The Medium

 PC
User Score
7.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 801 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 501 out of 801
  2. Mixed: 131 out of 801
  3. Negative: 169 out of 801

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  1. Xalrandion
    Oct 19, 2021
    4
    I don't like this game, don't play it, and keep this money to buy 40 ice creams or something.
    Let me explain, the medium is a horror game that's not scary, an adventure game without adventure, a story driven game without a good story.
    First, the game is not scary, behind the mirror it is hellish for sure but scary it is not, the enemies are more frustrating than dangerous, since you    I don't like this game, don't play it, and keep this money to buy 40 ice creams or something.
    Let me explain, the medium is a horror game that's not scary, an adventure game without adventure, a story driven game without a good story.
    First, the game is not scary, behind the mirror it is hellish for sure but scary it is not, the enemies are more frustrating than dangerous, since you always encounter them during set pieces you are mostly bored during the rest of the game and these set pieces are not smart, hard, or even tenses if you know how to handle a controller.
    Then, let's touch about the "adventure" part of the game, well... It's not good either, most enigmas/problems are too easy or don't make sense which means that you never have this "ha-ha" moment, it looks more like either "well yeah I guess...", "so I just needed to continue the game for the solution to jump me", or "the cat on the mirror, in which universe does that make sense !!!" so you default to clicking on everything because well "it won't make sense anyway"
    The story... well It's more uninteresting than badly written, (it is still not stellar writing though), the world seems boring and static and the story itself is kind of uninteresting and convoluted, and please don't get me started on this protagonist, she can be funny at times but most of the time she straddles the line between stupid and infuriating.
    In conclusion, this is not great, but I'm sad to write this caustic review, because there was something in this game, the concept is genius, some story beats are genuinely good (especially when the mc is not on camera...) and I feel that with a bit more work in the writing, ambience, and gameplay department it would have been pretty solid game. But on our side of the mirror, you should avoid it, or wait a deep discount.    … Expand
  2. Name
    Feb 23, 2021
    4
    This game has some of the worst PC optimization I have ever seen. I played on a rtx 2060 and barely got 30 fps. If you are on pc I suggest skipping this one.
  3. ZeroSOFAD
    Feb 26, 2021
    4
    очень скучная игра, странное управление. не интересные механики и примитивные квесты, типа о смотрите тут чего нет, надо это найти. о смотрите тут неплохо бы иметь чтото режущее надо его найти....
  4. Kelen
    Feb 6, 2022
    4
    [PL]
    4,5 / 10 - Ujdzie
    (po graniu 8,5h i ukończeniu gry) Piękne lokacje, fabuła może być, gameplay fatalny Fabuła: 5,5 Grywalność: 3 Doznania wizualne: 7 Piękny świat. Z jednej strony klimatyczne wnętrza, piękne lasy i opuszczone miejsca z czasów PRLu, a z drugiej świat niczym wyjęty z obrazów Beksińskiego. Podział ekranu na 2 części czasem intryguje, a czasem utrudnia    [PL]
    4,5 / 10 - Ujdzie
    (po graniu 8,5h i ukończeniu gry)
    Piękne lokacje, fabuła może być, gameplay fatalny

    Fabuła: 5,5
    Grywalność: 3
    Doznania wizualne: 7

    Piękny świat.
    Z jednej strony klimatyczne wnętrza, piękne lasy i opuszczone miejsca z czasów PRLu, a z drugiej świat niczym wyjęty z obrazów Beksińskiego.
    Podział ekranu na 2 części czasem intryguje, a czasem utrudnia cieszenie się ich urokiem, tak jak i brak swobodnej kamery.
    Niestety, wszędzie jest bardzo ciasno - jak po sznurku prowadzi nas kamera i niewidzialne ściany.

    Fabuła najwyżej w porządku.
    Próbuje być ciekawa, ale nie do końca to wychodzi. Nie jest zbyt porywająca i nie potrafiłem wystarczająco poczuć więzi między postaciami.
    Obok zwrotów akcji przechodziłem obojętnie, a zakończenie było nieciekawe i niesatysfakcjonujące.

    Fatalna rozgrywka.
    Uciążliwa i działa zdecydowanie na niekorzyść gry. Już wolałby, żeby jej w ogóle nie było.
    Polega chodzeniu bardzo powolnym krokiem, obijając się o ściany lub kadr kamery. Przedmiotów do podniesienia na tyle mało, że nie ma wątpliwości czego i na czym użyć.

