The Medium for Windows

The Medium is one of the most exciting games of 2021. This is a chance for the Xbox platform to please its users with a really good project that the PS5 can envy. The new horror from the Polish studio Bloober Team looks promising. Release date of the game: January 28, 2021. In addition to the console, the game will be available on computers.

The Medium Review

Polish Silent Hill is the first comparison that comes to mind when looking at the new Bloober Team game. A similar opinion often appears in reviews of trailers that have appeared on the Web. The developers themselves admit that they were largely inspired by the famous Japanese horror film series, especially the second part, which is considered a masterpiece among fans of the genre. But you shouldn’t think that The Medium is a rip-off of the film, transferred to the game world. The developers were influenced by the films “Darkness” and “Chernobyl”, the Japanese horror films “Pit of Fat”, “Forbidden Siren”. The Resident Evil franchise brings an unusual camera angle to Medium.

Cinematic Experience – Static Camera

The Medium will not be a traditional game with a view from behind the character. When creating it, we decided to use fixed camera angles. This allows players to experience the experience as if it were an interactive movie. The immersion in the atmosphere of the game will be deeper if the scenes are shown from the correct angle. The decision to abandon the classic camera was made after long tests and discussions. An important argument was that certain camera angles contribute to closer exploration. In fact, it is difficult to imagine any other choice, given the key feature of the game, namely the gameplay in the so-called double world: the real world and the world of spirits.

“Double World” – a game in two dimensions

The main feature of The Medium is the “double world” system. The main heroine of the game, Marianna, knows how to move between the real world and the world of spirits. But the player will not be able to use this ability at any time – the transitions are strictly scheduled according to the plot. Somewhere Marianne explores reality, elsewhere – the other world, or both at once. At this point, the picture is split into two parts. The worlds differ not only in colors, but also in capabilities. Many puzzles in the game are based on moving between them. For example, the passage to the next location is visible only from the world of spirits, but in the real dimension there is only a destroyed staircase and an inoperative elevator in the same place. The character knows how to leave the body and freezes motionless in order to move in the realm of spirits. This ability is limited in time: if the player gags, the screen starts to darken.

Invisible enemies

The Medium has aggressively minded characters – ghosts. Their presence can be determined by looking closely at their surroundings. If dust rises from the ground, objects move by themselves – a ghost is nearby. On low difficulty, an arrow appears that indicates the direction where the enemy is. In most cases, Marianne does not engage in combat, but tries to bypass dangerous areas or simply run away. The only offensive ability is an electric shock. She helps not only to fend off enemies, but also in solving puzzles. To use it, you must first find the well of the spirit and scoop up energy from it.

Conclusion

There will be several endings in The Medium, which depend on the decisions of the player. The plot is revealed gradually as you progress. In the beginning, Marianne is tormented by visions of murdered children. The investigation takes her to an abandoned Soviet-era hotel in the city of Krakow.

The Medium impresses not only with its atmosphere, graphic design and intriguing storyline, but also with the names behind the creation of the game. In the Polish version we can hear Veronica Rosati and Marcin Dorochinski (we will also see him), and in the English dub – Troy Baker, known for his role as Joel in “The last of us”. The atmosphere of Silent Hill is emphasized by the participation of the composer of this famous series – Akira Yamaoka, who, together with Arkadiusz Reikovsky, created the soundtrack. The developers got acquainted with Akira at a game show in Tokyo. After that, the Japanese flew to Poland to feel the atmosphere and add national motives to the musical compositions for the game.