Adventure · January 28, 2021

The Medium (2021)

trophy39 achievementsextension3 DLClocal_offer-70% current discountgroup1M–10M ownersrecommend7.0k recommendations
Discover a dark mystery only a medium can solve. Explore the real world and the spirit world at the same time. Use your psychic abilities to solve puzzles spanning both worlds, uncover deeply disturbing secrets, and survive encounters with The Maw - a monster born from an unspeakable tragedy.. The Medium is a third-person psychological horror game that features patented dual-reality gameplay and an original soundtrack co-composed by Arkadiusz Reikowski and Akira Yamaoka. Wield unique psychic abilities reserved for those with the gift. Travel between the realities or explore them both at the very same time. Use the Out of Body experience to investigate places where your real-world self can’t go. Create energy shields and deliver powerful spirit blasts to survive the spirit world and its otherworldly dangers. Delve deep into a mature and morally ambiguous story, where nothing is what it seems and everything has another side. As a medium you see, hear and experience more than others, and with every new perspective you will change your perception on what happened at the Niwa resort. Never-seen-before and officially patented gameplay that plays out across two worlds displayed at the same time. Explore the physical world and the spirit world simultaneously, and use the interactions between them to solve dual-reality puzzles, unlock new paths, and awaken memories of past events. The Medium’s spirit world is a dark mirror reflection of our reality, a grim and unsettling place where our unpunished deeds, evil urges, and vile secrets manifest themselves and can take on a form. This world has been invented and designed under the inspiration of Zdzisław Beksiński’s paintings, Polish dystopian surrealist internationally recognized for his distinctive and strikingly ominous style. Immerse yourself in the disturbing and oppressive atmosphere of the game thanks to the original ‘dual’ soundtrack co-created by Akira Yamaoka and Arkadiusz Reikowski. Yamaoka-san is a legendary Japanese composer best known for his work on the Silent Hill series; Reikowski is a Hollywood Music in Media Awards nominee who worked on such acclaimed horror games as Blair Witch, Layers of Fear, and Observer. Now they join their creative forces for the music and songs of The Medium.

Adventure releases from 2021

87 Adventure titles launched in 2021 — top 6 by review volume.

Community Tag Signals

Tag weights reflect how many Steam users voted each descriptor — larger pills = stronger consensus.

  • Adventure · 170
  • Horror · 103
  • Female Protagonist · 86
  • Psychological Horror · 79
  • Atmospheric · 77
  • Third Person · 61
  • Dark · 61
  • Story Rich · 60
  • Singleplayer · 56
  • Sexual Content · 53
  • Mature · 48
  • Great Soundtrack · 44
  • Psychological · 41
  • Violent · 39
  • Walking Simulator · 38

Peer Adventure titles

Comparable titles in the same genre and review-volume band — ranked by Steam positive percentage.

Position in Adventure

MetricThis titleGenre position
Review volume8.7k Steam reviewsTop 26% in Adventure
Positive rating89% positiveGenre average: 87% — this title sits in top 58%
Metacritic75/100Genre average 77 — top 70% of Adventure titles
Engagement hours8 h averageTop 42% for session depth among Adventure

Localization Coverage

Interface / Subtitles (10)

  • English volume_up
  • French
  • Italian
  • German
  • Spanish - Spain
  • Japanese
  • Portuguese - Brazil
  • Russian
  • Simplified Chinese
  • Polish volume_up

Full audio (2)

  • English
  • Polish

Reception Metrics

Steam community

89%Very Positive · 8.7k reviews

7.8k positive · 961 negative

Metacritic

75/100 critic aggregate

Metacritic user score

7.2/10

Curator recommendations

7.0k

Press Quotes

“The Medium is one of the best third-person horror games I've ever played.” 92/100 – PC Gamer “The Medium is a terrifying but compelling exploration of duality that uses the horror of personal trauma to craft a memorable tale.” 9/10 – Gamespot “It’s handily Bloober’s most confident game yet. While I never got to see things through protagonist Marianne’s eyes, the game still dragged me down and smothered me with its stifling atmosphere. I often found myself tensed up and…

Engagement Profile

All-time avg

8h

short (5–15 hours)

Median

7h

Typical completion time

2-week avg

12h

Current engagement

Achievements

39

Steam unlocks available

Release & Availability

Release dateJan 28, 2021
DeveloperBloober Team
PublisherBloober Team SA, NA PUBLISHING INC.
Base price$14.99 -70%
DLC / Add-ons3 released
PlatformsWindows, macOS
Estimated owners1M–10M
External linksOfficial site · Support · [email protected]

Features & Capabilities

Community

  • Steam Achievements
  • Steam Cloud

Input & Comfort

  • Full controller support

Other

  • Single-player
  • Family Sharing

Content Notes

This game may contain content not appropriate for all ages, or may not be appropriate for viewing at work. Frequent violence and gore and general mature content is present.

Editions & Packages

  • Buy The Medium