Since the release of Layers of Fear in 2016, Polish developer Bloober has carved out a niche for itself creating a run of psychedelic first-person horror titles defined by woozy spatial uncertainty and dazzling visual invention. So far that formula has given the world the luscious haunted house thrills of Layers of Fear and its avant-garde silver screen sequel, the squalid cyberpunk chills of The Observer, and the disorientating backwoods horror of Blair Witch. Now though, the studio is trying something a little different with its next title, The Medium - a third-person survival horror affair heavily inspired by genre classics like Resident Evil and Silent Hill.
If the name The Medium sounds familiar, it might be because Bloober initially announced the project all the way back in 2012, with a plan to release on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii U. The studio has made mention of it occasionally since then, but it's only now, with an Xbox Series X console exclusivity deal in place (it will launch on PC at the same time) and a release date in sight, that Bloober is finally willing to share more on what it calls the "biggest game we've built" and its "most ambitious project yet".
In The Medium, players are cast as the psychically gifted Marianne, a woman who's been haunted by visions of a child's murder for years. In a final effort to uncover the truth behind these images, Marianne travels to an abandoned hotel resort, where the action proper begins.