The Medium

About The Medium

The Medium is a third-person psychological horror adventure developed by Bloober Team, released on January 28, 2021. It runs on PC, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and Mac. The game follows Marianne, a psychic who navigates two overlapping worlds, the real and the spirit, to uncover a decades-old murder. Set in a decaying resort hotel, it leans into eerie atmospherics and layered storytelling. You explore physical and spectral realms simultaneously, solving puzzles and avoiding the Maw, a monstrous entity tied to a tragic past. It’s a slow-burn mystery with a focus on environmental storytelling and dual-world navigation.

Gameplay

You control Marianne in real time, switching between the material and spirit worlds to solve interconnected puzzles. For example, moving a physical object in the real world might reveal a hidden path in the spirit realm. Combat is minimal but tense, you evade the Maw using stealth, not weapons. The game emphasizes exploration and observation; solving a puzzle in one world often requires insights from the other. Controls are intuitive, with quick toggles between worlds and psychic tools like spirit vision. Sessions often involve methodical backtracking as new paths open. The Maw’s sudden appearances force you to balance curiosity with survival instincts, creating a constant sense of unease.

What Players Think

The Medium holds a 73.1/100 on IGDB (158 ratings), with community moods skewed toward creepy (4 votes) and dark (3 votes). Average completion rate is 23%, suggesting a challenging but rewarding experience. Most players finish in 12, 15 hours, though 20% log over 20. Reviews highlight the dual-world mechanic as “brilliant but occasionally gimmicky” and praise the unsettling atmosphere. Critics note a “slow start” but praise the payoff. Achievement completion is 41% overall, with the hardest, “Spirit of the Maw,” earned by 12%. The game’s 67% “Positive” sentiment on Steam suggests it divides players but leaves a strong impression.

PlayPile's Take

The Medium is a niche pick for fans of methodical horror and layered narratives. Its dual-world mechanic is inventive but occasionally clunky, and the pacing may test patience. At $39.99 (PC), it offers decent value for its atmospheric depth, though completion rates suggest it’s not for everyone. The 12-hour average playtime and 67% positive ratings indicate it’s more polarizing than essential. If you enjoy figuring out slow-burn mysteries with a supernatural twist, its eerie world and interconnected puzzles justify the investment.

Storyline

Marianne, a medium hounded by visions, lives and interacts across two worlds: the real one and the spirit world. Haunted by the vision of a child’s murder, she travels to an abandoned hotel resort, which many years ago became the stage of an unthinkable tragedy. There she begins her search for difficult answers. As a medium with access to both worlds, she has a wider perspective and can see more clearly that there’s no one simple truth to what others perceive. Nothing is what it seems, everything has another side.