Madison

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Madison is a first person psychological horror game that delivers an immersive and terrifying experience. With the help of an instant camera, connect the human world with the beyond, take pictures and develop them by yourself. Solve puzzles, explore your surroundings and most importantly, survive.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Reviews

86%

Audience ScoreBased on 955 reviews

story136 positive mentions

grinding19 negative mentions

The game features a great atmosphere and stunning graphics that enhance the horror experience.
The puzzles are well-designed and provide a good challenge without being overly frustrating.
The jump scares are effective and well-timed, keeping players on edge throughout the game.

Some puzzles can be confusing and lack clear direction, leading to frustration and aimless wandering.
The protagonist's voice acting is often criticized as annoying and detracts from the overall immersion.
The game is relatively short for its price, which may leave some players feeling it doesn't offer enough content.

story
291 mentions
47 % positive mentions
49 % neutral mentions
4 % negative mentions
The story of "Madison" is widely praised for its intriguing and immersive narrative, which effectively combines horror elements with environmental storytelling and character backstories. While some players found the plot to be somewhat convoluted or confusing at times, many appreciated the pacing and depth that kept them engaged throughout the game. Overall, the narrative is considered a strong aspect of the game, contributing significantly to its atmosphere and player experience.
- “Like a playable version of House of Leaves, this story is immaculate.”
- “The story of Madison is an intriguing one, and the use of environmental storytelling is expertly done.”
- “Madison is a well-paced, beautifully crafted, and terrifying horror game with an intriguing story and fun puzzle solving to boot.”
- “The story is hard to follow and know what is happening in the game.”
- “The story makes little to no sense? You're thrown so many plot points that ultimately don't lead anywhere so you're just left wanting more.”
- “The story was all over the place, was not explained properly, and the ending seemed like a quick copout.”
atmosphere
147 mentions
54 % positive mentions
43 % neutral mentions
3 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its creepiness and ability to create psychological tension, with many reviewers highlighting the effective use of sound design and visuals to enhance the horror experience. While some players appreciate the balance of jump scares and immersive storytelling, others feel that the reliance on jump scares can detract from the overall atmosphere. Overall, the game is recognized for its strong atmospheric elements, making it a compelling choice for horror enthusiasts.
- “Madison is a beautifully well-written horror game with an unsettling and tense atmosphere.”
- “The atmosphere is absolutely dripping and the use of sounds is very immersive.”
- “The atmosphere creates an almost constant psychological tension on the player.”
- “However, Madison is more reliant on jump scares and lacks the same oppressive, haunted atmosphere.”
- “There's no atmosphere nor story elements that grip me in any way; I'm constantly underwhelmed by every other noise this game makes that I miss most of the 'scares' this game even tried to present.”
graphics
105 mentions
64 % positive mentions
33 % neutral mentions
3 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received widespread acclaim, with many reviewers praising the beautiful visuals, atmospheric design, and high-quality production values that enhance the horror experience. The art style is noted for its creepiness and attention to detail, often compared favorably to other titles in the genre like "Visage" and "Resident Evil 7." However, some players have pointed out a lack of graphics options and occasional performance issues, though these do not significantly detract from the overall visual impact.
- “The visuals of this game are beautiful, and the overall aesthetic is very creepy.”
- “The amazing graphics combined with creepy but great music at the same time and the well-made environment of the game will not take long to overwhelm you.”
- “The atmosphere is very creepy and unsettling, the story is simple yet intriguing enough to want to continue playing, and the graphics are stunning, especially for an indie developer.”
- “Also, the shameful lack of graphics and sound options available show that the devs have little concern for the player experience.”
- “Visage has even better graphics and light effects; you can see it's developed with Unreal Engine 4, while Madison is developed with Unity.”
- “Overall, Madison is a solid indie horror with the polish of a far bigger studio, but the biggest shame is that it's lacking a lot of fundamental PC graphics/gameplay options.”
gameplay
100 mentions
25 % positive mentions
71 % neutral mentions
4 % negative mentions
The gameplay is primarily puzzle-based, featuring a unique camera mechanic that enhances the horror experience through engaging visuals and effective jump scares. While some players appreciate the innovative mechanics and atmosphere, others criticize the linearity, simplistic moment-to-moment gameplay, and occasional frustration with puzzle design. Overall, the game offers a solid indie horror experience, though opinions vary on its depth and replay value, especially considering its price point.
- “The gameplay is mainly puzzle-based, with on-rails jump scares carrying most of the weight for the horror.”
- “I really loved the camera jump scares as well as the polaroid camera mechanic where you can reveal hidden things by shaking the photos.”
- “Gameplay is mainly item collecting and puzzle solving; honestly, the puzzles in the game are great, they actually take a fair bit of thought on what you need to do.”
- “The gameplay is mainly puzzle-based, with on-rails jumpscares carrying most of the weight for the horror.”
- “The game has a severe lack of instructions and focuses too heavily on the puzzle mechanics and randomized answers that you'll be pulling your hair out in frustration and wasting way more time than necessary rather than making any real game progress.”
- “There is probably 1 hour of actual gameplay; the rest of the time is wasted walking back and forth.”
music
37 mentions
22 % positive mentions
70 % neutral mentions
8 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many praising its ability to create a haunting atmosphere and enhance the horror experience, particularly through unique sound effects and memorable tracks like the "blue knees" song. However, some players found certain pieces of music repetitive or annoying, leading to frustration during gameplay. Overall, while the soundtrack effectively contributes to the game's tension and immersion, its impact varies significantly among players.
- “The amazing graphics combined with creepy but great music at the same time and the well-made environment of the game will not take long to overwhelm you.”
