The Medium

The Medium is an enjoyable survival horror that's held back by a lacklustre narrative and a signature mechanic that never reaches its full potential. Even with Silent Hill composer Akira Yamaoka's score ringing across the twisted soviet world, Bloober Team's latest project pales in comparison to the legends that came before it.

The Medium is a really good horror adventure with some stand out ideas and excellent presentation. It makes the most of its influences to create an atmospheric and involving narrative, but its wider context as a next-gen exclusive may lead many to expect it to be a grander step forward than it is. Taken on its own merits, and particularly for genre fans, this is a genuinely great game and I look forward to replaying it to take in all the amazing details and touches that I may have missed first time through. With some questions left unanswered, I hope it does well and develops into a franchise.

A lack of exclusive titles for Xbox Series X|S has put an overly harsh spotlight on The Medium, and I hope it won’t result in unfair criticism. No, this isn’t a production up to the level you might expect from Naughty Dog or The Coalition. This is an indie game that’s performing on the biggest stage, and for the most part it’s put on quite the show.

Of course, it helps that it easily has what one can say will be some of the year’s best visuals, as well as an eerie soundtrack featuring the likes of Akira Yamaoka. The Medium is a quick yet astonishing trip through a pair of engrossing worlds where practically every element comes together nicely, and it’s all worth taking some looks at.

Bloober Team does well to keep things taut all the way to the end, but there's a frustrating amount of untapped potential beneath its gameplay gimmicks and art direction.

A third-person horror game that's elevated by some of the sharpest writing and acting in the genre.

Yes, Marianne's world is one of duality - good and evil; heaven and hell; life and death - there is little negative to weigh down Bloober Team's lofty ambition. Even though it substitutes scripted scares for an unsettling atmosphere instead - something I fear not all fans will be happy with - The Medium is the studio's most successful, accessible offering yet, and a sign that Bloober continues to improve, mature, and innovate. I cannot wait for its next terrifying adventure.

The Medium isn't even really a horror game, despite the setting and themes, and lacks any scares bar an early cheap jump. For a studio so focused on creating psychological horror it's hard to see this mildly spooky action-adventure as anything other than a misstep.