The Medium

82%
Game Brain Score Based on 3,381 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • graphics
The Medium Game Cover
A third-person horror game that's elevated by some of the sharpest writing and acting in the genre.
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"The Medium" is a horror game where players control a psychic medium who can explore both the real and spirit worlds simultaneously. Players use their psychic abilities to solve puzzles, uncover disturbing secrets, and avoid the monstrous Maw. The Deluxe Edition includes an original soundtrack and an art book inspired by Polish surrealist Zdzisław Beksiński.

  • Mac OS
  • PC
  • Play​station 5
  • Windows
  • Xbox Series X|S
  • Cloud
  • NVIDIA GeForce NOW
  • Play​Station
  • Xbox
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

82%
Audience ScoreBased on 3,381 reviews
story1,595 positive mentions
optimization125 negative mentions
  • Engaging and well-crafted story that keeps players invested.
  • Stunning visuals and atmosphere, with a unique dual-world mechanic.
  • Strong voice acting and sound design that enhance the overall experience.
  • Clunky controls and fixed camera angles can lead to frustrating gameplay.
  • Performance issues, including frame rate drops and crashes, detract from immersion.
  • The game is relatively short, with limited replay value and simplistic puzzles.
  • story3,110 mentions

    The story of "The Medium" is widely praised for its depth and emotional resonance, drawing players into a haunting narrative that explores themes of trauma, loss, and the supernatural. Many reviewers highlight the game's unique dual-reality mechanic, which enhances the storytelling experience, allowing players to navigate both the physical and spirit worlds simultaneously. While some found the pacing slow and the gameplay simplistic, the overall consensus is that the compelling story and atmospheric design make it a worthwhile experience for fans of narrative-driven horror games.

    • “Fantastic game, with an engrossing story.”
    • “The story comes full circle in such a dramatic and wonderfully woven way.”
    • “The story is dark and depressingly fantastic.”
    • “I have been spoiled by newer games with writing that approaches that of film and books, and maybe am too hard on this game's writing, but... the story is told in the cliché horror game fashion: find lots of notes, experience flashbacks, and listen to the protagonist talk out loud to themselves.”
    • “The gameplay is clunky, the pacing is sluggish, the puzzles are overly simplistic, and the story leaves much to be desired.”
    • “The story is cryptic just because otherwise it won't be any story.”
  • gameplay1,164 mentions

    The gameplay of "The Medium" has received mixed reviews, with many players noting its simplistic mechanics and linear structure, often likening it to a walking simulator with basic puzzles and stealth elements. While the unique dual-world mechanic is praised for its innovative approach to storytelling and puzzle-solving, it is often seen as underutilized, leading to a sense of missed potential. Overall, the game is more focused on narrative and atmosphere than on challenging gameplay, making it appealing primarily to those who prioritize story over mechanics.

    • “The gameplay consists mostly of solving puzzles in split reality, which in my opinion was very engaging and fun.”
    • “The dual world mechanic is interesting, I found myself slowly pacing through just to check out the other side and soak in the ambiance.”
    • “The split screen mechanic was unique and interesting too.”
    • “The gameplay is clunky, the pacing is sluggish, the puzzles are overly simplistic, and the story leaves much to be desired.”
    • “The gameplay consists largely of wandering around similar looking environments while solving basic 'find item, place item' puzzles, punctuated by the occasional weakly designed stealth/chase sequences in which you will die enough times that it's no longer tense or particularly scary.”
    • “The gameplay is mostly walking, with solving some light puzzles, unlocking doors to progress to the next area, collecting items.”
  • graphics899 mentions

    The graphics of "The Medium" have received widespread acclaim for their stunning visual quality and artistic design, heavily inspired by the works of Zdzisław Beksiński. Players have noted the game's ability to create immersive environments that enhance the eerie atmosphere, although some have experienced performance issues and graphical glitches, particularly during the dual-world mechanic. Overall, the visuals are considered a standout feature, contributing significantly to the game's psychological horror experience.

    • “Visually captivating and mesmerizing graphic images, exceptionally suitable and beautiful sound effects, a realistically immersive ambiance, and a rich storyline.”
    • “The graphics are absolutely stunning, and the story was captivating and memorable.”
    • “The graphics are gorgeous, my PC is a little dated now but ran the game like a champ.”
    • “The only decent thing about this game is the dual-world mechanic and environments can look cool at times, but the graphics are subpar and the performance is absolutely horrible.”
    • “The game is an unoptimized mess, with abysmal performance even on a high-end RTX 3070 graphics card, frequently dipping below 20 fps at 1080p resolution.”
    • “Graphically, the medium disappoints with underwhelming visuals, and the split-screen feature proves to be more distracting than innovative.”
  • atmosphere621 mentions

    The atmosphere of "The Medium" is widely praised for its eerie, immersive quality, reminiscent of classic horror titles like Silent Hill. Reviewers highlight the game's stunning visuals, haunting sound design, and the effective use of dual-reality mechanics to enhance the sense of dread and tension. While some note that the gameplay can detract from the atmosphere, the overall consensus is that the game's rich storytelling and atmospheric depth create a compelling experience for fans of psychological horror.