    Format tak ubogiej przygotówki był nietrafiony. Znacznie lepiej sprawdziłoby się to w widoku z pierwszej osoby, nie mówiąc już o VR.
    Lepsza byłaby jakaś inna forma interaktywnego filmu.

    Upierdliwe sceny uciekania - po cutscence kamera często odwraca się o 180 stopni, więc chociaż raz automatycznie giniemy wchodząc w to, co nas goni.

    Dzielenie ekranu na 2 światy nie było dobrym pomysłem. Znacznie fajniejsze byłoby zastępowanie jednego drugim, lub (najlepiej płynne i efektowne) nakładaniem się na siebie.    … Expand
  5. Lukitass
    Feb 1, 2021
    4
    No es AA es un indie.
    Gráficos 6 nada del otro mundo. Solo utiliza cámaras fijas con movimientos controlados, para ahorrar recursos. De esta forma, cualquier juego logra buena estética. Ya que no consume nada y pueden exprimir más cada hardware. Técnicamente es mucho menos que indie. Animaciones, malas, interacción con el entorno, inexistente, traspasa la hierba, no la mueve al caminar, es    No es AA es un indie.
    Gráficos 6 nada del otro mundo. Solo utiliza cámaras fijas con movimientos controlados, para ahorrar recursos. De esta forma, cualquier juego logra buena estética. Ya que no consume nada y pueden exprimir más cada hardware. Técnicamente es mucho menos que indie. Animaciones, malas, interacción con el entorno, inexistente, traspasa la hierba, no la mueve al caminar, es realmente malo el apartado técnico. La historia es correcta, pero mal contada. Ni llega a a ser un video juego. Ya que no podes siquiera tomar una decisión. Sólo tenes que ir viendo cóm
    o ocurren de manera forzada todos sus elementos. Aburrido como pocos. Until Dawn es 3 veces superior    … Expand
  6. MRX1992
    Feb 9, 2021
    4
    Indie garbage. Barely no gameplay and there's no combat. This is a movie, not a game. The indie team that made this crap attempted to copy the classic survival horror games and failed miserably. This company needs to stop trying to make horror games, you wanna know how to make a survival horror game? Ask Team Silent or Shinji Mikami instead of wasting resources in a game like The Medium.Indie garbage. Barely no gameplay and there's no combat. This is a movie, not a game. The indie team that made this crap attempted to copy the classic survival horror games and failed miserably. This company needs to stop trying to make horror games, you wanna know how to make a survival horror game? Ask Team Silent or Shinji Mikami instead of wasting resources in a game like The Medium. Fixed camer angles alone don't make a survival horror game, and the angles are so bad and so poorly placed that Alone in the Dark 1 is a masterpiece compared to this. So many damn cutscenes makes this game so boring, if you like to enjoy other things besides the story, forget about this game. Akira Yamaoka is a master, but a bad game with good music is not an option for me, sorry. This cannot be called a horror game, let alone a survival horror game.
    4/10    … Expand
  7. lNeo15l
    Jan 29, 2021
    4
    Jogo multiplataforma padrão game pass AA, estúdio pequeno e com baixo orçamento.
    Jogavel e de simples jogabilidade, tentou se inspirar em jogos antigos trazendo alguma nostalgia.
    Poderia ter uma melhor otimização, mas como o estúdio é pequeno acabou não conseguindo desempenho estável nos momentos que temos as duas telas. Xbox Series X 900p e no Xbox Series S 648p. Não tem com dar    Jogo multiplataforma padrão game pass AA, estúdio pequeno e com baixo orçamento.
    Jogavel e de simples jogabilidade, tentou se inspirar em jogos antigos trazendo alguma nostalgia.

    Poderia ter uma melhor otimização, mas como o estúdio é pequeno acabou não conseguindo desempenho estável nos momentos que temos as duas telas.
    Xbox Series X 900p e no Xbox Series S 648p.

    Não tem com dar uma nota maior que 6, neste caso fanboy detectado.
    Também não tem como ser menor de 2.    … Expand
  8. Stefanobed
    Mar 3, 2021
    4
    Boring, no gameplay ,short , is the game of "ghost whispers"? 4 only for the good graphics
  9. Seinekar
    Jul 12, 2021
    3
    The story is ok (not a gem anyway, as some pretend) and also are the "setting" and the double-world mechanic.

