The Medium
Release Date: January 28, 2021
Adventure, TPP, survival horror, horror, Polish, 90s, singleplayer
Gamepressure
Steam
The Medium is a horror in which we play the role of a woman who can see ghosts and tries to solve the mystery of the murder of a child. The game is another work of the talented Krakow Bloober Team.
Last Update: January 25, 2021
The Medium Guide
The Medium Guide contains complete walkthrough and useful tips for puzzles and exploration, Beginner's Guide and a Trophy Guide. All secrets and collectibles. System requirements and controls/keybindings.
January 27, 2021
The Medium Review - More Medium Than Well-Done
The Medium is an artistic and conceptual feat, but not much more. While it provides an exciting, often eerie setting, it fails at becoming truly compelling because of it's linearity, simplicity, and generally untapped potential.
Videos and Screens
[3:45] The Medium DualSense overview trailer
[2:47] The Medium live-action trailer
Gamepressure Review
The Medium
The Medium is an artistic and conceptual feat, but not much more. While it provides an exciting, often eerie setting, it fails at becoming truly compelling because of it's linearity, simplicity, and generally untapped potential.
PC / WindowsThe main pros of the game
- Unique Dual-Reality Gameplay: The game features a groundbreaking mechanic where players navigate two realities simultaneously, allowing for innovative puzzle-solving and storytelling.
- Atmospheric Storytelling: The narrative is engaging, exploring dark themes such as trauma and loss, which adds emotional depth to the experience.
- Impressive Visuals and Design: The game's environments, particularly in the spirit world, are visually stunning and enhance the eerie atmosphere.
- Soundtrack: Composed by Akira Yamaoka and Arkadiusz Reikowski, the music effectively contributes to the game's haunting ambiance.
- Well-Executed Puzzles: The puzzles are integrated into the story and require creative thinking, providing a satisfying challenge.
The main cons of the game
- Pacing Issues: The game's slow pacing can feel tedious for players who prefer more action-oriented gameplay.
- Gameplay Repetition: Some players found the gameplay to be repetitive, mainly involving walking and slow animations.
- Control Issues: Many reviewers experienced difficulties with controls, particularly when using a keyboard, suggesting that a controller is necessary for a better experience.
- Lack of Replay Value: The game does not offer multiple endings or choices, leading to concerns about its value given its price.
The features or elements that are missing from the game according to users
- More Interactive Choices: Players expressed a desire for more decision-making elements that could influence the story or gameplay, enhancing replayability.
- Improved Combat Mechanics: Some reviews mentioned the lack of engaging combat, with gameplay often reduced to hiding or running away from threats.
- Better Optimization: Technical issues, including frame rate drops and clunky controls, were noted as significant drawbacks, especially in dual-reality scenes.
- Expanded Story Details: Several users wished for more backstory and character development, particularly regarding the protagonist's family and the overarching narrative.
Summary
- Overall, while The Medium is praised for its innovative gameplay, atmospheric storytelling, and visual design, it faces criticism for pacing, control issues, and a lack of replayability. Many players are hopeful for a sequel that addresses these concerns and expands on the story.
Summary generated on:
GAMERS Score
Average score from 1157 votes. 275 players anticipated the game.
The Medium Description
The Medium is a psychological horror, where the player becomes a woman named Marianne, able to perceive the spiritual world. The protagonist is trying to solve the mystery of the death of a child. The game was developed by the Polish Bloober Team studio (creators of Observer, Blair Witch and Layers of Fear series).
Plot
The Medium takes place in the 1990s in Krakow (the studio's hometown) in the abandoned Hotel Niva, based on an actual hotel from that city, called Hotel Cracovia. The main character is Marianne, the eponymous medium. The heroine experiences visions showing death of an innocent child and decides to solve this mystery.
Gameplay
The Medium takes direct inspiration from games such as Silent Hill , or the Fatal Frame series, for example by setting the camera in predefined fixed angles, rather than traditionally using the first, or third person perspective. In terms of gameplay, it focuses on exploring locations, solving puzzles and dealing with various hazards, in particular a monster called The Maw. Marianne's keen senses help her find clues – she can hear the "echo of emotions" bound to an object, and overhear snippets of past conversations spoken in particular places.
Dual World
The game uses an interesting mechanics of shifting between two worlds – thanks to her supernatural skills, the protagonist is able to perceive the spiritual world and interact with it. At certain moments, the heroine can move there, or function in both worlds at the same time – on those occasions, the game uses a split-screen of sorts, displaying the regular and spiritual version of the reality simultaniously. Marianne can also briefly depart her body and travel freely in the spirit realm, which is often key in solving puzzles and opening passages. Marianne also possesses several other supernatural abilities, such as surrounding herself with protective cover that hinders other spirits, or sending out waves of energy able to harm them.
