The Medium. The best games released in 2021
Table of Contents
- Premiere: January 28
- Platforms: PC Windows, Xbox Series X/S
- Our rating: 9/10
The newest game of the Polish studio Bloober Team seemed intriguing from the first announcements: with its atmosphere, graphic design, next-gen quality and grandeur, the biggest and most expensive project of the studio seemed great. The end result strongly divided players and reviewers. Some were delighted, others a bit disappointed. It's definitely true that the slow and unengaging gameplay requires a fondness for the walking simulator genre and, sadly, simplistic adventure games, and the predefined camera angles further make the gameplay a bit clumsy.
On the other hand, The Medium evokes nostalgic memories of classic horror films created in this formula, such as Alone in the Dark, Resident Evil or Silent Hill. Mixed feelings about the heavily advertised (and somewhat underwhelming) "dual-world" mechanics are compensated by the game's sensational atmosphere, underlined by Beksinski's aesthetics and Akira Yamaoka's music (the former was a Polish abstract painter, the latter is the composer of the soundtrack to Silent Hill series. The grim, mature storyline is among the game's biggest advantages, with some great, realistic set-pieces from the Communist-era Poland. This is one of those games that you should try yourself to form your own opinion. If only the optimization was better....
Valheim
- Premiere: February 2
- Platform: PC Windows
- Our rating: None
Valheim is one of the first surprises of 2021. The game, which hardly anyone was waiting for and which appeared in the controversial Early Access – and on top of that is as survival as it can get – turned out another hit on Steam. It has already sold 3 million copies in just three weeks, and player ratings never go below 90%. What was the recipe for success in this case?
The reasons for the warm reception are several. First of all, the authors have jumped on the bandwagon of the Viking world right after many players have either finished or skidded off the massive Assassin's Creed Valhalla. Early Access aside, the game launched in very good condition and the install file only takes up 1 GB, which seems quite a miracle these days. Hallelujah! The most important thing, however, seems to be that, as players point out, this is not just a simple clone of other survival games. Valheim has a concrete idea for itself – it combines survival mechanics with RPG elements, hack'n'slash, and even Dark Souls elements! And it is a supremely successful combination. Let's hope for more surprises like this in 2021.