    But gameplay is incredible boring and tedious. It mostly consist on walking around resolving meaningless puzzles and collecting pieces of the story. The game has absolutely 0 terror element aside some scarce jumpscare. It all feels bland and indifferent. In the end, you just    The story is ok (not a gem anyway, as some pretend) and also are the "setting" and the double-world mechanic.

    But gameplay is incredible boring and tedious. It mostly consist on walking around resolving meaningless puzzles and collecting pieces of the story. The game has absolutely 0 terror element aside some scarce jumpscare. It all feels bland and indifferent. In the end, you just push forward becasue why not.

    The game offers little experience overall, it feels more like watching a (very) slow-paced mistery movie wich is somewhat boring.

    And if you manage to push it till the end, (wich is easy, as the game is pretty straight-forward) be prepared to be dissapointed by a unsatisfying cliffhanger ending.

    Resume: a An ok but boring narrative with some original gameplay element that quickly becomes bland and even tedious.    … Expand
  10. Rafael021
    Feb 6, 2021
    3
    Não é um jogo de terror como outros que já saíram, a musica é boa mas a historia achei fraca.
  11. SpaceEquestrian
    Jan 30, 2021
    3
    Really wanted to love this game but it just sucks gameplay wise tbh.

    The good: - Interesting world. - Awesome artstyle/direction - Creepy Atmosphere - Split reality was a cool idea. - Fixed Camera angels - Story The meh: - Not really that scary - Plot holes in the story, and the ending was unsatisfying. - Constantly having to fight the controlls when the camera angels    Really wanted to love this game but it just sucks gameplay wise tbh.

    The good:
    - Interesting world.
    - Awesome artstyle/direction
    - Creepy Atmosphere
    - Split reality was a cool idea.
    - Fixed Camera angels
    - Story

    The meh:
    - Not really that scary
    - Plot holes in the story, and the ending was unsatisfying.
    - Constantly having to fight the controlls when the camera angels changes.

    The bad:
    - Game NEVER used the split reality mechanic to its fullest potential.
    - Unoptimized. HUGE framedrops for no reason.

    The awful:
    - Calling this a puzzle game is an insult to all puzzle games out there.
    - Game mechanics that are almost NEVER used (For example. Combining items, only used TWICE in the entire game)
    - Stealth, it just isn't good in the slightest.
    - Pretty much everything regarding gameplay is awful tbh.

    "The Medium is our biggest and most ambitious project to date!" - Bloober Team.

    i'm sorry but there's NOTHING ambitious with The Medium since you failed to even TRY to use the split reality mechanic to its fullest potential.

    3/10 Had potential but fell flat on its head.

    Do not recommend.    … Expand
  12. leshichzer
    Apr 18, 2021
    3
    Jogo não tem nada de mais, o game é só andar igual barata tonta o jogo inteiro, fugindo do bicho papão e sem fazer nada, tem mistério e algumas coisas na gameplay que são promissoras, mas o enredo da história, o jeito que a história é contada, a gameplay enjoativa por que é do mesmo jeito do começo ao final sem fazer nada além de resolver puzzles e fugindo do bicho papão, o jogo que só temJogo não tem nada de mais, o game é só andar igual barata tonta o jogo inteiro, fugindo do bicho papão e sem fazer nada, tem mistério e algumas coisas na gameplay que são promissoras, mas o enredo da história, o jeito que a história é contada, a gameplay enjoativa por que é do mesmo jeito do começo ao final sem fazer nada além de resolver puzzles e fugindo do bicho papão, o jogo que só tem história estilo telltale, ainda te trai no final não fechando o game de uma forma conclusiva, mas sim de uma forma aberta, o jogo começa sem pé, você não entende nada de nada da história da protagonista, só vai entender o que estava acontecendo e partes da infância da personagem só no final do game pra no final o jogo te trair com uma censura completamente desnecessária, gostei da gameplay nas primeiras 2 horas, mas todo o restante foi monótono e repetitivo, um jogo com uma ideia promissora, porém com uma execução horrorosa… Expand
  13. Kharnivore2099
    Feb 1, 2021
    2
    A very disappointing title here. Performance issues abound and just a lack of any real coherent gameplay. Simply walk for long stretches of time, as the game refuses to let you run in many of the rooms, solving what can barely be considered puzzles. Then running away from things when it wants you to endure a chase scene, that almost feels like I'm playing Dragon's Lair again or thoseA very disappointing title here. Performance issues abound and just a lack of any real coherent gameplay. Simply walk for long stretches of time, as the game refuses to let you run in many of the rooms, solving what can barely be considered puzzles. Then running away from things when it wants you to endure a chase scene, that almost feels like I'm playing Dragon's Lair again or those terrible chase levels in games like the Lion King or Crash Bandicoot!. Enagements only become mildly challenging when the interaction mechanics of the game cause you issues. There are, irritating camera angles, a very narrow playfield because your display is split between two different world views...which inherently works against the game all thre way through. It's a bizarrely dreadful design choice, to say the least

