MADiSON Reviews
MADiSON is a brilliant psichological horror about possession, paranormal events and a terrible ritual gone wrong. If you loved Visage, MADiSON is the next horror to play.
Review in Italian | Read full review
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.
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.
If compared to top survival horror games, MADiSON really doesn't have much to offer to even fit in the genre, let alone making any challenges, but as an action adventure game it offers some engaging puzzles and a great atmosphere.
Review in Persian | Read full review
It takes the visual quality and puzzle solving of Visage and mixes in its own themes of old technology and the marching on of time.
MADiSON is a genuinely terrifying psychological horror game and does its job very well, making it stand out in the genre on Nintendo's hybrid platform. Unfortunately, this is dragged down by the poor inventory system and unclear puzzle direction, causing far too much backtracking. Aside from these gripes, MADiSON expertly uses every tool at its disposal to unsettle you and create a horrifying experience I am keen to return to again.
I really liked MADiSON. Despite some frustrations with the lighting and certain portions of the game, this one is very well done. The story that we discover through newspaper clippings, audio cassettes or flashbacks is captivating. For my part, I wanted to continue to know the rest of the story even if I had been stuck at the same point for an hour. The puzzles generated with each new game force you to understand the solution well especially if you want to redo the game. If the developers fix the technical problems and the one big bug on PlayStation, MADiSON will be a must in terms of psychological horror. My rating did not take this last issue into consideration.
Review in French | Read full review
Undoubtedly dark and creepy, the survival horror of MADiSON can grab you but isn't perfect by any means
Numerous jump scares, logical and challenging puzzles, and psychological horror that shake your mind. It is worth considering that MADiSON has the best core elements among recent horror games. However, the links between the narrative and puzzles may not be easily found due to lack of hints.
Review in Korean | Read full review
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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
Although MADiSON is a good proposal that ends up drowned by its flaws, it is not a horror game that you should avoid either, since it has moments that are very worthwhile.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
MADiSON starts out strong with pristine graphics, scary audio, an intriguing story, great level design and interesting puzzles. It's a shame then that the latter half unravels to a degree as you recognize that the creaks and shrieks are a harmless audio loop, a few puzzles become obtuse and the narrative gets messy with poorly explained demons. Overall, I did enjoy the game though, perhaps because it so closely scratched that P.T. itch.
MADiSON might get lost in the deluge of modern horror adventure games, but it stands out thanks to the unusually high puzzle difficulty and a well-told story.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
MADiSON is a horror game that had everything to please, but only on paper.
Review in French | Read full review
For fans of the genre, it will be a nice ride with enough quality to keep you interested until the end.
Review in Greek | Read full review