THE MEDIUM

Being one of the first games to launch this for the new generation I had a lot of excitement for the medium. It looked dark and edgy and raw, all the things I enjoy in a horror-action thriller game, though admittedly I am not a huge follower of horror games. I was looking forward to seeing what the power of the next generation was going to bring in terms of graphical fidelity, unfortunately, I was unable to secure an Xbox series X for this so I missed out on that experience. However thanks to XGP (Xbox game pass) I WAS able to play this on my PC, though missing out on the feeling of “next-gen” I still thoroughly enjoyed my experience..after getting over a few odd gameplay mechanics and the somewhat outdated feeling graphics that is. Odd quirks aside, I thoroughly enjoyed my roughly 12-hour playthrough of ‘The Medium’. By the end, I was in awe of the world built by the crew over at Bloober Team.

STORY

I want to give an adequate overview of the story while giving away as little as possible about the plot because uncovering each piece is vital to the experience of the game. However, some details may be given that might give away a small portion of the mystery. ‘The Medium’ takes place in Poland in the late 90s, following a woman named Marianne who is a spiritual medium or someone who can communicate with the spirit world, for example, think ghost whisperer with Jennifer love Hewitt, just….darker. The game opens with Marianne preparing a funeral for what is assumed to be her foster father. This is also when it is revealed that not only can she communicate with the spirit world but she physically enters it to help the spirits of the dead move on to their next life. In an uneasy and grim cutscene, she sends the confused spirit of her foster father to the next life. The portrayal of spirits in ‘The Medium’ is uneasy and, well, kind of creepy. Instead of faces, the spirits have what looks like a porcelain mask that wipes clean any human features. After Marianne guides her foster father’s spirit away she receives a perplexing phone call from a man named Thomas promising to give her answers to history and why she has the powers she does, she just needs to meet him at an abandoned resort called Niwa. Without spoiling any more of the story, she obliges the caller and goes to NiWa. This is when the mystery starts to slowly unravel itself in unforeseeable ways. You will be on the edge of your seat finding clue after clue to piece together the story of Marianne.

Gameplay

This is where I initially got a bad feeling for ‘The medium’, The controls and camera position threw me off. However, this does NOT mean that I didn’t enjoy the game, rather I just had to get used to it. It also helps if you listen to the developer’s suggestion of using a controller instead of a keyboard and mouse. The camera angles of the game are not controlled by the player, it has a fixed location and only changes angles when you enter a new room, go down a new hallway, or if you are in a certain section of the current room. Which to be honest at first really threw me for a loop and made it just a little difficult to really get invested in the story. Due to the sometimes awkward feeling of camera angles, the controls felt somewhat drifty where you think you are walking straight but are actually drifting toward a wall or a ledge. Turning corners and the like is also somewhat irritating because you will have to constantly correct the path of your avatar. For example, if I’m turning around a corner to the right I will press D to start and constantly have to tap W to avoid just going into a wall. Though a relatively minor inconvenience, it CAN disrupt the immersive feeling of the game. So to be short, just listen to the developer and use a controller if possible, if not you will get used to it you just have to give it a little time.

In spite of sometimes awkward controls, ‘The Medium’ is almost instantly intriguing and really pulls you into Marianne’s grotesque spiritual journey. The puzzles feel original and fresh using a split-screen or “dual reality” where you will simultaneously be seeing the material world and the spirit world. To solve these puzzles you have to pay close attention to both worlds for any clues and solutions. Sometimes a pathway may be blocked in the material world but not in the spirit world, this is where you can utilize an astral projection to make your way to the other side of a wall or a door, or even broken stairs. The dual reality aspect really gives this game a fresh feeling, unlike anything I have personally played in the past, and i would love to see it used in future games.

Along with the unique puzzle design, the feeling of reward for seeking out extras like diary entries and postcards is definitely high. In a lot of games with extras like this, it is easy to overlook and not feel like you need to seek out that last page from the diary. With ‘The Medium’ it is a little bit different. The entries feel like they directly add to the story as opposed to telling a story of some 3rd party character that has no bearing on the player. Every word and every postcard FEELS important and honestly, without them, I feel like the ending would not be as satisfying. Now, this may scare off some players who want a more straightforward story but don’t let it daunt you. These extras are not painfully hidden where you will have to spend hours and hours trying to uncover it all, they are hidden in plain sight so to speak. Just make sure to use the insight ability often and you will have no issue.

Lastly, I want to speak on the lack of combat in ‘The Medium’. Typically I like to play games with a lot of action and is very fast-paced. ‘The Medium’ is not that and that is perfectly okay. The closest you will get to combat is either sneaking around or using a spirit shield to avoid deadly moths or tendrils, and even that is very limited. This game keeps you enthralled with other methods, namely atmosphere, storytelling, and plenty of cinematic cutscenes. Which, naturally, leads me to my next segment.

ATMOSPHERE

Firstly, I want to reiterate to LISTEN TO THE DEVELOPER. By the I mean the developer suggests using headphones while playing, and I vehemently agree. There is so much to be missed without having that surround sound of a nice headset. The music for one adds a great deal to the overall experience as with any game. That’s not the only reason though, there is many other little sounds that will set the player on edge and really get the psychological horror experience that Bloober Team was going for. Little rustlings from behind, or maybe a small whimpering cry coming from a memory echo. Without using headphones you are missing out on a vast portion of what the game was intended to be.

Audio isn’t the only thing that makes ‘The Medium’ put you on edge and feel .. unsettled to say the least. The spirit world is full of grotesque objects and disgusting environments. You will see slimy tentacles coming up from the floors and through walls, or you might have to cut through a veil of what looks like human skin stitched together. The few monsters you encounter are absolutely the thing of nightmares, though not particularly gross in any way they are certainly horrifying to look at. Beyond the monsters and the room setups, there are the spirits themselves. As I mentioned before the spirits don’t have actual human faces but rather a porcelain-looking mask, void of movement or emotion.

The material world, though not unsettling in the same ways as the spirit world it still has a certain uneasiness to it. You are exploring the NiWa resort which was abandoned well over a decade earlier, and it shows. Personal belongings were strewn about, the occasional blood splatter on a wall. Certain parts of the resort are dilapidated and crumbling but for the most part together just dingy and dark. Posters of happy-looking families enjoying a vacation in a room where there may be a shirt covered in blood on the floor or a child’s toy left to collect grime in the corner. Whatever it may be almost every aspect and every item you inspect has some sort of creepiness to it and I love it.

CONCLUSION

Typically I’m not a huge fan of horror games but the Bloober team may have swayed me on that. When done right these games are some of the most fun single-player experiences you can have, it avoids the repetition of large open-world games and keeps you intrigued with all the little discoveries you can make. Personally, it doesn’t do much to make me want to play it again, due to all extras being relatively easy to find on your first playthrough. That does not discount how well the story was told or the experience of the gameplay however, I’m just not one to replay most games so it takes quite a bit for me to pick something up after I’ve finished it. Plus with the ending, it definitely felt like there was room for a sequel to be made and I really hope they do. Crazy how it all started with a dead girl.