    I'm a big fan of horror, old slower paced adventures and I can see what they were trying to do or achieve, but it's a tedious farce that isn't enjoyable to play at all. Regardless all the performance issues, there is just very little positive to say about it...other than it'll cost next to nothing to play on gamepass. You can't find much better games than this mess.    … Expand
  14. TomasLacerda
    Feb 1, 2021
    2
    Bad optimization, with or without Ray Tracing. The difficulty level of this game is borderline insulting, it's just too basic. The puzzles are really basic, everything is given to you. The gameplay is awful. How somoene approved this? The animations are dead aweful. I honestly can't understand how people are loving this game through the roof. Her movement is really 2015, the stuck camera,Bad optimization, with or without Ray Tracing. The difficulty level of this game is borderline insulting, it's just too basic. The puzzles are really basic, everything is given to you. The gameplay is awful. How somoene approved this? The animations are dead aweful. I honestly can't understand how people are loving this game through the roof. Her movement is really 2015, the stuck camera, how easy everything is... don't waste your time. It's overrated.… Expand
  15. Obdurodon
    Feb 22, 2021
    2
    The designers did a great job. The developers ... not so much. Almost refreshing, since the converse is far more common, but it still results in a poor experience. The controls are *very* primitive and laggy, and they're directional. The camera perspective changes every time you cross a tile boundary, so what used to be "forward" is now "left" etc. Very disorienting. Even basic explorationThe designers did a great job. The developers ... not so much. Almost refreshing, since the converse is far more common, but it still results in a poor experience. The controls are *very* primitive and laggy, and they're directional. The camera perspective changes every time you cross a tile boundary, so what used to be "forward" is now "left" etc. Very disorienting. Even basic exploration is a chore, and anything with even the slightest time element (e.g. an "out of body" experience) gets frustrating beyond belief. Apparently there are even more time-bound gameplay aspects like chases, and I literally can't imagine how those are even playable. It's a shame, because I feel that there might be a *great* game struggling to get out, but it's the most notable casualty in a grim game.

    P.S. I know this is not a AAA title, budgets are limited, etc. But the implementation is *bad*. I've seen student projects that had smoother and more natural movement. It feels like a slow emulation of something written for another platform, even when it's running natively on current-gen hardware. Just make it *playable* and you'll have plenty of grateful fans.    … Expand
  16. beria_the_bolsh
    Jan 30, 2021
    2
    They tried. If you're looking for a nice looking, easy walking simulator with a spooky ghost story that won't break your brain and get you some 'feels' this is it. If you're looking for a serious game of the likes of Silent Hill keep looking then.

    Technically it is a nice looking project. Story and gameplay wise, not so much. First - the game is a third person 'walking simulator' as in    They tried. If you're looking for a nice looking, easy walking simulator with a spooky ghost story that won't break your brain and get you some 'feels' this is it. If you're looking for a serious game of the likes of Silent Hill keep looking then.

    Technically it is a nice looking project. Story and gameplay wise, not so much. First - the game is a third person 'walking simulator' as in the game has no gameplay. At all. It just lets you click on stuff in a determined order. Second - the story has some good elements but overall the pacing is all wrong, writing is average, dialogues are ok, the monologues are downright terrible (and the protagonist comments on stuff quite a lot).

    A lot of people compare it to Silent Hill. Apart from general horror genre and fixed camera views there is nothing similar between the two games. The Medium has nice visuals but the feel is not dense or suffocating or even scary (not at all) as Silent Hill could do. The only emotions the game could bring up in me towards the end was of boredom and frustration (especially from the slow walking and running animations - it took forever to get anywhere). The gameplay is non-existent, the difficulty is laughable, the puzzles are "old school" as in a click on this before you bring the object from five meters away here to continue". Even good old Resident Evil could do better.

