Bloober Team's attempt at a Silent Hill game in a era (which we are still trapped in) of a lack of a serious presence of the series as a whole.
My only experience with Bloober's work has been Observer which I played last year out of sheer curiosity. This game oddly enough shares most of it's strenght and weaknesses which it shouldn't be surprising knowing it's comming from the same studio. Unlike Observer's cyberpunk-dystopian inspired setting, The Medium goes back in time to 90's poland and the camera shifts to a third person perspective. To my surprise there are differences as much as are similarities between both titles: scripted chases, limited combat, great atmosphere and very linear progression. But underneath the superficial aspects, The Medium hides it's true face and there are a lot of reasons it didn't reasonate with me as much as I hoped to.
The Medium for the most part is a walking sim, with puzzle elements here and there. And the most important aspect of all the "The Medium™ mechanic" which let's you see both realities at once, thank you next generation! It is a strong selling point which isn't even used that much in the game, keeps itself simple for a couple of puzzles to solve...and that is pretty much were it dies. Now, there are moments were it's use is justified and arguably the best use of this mechanic was in the very ending. It left a lot to be desired as it never goes beyond being an extension of the "Material World". Not entirely different. it offers nothing a quick change in scenery would have done with the power and speed M.2 and SSD provide just for a quick puzzle solution. Very hardware taxing too, specially for PCs. It is a neat idea on the surface, but one that ends up being heavly underutilized for whatever reason.
It takes some cues from the Silent Hill games, and definitely noted some influences from SH2 the most. In interviews, developers clearly stated their love for the forgotten Konami franchise. But does Bloober Team made a commendable effort to differentiate or at least be a game that adds to the genre as a whole? Not much. Let's be honest, the most famous Silent Hill games aren't exactly known for their deep gameplay mechanics rather it is the heavy opressing atmosphere of the town, the music score, beloved main characters and by times dark stories. But The Medium isn't any different, at times it can even be worse than the game released 20 years ago. First off, no map is needed to explore or mark notes on as the exploration is as linear as it gets. Total anhilation of your only limited guide through the game, it could've come in handy in the very last section. And second, combat is totally ditched outside certain scenes were it's not even required to continue. I'm all for a combat-less horror game, but this is straight up boring. Puzzles were fun and that is pretty much were my praises end.
The story surprisingly isn't all that bad, as Marianne our protagonist pieces the puzzles that is her past through her powers as a medium. It gets really dark after a while, tackling some sensitive issues such as suicide or even child trauma. Not talking "My mon hid my DS" child trauma, but rather problems that do occur in our society frequently that are hard to erradicate/change. A cycle of victims and perpetrators which share a common demon, no matter the time or person. Interesting topics to assemble a narrative, though I would say the overall message it delivers by the end fumbles what good will started to build in the beginning. It is possible to save someone with enough care and time into it. But there are times were it is truly impossible, that is all I'm going to say.
The Medium is full of design issues that kill what efficiency, time and resourses could've poured into other Bloober projects. The worst you can do is a game to feel longer than it really is while keeping yourself always comming with new maps, and new ideas that end up being never used ever later into the game. Misses the shot, and it misses again and time again with each oportunity they have to redeem themselves from it. Think about it, they have to create two whole different worlds for each scenario that end up being the same in layout just with different decoration. Highly inefficient from my point of view as it harms development time and resources. The more I think about this unique mechanic, the more issues I see.
But it's ok, they hired Akira Yamaoka...right?
My only experience with Bloober's work has been Observer which I played last year out of sheer curiosity. This game oddly enough shares most of it's strenght and weaknesses which it shouldn't be surprising knowing it's comming from the same studio. Unlike Observer's cyberpunk-dystopian inspired setting, The Medium goes back in time to 90's poland and the camera shifts to a third person perspective. To my surprise there are differences as much as are similarities between both titles: scripted chases, limited combat, great atmosphere and very linear progression. But underneath the superficial aspects, The Medium hides it's true face and there are a lot of reasons it didn't reasonate with me as much as I hoped to.