Notably, the game's visuals are strongly embedded in the works of a surreal Polish painter, Zdzislaw Beksinski.
The Medium is exclusively single-player. The backbone of the game is the campaign.
Music
The soundtrack was composed by Akira Yamaoka, known to many players as the composer of the score to Silent Hill series, and Arkadiusz Reikowski, who also scored previous games from Bloober Team. Mary Elisabeth McGlynn, who collaborated with Yamaoka on the soundtrack to Silent Hill, scored the vocal performance.
Languages
The Medium is available in 10 languages: English, French, Italian, German, Polish, Spanish, Japanese, Portugese, Brazilian Portugese, Russian, and Simplified Chinese. The English version features actor Troy Baker, a notable video-game voice actor.
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The Medium Summary
Platforms:
PC / Windows January 28, 2021
PlayStation 5 September 3, 2021
Xbox Series X/S January 28, 2021
Switch June 29, 2023
Developer: Bloober Team
Publisher: Bloober Team
The Medium System Requirements
PC / Windows
Minimum: Intel Core i5-6600 3.3 GHz / AMD Ryzen 5 2500X 3.6 GHz, 8 GB RAM, graphic card 6 GB GeForce GTX 1060 / 4 GB Radeon R9 390X or better, 50 GB HDD, Windows 10 64-bit
Recommended: Intel Core i5-9600 3.1 GHz / AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 3.7 GHz, 16 GB RAM, graphic card 6 GB GeForce GTX 1660 Super / Radeon RX 5600 XT or better, 50 GB SSD, Windows 10 64-bit
Ultra: (4K / ray tracing) Intel Core i7-9700 3.0 GHz / AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 3.7 GHz, 16 GB RAM, graphic card 10 GB GeForce RTX 3080 / 16 GB Radeon RX 6800 XT or better, 50 GB SSD, Windows 10 64-bit
Xbox Series X/S
Uses: XSX: 30 fps @ max 4K / XSS: 30 fps @ max 1080p
CD Projekt RED and Bloober Team Pull Their Games From Sale in Russia
Both CD Projekt RED and Bloober Team have announced that they will temporarily stop selling their games in Russia and Belarus. This order also applies to GOG.com.
video games
Michael Zegar
March 3, 2022
Tencent Becomes the Largest Shareholder of The Medium and Blair Witch Devs
The Chinese company Tencent has acquired 21.97% of shares in the Polish studio Bloober Team, becoming the company's largest shareholder. It is another large corporation which became interested in the creators of such games as Blair Witch or The Medium.
video games
Hubert Sledziewski
October 8, 2021
Bloober Team Signed a Deal With Take-Two
Not only Konami cooperates with the Polish studio Bloober Team. The Krakow-based developer has signed a publishing agreement with Take-Two.
video games
Jacob Blazewicz
September 30, 2021
The Medium Devs Want to Lead the Way; Bloober Team Reveals Future Plans
Polish studio Bloober Team - creators of The Medium - has shared its plans for the future. The company is currently working on two unannounced AAA titles. It also aims to achieve the stability of industry giants like Naughty Dog.
video games
Michael Zegar
September 29, 2021
The Medium May be Coming to PS5; Boxed Release Approaching
The Medium from Bloober Team may be heading to PS5. Such revelation is suggested by the game's ESRB age rating.
video games
Hubert Sledziewski
June 6, 2021
The Medium Finally Supports Ultrawide Monitors
Patch 1.2 for the horror game The Medium has been released. The update added support for ultrawide monitors and improved the game's technical condition.
video games
Adrian Werner
March 11, 2021
The Medium Among Steam's Biggest Releases of January
Valve shared a list of titles which gained the most popularity on Steam in January.
video games
Michal Ciezadlik
February 26, 2021
The Medium Patch 1.1 Retains Performance Issues
The Medium has received update 1.1. According to the devs, the patch fixes bugs and improves optimization, including performance when using ray tracing. However, players complain that they can hardly notice any improvement.
video games
Adrian Werner
February 15, 2021
The Medium and Observer: System Redux Will Get Boxed Editions
Bloober Team will release its two latest games in boxed versions. The Austrian company Koch Media will handle the distribution.
video games
Adrian Piotrowski
February 12, 2021
The Medium Devs Begin Work on Another Horror, This Time With Combat
Bloober Team does not slow down and prepares another big project. It will probably be another horror game, but this time the company is looking for people to work on the combat system as well.
video games
Adrian Piotrowski
February 4, 2021