    • “The atmosphere and story of this game are great; it reminds me of the old Resident Evil and Silent Hill games.”
    • “The atmosphere was a mixture between Alan Wake and Silent Hill and the graphics and overall design of this game are gorgeous and had me hooked.”
    • “The atmosphere is incredible and did a wonderful job at keeping me on the edge of my seat.”
    • “There is a barrage of pointless achievements that pull you out of the atmosphere by reminding you with one phrasing or another of 'you are playing the game!!' Thank you for the popup telling me I have run for 2 kilometers.”
    • “Along the way she'll make commentary that is completely divorced from the atmosphere of being in a massive abandoned facility that was the site of a massacre and you're being chased by an unkillable monster.”
    • “But when half the game is split into 2 screens, it completely destroys any and all atmosphere. You can't take in the atmosphere of one world because you are in two at once.”
  • music516 mentions

    The music in "The Medium," primarily composed by Akira Yamaoka, is widely praised for its atmospheric and haunting qualities, effectively enhancing the game's eerie ambiance and emotional depth. Many reviewers highlight the soundtrack's ability to evoke nostalgia reminiscent of the Silent Hill series, with standout tracks that contribute significantly to the overall experience. However, some players noted that while the music is excellent, it could have been more prominent throughout the game to further elevate immersion.

    • “The music and sound design also show how much love was put into the game.”
    • “The atmospheric music is phenomenal; it has some good puzzle solving and some really intense horror moments.”
    • “The soundtrack is beautiful and really pulls you in.”
    • “The only con I can think of is the soundtrack could have been better to fit into the mood of the game more.”
    • “Alas, I find this music quite uninspired.”
    • “Also, for a game that couldn't go 10 minutes without mentioning they had Akira Yamaoka on board, the only song I can remember is the one in the reveal trailer; other than that, the soundtrack completely fell into the background.”
  • optimization420 mentions

    The game's optimization has been widely criticized, with many players experiencing severe performance issues, including significant frame rate drops and stuttering, even on high-end hardware. While some users reported smoother experiences, the overall consensus is that the game is poorly optimized, particularly during split-screen segments that render two worlds simultaneously, leading to inconsistent performance. Despite its visual appeal and engaging narrative, the optimization flaws detract from the overall experience, prompting many to recommend waiting for patches before playing.

    • “The optimization is terrible, and I'm using a 2080 Super, i9 9900k, 64 GB RAM, and I even downloaded the special NVIDIA drivers for it.”
    • “The game needs to be optimized.”
    • “While the optimization of the game was not up to par with most, I found this to be an enjoyable game.”
    • “The game has serious performance issues and massive framerate drops in certain scenes, but the worst parts tend to be mercifully brief at least.”
    • “The game is an unoptimized mess, with abysmal performance even on a high-end RTX 3070 graphics card, frequently dipping below 20 fps at 1080p resolution.”
    • “The optimization of the game, incredibly uncomfortable character control and the camera - it's just little things.”
  • emotional115 mentions

    The emotional aspect of the game is widely praised for its deeply immersive and heart-wrenching narrative, which effectively combines haunting visuals, a powerful soundtrack, and strong voice acting to evoke a range of feelings from sadness to hope. Many players report being moved to tears by the tragic and complex storylines that tackle sensitive themes such as grief, abuse, and trauma, making it a memorable emotional journey. Despite some criticisms regarding pacing and character development, the overall consensus highlights the game's ability to create a profound emotional connection with players.

    • “This game is a true emotional roller-coaster!”
    • “The story is beautiful, well crafted, and a wild emotional roller coaster.”
    • “Engaging and heartbreaking, it was easy to connect with Marianne, and the end of her story actually made me cry.”
    • “I have no idea why I decided to beat this game, because it's essentially a very, very slow walking simulator with a boring story and completely lame and uninteresting characters.”
    • “Anyway, a somewhat boring story, almost no gameplay, but outstanding graphics and an original, but underdeveloped idea.”
  • stability79 mentions

    The stability of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players praising its smooth performance and lack of major bugs, particularly on certain hardware configurations. However, many others report frequent crashes, graphical glitches, and inconsistent frame rates, which can significantly disrupt gameplay. While some minor issues are considered forgivable, the overall consensus indicates that the game is plagued by stability problems that may deter potential buyers.