    As in Bloober's previous games the idea is there and it's not really a bad one. The execution is a hit and big miss.    … Expand
  17. Capybarin
    Feb 14, 2021
    2
    How about render 4 screens next time? I've heard that there's a PC that can run it still. You can do better next time. Have you ever run performance tests before release?
    Why do you decide to shrink both worlds instead of just switch between them? Maybe two screens should be must have to play? Along with 3090?
    Well music and artwork are awesome, I'll give you that.
  18. AortaPlatinum
    Oct 26, 2021
    2
    Presentation is... okay. It's well put together for the most part, but the repetitive and poorly written dialogue, along with Mary-Ann's refusal to shut the hell up and let us interpret things for ourselves, seriously hurts the game. The start of the hotel where I stopped playing is the worst I'd seen, with literal chalk arrows on the ground showing you where to go and a Napoleon DynamitePresentation is... okay. It's well put together for the most part, but the repetitive and poorly written dialogue, along with Mary-Ann's refusal to shut the hell up and let us interpret things for ourselves, seriously hurts the game. The start of the hotel where I stopped playing is the worst I'd seen, with literal chalk arrows on the ground showing you where to go and a Napoleon Dynamite reference despite the game taking place in 1999, something Mary-Ann mentions mere minutes before you get to the guest book that "vote for pedro!" is written in. Movement is a chore due to Mary-Ann having the most dainty and pathetic "run" I've ever seen in a horror game. Like the Clock Tower protagonists looked ridiculous when they ran but at least they RAN instead of, what, lightly jogging?… Expand
  19. healthguy69
    Feb 5, 2021
    2
    Terrible gameplay, uninteresting characters, pretentious poetry style voice over (seriously bloober stop doing this), anything remotely interesting is a rip off of silent hill and not in cool homage kind of way but in an unimaginative lazy kind of way. Beautiful graphics do nothing to help this lackluster effort.
  20. MasterBen85
    Feb 7, 2021
    2
    Performance Horror aber kein Horror Game, Langweilig, lohnt nicht!

    Mein PC hat einen I7 9700K, 16GB G-SKill Ram, RTX3080, M2 SSD. UND ES IST NICHT FLÜSSIG spielbar! Selbst Cyberpunk läuft dagegen wie Butter in 1440P mit RayTracing alles auf High! Die Performance des Spiels wird um so länger man es spielt immer schlechter. In den ersten Szenen lief es mit knapp 100FPS alles auf High    Performance Horror aber kein Horror Game, Langweilig, lohnt nicht!

    Mein PC hat einen I7 9700K, 16GB G-SKill Ram, RTX3080, M2 SSD. UND ES IST NICHT FLÜSSIG spielbar!
    Selbst Cyberpunk läuft dagegen wie Butter in 1440P mit RayTracing alles auf High!

    Die Performance des Spiels wird um so länger man es spielt immer schlechter.
    In den ersten Szenen lief es mit knapp 100FPS alles auf High mit Raytracing.
    Richtung Ende hatte ich öfter 20-30FPS bei manchen Rätzeln in der nah Ansicht kurze Drops auf 2-3FPS für 10 Sec. Danach wieder 60-70FPS.

    Horror ist für mich Resident Evil 2,3,7 usw. Evil Within. Aber das hier ist echt langweilig.
    Laufen... Taste drücken... laufen... ein Gespräch anhören oder ein Zettel lesen. Kurz vor einen Monster in Deckung gehen weiter laufen.

    Hatte mir viel mehr erwartet. Aber das Spiel motiviert überhaupt nicht zum weiterspielen. Habe es trotzdem hinter mich gebracht. War im Gamepass dabei. Gekauft hätte ich es mir nie mals!!!

    Ich hoffe das Spiel wird noch optimiert!

