The Medium for Xbox Series X/S review: A compelling blend of innovation and nostalgia

The Medium has been i of my most predictable games of the last few years. As a long-fourth dimension fan of survival-horror games, peculiarly classics like Silent Loma and Fatal Frame, I was excited to run into a mod take on this iconic genre. But did this psychological horror championship alive up to my lofty expectations? In many ways, this ambitious projection non only met but even challenged my assumptions of what it would exist.

Suppose you're a horror fan looking for exciting new ways to experience storytelling through a video game. In that case, The Medium shines with a cast of captivating characters and innovative design decisions. Nonetheless, if you lot're someone looking for high-octane thrills and chills, the slower pacing of this title might not take plenty action to keep y'all hooked.

The Medium Se

The Medium

Bottom line: The Medium is one of the nearly gorgeous horror games I've e'er played. Its detailed environments, compelling characters, and unique setting go far a must-play for psychological horror fans.

The Good

A gripping story
Incredible environmental item
Innovative mechanics for storytelling
Fixed camera angles add cinematic feel

The Bad

No 60FPS option
Lack of defended gainsay
Polarizing finale

The Medium: What I liked

The Medium Xbox Exterior Source: Windows Cardinal

Category	GameNameXXX
Title	The Medium
Developer	Bloober Team
Publisher	Bloober Team Southward.A.
Genre	Psychological horror
Xbox Version	Xbox Series X\|S
Game Size	24.47GB
Play Time	vi-8 hours
Players	Singleplayer
Xbox GamePass	Yep
Launch Price	$l

The most important element of any good psychological horror game is the compelling story, preferably filled with nuanced characters and layered interactions. The Medium focuses heavily on Marianne, who tries to reconstruct the memories of her past. The slower, deliberate pacing of cutscenes and world exploration makes this descent into madness, grief, and unimaginable tragedy feel more than like playing a devastating horror film in the vein of Hereditary or The Lodge than revisiting games similar Silent Hill or Alone in the Dark. As a massive horror movie buff, this is one of the greatest compliments I can give to The Medium.

Not just did I notice myself enthralled by the mystery of Marianne's strange supernatural history, but I was also captivated by the possibilities of an expanded Medium universe. I wanted to know everything in that location was to know about Marianne, her family, and the tortured souls y'all encounter along the way. The moment I finished my get-go playthrough, I immediately wanted to dive dorsum in and do it all again. As someone who'south completed two playthroughs of The Medium so far, I would highly recommend you practice the same if you want to fully unpack all the subtleties of this haunting experience.

It'south also worth noting that this game touches on some serious and incredibly heavy field of study matter, so proceed that in mind before playing. I won't go into whatsoever specifics considering I genuinely believe how the story is unraveled and how it's presented through new and innovative gameplay mechanics is its biggest accomplishment. I wouldn't want to take those initial discoveries away from anyone jumping into this game for the first time. If you're a fan of cryptic grapheme dissections every bit opposed to more in-your-face exposition, chances are you'll love the fragile examination of the darkest recesses of the human psyche uncovered in this title.

The Medium Cracow Source: Windows Fundamental

The Medium masters world and atmosphere presentation throughout its vi-8-60 minutes story. The environment blueprint team at Bloober consistently delivers engaging locales for y'all to explore. High-quality textures and ray-tracing makes each of the distinct areas feel grounded and authentic. That goes a long style in supplying immersive, intricate backdrops to your foray into this world of faded nostalgia. Settings like the NIWA Resort, where a good chunk of the game takes place, were based on and modeled afterward existent-world locations. A meticulous level of care is on display in every frame, and this attention to small details makes The Medium one of the almost gorgeous horror games I've ever played.

To fully showcase the telescopic of The Medium'southward night dazzler, the entire game is presented through fixed camera angles. This will definitely be a bit jarring for some players, especially if you've never experienced the infamous tank controls of Resident Evil or Silent Colina. Withal, I loved how cinematic this made every moment feel. Yous never miss a tense scare or subtle environment clue because your camera was facing the incorrect direction. Thankfully, some modernistic enhancements and quality-of-life features for mobility continue things rather intuitive for those worried about how this makes controlling Marianne feel. Seeing this iconic perspective properly revisited in a gimmicky horror game gives me hope for its big comeback.

The Medium: What I didn't like

The Medium Xbox Dual Reality Source: Windows Central

The Medium is undoubtedly a visual spectacle in many ways. Because this is the starting time truthful Xbox Series X and S exclusive, and 1 of the first existent showcases of what these next-gen consoles could practice, there are a few areas I feel some players might exist disappointed.

There are major differences between what Silent Loma is and what The Medium wants to be.

Permit's starting time with the elephant in the room. The Medium is not 60FPS on Xbox Series Ten, and the official spec canvas for PC doesn't listing anything above 30FPS. The game seems to hover effectually the 35-40FPS marking during almost sequences from our performance analysis. The target hither is definitely 30FPS, specially during the dual-reality sections of the game. With fixed camera angles and generally slower pacing, I ultimately call back players will exist able to look past this after the first few minutes, but it is worth mentioning for all the newfound 60FPS purists out at that place.

Many horror fans take been hyping upwards The Medium as the spiritual successor to Silent Hill. While it's clear the game pulls enough of inspiration from that series, there are major differences betwixt what Silent Loma is and what The Medium wants to be. The lack of defended combat will admittedly be a divisive design selection. While Marianne has some impressive supernatural powers at her disposal, in that location isn't much in the way of activity outside of a few tense chase sequences. The pacing of The Medium is deliberately very boring and methodical. While I wouldn't go as far every bit to say that this was an event I personally had with the game, the focus on story over combat will likely be a complaint for many players.

I've been very deliberate in my approach to avert primal story details in my review. I want players diving into The Medium for the offset fourth dimension to genuinely form and build their own character theories, as that was one of my favorite elements of the game. Without touching on any spoilers, the catastrophe will be polarizing. I can't expect for more people to play this so that I can bounce ideas off other horror enthusiasts. Later sitting on the g finale for a few days now, I'm still not quite sure how I experience. There will certainly be some passionate discussions well-nigh the catastrophe of The Medium.

The Medium: Should you purchase?

The Medium Marianne Source: Windows Central

As a huge horror fan and someone who'southward played basically every previous Bloober Team championship, I can confidently say that The Medium is, hands down, this studio'southward biggest triumph. Innovative gameplay ideas similar dual-reality puzzle-solving and immaculately designed environments elevate this above many other titles in the genre. Instead of replicating a formula from the past, The Medium blazes forward with bold new ideas and innovative mechanisms for character-focused storytelling.

Even though The Medium wears its Silent Colina inspirations on its sleeves through fixed camera angles, exciting psychological horror, and themes of two singled-out realities, The Medium is not Silent Hill. Players who go in wanting it to be will get out disappointed. Just instead of critiquing a game for what y'all want it to be, I implore players to embrace The Medium for the genuinely captivating vessel of bang-up horror game storytelling that it is.

The Medium is available from January 28, 2022, as function of Xbox Game Pass across Windows x PC and Xbox Serial S/Ten consoles.

The Medium Se

The Medium

Bottom line: The Medium stands firmly as the most impressive piece of work from the folks at Bloober Team so far. If y'all want slow-burn horror presented in a new style, I tin can't recommend this game enough.

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