MADiSON Reviews
Madison is a creepy crawl through a twisted haunted house with enough genuine out-of-your-seat scares to leave you shaken like a Polaroid picture.
Despite my misgivings, Madison still offers a respectable evening of frights and is worth a look for fans of psychological horror. It succeeds in building tension and puzzle variety, stumbling when it becomes obsessed with bamboozling players with head-tilting solutions and stopping their hearts with lame jump scares. But when the game hits right, you’ll be glad no one caught the look on your face.
By far, the game that has made us spend the most in a long time. As an adventure it offers very interesting puzzles, despite certain obstacles in the control.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
MADiSON is consistent, and that’s one of the key factors in a great horror game. A lot of games tend to struggle with a sluggish second act after an incredible opener or fall off in the final act, but that does not happen here. The puzzles remain a delight to solve, the tension never eases up, and just when you think you’re safe, a light will flicker, and you’ll catch a glimpse of the monster and you’ll need to change your pants. Beyond this, the story and lore is disturbing on a true crime level and manages to maintain its pacing. Suffice it to say, MADiSON is an unnerving, unsettling, and truly terrifying experience.
Madison is a welcome addition to the psychological horror genre and in fact a needed refresher in a tired genre, there are many well-timed and well-executed jump scares, and the overall art, ambiance, graphics, and music help a lot with achieving those great executions, the story is good and some of its parts are really good but leaves a lot (like hero missing legs) for the player imagination or analytics, still, this is one of the best in the industry when it comes to Arabic localization quality
Review in Arabic | Read full review
Equal parts terrifying and amusing, Madison is doing some really great things with the first-person horror template. If only it had eased up on the puzzles a bit.
Summary: MADiSON is an astounding success in the horror genre, especially for someone who doesn't play many horror games (me). The game was well put together and delivered on the spooks, however some puzzles are rough to figure out and could have been a little less obscure.
Although the story doesn't deliver anything fresh, it serves the game well and provides a platform for the game's excellent design and well-crafted horror. Go into MADiSON without any pretense of a groundbreaking story to find a terrifying journey through the minds of pained and neglected killers. Overall, MADiSON is a great first game by a new developer and is sure to provide plenty of scares.
MADiSON is a horror game that had everything to please, but only on paper.
Review in French | Read full review
Madison does so much well that it makes genre tropes succeed. From atmosphere to execution, this short horror romp takes you and doesn't let go. It's not without issues, with one progression point halfway through the game lacking the kind of intention and care that the rest of the game receives. Then there's the save corrupting error. However, once that error gets patched out, Madison will have the complete package worthy of anyone up for a good scare.
MADiSON is a solid, polished indie horror game. It struggles with pacing because of the mechanics involved with the puzzles. For collectors and completionists, you may find some replay value as you can collect camera skins and special photos.
Bloodious Games has been developing MADiSON since 2016, and it's incredible to see a project of this magnitude come to fruition from a team of only two people. MADiSON creates a harrowing experience for fans to feast on, with its outstanding atmospheric tension, eccentric camera mechanic, and psychedelic puzzles. Apart from being a horror game, it also showcases some truly artistic stages and mythos. There are some beautiful landscapes to explore and investigate as you plunge into a spiral of insanity. After all, you are the Mad Son.
Maybe you'll find something to like if you've never played a horror game like this before, but for anyone well-versed in the genre, the ground MADiSON covers is very well-worn.
If you're a fan of horror games that focus more on atmosphere and scares rather than combat, then MADiSON is a no-brainer. It's not the most original game and it mostly follows the lead of pioneers like the aforementioned Outlast or even Hideo Kojima's P.T, but that doesn't matter. What you've got here is an effective horror experience regardless, and one that you're going to enjoy from start to finish.
Although the inspiration to P.T. was even obvious, which certainly could raise doubts about the personality of the title, MADiSON qualifies as a proud exponent of its category.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Madison offers one of the most effective horror experiences in recent years
Review in Spanish | Read full review
All in all, MADiSON is a good game but a mediocre horror. I have some serious issues with it, but I can’t dismiss the potential. I believe the next game will be able to compete with Visage, and I’m already waiting for it impatiently.
Review in Polish | Read full review
Even though some of the puzzles outstay their welcome and can throw the pace off a bit, MADiSON doesn’t linger too long overall and the horrific atmosphere makes it a haunted house ride more than worth the price of admission. There’s plenty of moments that had me screaming and then laughing, my heart racing and palms sweating as I dreaded turning another corner, knowing that something awful was likely waiting for me. The soundtrack is particularly effective in making you feel tense at all times, with loud noises blaring at just the right moments, as shadowy figures loom just out the corner of your eye and a puzzle solution lies just out of reach. While MADiSON doesn’t tread a lot of new ground, its creators clearly have a love of horror and know what makes the genre tick, resulting in a solid spook-fest that will haunt your thoughts.
A fun game and concept with a specific audience. The issues with the brightness and layout knocked it down a few points. But the overall graphics and uniqueness still made MADiSON a fairly enjoyable experience.
While it's built around an interesting mechanic and features tense, sometimes terrifying moments, MADiSON is frequently derailed by tedious puzzles and an irritating amount of backtracking.