The Medium Reviews
It might seem a little early in the year for some horror, but after playing through the entirety of the psychological horror game, The Medium, I found it to be so much more. The Medium places you in the shoes of Marianne, a young woman able to commune with the dead and lost souls looking for a way to pass on. After the death of her adopted father, Marianne receives an ominous phone call. This leads her to the long-abandoned Niwa workers’ resort. Here she must face new threats in her pursuit of finding the truth about her past. What follows is a disturbing journey littered with secrets, revelations, and a horrific danger that will hunt you in this world, and the next.
The Medium is undoubtedly one of the best Psychological horror video games I've played in recent years. A well written story, Great atmosphere and a deep sense of mystery will make you care about The Medium till the end of the game. If it wasn't for Pacing issue in the first half and some frame rate drop, we could easily consider The Medium a Perfect Game. Regardless, The Medium is one of the Best game of this year.
Review in Persian | Read full review
As a linear, narrative-driven horror game, The Medium is easy to recommend – and a no-brainer if you have an Xbox Game Pass subscription – thanks to the balance of unsettling exploration, involved puzzles, a handful of terrifying encounters, and frequent narrative beats.
The Medium is another proof that you should not stop at the first impression. I started a bit disappointed, but I ended up in awe of the very touching story and the innovative duality of the game. Although, it is only the first steps in a 3rd person world for Bloober Team, we can say that they succeeded implementing this new approach. I recommend you give it a shot as the more you will play it, the more you will want to uncover its mysteries.
Review in French | Read full review
If you love hearing a good story in a video game, then you're going to love The Medium. The blooper Teams latest game tries to be a horror experience close to the likes of Silent Hill but fails to do so since it lacks real tension required for the psychological horror it tries to be. Another issue with The Medium is that it has some really well designed puzzles, but spoils them by giving too much information. Overall, if you like a well developed story which is told in an eerie and beautiful world, The Medium is worth a try.
Review in Persian | Read full review
Bloober Team provides the Xbox Series X/S with its first console exclusive in this psychological horror with a technological twist
The Medium is uninspired, from puzzles to characters. If you’re looking for an interesting world to explore, it delivers with stunning art direction, but for those looking for a richer experience, The Medium feels skin deep.
My expectations were high coming in, and, in some part, those expectations were met. At times, I would go as far as to say that The Medium feels the best thing Bloober Team have ever done. But it clumsily attempts to handle subject matter which cannot just be brushed over and several mechanical missteps really jar and grate at the wrong time. If you own GamePass, this is worth dipping into to see what the talented team at Bloober can be capable of. But this one does not stick the landing well at all.
The Medium is a flawed horror experience with an interesting story and a visually captivating spirit world. Fixed camera angles add excess clumsiness and the terrible framerate drops make it difficult to enjoy the split-screen views. With some glacial pacing and a lack of genuine scares or challenges, it fails to create a strong bond with either of its two worlds.
The Medium has a lot of good ideas that come together in a mixed bag of a game. I found the story to be involving and well written; the atmosphere and ambience unnerving. The environments are often hauntingly beautiful to look at, and the soundtrack is a genuine highlight. The good in this game is forced to carry you through the bad, which in some ways, is the gameplay itself, where a lack of challenging puzzles, a shallow yet innovative dual reality mechanic, and an over reliance on exposition pull you out of the detailed and interesting story Bloober are trying to tell. The Medium is then, perhaps, a victim of its own gimmick – a game of two halves, one full of detail and intrigue, the other somewhat lost in the gloom of the veil.
The Medium’s dual reality gameplay is a fine showcase of what we can come to expect from the new generation of consoles. It starts off somewhat slow, but once the story gets going, its grip on you will not loosen until you see the credits roll.
The Medium boasts an engaging narrative plus clever gaming dynamics and while it starts slow, the ending builds to an impressive crescendo of unexpected surprises. So if you like to be surprised, don't keep reading the reviews or watching Youtube videos because this is one game that must be experienced without coming in with any prior knowledge as you twist your way through of both the land of the living and… the dead!
The Medium is another thoroughly enjoyable psychological horror romp from the experts at Bloober Team, even if it could have done with a little bit of tweaking here and there. Exploration could be a little cumbersome thanks to the fixed camera angles for example, whilst the stealth sections felt like they broke the pace of the game as opposed to adding to the excitement. Everything else though? It was of the same high quality you’d expect from Bloober Team. With its harrowing yet engaging narrative, fantastic visuals, and great sound design, The Medium really has all of the most important pieces in place to offer a memorable horror experience.
The Medium is right on the edge of being a great horror game, in many ways being the closest we’ve got to a true Silent Hill successor. Returning to the classic camera angles seen years ago has been a treat, whilst the dual reality pushed the genre forward in clever ways. Sadly, uninspired puzzles and stealth encounters bogged the game down quite a notch.
An engaging story set in a unique setting and interesting gameplay mechanic, only for the game to be literally slowed down with framerate issues.
I honestly want to see more Bloober Team horror games of this nature, because it seems this big ambitious project is the best direction to go. In short, The Medium is a great start to bigger and better things.
Bloober Team manages to deliver its most ambitious project to date.
Review in Turkish | Read full review
The Medium introduces an excellent story with interesting characters and a world that will take into an unforgettable journey. The first Xbox Series X/S exclusive well delivers.
Review in Arabic | Read full review