Calling back to the haunted happenings of the Silent Hill series, supernatural horror game The Medium has appeared to be a particularly spine-chilling entry from Layers of Fear developer Bloober Team. Inhabiting the role of the titular psychic, players tread the halls of an abandoned hotel, solving puzzles and utilizing an array of paranormal abilities to uncover a disturbing mystery. The adventure is largely characterized by the Dual-Reality mechanic, allowing the protagonist to seamlessly step between the spirit realm and the real world at a moment’s notice.

Considering the game’s creepy trailers, crisply detailed presentation, and Bloober’s expertise in delivering haunting experiences, The Medium looks to have considerable expectations ahead of its release. However, how has the title scared up some good vibes with critics? Well, according to emerging reviews, The Medium sports an adequately disturbing story as well as a stunning showcase for next-generation visuals. However, many outlets suggest such visual polish isn’t enough to mask its gameplay shortcomings and sparsely-occurring scares.

Game Informer – 68/100

“Some of the best horror games of the last decade have offered combat-free frights. After all, abandoned buildings are scarier when you can’t push back against the shadows. However, The Medium’s lack of combat highlights the challenge of letting atmosphere and puzzles carry a horror experience. The idea of exploring split realities is neat, but Bloober Team needed another gameplay hook to hang its hat on, because this horror show is a bit shallow.”

VGC – 60/100

“The Medium won’t give you any sleepless nights, but treat it as a paranormal thriller rather than an all-out horror game and you’ll find an interesting story (albeit a disturbing one at times) that will encourage you to push through its slightly repetitive split-screen gimmick to find out how it all ends. A short but intriguing tale.”

PC Gamer – 92/100

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

The Verge – “Isn’t Quite A Game-Changer”

“The Medium lasts around 10 hours, which is just the right length for the story to wrap up nicely. It even ends on an Inception-style cliffhanger, where what actually happens is fairly ambiguous. (I can’t wait to have people to talk about it with.) But in terms of gameplay ideas, it does end rather abruptly: just as the game starts finding really interesting ways to play with the dual-world structure, it’s over. The last few hours are far and away the most interesting, and I wish the rest of the game was as inventive. The multiworld premise isn’t quite a game-changer, but it adds just enough to make this psychological thriller worth checking out.”

TrueAchievements – 70/100

“The Medium is an interesting and enjoyable game, but one let down by some awkward animations that constantly threaten to break the immersion created by an otherwise captivating game world, and those weak stealth sections that Bloober Team can’t seem to leave behind. It’s very much a one-and-done game — you can easily see everything it has to offer inside of ten hours, so the pricing might be a little questionable for both the quality and quantity of what you get here. Still, price won’t be an issue for Game Pass subscribers, for whom The Medium is a unique yet flawed gem that we’d absolutely recommend checking out as part of the service.”

The Medium releases for PC, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox Game Pass on ​​January 28th. What do you think? Are you interested in checking out The Medium for yourself, or do these mixed reviews have you sufficiently too scared to play? ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Let us know in the comments below and be sure to follow Don’t Feed the Gamers on Twitter and Facebook to be informed of the latest gaming and entertainment news 24 hours a day!

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