The Medium

From the first minutes I was fascinated. The "dual world" mode is really well done and the soundtrack is spot on.
Only one thing I'm not appreciating, the "fixed" camera. It was certainly a deliberate choice so as not to lose certain scenes within the game, but at certain moments I would have liked to have a better look at the surrounding landscape. It would be nice if a photo mode was integrated into the game. My rating 8/10

The Medium is truly a mixed bag -- an experience of highs & lows. It has some innovative ideas, like the dual reality system, & an interesting narrative. And, the studio is punching well above their weight in terms of graphical fidelity.
However, the game is bogged down by persistent performance issues, big quality jumps between chapters, & middling gameplay. The game is more or less akin to a walking simulator w/ some light puzzling. It is reminiscent of Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice.
Overall, I would recommend the game on a sale if you can stomach the walking simulator adjacent gameplay. More I liked than disliked here but definitely mixed as a whole.

Best description I can give: imagine if "What Remains of Edith Finch" were set in a Zdzisław Beksiński painting.
This "game" is thoughtfully made, story-driven, and incredibly atmospheric, but I put "game" in quotes because you're on rails the whole time: there's about four abilities (other than walking/running), all of which are useful/usable only at specific plot points that are explicitly announced via onscreen prompts. There's an inventory, some puzzles, and a few stealth/chase segments, but all they ask of the player is to follow directions rather than exercise any independent skill or strategy.
I don't think those are flaws, though, because the game feels cohesive and complete instead of unfinished or broken; it's more like the devs had a very specific vision, and your mileage as a player will vary depending on how much that vision appeals to you. If you're looking for survival horror like Dead Space, Resident Evil, or Amnesia, you'll be disappointed. But if you're looking for a rules-light, atmosphere-intensive stroll through a visually and emotionally interesting story, this is worth picking up.

Very enjoyable game. Amazing plot with interesting twists + good soundtrack. Definitely worth the time to finish the game.

I really loved playing this game.

At first, I hoped it would be a crazy horror game. If you’re searching for that, this game is not the right choice for you. However, both story-wise and gameplay-wise, I would highly suggest this game to everyone, no matter what genre you like.

Thank you for that amazing experience!

A balanced blend of sorrow, fear, and anxiety. Visually captivating and mesmerizing graphic images, exceptionally suitable and beautiful sound effects, a realistically immersive ambiance, and a rich storyline. A complete package of everything one expects from a game. Undoubtedly one of the best games of my life.

Bloober team strike me as a very frustrated company, whether its due to budget or ability they seem to start every project with great intention and there are some fantastic ideas within there games but most of the time its bogged down by there lack of interactivity and there inability to really make full use of the medium they choose to tell there stories with. Although in saying that with every passing game they do seem to be getting closer to the kind of experience they truly want to create. now that it has been announced that Bloober team will be working on the Silent Hill 2 remake I can only hope that they can continue this upward trend while really addressing the criticisms aimed at them. If Bloober can just push themselves a little further and receive serious backing from Konami I truly believe we wont have to wait long to play something truly fantastic from them.
From the minute I saw The Medium I was enthralled by it, The duel screen effect was something that I had never seen before and truly intrigued me along with the games fantastic visuals to truly consider buying an Xbox at launch due to the timed exclusivity but didn't bother since it came to steam.
The game tells the story of a Medium (Believe it or not) who has the ability to interact with the souls of the dead who are unable to move on. After the death of her Foster Father she receives a phone call from someone who seems to know her but she doesn't seem to know them. To go to a hospital that has been abandoned where something terrible happened and its up to you to find out who the phone call was from and what happened at this hospital. Due to Marianne's ability as a medium she is able to receive help from spirits, Have outer body experiences but unfortunately opens her up to the usual dark side of the spirit world. She is able to feel their emotion and in this game those emotions aren't ones you want to be feeling. This game touches upon some dark subject matter especially neglect and serious abuse of an age group that shouldn't be abused. These emotions manifest into the creation of an incredibly malicious entity known as the Maw, Who is the main antagonist of the game played superbly by Troy Baker, Through the use of his voice and the uncanny but weirdly feminine movement of the creature create something truly disturbing at times. Unfortunately this thing doesn't know when to shut up as it always has something to say no matter the situation and for something so hell bent on killing you and trying on your skin it should maybe incorporate some silence and stealth into its strategy.
Its in the games second half where things really start to fall apart where a new playable character is introduced and he just isn't very interesting as the game suddenly turns into a heavy handed revenge plot and the real horror of the first chapter take a backseat. in Fact the biggest problem with the game is everything feels so heavy handed and with the choice of subject heavy handed is not what this game needed. The games lack of real input from the player other than just walking around and finding the odd item and document to read and the occasional brain dead race against time puzzle the game likes to shoehorn in. The main selling point of the game the dual screen effect to show you interacting within the real world and spirit world at the same time is a fantastic idea and is used to great effect does unfortunately dampen the atmosphere of the game ( Something that this game truly excels at). Because immersion is a strange thing because it shouldn't really exist, were never under any illusion that what we are seeing is real but it still has a real impact on our experience with the game and nothing screams THIS IS A GAME more that a line down the middle of the screen showing you two different things at the same time. Also the fixed camera homage to classic horror is a trend that really needs to die fast. fixed camera never worked in early horror games but unfortunately it was a compromise we had to deal with due to the technical limitations of the hardware at the time. This is a compromise we no longer need as technology has helped us look for new ways to experience horror and I want to developers to start exploring new ways rather than playing to peoples nostalgia, Because we will never move forward if developers keep taking this safe option. Also the ending sequel bates very hard and doesn't make a whole lot of sense.
Despite being very negative in this review I do have to recommend this game even if just for one play through. Just be prepared for a very passive experience but I truly believe there is A lot of potential in this development team and this game feels like the final stepping stone towards something truly special.