    Einer der schlechtesten Spiele die ich je gespielt habe.    … Expand
  21. luixdr
    Feb 20, 2021
    2
    O jogo é simplesmente horrível, o que é uma pena visto que tinha um grande potencial. Toda a premissa de se utillizar dois mundos e apresentar isso ao jogador em uma tela dividida é bem interessante, mas esse recurso as vezes atrapalha muito a jogabilidade. As câmeras fixas, que imitam muito jogos antigos como Resident Evil e Silent Hill que na época a utilizavam por limitação de hardware,O jogo é simplesmente horrível, o que é uma pena visto que tinha um grande potencial. Toda a premissa de se utillizar dois mundos e apresentar isso ao jogador em uma tela dividida é bem interessante, mas esse recurso as vezes atrapalha muito a jogabilidade. As câmeras fixas, que imitam muito jogos antigos como Resident Evil e Silent Hill que na época a utilizavam por limitação de hardware, são horríveis, chegando dar dores de cabeça depois de passar mais de uma hora jogando, eu simplesmente não consigo entender por que qualquer desenvolvedora utiliza este tipo de câmera em um jogo atual, não faz o menor sentido. A narrativa hdo jogo é fraca, não tráz uma história que prende, muitos diálogos são forçados e infantilizados. Esperava muito mais desse jogo, ainda mais por vir da mesma empresa que criou Layers of Fear 1 e 2, 2 das melhores experiências que já tive com jogos de terror.… Expand
  22. Ky_Tree_No
    Oct 21, 2022
    2
    Are you effing stupid?

    UGHHHHHHHH. Such an overbearing, dreary piece of overwritten **** I can maybe count on one hand the number of games that frustrate me as much as this one. So much potential crushed into thousands upon thousands of sad "just die" musings in an oblivious, robotic game.
  23. Richard89
    Jan 30, 2021
    1
    Devs have forgotten what optimization means. Devs have forgotten what optimization means. Devs have forgotten what optimization means. Devs have forgotten what optimization means. Devs have forgotten what optimization means.
  24. SRPixel
    Feb 2, 2021
    1
    This game is very... Medium.
    The characters don't feel anything, they just say **** over and over again.
    The game is pretty, but the game-play is very repetitive.
    I think i will forgot about this game existence in a month or two.
  25. Kunray
    Mar 6, 2022
    1
    This games art style is awesome. It’s got a great soundtrack. Is both beautiful and creepy, but mostly charming. Please continue developing this game!
  26. DDJT
    Jan 31, 2021
    1
    Feels like a rip off silent Hill game with and uninspired story, only thing that is it looks pretty but that's about it for the 8-10 hours of wasted gameplay. Glad this was on gamepass as if I'd payed full price I would've been asking for a refund.
  27. ShelbyShark
    Jan 31, 2021
    1
    Скучная, кислая, медленная, тягомотная, топорная анимация идиотское управление! Пробовал на халяву через game pass, никому не рекомендую покупать это говно. В моменты когда экран разделяется охото ржать! Будто ГГ ловит белку!!! С такой убогой анимацией смотреть на это тошно!Скучная, кислая, медленная, тягомотная, топорная анимация идиотское управление! Пробовал на халяву через game pass, никому не рекомендую покупать это говно. В моменты когда экран разделяется охото ржать! Будто ГГ ловит белку!!! С такой убогой анимацией смотреть на это тошно!
  28. Doggo77
    Feb 6, 2021
    1
    Not scary at all, story is dull and boring and the gameplay sometimes annoying. Only good thing is the atmosphere. The ending is one of the worst I've ever seen.
  29. Zeev82
    Feb 1, 2021
    1
    Nie ma miejsca w grach na kodziarska propagandę. ***** medium. Tyle w temacie
  30. KenjiFox
    Feb 1, 2021
    1
    This game is a buggy mess, one that is more frustrating to play than anything else. Any suspense or horror comes purely from the AWFUL controls. The camera switching is the most scary thing in the game.
    It's sad since the game is quite interesting when you can find the next bit of story, you certainly want to see what happens next. This serves to make you torture yourself as you slog    This game is a buggy mess, one that is more frustrating to play than anything else. Any suspense or horror comes purely from the AWFUL controls. The camera switching is the most scary thing in the game.
    It's sad since the game is quite interesting when you can find the next bit of story, you certainly want to see what happens next. This serves to make you torture yourself as you slog through the physical impasses that the game presents by way of wonky controls that are never consistent, and scripted events that either kill you or jar you from whatever you were actually trying to do.

