pieces all actually fall into place just a little too early.
The right tone
Fortunately, there is a reason to play the game for the first time! The puzzles and fiddling with the two dimensions are the main part of the gameplay, but the real star of The Medium is the atmosphere. Mystery; wonder; fear; discomfort: everything you expect from a psychological horror game is reviewed. And Bloober Team always sets the right tone.
With Silent Hill composer Akira Yamaoka at the helm, it is not surprising that the music always hits the right chord, but Bloober Team does not only live on his experience. Especially the environments in the real world are sometimes surprisingly detailed and rich, and in addition, the game is equipped with exceptionally good sound that makes you feel like you are in that dilapidated state hotel regularly.
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Still, we secretly expected more from The Medium as one of the first games exclusively developed for a new generation of hardware. Especially when both worlds are in the picture at the same time, the game loses a lot of details and frame drops are not uncommon. The seamless switching between both worlds is impressive.
Despite the atmosphere, The Medium is just a bit too predictable. In the beginning, the game manages to surprise quite a few times with plot twists that help the story get started, but the puzzle pieces all actually fall into place just a little too early. The last hour may feel unnecessary, although the game would otherwise be very short. Besides that, the pace is excellent, making The Medium such a game that you prefer to play in succession despite its flaws.
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The Medium is now available for PC and Xbox Series X and S. For this review, the game was played on an Xbox Series X.
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