By Dr Shailin Henry
When I heard Team Bloober (Blair Witch, Layers of Fear) were dipping their toes into the third person Survival Horror genre, it really excited me. With a fixed camera as well as famed composer Akira Yamaoko in the mix, one has no option but to make the comparison to Silent Hill.
I did enjoy my 8-10 hour journey through this game. It had a strong story and much character. However, the sum of its parts prevented it (by an inch) of achieving greatness.
The Medium is a story of Marianne, a psychic who is adopted, and knows nothing of her past. On the day she puts her foster father to rest, she receives a phone call telling her to come to Niwa, a place where all her mysteries will be revealed (come to Silent Hill anyone?) That is where the mystery and driving force behind the game begins.
Gameplay is from a fixed camera angle, with well outlined items of interest. I never felt that there was a clue that I missed due to bad lighting or positioning of world objects – this must be applauded, as far too many times in a game have I spent unnecessary time searching for an item that was right under my character.
Another quality of life improvement, is that certain areas lock to keep you in the area of the puzzle. Once again, a common issue for Survival Horror veterans is needless backtracking. Puzzles are not extremely cryptic, and are more on the light side.
The game runs at 30 frames per second with constant frame rate drops and jitters. Another small annoyance was the constant artifacts when cut scenes were playing. Hopefully this gets fixed with a day one patch. Lighting however is breathtaking with ray tracing enabled, making areas appear photorealistic.
My biggest problem with the game was the lack of enemy types. In each area you have a “Boss enemy” that chases you around a stage, it is more of a hide and seek mechanic than actual health management with a basic weapon to fend off enemies.
It has a new patented “Dual Reality” system in which two separate worlds are rendered on screen at the same time. This is a smart feature that added more depth to puzzles. Marianne can also have an “Out of body” experience, in which she travels the spirit realm in order to cross a gate that is closed in the real world. I like the dual reality system, however, I think better use of it could have been made.
The voice acting is good, however it is slightly more on the light hearted side with a touch of dry humor. This detracts from the dread that one needs to feel when in a horror game. Marianne’s constant narration breaks immersion, as well as her unwarranted hints for obvious puzzles.
The score is good. A joint between Akira Yamaoko and Arkadiusz Reikowski. Not Akira Yamaoko’s best, but definitely his signature sound.
Overall, I feel this was a valiant effort by team Bloober and I look forward to their future titles. They really do put their heart and soul into keeping the survival horror genre alive, and for that I salute them.
Final Score 73/100
“In my restless dreams, I see that town, Silent hill” : Mary’s letter -Silent Hill 2