![]() I played on Xbox Series X and the frame rate didn't seem silky smooth. The Medium review: woodland areas look stunning. There's some superbly lit scenes on offer, and the woodland environment (especially when you also see the hellish spirit world alongside it) is often gorgeous. While no doubt unfair to put this smaller effort up against mega-budget titles, at points The Medium is able to handle itself extremely well. Even though Bloober Team isn't a triple-A studio (and isn't shy about saying as much), comparisons to other exclusives on the new consoles will be plentiful and likely vociferous. The storytelling itself is the studio at its best yet, and benefits from excellent vocal performances from Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, Troy Baker, and others.Īs a next-gen Xbox console exclusive a lot of attention will be on The Medium's graphics. What can be said is that Bloober has done a great job crafting a multi-generation, multi-reality yarn that all comes together nicely as key plot points start to unravel. Story is a key part of The Medium, so you won't find any spoilers here. The Medium review: the two worlds split-screen looks great and isn't just a gimmick. You're on a journey to find out the truth rather than find out if you're an expert gamer. The Medium isn't a game that really puts up a fight. Other than one moment early on, and some late-game headscratchers (which only required a little extra thought) the challenge here isn't high, but it's enough. This mode is time-limited so you can't roam around indefinitely, but it's another smart way to add more variety to puzzles. While most spirit world gameplay sees you controlling Marianne in both worlds, which never gets old, you can activate an out of body experience and control her just in the spirit world. As well as being able to conjure an energy shield (useful to move through swarms of moths) and energy blasts (one shock in spirit land will power a device in the normal world), Marianne can use an enhanced vision mode to spot hidden objects while in our world. To help you navigate through the puzzles you have access to a number of skills only people with Marianne's skillset are capable of. The Medium review: at times this is a wonderful looking game. It's far from a gimmick, with key characters living in the spirit world, and some puzzles tied to how you play in both simultaneously. This is The Medium's big hook, as for large chunks of the game you get to see both worlds side by side, Marianne moving through each in split-screen, and interacting with objects as they appear in each world. These nightmares prove to be more than manifestations of her mind, with Marianne able to see a parallel spirit world. Not only has her foster father Jack recently died, but her head is full of visions. But, I enjoyed almost every moment - as much as you can enjoy a game about the darkest of secrets and their painful discovery. The threat that exists is mild, the puzzles are neat if not genius, and sometimes you walk awkwardly in the wrong direction because the camera shot changed. The Medium is also almost entirely devoid of combat. The unexpected arguably begins with the camera, which is fixed, with the shot switching to the most useful for atmospheric and gameplay purposes. It didn't take long to be taken back to the original Alone in the Dark, Ecstatica, and even Resident Evil. To see this content please enable targeting cookies. This isn't an exclusive Xbox fans will scream about on social media, but it's one that the right audience will find is a sometimes gorgeous, impressively atmospheric tale. This isn't a triple-A game, it's a bit rough at points, it's heavy on story over action, and might come across to some as mechanically archaic, but for many reasons The Medium clicked with me. Maybe I should have been paying closer attention to Bloober Team's Xbox Series X|S and PC exclusive, but this is an old-school horror game through the lens of next-gen power and possibilities. The Medium isn't really the game I thought it was. Bloober Team's latest goes under the microscope in our The Medium review. ![]()
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