Bloober Team, the company behindLayers of FearandObserver, has promised to ring in the new console generation withThe Medium, an Xbox console exclusive. The latest horror work from a company known for its horror games in recent years,The Mediumis a departure from the norm for Bloober in a few ways. If everything shown about it delivers however, it may well contribute to being one of the reasonsthe Xbox Series X will be a great horror platform.
Unlike the other, first-person titles by Bloober Team,The Mediumtakes place in third person. It is an immersive, supernatural, psychologic horror game that takes place in a split perspective. This is represented by players controlling the main character (the eponymous Medium) and her Astral Projection at the same time. Players must make their way through an abandoned facility and its spiritual counterpart at the same time to solve a murder.
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The game certainly shows promise in several areas. Bloober’s previous horror works have been largely on-rail first-person affairs, with players going through scary moments, but without great risk to their progress.The Mediumseems much more interactive, with players having to work their way through both worlds and using the ways they interact to bypass obstacles. Also intriguing is the talent behind the art side of the game. It was already known thatThe MediumhadSilent Hillcomposer Akira Yamaoka on board, but it was recently revealed that singer Elizabeth Mary McGlynn was also brought on. McGlynn and Yamaoka are former collaborators onSilent Hill, and now they’re together again forThe Medium.
This is not the onlySilent Hillreunion going on inThe Medium, and not even the only musical one.Troy Baker is part ofThe Mediumas the voice of The Maw, the central antagonistic force in the game. Baker has lent his voice to several game characters in the past, the notable one here being James Sunderland in theSilent Hill HD Collection. He is also a musician, and was part of Yamaoka’s band alongside McGlynn before Yamaoka’s departure from Konami. While it is unlikely that Baker will be contributing his musical talent to the soundtrack, McGlynn almost certainly is, as she has provided vocals for the entireSilent Hillseries, and worked with Yamaoka frequently.
The choice ofSilent Hillveterans for the voicework and music ofThe Mediumis not surprising.The Mediumdraws on similar themes to theSilent Hillseries, with characters' feelings warping the area around them, although inThe Mediumthis seems limited to the spirit world. Of course,The Mediumtakes as much fromTitanfall 2as it does fromSilent Hillwhen it comes to the actual gameplay. The dual worlds interacting with each other are very prominent inTitanfall 2’s time travelling section, andMediumseems to be expanding on it with two worlds existing and interacted with simultaneously. How it will all mesh together remains to be seen, but the idea is certainly intriguing.
More intriguing still is the fact thatThe Mediumwill not feature any weapons. This is a big change fromTitanfall 2, and even theSilent Hillseries, which often had means of at least distracting its creatures. Also unusual is Troy Baker voicing a villain, a monster no less, and the central antagonist of the game. What exactly The Maw is is not yet clear, but with the veteranSilent Hillteam voicing it and providing its theme music, odds are it will be a terrifying, weaponless, dualistic ride.
The Mediumis scheduled for release in holiday of 2020 for the PC and Xbox Series X.