    The game is gorgeous sometimes, and in the fleeting moments when you are not being confined to near identical looking labyrinths of meh, it can be stunning even. Some of the beginning sequences such as walking down a trail through a forest will make you stop and wish you could look around. Did I mention this plays from a fixed/on rails camera perspective like Resident Evil? Not my thing at all to be fair.
    I played on PC with the graphics maxed out. The game ran smoothly for me (as well it should with my computer!) except for a few of the split screen moments. Strangely, it was a game engine issue when it dropped from my monitors refresh rate of 150 to about 30. No matter what settings I changed in the game from minimum to maximum, it was always locked at a low FPS in these particular split scenes, and it was no faster at 720P minimum than 1080P Ultra. Too many draw calls perhaps? I didn't run it in DX12 with raytracing, so maybe it would have been different if I had.

    I stopped short of completing the game, at least for now. When you die due to a bug only to find that the nearest "checkpoint" is a long boring sequence back with lots of talking and artificially slow walking before even getting another chance at the quick time(ish) event the game requires to continue, the only emotion the game causes is RAGE by the third time.
    I'm upset since I wasted so much of my time and effort against the controls only to be insulted by the extremely poor checkpoint placement on top of it having been a bug that killed me in the first place. (very VERRY mild spoiler? maybe? The event in question involved grabbing and moving an object. To the devs, incase it was a bug that can be fixed; It was a cement mixer. You know the one. It could _NOT_ be moved.) If I could just watch this game play itself, I would. It DOES have an interesting story, nice visuals, and honestly great sound design.

    I would recommend skipping this game and going straight to your favorite online video site to watch a playthrough instead. I'm the type of gamer who is straight up allergic to spoilers, I NEVER look at videos before playing a game I am interested in. I don't like how hard companies have to try and pitch their games these days to the point of spoiling them themselves in fact. I've never recommended someone watch a play through of any game until this one, and generally frown upon those videos since they could be damaging to the game developers. In this case though I really think it's the better way to experience this one. :/ I might return to it and complete it some day, but definitely not today.
    As I mentioned above, I don't watch videos on things if I know I am interested in them heavily, such as a sequel to a game I loved. While this was not such a game, in this case I saw some media when it was first shown at e3 or whichever trade show it was first shown off at. I thought it looked really cool from the initial presentation, but I don't remember any indications that it was fixed camera, and worse, really poorly implemented fixed camera.
    Devs, make the horrible joystick direction lock handicap a toggle please? Actual gamers like myself who instinctively correct the joystick orientation do NOT like being constantly thrown into the wall by your built in baby system that lets you keep holding the joystick the same way after a camera change as you were before it. When you do need to make a slight adjustment after, the game then updates your direction to the one your joystick is actually at. Given how painfully slow the character turns around, this makes you slowly walk into a wall, then slowly scrape along as you S-L-O-W-L-Y turn around, just to go back the way you were already trying to go. No doubt while something is actively chasing you. :) I am very thankful I played this through Game Pass. I would have been extremely disappointed if I had spent any money on this game. I can justify my Game Pass cost with many other titles and completely omit this one from its value in my head thankfully.

    Three stars for cool idea and nice visuals, one ultimate star because the former positives to the game only serve to be the carrot on the end of the self torture stick.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

13
#13 Most Discussed PC Game of 2021

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
75

Generally favorable reviews - based on 49 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 29 out of 49
  2. Mixed: 19 out of 49
  3. Negative: 1 out of 49
  1. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Apr 12, 2021
    60
    The Medium is a psychological thriller with various simple puzzles, a whiff of horror and music like from Silent Hill. As a result, you will play the game mainly because of the storytelling and for its atmosphere. [Issue#310]
  2. Riot Pixels
    Apr 1, 2021
    69
    The Medium deftly ties all loose story ends and shows impressive art direction, but it lacks wholeness. The game feels like an artist who has too many ideas at the same time; he would grab a brush, then a pen or a piece of coal… but still cannot finish his masterpiece.
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  3. Cubed3
    Feb 25, 2021
    80
    The Medium isn't an unflawed masterpiece. It's got some performance issues on PC and some jankeyness in unexpected places. However it has got this absolutely unique horror atmosphere, beautifully crafted worlds and some absolute heart-string pulling story moments. This is a successful return of the "horror adventure" game style from those golden oldies everyone fondly remembers. Bloober Team has done an outstanding job making this title and it's one hundred percent recommended to all fans of horror.
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