The Medium Reviews
Brilliantly paced and palpably tense, The Medium is a psychological horror adventure that's all thriller and no filler.
Bloober Team goes back to the classics for possibly its best effort yet.
A third-person horror game that's elevated by some of the sharpest writing and acting in the genre.
Instead of high-tech thrills and survival horror chills, this disappointingly mundane thriller struggles to impress with a muddled narrative and unengaging gameplay.
The Medium tries to do a lot but never really seems to stop and see if any of it's working.
This is a horror game with more tedium than tension
The Medium starts off personal and poignant, but ends in cliché
The Medium is a terrifying but compelling exploration of duality that uses the horror of personal trauma to craft a memorable tale.
In a different reality, I could see this game being something special. And it might, like so many other horror games and movies, go on to become a cult classic. But in this realm, for me, it just doesn’t come together.
At its best times, The Medium channels Silent Hill, but the rough pacing and limited gameplay outside of puzzle-solving hold it back. Additionally, the unsatisfactory ending leaves a sour note that detracts from the overall experience.
My favorite part of The Medium ended up being its "semi-fixed cameras," which blend old and new design philosophies in a way that seems genuinely palatable in 2021. That's the real achievement here. I can easily picture a more well-rounded sequel happening, and for what it's worth, I hope it does.
Don't expect a horror game but a paranormal adventure, one that will intrigue and surprise you with some of its mechanics. A noteworthy and attractive experience that, maybe because of that, feels a little too short.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
The Medium is a game that doesn't have big flaws or hits. Simplified gameplay and a half-way story between the horror story and the most serious sociopolitical discourse make Bloober Team's work doomed to be a mediocre title that we probably even remember at the end of the year.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
The Medium is a really good horror adventure with some stand out ideas and excellent presentation. It makes the most of its influences to create an atmospheric and involving narrative, but its wider context as a next-gen exclusive may lead many to expect it to be a grander step forward than it is. Taken on its own merits, and particularly for genre fans, this is a genuinely great game and I look forward to replaying it to take in all the amazing details and touches that I may have missed first time through. With some questions left unanswered, I hope it does well and develops into a franchise.
Despite the wrong steps, there is good in The Medium.
The Medium will not be the best psychological horror game in the world, but it engages like few others. Bloober Team once again raises a bar that dropped somewhat after Blair Witch and presents us at times two games in one, with quite effective mechanics despite its simplicity. A great gift for Xbox Game Pass subscribers, who will enjoy it from day one.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
An artistically inspired and technically interesting horror, based almost entirely on narration. Those who expected an adventure with a wider scope could be very disappointed.
Review in Italian | Read full review
No, this isn’t a production up to the level you might expect from Naughty Dog or The Coalition. This is an indie game that’s performing on the biggest stage, and for the most part it’s put on quite the show.
The Medium on PS5 is as good as it was on Xbox Series X, however, with DualSense support it becomes a much more immersive game.