Mini Review: The Medium (PS5) - One of the Best Horror Experiences on PS5

Good to see this got a higher, although shorter, review here. Too bad about the dualsense problems, hopefully they can fix it quickly.

So… I’ve seen console warriors on Twitter claiming the PS5 version is vastly superior (in terms of graphics and performance) to the XSX version. I’ve also seen console warriors claiming it’s vastly inferior. Obviously neither group even played it on PS5 but out of curiosity - is there a noticeable difference, other than the DualSense support (that hopefully can be patched)?

Got it on PC, never completed it. It's less a horror game and more of a point and click. Nothing feels threatening in it.

The atmosphere and story and interesting... But the central mechanic of the "dual worlds, one screen" is so painfully simply used. It never does any genuinely interesting gameplay ideas or puzzles with the mechanic.
My least favourite Blooper game to date 5/10.

"One of the best" probably because there are not that many games on PS5 lol. Heard it is very mediocre at best, 8 seems too good, esp when you gave 4s to many titles that deserved better

I enjoyed it when it originally came out on Gamepass. The graphics are nice and the story kept me interested but the gameplay is clunky and feels dated. My advice is wait for a sale, I don’t think it’s worth full price. If you like this genre it’s absolutely worth checking out at some point, like the review says.

One of the best.....not exactly a crowded field though is it

Played this on series s and I'd say its a 6/10, last gen graphics and the dual worlds mechanic isn't used long enough, some wonky controls and not really horror at all apart from being chased every now and then by some monster. I wouldn't pay full price for this

On a side note..
I heard Russell Grant has escaped from his psychiatric hospital so be aware.
Police are looking for a small medium at large.

I'll get my coat.

It's mediocre trash at best and not scary at all, don't even dare comparing it to classics like Resident Evil and Silent Hill.

@Amusei "mediocre trash"

Get help. Seriously.

I hope they fix the dualsense support, it's one of the coolest features of ps5 😃

Please Give Silent hill Sony

I guess it wins by default since the genre has seen better days. Just finished it since it was free on Gamepass.

I would say 6/10. Some of the story elements are interesting but the gameplay is a disaster. The characters walk ridiculously slow (to extend playtime?) and the puzzles are beyond basic.

Basically, a door is closed....look for a key (often in the same room) and open the door. Even the "two realities" add close to nothing to the experience from a gameplay perspective.

Maybe a decent buy for $20. Anything more and you will ñikely be disappointed.

Thank you Push Square for an honest review and not bashing this for being a former Xbox exclusive. I liked the game very much on Xbox so I won't be buying it, but it's my favourite Bloober Team game and I found the graphics great, the soundtrack as well. The plot is gripping and the sense of dread does not come from someone or something constantly trying to kill you. I swear some of you guys are just too spoiled.

@UltimateOtaku91 I agree. I played this on Series X and it was just okay. I'm wondering if I played the same game as the person that reviewed this.

I grew up on games like this and The Medium doesnt do anything groundbreaking or better than games from the ps1 Era.

@naruball Why lol? I'm just ranting about a videogame.

@Voltan From what I have seen of one comparison video on YouTube, the PS5 version doesn't use ray-traced reflections so it's dynamic resolution doesn't dip as low as the Series X (Series S didn't use RT, either).

Anisotropic filtering is better on PS5.

Load times are better on Series X|S (2x as fast, actually), but that small window of texture pop-in after load that occurs on Series X|S is eliminated on PS5.

PS5 also has slightly a more stutter than Xbox.

Lighting, shadows, and ambient occlusion have been reworked on PS5 (sometimes for the better, sometimes with no change, and sometimes not so much so).

On topic, with all the mention of Silent Hill, I am surprise there was no mention of Akira Yamaoka's contribution to the soundtrack. I am glad this reviewer enjoyed the game. I do think this game is kind of a love it or hate it kind of game. I really enjoyed it!

I tried to like this game. Just controls like a tank. Reminded me of old RE games and not in a good way

Enjoyed it. World is great. But the game is not for everyone.

