Quick Look: The Medium

Ok

If you use the hold your breath mechanic (which they don't necessarily clearly point out to you), the stealth sequences are pretty easy.

It actually gets a little better gameplay wise (less tedious) as you move on in the game. The story also goes places, even though I'm not sure that it really paid off in the end.

Thanks for another great NHL quicklook, Jeff! Really loving the mechanics this year!

@jason222: doesn't tell you...they literally tell you to hold your breath...are gamers getting too distracted these days. lol.

@topcyclist: I didn't get anything in game. I died a few times and then got the info via tooltip on the loading menu.

man the Avalanche have really changed up their roster

Yay! More Jeff please! He is a perfect fit for GB

I tried to play this game. It was as though this game wanted me to hate it.

Congrats, game. I hate you.

We need more Jeff B quicklooks!

And after watching some let's plays and this quick look I'm convinced that this is another iffy Bloober game. Nevermind some of the "edgy" themes in it.

I wanted to like this game so much more than I did. I really want Bloober to have another go at this style of fixed camera game but I think the writing and overall fit and finish need a lot more work. It's wild, even with Microsoft's backing The Medium still feels like it tried to bite off way more than it could chew. The two worlds concept is interesting but I think it works better in cutscenes when things are directed, during gameplay I just wanted to look at one or the other most of the time.

It did make me go and install Silent Hill 2 Enhanced Edition though, what a treat, if only the HD Collection had as much care and attention.

That double-screen stuff looks goofy as hell. Seeing apartment lady wander janky-like around a hallway with her hand out is as far away from horror and atmosphere as one can get.

I really think the game would have been a lot better if they had made it single perspective and had you instantly jumping from one dimension to the next with some nice graphical flair like that live action Silent Hill movie where the walls start peeling and everything rusts and gets chained up. Right now its two small screens and a lot of the actions are goofy looking like when you push a box in one realm and your character assumes the position and pushes air in the other.

This feels like a failed Silent Hill gimmick experiment from like 2012

This game looks really cool. I'm definitely gonna give it a shot. I was worried the video was going to be really negative and boring, because this seems outside of Jeff's comfort zone, but he actually seems kinda into it :] Thanks, Jeff and Alex

Guess I'm in the minority, but I liked this quite a bit. Story is pretty compelling and placed in a setting you don't often see in games, the graphics aren't mind blowing but both the real world and the spirit world look great, and the gameplay, while not amazing, never gets in the way of the story and atmosphere.

Honestly think a lot of folks here just don't like old tank control horror games, ha. Go back to Silent Hill 2 and see how that gameplay holds up.

The stealth in the Quick Look didn't seem so much stealth as it was waiting for him to move on. Is there actual stealth sections in this game or are the guys just incorrectly assuming something about the whole game based off of one section (which is unfortunately a very Giant Bomb thing to do)?

"Was he the manager here?" spoken to an at most 10 year old? What 10 year old knows what a manager is???

Boring gameplay aside, the writing seems kind of bad too.

Edit: Walking TOWARDS the projected images to get a better look was also super dumb :|

@likeassur: I just finished the game this past Saturday. Overall, there is no real stealth mechanics that are any different that what you just witnessed in the quick look. This game is certainly not a stealth game, but more so just puzzles and narrative driven.

Overall, this is a game that is worth it if you have game pass. I would not classify this a horror game, but a psychological thriller that gives me throwback to the PS1 era horror games. I really enjoy the story, the way it is told, and also the items you pick up to read, and how it connects to the story (although Control did it way better in that sense). I kept coming back to The Medium for the story. It's not a play 1 hour and put it down kind of game. It's a carve out an evening when you have no other obligations, sit back, and enjoy the story. If you're looking for stealth action, gameplay focused horror game, this is not for you.

This had to have started development as a first person game where you could switch the dimensions, right? The split screen stuff looks so bizarre and stupid... and has no reason to be there? Baffling decisions.

I have started enjoying this game more as I’ve put more time into it. For the initial 90 minutes I was really cold on it but around this part of the game I started getting more interested. It really just seems to be a fairly simple adventure game (almost point and click style) with the occasional stealth sequence or Crash Bandicoot style running sequence. The story is still mostly nonsense.

It really reminds me of the first Evil Within. If that was a knockoff RE4, this is a knockoff Silent Hill. If you are really craving a game like this, it will probably satisfy but otherwise it’s just okay.

I approached this game as a modern point and click game

I really couldn't with this game. Felt like it was actively pushing me away from it with its goofy writing and dull puzzles. And the constant, constant narrating by the main character is just infuriating. Some scenes might actually have been a little bit moody if she wasn't constantly talking.

I do think the two worlds concept is pretty neat though, and the normal setting feels very suitably Silent Hill-ish. Some cool imagery in the other world too (but never remotely scary).

More quick looks!

Wait, this isn't a refrigerator... What's Bakalar doing here?

Also, more Bakalar plz!!!

JEFF BAKALAR!!!

Spirit world reminds me of the last world in the the newer American McGee's Alice. I hated that world.

Fantastic!

This seems like the perfect game for GamePass. I'd never pay for it, but I guess I'll give it a try.

I was hoping the "gimmick" would be more akin to Titanfall 2's Effect and Cause mission, but it seems interesting enough to check out via Game Pass.

I played this game a little bit. From what I played I liked it. No, its not on the level of Silent Hill 2 or even 3 from what I played so far. But I think the character being able to communicate with the dead and keep track of reality at the same time is cool. I think the villain that chases you throughout the game is cheesy fun, though a bit predictable. You can easily guess when he is going to show up. This is the type of game I believe has the potential to have a great sequel.

I love a quick look that starts with "this game sucks."

The Bekinski-inspired art is really good. I've played a couple hours of this and will go back to it. Hopefully they'll patch the weird frame stuttering on the PC version.

I left Poland 30 years ago. It's really taken a turn.

This is the sort of thing I hoped Game Pass would provide. Shorter, more focused experiences. It's like a return to AA games and I'm all for it.

@digitaldisco: i kinda doubt that it Sucks, but mediocre or kinda boring sure. people who are looking for current gen horror games are going to play it. but the hosts going out of there way to tell everyone how its not there thing is and trashing it for 30 minutes is wrecking the vibe for every one else.

This seems like the perfect Game Pass experience...I definitely wouldn't go out and buy this, but after watching this video I'm definitely going to fire it up and give it a try since it's included with XGP.

This game sure has... AN idea but I don't think I'd ever actually wanna play it, even for a couple of hours, nevermind an 8 hour campaign.

Also that guy in the picture (17:50) totally does look like Dan.

Isn't is kind of... the point of a quicklook for the hosts to both give their opinion on the game and also play through a section of it, in order to allow you to come to your own conclusion? Do you require confirmation of your own feelings on the game in order to consider the quicklook to be functioning as intended?

I already said this game looks mediocre and agree on a lot of points they make in the video of the games short comings. But how is it productive or constructive to nitpick a game for being in its genre.

I'm not surprised the game is bad, these are the Layers of Fear devs.

It saddens me to hear that the GBE crew aren't enjoying this game but I also think it stems a lot from the expectations they had for it. People kept propping it up as a Silent Hill or Resident Evil type game but check out the games Bloober Team have made and this is a lot like those, atmospheric / psychological horror type games, no combat, this one just happens to be 3rd person. Come in with the right mindset and I think it's something you might enjoy, and certainly worth playing if you have game pass.