Excitement has been building around The Medium after it was revealed at the May iteration of Xbox 20/20. The team behind the upcoming horror game, Bloober Team, has been responsible for successful games in the genre such as Layers of Fear and The Observer. However, the team is promising some considerable changes in the upcoming The Medium and lead game designer Wojciech Piejko has taken the time to explain why this game needed to be made for the next generation of consoles.
Despite the May Xbox 20/20 promising to deliver news on games developed by third parties, The Medium was one of two titles coming to the Xbox Series X and no other console. The game is promising 4k graphics and no loading which in itself an achievement. Yet Wojciech has claimed that there are patented mechanics which will separate the game from its competition and forced the game, which has been in development since 2012, to be made for the next generation of consoles.
In an interview, Wojciech stated, "I can't tell you right now about our most important feature, because we will have to save it for later. But the gameplay mechanic built around those two worlds couldn't be fully realized on current-gen hardware." This enigmatic statement will excite players and the further details the designer gave also suggest an interesting feature, "This is something that I think will distinguish our game from any other. It's also even patented." Many will now wonder how The Medium will be different from other titles, as the details about the game have been intriguing but have yet to suggest a truly unique feature or mechanic.
The interview hit on the horror being a metaphor for greater troubling themes, yet fans of the genre will be familiar with this being the case in the majority films and games that label themselves as horror. There was also the mention of cinematic angles and this will evoke memories of Silent Hill for older horror fans, yet none of these elements suggest something truly new in the game. As a result, many will be interested in what this patented mechanic is and how it will make the game stand out. While many great horror games go unnoticed, the Bloober Team will hope that the mysterious mechanic will make the title stand out.
With the composer from the Silent Hill games in charge of the score for the game, many will draw comparisons between the two titles. Nonetheless, if The Medium can deliver game-changing mechanics, players may be treated to a unique horror game that impacts the genre for the foreseeable future.
The Medium launches holiday 2020 for PC and Xbox Series X.
Source: GameSpot