a preview of the first new generation Xbox exclusive • Eurogamer.net

The Medium is a game in two halves – a game in which you, as Marianne, dart between the world of the living and the dead. This distinct division is a big factor in the storytelling, soundtrack production, and rendering technology that powers the game. It’s also a compelling version in that it crosses the line between providing ‘a next-gen experience for the latest consoles in the Xbox series – it’s not playable on previous-gen hardware – while at the same time being a tribute to the horror adventure style of the early 2000s . Thu.

Produced using Unreal Engine 4 and developed by Polish studio Bloober Team – previously responsible for Observer and Layers of Fear – this game is somewhat different from other excursions in the horror adventure genre, due to its use of third-person perspective camera angles. back to the original Resident Evil. However, what separates this game is a unique feature that appears at certain points in history – a dual window display. Essentially, the game screen is split in half in these scenarios, representing two halves of the same world. During these sections, your control is mirrored, with roadblocks on one side limiting your progress on the other. This is the visual characteristic that defines the game and it is also quite demanding: the game renders two windows simultaneously, which can be quite demanding, especially with the way modern engines tend to work.

While there are commonalities in both worlds of the game, we’re looking at two separate locations rendered simultaneously, with unique sets of assets per view also increasing demands on the hardware in terms of streaming, GPU compute, and load. processor. For example, rendering components such as depth of field, ambient occlusion, and motion blur are calculated twice, which increases the cost. In addition to this, DXR accelerated ray tracing is featured on Xbox Series X and PC versions and the BVH acceleration structure which is a fundamental requirement for this technology must be maintained for both windows, which requires both processor and VRAM (which may explain why RT is missing on Xbox Series S).

The Medium’s signature dual point of view effect could have lost its welcome if it had been used too often. Fortunately, this isn’t the case – the beat carefully balances different types of storylines as you play. For example, in several areas of the game, rather than playing split screen, you’ll be using mirrors to move back and forth between the real world and the spirit world. The mirrors themselves reflect your character’s movement and position but serve as a portal to the other side, creating a new effect in the process. During these segments, you can instantly zap between environments as you work to solve puzzles. It’s an intriguing experience, marred only by some texture streaming issues every now and then. Fortunately, this doesn’t happen too often during normal gaming, but I was surprised to see it in a game running on newer systems, given their high bandwidth SSDs.

If we take a look at the environments themselves, perhaps this is where The Medium impresses the most. In the living world, environments are full of small granular details. From the forests surrounding the resort town of Niwa to the nearby ruins to the abandoned hotel itself, everything is done in spectacular fashion. Meanwhile, the spirit world is inspired by Polish painter Beksinski, but that connection may be a little deeper than usual. In this world, the dramatic change in materials creates a very different feel and it works exceptionally well. The same can be said of the decor itself, which sets this title apart from the bunch: The depiction of Polish wilderness and the abandoned hotel complex gives Medium a unique atmosphere that I found fascinating everywhere – it’s a world of haunting beauty to explore.

The character models are also well detailed, especially the ones you meet on the other side. The portrayal of these inhabitants is creepy and convincing enough, although I found the cutscenes to be slightly disappointed with the animation that was a bit stiff, especially when it came to facial expressions and eye movements. The in-game animation is perfectly usable but also somewhat rigid. That said, in the horror game genre, it seems like a perfect fit, if that makes sense.

The Medium is available on both Xbox Series X and Series S as well as PC, which means it’s the first title we’ve played that can’t run on previous-gen Xbox One hardware – and it does. makes sense, given the unique presentation. In terms of resolution, The Medium uses dynamic resolution scaling with a wider variation than usual, possibly due to the dual window display used throughout the game. While exploring the world in full screen, the resolution peaks at native 4K on the X series and 1080p on the S series: during these segments, DRS scaling averages around 1440p on X and 900p on the S series. However, when exploring in split mode, screen mode, the minimum resolution decreases further. On the X series, the lowest case is around 900p while the S series equivalent is 648p. Remember that the game is literally rendering two independent scenes at the same time, explaining the drops in pixel count.

In terms of ray tracing support, The Medium features RT reflections – but only in certain places and only on Xbox Series X and PC – with the S Series reverting to more conventional reflections of screen space. They get the job done, but just can’t reproduce details that are not present in the current camera view, so details may disappear in some scenarios. There are other differences between Xboxes as well: Shadows, for example, are rendered at a lower resolution on the S-series. All of The Medium’s shadows are traditional raster shadows, it should be noted, rather than drawn shadows. by rays – except for shadows. visible in ray tracing reflection. That said, using fixed camera angles avoids the artifacts often associated with traditional shadow maps and the result is superb. Shadows dance as your flashlight travels across the landscape, while Unreal Engine 4 Touch Shadows are also used to enhance proximity detail.

Performance-wise, this is a 30fps experience, which is acceptable for a slow-paced horror adventure game – and the good news is that the performance holds up on both sides. Xbox Series X and Series S consoles in most scenarios, that there is one. view being rendered or two. There are certain scenarios with real performance drops, but luckily they are rare. However, despite a relatively clean 30 fps output, I found that an incorrect frame rate was in effect. This means that while 30 unique images are presented every second, they are not delivered evenly on every other screen refresh as they should. It comes across as a more inconsistent experience and some might even perceive a lower frame rate. We reported this to the studio, which has promised it will be addressed in an upcoming patch, along with a current issue in the form of occasional blinking pixels. If you see this while playing, don’t worry, your console is fine!

Another thing I wanted to touch on is the audio side of the experience, which is very impressive. No horror game is complete without a truly ominous soundscape and The Medium delivers it. Unsurprisingly, in a game of duality, two composers were brought on board. The real world is managed by Arkadiusz Reikowski – who has worked on previous Bloober Team projects – while the spiritual tracks are managed instead by composer Akira Yamaoka, whose credits include Kensei Sacred Fist and Silent Hill. The result is remarkably atmospheric and rich. The mixture of these magnificent and often haunting tracks, combined with the superb implementation of surround sound makes for a very powerful audio experience. More than the visuals themselves, the sound really helped get me into the game. I highly recommend playing using a high end surround setup or at least a pair of high quality headphones for the best experience.

And experience it, you should! While there’s no doubt that The Medium is a bit rough in terms of polish and overall production values, the point is, it’s a beautiful and memorable horror adventure, and I would rank it as the best title in the world. emerge from Bloober so far. It’s also available on Day 1 through Game Pass, so I’m hoping to see an awesome game get a lot more exposure as a result. I think it’s worth pointing out that despite being an Xbox exclusive platform at the moment, The Medium isn’t a triple-A juggernaut in the traditional sense, but it’s different, it is unique and I highly recommend checking it out.