What is the core gameplay? How does it lean on its inspiration and how does it innovate to break away?

It's a great game but don't ask me why..8/10

I did not jell with it, I found the slow movement and fixed camera things best left in the past. Only played for an hour so can't say much about the story really. I think this is one that will split the audience and that seems clear from the comments above.

@naruball I'd say he is pretty generous by calling it mediocre trash. This game is nothing but a walking simulator and it's an insult to mediocre trash.

I would not even play this if someone had a gun to my head.

@Futureshark
As an American who frequents this site i sometimes forget this site is British until one of you references a celebrity that i have to google

I think I'll wait for a sale, I'm more excited about Tormented Souls at the moment.
The game seems to be getting a very negative reaction here, to me its just a game that is certainly not for everyone. I've played and enjoyed all Bloober games, but tbh they've all had their frustrating elements. I like slow movement and tank controls for this type of game, but totally understand why people don't, it doesn't make it a bad game.

@Voltan here you go..
https://wccftech-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/wccftech.com/the-medium-ps5-xsx-comparison/amp/?amp_js_v=a6&amp_gsa=1&usqp=mq331AQIKAGwASCAAgM%3D#aoh=16305870294022&csi=0&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&ampshare=https%3A%2F%2Fwccftech.com%2Fthe-medium-ps5-xsx-comparison%2F

A lil lengthy, but whatcha gonna do

I was interested in playing this game, if just for the dual realities gimmick; but from all reviews that gimmick is used so poorly that may as well not exist.

Is there anyone here that has played it that thinks otherwise? Or is the dual realities gimmick that forgettable?

@thedevilsjester I liked the dual-realities thing not so much from a gameplay perspective (though it is different), but more from an artistic perspective: it's a neat way to simulate the awkwardness the main character feels being able to "exist" in two planes of reality at the same time.

I think it's one thing to watch a video of the mechanic in action and a whole other to actually play the game with the mechanic. It's disorienting in an immersive way. Unfortunately for PlayStation owners, that's not exactly a comfort as it does require purchasing the game to find out if it's something you like.

@Futureshark LMAO😂 Yes, please see yourself out

they must have been playing a different game to me because i found medium to be incredibly boring and i usually love this type of game.

5/10

its not like resident evil at all its more like a walking simulator

I can tell the author liked the game but I learned basically nothing from the review. How does it play? What's it like? I have no idea.

@PhhhCough Oof. After reading that, the game sounds like a massive downgrade from the XBSX version

Really 8 out of 10? Played this on the series x as a game pass release. Really clunky, poor graphics and not scary at all. Feels like a 1997 game..

@lolwhatno those are wrong, too. Mediocre, by definition, is not trash.

When you become so negative that you consider something mediocre as trash, then you clearly need to work on yourself and see how you got there.

@GigaGaia there is no such thing as "mediocre trash", but keep on hating it, while ignoring that so many others who have actually played it enjoyed it. If it's not your cup of tea, that's fair enough. That doesn't make it trash.

"I would not even play this if someone had a gun to my head"

Tell me there's something wrong with you without telling me there's something wrong with you.

@alex625x sounds familiar. People are raving about recently released Tormented Souls aren’t they? It’s just the true style of this sort of genre, albeit that one looks like a cartoon to me where this looks very good. Expensive night’s gaming regardless …. screams Halloween sale; I’ll wait it out

It looks like a good game but my biggest issue here is why not release it a little later with some finetuning. These days its release and finish later such a pity. But calling a game trash because its a 5/10 game is nonsense. This sounds like a game that needed more time in the oven that needed some finetuning before release si h a pity.

Higher score than I expected, looking forward to trying the game, picked up a copy today. Been interested in it since it was announced for Series X last year.

Shouldn’t one of the best horror games have more than a mini-reviewv

I'd say skip this one if you're on the fence. It's not awful, but it's simply not worth your time. 5/10

A bit light in the gameplay department but the story & presentation left an impression. This wouldve worked so much better as a VR game.