    • “It runs great on my Steam Deck, so I'm happy to say I can finally get all the way through.”
    • “You can see there's a lot of hard work in this game, and with the ever-increasing number of AAA titles being released in an unfinished state, I really enjoyed playing a bug-free and enjoyable game.”
    • “I experienced no glitches or errors at any stage.”
    • “Crashes constantly every minute, or completely freezes.”
    • “Still a buggy mess, don't bother buying.”
    • “The game is way too buggy.”
  • replayability51 mentions

    The game has been widely criticized for its low replayability, with many reviewers noting its linear structure, short playtime (typically around 7-10 hours), and lack of multiple endings or significant gameplay variations. While some players may return for missed collectibles or to reexperience the story, the overall consensus is that the game offers little incentive for repeated playthroughs.

    • “A game like this has remarkable replayability.”
    • “Replay value is low because once you know the story it's hard to enjoy it as much, but I will definitely play again once I forget as much as I can :)”
    • “It's a total replayable game, though there aren't multiple endings; I must explore to find if I missed any details that could expand the story even more!”
    • “But the story is very linear, so there isn't really any replay value.”
    • “It's just too short, has zero replayability and the split screen mode feels terrible.”
    • “Ultimately the only downside to this game is the lack of replayability; it has no combat or item hunting and the route through the game is mostly linear.”
  • grinding36 mentions

    Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be largely tedious and repetitive, with many describing the gameplay as a mix of unchallenging puzzles and frustrating stealth sections. While some appreciate the unique mechanics and story progression, the frequent backtracking and slow navigation detract from the experience, leading to a sense of boredom and frustration. Despite these issues, a few players noted that the engaging narrative can make the tedious moments feel worthwhile.

    • “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
    • “It can be a bit grindy sometimes.”
    • “The gameplay is never challenging and becomes tedious at times, but I thought the progression of the story was worth it.”
    • “The biggest sin, gameplay-wise, is that when you're not solving puzzles and walking around, you're trapped in absolutely tedious and unfun stealth sections where you have to evade an enemy's gaze while experiencing fixed cameras in the environment that give you no indication when the enemy can actually see you or not.”
    • “Some sections of the game (mainly the ones that involve stealth) can become rather tedious to complete.”
  • character development31 mentions

    Character development in the game has received mixed reviews, with some praising the depth and complexity of characters like Marianne, who is compared favorably to iconic figures in horror gaming, while others criticize the emotional depth and exploration of relationships as lacking. The integration of character backstories through environmental storytelling and audio clips is noted as a strong point, although some feel that certain characters, like Thomas, are more compelling than the protagonist. Overall, the character designs are generally well-received, contributing to an immersive atmosphere, but opinions vary on the effectiveness of the character arcs and emotional engagement.

    • “The medium is a masterwork in horror atmosphere and character development; it subverts many of the genre's staples, and Marianne is by far one of the most interesting protagonists in a horror game since Heather in SH3.”
    • “Great character development and a good balance between written notes and audio clips for exposition.”
    • “The best part of the game is the superb character development and the puzzle design, which was very out of the box.”
    • “Despite professing her love for her father and her sadness for his death, the main character does not show much emotion towards the matter; the dynamics of their relationship are poorly explored, and character development is shallow.”
    • “This heavy-handed approach to character development feels forced and out of place, further detracting from the game's overall appeal.”
    • “Why didn't we follow Thomas in this story? He was a much more interesting character and seemed more impacted by the world around him than Marianne, who is very dull and shows no real character development.”
  • humor24 mentions

    The humor in the game is described as inconsistent, often feeling out of place within the horror context, with some players finding it amusing while others felt it detracted from the overall immersion. Characters like Marianne occasionally deliver funny lines, but these moments can clash with the game's darker themes, leading to mixed reactions. Overall, while there are moments of levity that some players appreciated, many felt that the humor undermined the intended atmosphere of tension and seriousness.

    • “Loved her portrayal of Marianne, with humor, pathos, grief, and terror all during appropriate believable moments.”
    • “Throughout the gameplay, I was scared, sad, mad, and laughing at times.”
    • “The funny thing is that the motion capture/animation (walk cycles, movement during cutscenes, etc.) is very good.”
  • monetization1 mentions

    The game's monetization strategy is tied to its unique mechanic of navigating both the real and spirit worlds, which, while innovative, significantly impacts performance by lowering frame rates.

Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

75% average critic score

Buy The Medium

Play time

9hMedian play time
59hAverage play time
8hMain story
10hCompletionist
6-10hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 41 analyzed playthroughs

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