Review
Played on: Xbox Series X
Released: 2021
Released: 2021
We've reached the month of Halloween and what better way to begin than reviewing a horror game I played recently?!
The Medium, from Polish developer Bloober Team, was released early this year and was dragged into a console hardware comparison spotlight, rather than a more suiting horror one. It was the earliest and first next-gen only title for the Xbox Series S/X, complete with usage of ray tracing. As such, The Medium was pushed into a technical showcase race in discussions, something the budget and production size wasn't suited for.
Leaving tech discussions aside and focusing on what The Medium actually aims at offering, we find a unique horror experience. Echoing all the way back to classics like Silent Hill and Resident Evil.
At first glance, it’s usage of camera angles as you explore the apartment of the main character, Marianne in post-communism Poland, reverbs memories of the original Resident Evil trilogy. Further heightened with the location using vintage architecture and interiors. albeit with a vibe of eastern Europe.
Although the opening location is a nod towards RE, the following ones are not. As you continue playing it becomes apparent that it's far more inspired by Silent Hill in visuals and atmosphere.
The story begins with Marianne preparing the funeral of her adoptive father, who incidentally ran a funeral home, and receives a phone call. The distressed caller cries for her help at an abandoned hotel complex, coincidentally a location where a massacre took place years ago, and Marianne is called upon because she's a medium. In other words, she can touch people or places and look into the other side of life, the afterlife.
Leaving for the Niwa complex, we gradually get a sense of the mood this title is aiming for. It progresses through lonely woodlands before arriving at a huge parking lot in front of the complex, here we get a typical Silent Hill vibe: a familiar world, yet cold, foggy and creepy. Entering the building we realise we're not alone and Marianne's medium abilities soon become necessary as she enters the alternate reality.
This dimension shift is where The Medium becomes truly unique, standing out further than even Silent Hill's famous dimension shifts. The Medium lets you view both the normal and the medium world at the same time, in a splitscreen setup. Technically a demanding graphical effect; we’re talking two rendered worlds at the same time, with their own unique set of textures, giving us an understanding why this wasn't released on last-gen.
Viewing both worlds simultaneous allows you to compare and, fascinatingly, study them both at the same time. It also serves a clear purpose, adding puzzle elements needed to find clues and objects in one reality, to progress in the other dimension.
At first, these changes to seeing the afterlife are mandatory through the story progression, but after a while they can be triggered by entering mirrors. I found these splitscreen parts really cool and I enjoyed the increasingly difficult puzzles when entering them, throughout my playthrough.
A horror title isn’t going to build a creepy atmosphere on visuals alone and luckily The Medium adds, not only eerie and distant sounds, but also a fantastic music score. This soundtrack is made in collaboration with Akira Yamaoka, who famously has written the iconic music to all the Silent Hill titles, and movie score composer Arkadiusz Reikowski. Together, they’ve made a score worthy of any SH game and it accompanies the Medium perfectly.
Calm melodies gradually build up to frantic and loud sound compositions. While others are simply cold and unforgiving industrial sounds, with small pleasant melodies shining through here and there. A remarkable soundtrack that ended up on my Spotify list!
I’ve spoken of the Resident Evil and Silent Hill inspiration, but there’s a key difference here from those titles within the combat. That is, it has none. It’s not a shooter or action horror in any way, Marianne is vulnerable and has no weapon to defend herself. Much like we’ve seen in great horror experiences like Alien Isolation, review here, or segments of Resident Evil 7, review here. Clearly proving that the most scary moments in horror are when you're unarmed.
Although you’re chased by a horrendous enemy with nothing else to do than to hide and escape, even holding Marianne’s breath to keep hidden, it's mostly a more calm experience. Focusing on a general atmosphere of loneliness and eeriness. Sure, it has some jump scares, but it’s mostly about building an overall uncomfortable sensation.
There’s a lot of variation, with playable stories telling the story of another main character along the way too. It’s lifespan, clocking in at around 10-12 hours, seems suited considering the simplicity of gameplay depth. For the controls, I would've preferred a higher pace, it feels a little slow with stiff animations.
The story can be tricky to follow, with all the names and somewhat confusing plot layout, although this is a typical trait of the horror genre when diving into the confusing minds and dreams of people. There are some major plot twists along the way which I found very exciting.
Overall, this has been a pleasurable trip to an old-school, horror approach. While it has a smaller budget vibe, the team has gone to great lengths with interesting locations, pretty visuals than even utilise ray tracing for reflections. It looks how I’d want a modern Silent Hill to be visually and I greatly appreciated the art style too. The dreamy locations for one, are great.
If you like horror titles, and especially if you're a gamer from the 90s era of this genre, you'll find this title a satisfying experience. It just needs a bigger budget and some more polish to hit the high notes of being a bigger classic. With a lower price entry, it's a great experience to play through!