The Medium for the most part is a walking sim, with puzzle elements here and there. And the most important aspect of all the "The Medium™ mechanic" which let's you see both realities at once, thank you next generation! It is a strong selling point which isn't even used that much in the game, keeps itself simple for a couple of puzzles to solve...and that is pretty much were it dies. Now, there are moments were it's use is justified and arguably the best use of this mechanic was in the very ending. It left a lot to be desired as it never goes beyond being an extension of the "Material World". Not entirely different. it offers nothing a quick change in scenery would have done with the power and speed M.2 and SSD provide just for a quick puzzle solution. Very hardware taxing too, specially for PCs. It is a neat idea on the surface, but one that ends up being heavly underutilized for whatever reason.
It takes some cues from the Silent Hill games, and definitely noted some influences from SH2 the most. In interviews, developers clearly stated their love for the forgotten Konami franchise. But does Bloober Team made a commendable effort to differentiate or at least be a game that adds to the genre as a whole? Not much. Let's be honest, the most famous Silent Hill games aren't exactly known for their deep gameplay mechanics rather it is the heavy opressing atmosphere of the town, the music score, beloved main characters and by times dark stories. But The Medium isn't any different, at times it can even be worse than the game released 20 years ago. First off, no map is needed to explore or mark notes on as the exploration is as linear as it gets. Total anhilation of your only limited guide through the game, it could've come in handy in the very last section. And second, combat is totally ditched outside certain scenes were it's not even required to continue. I'm all for a combat-less horror game, but this is straight up boring. Puzzles were fun and that is pretty much were my praises end.
The story surprisingly isn't all that bad, as Marianne our protagonist pieces the puzzles that is her past through her powers as a medium. It gets really dark after a while, tackling some sensitive issues such as suicide or even child trauma. Not talking "My mon hid my DS" child trauma, but rather problems that do occur in our society frequently that are hard to erradicate/change. A cycle of victims and perpetrators which share a common demon, no matter the time or person. Interesting topics to assemble a narrative, though I would say the overall message it delivers by the end fumbles what good will started to build in the beginning. It is possible to save someone with enough care and time into it. But there are times were it is truly impossible, that is all I'm going to say.
The Medium is full of design issues that kill what efficiency, time and resourses could've poured into other Bloober projects. The worst you can do is a game to feel longer than it really is while keeping yourself always comming with new maps, and new ideas that end up being never used ever later into the game. Misses the shot, and it misses again and time again with each oportunity they have to redeem themselves from it. Think about it, they have to create two whole different worlds for each scenario that end up being the same in layout just with different decoration. Highly inefficient from my point of view as it harms development time and resources. The more I think about this unique mechanic, the more issues I see.
But it's ok, they hired Akira Yamaoka...right?
6 Comments
Yeah, I realized after beating Observer and Layers of Fear that Bloober Team games weren't for me, and your review perfectly describes why that is. I'm fine with walking sims, but I don't like the way Bloober goes out of their way to try and mask that with some unique gameplay element that's only superficially used. Tbf, Dontnod does something similar, but at least the gimmick is incorporated more frequently and, more importantly, their storytelling is far above Bloober's.
Does this game have cheap attempts at horror like Layers of Fear did?
Does this game have cheap attempts at horror like Layers of Fear did?
@RedBackLoggd I'd love to like what Bloober does, but they keep screwing up key elements that makes a game overall "click". They are good at stuff like artstyle, sound desing and whatnot but everything else feels so amateur by comparasion. It is infuriating as I see some potential if they focus at what they do best.
Never played Layers of Fear personally. But there is a jumpscare at some point in this game which made me hated it even more. The rest of the game is chill, and a bit boring honestly.
Never played Layers of Fear personally. But there is a jumpscare at some point in this game which made me hated it even more. The rest of the game is chill, and a bit boring honestly.
Yeah, you nailed it brother. Hence why I'm not excited at all about their Silent Hill 2 remake despite them, as you point out here, being ardent fans of those games.
Lol, in that case why's the game labeled a pscyhological horror?
Lol, in that case why's the game labeled a pscyhological horror?
@RedBackLoggd It has elements of the psychological horror genre, at least some. "It's all in the head" kind of deal. But it's easier to classify it as a walking sim with horror elements I'd say
Thanks man, that makes sense.
Wollom
1 month ago