The Medium is a 3rd person horror game as Marianne you are a spirit medium and you are haunted by the visions of a man shooting a girl by the lake, she can exist in both the living world and the paranormal as she ventures out to solve a mystery in an abandon resort.
AS THE GAME IS RATED M – FOR MATURE. WE ONLY TESTED THIS TITLE WITH GAMERS THAT ARE OVER THE AGE OF 17 – THIS GAME CONTAINS MATURE SUBJECT MATTER.
General Gameplay
The Medium is an action/adventure, horror game like games like Silent Hill series in which you must go around collecting items, gathering clues, and fighting off monsters to discover what is going on. In this game it is all about exploration and discovering at this abandon resort the truth of what happen here and why a voice from the paranormal brought you here. The Game Visuals are well done and quite easy to see on the screen. The actual graphics on screen are done in a very sharp and vivid design. Everything in the game design has detail down to handwriting on notes and even the character models. Marianne and other characters have detail to them that it brings them to life on screen. As the game is more in a horror setting you will see colors that are more of a darker tone and muted in the colors on the screen. This is a color selection to give the game more of a supernatural/horror tone in its design. The game does not offer a colorblind mode; however, it is not needed. As the game is rated M – For Mature, the game does not have a lot in its violence, but it does have some scary scenes as well settings where the graphics can be a little scary for non-horror gamers. Also, as the game deals with some mature themes it is best for gamers over the age of 17 to play the game. In our play testing, we did not encounter any issues with the game visuals. Audio in The Medium is well done as well. The game story is told via character dialog and the dialog is well done and does a fantastic job of telling the story of the game. The background music and sound effects are also done well to give the feel of the scenes of the game from chase scenes to more intense scenes in the game. As the game progresses the story is told from both Marianne and Sadness perspective and as the game deals with dual planes of the game, The Medium does a great job of creating a horror vibe with the sound. As the game is story driven game, there is a lot of language used in the game where is it more like a movie and the language is used in a way to tell the story then for shock value. As the game is a Mature rated title, so is the spoken dialog, so for older gamers playing the game around younger ears, it is better to use a headset to play the game vs the Smart TV or Surround sound. As the game is presented in 5.1 surround sound and 2.0 stereo sound, either sound environment is fine to hear the game, however we highly recommend using a headset both because of the soundtrack and that it gives a better gaming experience to enjoy hearing the game. In our play testing, outside of the language used in the game, we did not run into any issues in the game. Controls in The Medium are easy to use. As the game is presented in a 3rd perspective, it is all about controlling Marianne in this environment. There are simple button commands like to inspect items, and pick-up other objects, as well to go into a “Medium” state to look for hidden items and objects. There is a sneak and hold breath that come later in the game. Overall, the controller settings are remarkably simple and easy to pick up and play the game. As the game is an adventure game it is all about movement of Marianne in both normal and spiritual environments and the game does a good job of doing this. In our play testing, we did not encounter any issues with the game controller settings or controls in game, the game is quite easy to pick up and play.
“A short but great horror game whereas Marianne you must use both spiritual and normal planes to finish the game. The Medium is a great game for any horror fans out there. Using two different planes to play the game is fun at first and stays that way to tell the story of The Medium.”
Family Friendly
In the gaming age of horror games, there are quite a few of them, some are good, with a great storyline and scares, and others that are about just violence and gore and little to no story whatsoever, this is where The Medium gets its right. The Medium is all about telling a story, and its not afraid to throw you into the mix right out of the game. The story is a simple one but still the game concentrates its focus on the story and setting more then anything else and this is what makes the game a great game for those that like a good horror story. Now to say that the game antagonist is hard is an understatement, most of the time you are just running away and avoiding it most of the game. If anything, the game is more about exploration and enjoying the story then actual combat, if anything there is little to no combat at all, The Medium is all about the story and exploration rather than combat, which at times is a good thing. One of the interesting aspects of The Medium, is the ability to play the game in both the normal and paranormal settings at the same time. This interesting mode of gameplay does a great job of showcasing the power of the game by allowing you to play in both settings, solving puzzles, getting clues, and telling the story between Marianne and Sadness. Seeing the cut scenes between the interaction of both planes is interesting to see unfold in the game as it shows what Marianne is seeing in both worlds. Now I will say that the game is semi short clocking in around 8-10 hours of gameplay and after the game story is completed there is no need to do a second run through of the game, but the developers made the game in this fashion so we can enjoy the story of the game and go through all the motions from the story. The story is very linear in its storytelling as there is no side quests to explore, so for those horror gamers looking for side quest, look elsewhere as this game is all about story. Speaking about the story, as the game carries a M – For Mature rating, there are some reasons why as this is a mature game that should be played by older gamers. The story has a lot of language, not where it is overused, but more to tell the story and also as the game develops there is a side story of what happen to the character Sadness and as it also deals with a more mature related theme, this game may not be for all audiences, however as the game story is well crafted this is all about how much you or fellow gamers in your gaming family want to be exposed to. We recommend reading the Wikipedia page about this game to see the story plots about Sadness and her dealings. One of the great aspects of the game is the sound. The game offers a dual soundtrack by Bloober Team’s Arkadiusz Reikowski and legendary composer Akira Yamaoka of Silent Hill fame, so for those that have loved the Silent Hill series you will enjoy the game soundtrack. Overall, for those gamers that love or like the occasional horror game, you will enjoy The Medium, however if you are a horror gamer that loves combat in games like this then this may not be the game for you as The Medium is more focused on story telling and exploration more than combat. The only complaint that we had was that the game story is short and there is no side quest, now does this ruin the gaming experience when playing The Medium? No, but having some side quest would have made the game more enjoyable. In our special needs game testing, we did not have any issues with the game visuals, audio, or even the control, as the game is very special needs gaming friendly.
Closing
With a good story, gameplay and overall sense of an action/horror, The Medium is a great game for those that are looking for a story driven horror game. Also, the ability of existing in two different planes in real time is also a cool mechanic for the game. A great game to have for your digital library.
NOTE: At the time of writing this review, The Medium is available for free download for any gamers playing on the Xbox One Series X/S through the Game Pass.
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