The Medium

The Medium for PC is a game all about the spirit world, demonstrating how actions taken in this realm (the real world) can affect the spirits and places in the spirit world – and sometimes vice versa which is much less of a fun idea! The game incorporates puzzle solving, exploration and thinking your way around or through problems that seem insurmountable.

About the Game

You are in the guise of a Polish orphan, Marianne, who grows up to be an undertaker, like the man who adopted her. Marianne is the eponymous medium for whom the game is named, and she must work to solve puzzles and fulfil missions and quests. There is an entertaining and absorbing storyline to be winkled out by accompanying Marianne and getting her through all her quests.

Being psychic, Marianne can see and walk in the spiritual realm even as she is present in the real world at the same time, and this action is frequently shown on a split screen, with real world and spiritual world Marianne in both, interacting with objects and people on both sides as she needs to.

Marianne’s spiritual or psychic energy can be depleted by battles with hostile spirits and overusing her powers and when this happens she must seek out spirit wells where she will be rejuvenated.

The antagonist of the game is the creepy Maw, which wants to possess Marianne in order to escape its prison in the spirit world and fulfil its bloodlust in the real world. Despite her best efforts, The Maw does escape, and Marianne must work hard to contain the evil entity before it can do too much harm. The creepy villainy of The Maw is beautifully brought to life by voice actor Troy Baker, while Marianne excels, thanks to the voice talents of Kathy Burke.

The player must work both worlds in tandem, and learn how to use the features of one world in the other: such as letting Marianne have an out of body experience, so her spirit can go where her body cannot. Gameplay is third person, with fixed camera angles, almost as though you are watching her via CCTV – except for the bit where you are in charge of where she goes.

The visuals are excellently done with the imagery flicking between reality and the spiritual: for example, in one split scene Marianne is talking to ghost child in the spiritual realm but is seen counterpointed by her talking to an apparently empty room in the real world. Keep your eyes peeled for one memorable chase scene where the landscape flicks between the two realms as she runs.

Game play is fairly linear, with no sandboxiness allowing you to explore at will, so the storyline unfolds pacily and the whole narrative arc runs for about 8 hours altogether.

Dark Story

Marianne unravels a tale of horrific past deeds and dark acts which turn out to be personally linked to her and her orphan state. Despite the potential for upsetting trauma, the character of Marianne is robust and sardonic, offering asides and quips that keep the mood light.

Marianne meets, along the way, a distressed spirit called Thomas and begins to understand the darkness of her own past, made all the more nerve-racking by the reality shifting qualities of the game.

In summary, the game is a psychological horror that plays out like a set-piece puzzle game in a very cool gothic setting. Marianne must find objects, avoid hostile spirits, solve puzzles and work out where she comes from, in this well-written and thought- provoking game that tackles some of the hard subjects – such as what makes people evil?

Marianne’s Psychic Tricks

Marianne has three special tricks up her sleeve that she can deploy when her spiritual energy is high. They are:

Insight – she has the power to look deeper than normal sight would allow and spot secret items and places that bear further inspection

Spirit Blast – she can shoot out a powerful shockwave of psychic energy to throw enemies off her trail or disrupt the electrics, as needed

Out of Body Experience – Marianne’s spirit can leave her body at will, and perform tasks that her physical body would not be capable of doing and go where she would not physically be able to. Be warned however, spirit Marianne will slowly run down until she fades, returning to Marianne’s physical body to recover

The Medium for PC is available for purchase on Instant Gaming for a fraction of its retail price. You will receive an official key and be able to play the game in seconds. Play smart. Pay less.