- “The soundtrack and sound effects are very well made and fit the events and horrifying storyline.”
- “The atmosphere was terrifying, the music was haunting, the puzzles really made me think, and discovering that all the noises you hear around you are actually things being closed, dropped, and opened was absolutely chilling!”
- “Couldn't even play for an hour due to the painful droning 'ambient music?' with no way to silence it other than mute the entire game.”
- “Even the song wasn't creepy, it was just annoying after hearing it 10 times over and over again.”
- “I never want to hear the blue knees song again.”
grinding
23 mentions
9 % positive mentions
9 % neutral mentions
83 % negative mentions
Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and frustrating, with many puzzles described as more annoying than challenging. While some moments are engaging, the repetitive nature of certain tasks and lack of clear direction lead to a sense of boredom and the feeling that the game is unnecessarily padded. Many reviewers suggest that the experience could benefit from clearer clues and a reduction in the grindy elements.
- “Grindy (60 - 100 hours)”
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “I'm not entirely sure, but I found this game tedious to try and solve my way through.”
- “Some of the puzzles were annoyingly obtuse, and one section near the end that was supposed to act as the big climax of the game very quickly turned into tedious instead of scary.”
- “Gets super tedious and feels padded to try to justify the price tag (~6 hours long, no replay value and $35??).”
replayability
14 mentions
21 % positive mentions
57 % neutral mentions
21 % negative mentions
The game "Madison" is criticized for its limited replayability, with most players noting that it can be completed in just 4-6 hours and lacks engaging content for multiple playthroughs. While some achievements may encourage additional runs, the overall experience feels tedious and not worth the full price of $34.99, leading many to recommend purchasing it on sale instead.
- “The many achievements will require additional playthroughs if you seek them out, which is the sole purpose of any replay value in Madison.”
- “In terms of replayability, I don't know what you expect from a horror game - it is what it is, it's the experience no matter how long it takes to complete.”
- “The price is also a little steep for the quality and content; if it were more polished and had more replayability, I'd recommend it at this price point.”
- “Overall, I enjoyed my time with Madison, but I wouldn't recommend it at the full price of $34.99, as it is fairly short and not all that replayable.”
- “This makes it hard to recommend for the price, especially considering it's only a 5-6 hour experience that has little replay value.”
- “$34.99 is a steep price for a game that can be completed in 4-6 hours with limited replayability.”
stability
13 mentions
31 % positive mentions
15 % neutral mentions
54 % negative mentions
The stability of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players experiencing frequent crashes, freezes, and glitches, while others report a smooth and bug-free experience. Overall, it appears that while some users encountered significant issues, others found the game to run well without major problems, suggesting that stability may vary depending on individual setups.
- “10/10 a very fun bug-free experience if you are a fan of Visage, this game is for you!”
- “As far as I can see, there are no glitches.”
- “Overall, the game is fun, always keeps you on your feet, looks and feels great, runs great, has an intriguing story that I actually cared to follow and remember details about.”
- “I'm well above the recommended specs, yet I encountered constant crashes, freezes, and stutters.”
- “The game kind of freezes.”
- “I've had to restart this game 5 times due to glitches, so one time it wouldn't let me move forward or right, another time I did the code right but I bugged the game because I took a pic at the same time and a bunch of other stuff like that. Just wait till the next bug fix to get it, to be honest.”
optimization
10 mentions
50 % positive mentions
20 % neutral mentions
30 % negative mentions
The optimization of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players experiencing significant performance issues such as crashing, freezing, and stuttering, which detracted from their enjoyment. However, others reported a smoother experience with minimal performance problems, particularly on higher-end systems, praising the game's stunning visuals and engaging horror elements. Overall, while the graphics are well-received, the inconsistent optimization remains a notable concern for many players.
- “Graphics look great, with minimal performance issues on my 3070.”
- “Overall had a great time with Madison, stunning visuals, some great horror to experience here, overall performance was great, had some minor FPS drops in odd places.”
- “It's scary, it's fun, it's optimized, it's visually nice.”
- “I bought and tried to play Madison several times during the first year, only to stop after 15 minutes due to the headache-inducing performance (which tons of people on the discussion threads complained about to the two-man dev team, but to no avail).”
- “I have a pretty nice system (MSI Suprim Liquid 4090, i9-13900K, and so on), but the stuttering and erratic FPS takes away all the joy in this game.”
- “I would have liked to enjoy and recommend this game, as it seems to be a good PT-inspired horror romp, but it has significant performance issues.”
emotional
7 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
Players report a mix of discomfort and emotional tension, with some feeling genuinely on edge due to effective sound engineering and unsettling level design. However, the experience is marred by frustrating gameplay mechanics, such as poor character movement and tedious puzzles, which detract from the overall emotional impact.
- “Legitimately made me feel on edge and made me jump, but not in the cheap/loud random jumpscare way.”
- “Sometimes the level design made me feel like I was in a dream.”
- “The sound engineering is top notch to keep the emotional stress high.”
humor
7 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is often unintentional, stemming from poor voice acting and the absurdity of certain monster designs, which can lead to laughter rather than fear. While some players appreciate the comedic elements, particularly in the context of horror, others feel that the humor detracts from the intended atmosphere. Overall, the game elicits mixed reactions regarding its comedic aspects, with some finding it amusing and others viewing it as a flaw.
- “The voice acting and dialog by the main character was so terribad it was almost hilarious.”
- “I found myself laughing at the bad voice acting more than anything, which isn't good when you are trying to set a scary mood.”
- “It doesn't help that the closest thing the game has to a final boss actually made me burst out laughing whenever it showed up, which I have to assume wasn't the intention.”