The Medium Reviews
Instead of high-tech thrills and survival horror chills, this disappointingly mundane thriller struggles to impress with a muddled narrative and unengaging gameplay.
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
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
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.
The Medium is a chilling tone piece that's bogged down by retro influence and a protagonist that can't stop oversharing.
Despite the wrong steps, there is good in The Medium.
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.
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.
The Medium is an admirable horror experience from a developer that has been making a lot of huge strides for itself in the world of horror game development. It's not something that is going to change the world of horror games, but it does enough unique things with the simultaneous dual-world mechanic to stand out. Like many horror games before it, it fails to balance its tension with certain gameplay mechanics that can turn from fear to frustration pretty quickly, but these are spaced out enough that it never ruined the experience wholesale. For any horror fans looking for a Silent Hill-esque game to fill that ominous void, The Medium will at least scratch that itch.
The Medium will scratch the horror itch for some for a while but fails to live up to its potential in a number of significant ways.
The Medium is one of the most gorgeous horror games I've ever played. Its detailed environments, compelling characters, and unique setting make it a must-play for psychological horror fans.
The Medium stumbles because of its weak script, but it’s worth checking out if you have Xbox Game Pass and want to see what the next-gen fuss is all about.
The Medium is an interesting and enjoyable game, but one let down by some awkward animations that constantly threaten to break the immersion created by an otherwise captivating game world, and those weak stealth sections that Bloober Team can't seem to leave behind. It's very much a one-and-done game — you can easily see everything it has to offer inside of ten hours, so the pricing might be a little questionable for both the quality and quantity of what you get here.
The Medium won't give you any sleepless nights, but treat it as a paranormal thriller rather than an all-out horror game and you'll find an interesting story (albeit a disturbing one at times) that will encourage you to push through its slightly repetitive split-screen gimmick to find out how it all ends. A short but intriguing tale.
Bloober Team provides the Xbox Series X/S with its first console exclusive in this psychological horror with a technological twist
Bloober Team's beautiful-looking exploration of intergenerational trauma is ripe ground for innovative storytelling, but fumbles its big themes
With each game they release, Bloober Team continues to make strides, and The Medium is another such step. It has an intriguing story with intriguing characters. The game also has a nifty mix of old and new gameplaying elements.
Bloober Team meshes all of these elements together to draw players further into The Medium's world than the Xbox/PC versions were capable of, elevating an already enjoyable experience to new heights. It stands to reason that the PS5 version of The Medium is the ideal way to experience Marianne's dual-reality adventures, and PlayStation 5 owners that enjoy horror games should definitely check the game out.