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The Medium is driving me crazy and I don't understand why this wasn't picked up in reviews.

darkangel-212559

Dreamcast Love
Aaah The Medium. A much needed horror game within the third person perspective.

I awaited eagerly for release, hyped as an OG SH Hill fan to have Akira Yamoka on board for sound scapes and music, even if it wasn't entirely him in charge.

I remember playing it day 1. The first hour was strong, and I was enjoying the atmosphere. But then the main character started to talk about EVERYTHING happening. All. The. Time. It started to ruin all the atmosphere that Bloober Team were going for. Then even the cutscenes had cringe dialog and voice acting whenever she was talking with that little girl.

And... much to my frustration it is totally ruining the game for me. I just don't understand why the devs thought having the main character never shutting the FUCK UP about EVERYTHING would work for a psychological horror game. For myself I think that's a great sin for this kind of game.

One of the key reasons why the OG SH games work so well is that it's just you, the terrifying soundscapes and long stretches of silence. It's like the devs have very little idea about what makes a good psychological horror game actually work.

Am I alone in this frustration with the game? Or am I simply being driven mad by it and will soon be ripped apart by Gaf?

It's a shame because everything else in the game is strong and so I will play to the end, but the relentless talking and BS really ruins it for me.

Anyone else out there with the same complaints?
 
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RJMacready73

Simps for Amouranth
Yeah i dont like my horror games or general games for that matter having an overly talkative protagonist, ND hit the right amount of dialogue for a scene but some go to far and you end up yelling will you ever shut the fuck up at the telly, but horror games especially.. i mean come on, if you where in the characters shoes you'd be deathly fucking quiet not blurting out every thought that pops into yer head
 
There must be a psychological issue that some people have when game characters talk to themselves. Perhaps it's the same thing as when someone near you is fidgeting and it drives you crazy.
I remember lots of complaints from Horizon Zero Dawn and people just hating that Aloy would make comments when playing.

I don't have this condition and like player inner monologs. And fidget all you want just don't smack gum. But some people it just gets in their craw and kills an otherwise great experience.

The Mediums biggest problem for me is that I am forced to play as a different character later on. This is what gets in my craw.
If suddenly I was forced to play as someone else during Horizon Zero Dawn my love for that game would tank hard.

It's part of the reason I really did not like The Last of Us part 2. Not the plot or characters. but me playing as someone else halfway through.
 

darkangel-212559

Dreamcast Love
I'm going to be checking out Tormented Souls tonight which I'm excited for. Its billed as a proper tribute to the old school SH and RE games. Also made by a Japanese dev. I'm desperate for that PS2 level of horror games. From the gameplay videos so far it looks like they don't have any talking from the main character during general game play. I thought The Medium would scratch that itch but it really doesn't.
 

tommib

Member
Aaah The Medium. A much needed horror game within the third person perspective.

I awaited eagerly for release, hyped as an OG SH Hill fan to have Akira Yamoka on board for sound scapes and music, even if it wasn't entirely him in charge.

I remember playing it day 1. The first hour was strong, and I was enjoying the atmosphere. But then the main character started to talk about EVERYTHING happening. All. The. Time. It started to ruin all the atmosphere that Bloober Team were going for. Then even the cutscenes had cringe dialog and voice acting whenever she was talking with that little girl.

And... much to my frustration it is totally ruining the game for me. I just don't understand why the devs thought having the main character never shutting the FUCK UP about EVERYTHING would work for a psychological horror game. For myself I think that's a great sin for this kind of game.

One of the key reasons why the OG SH games work so well is that it's just you, the terrifying soundscapes and long stretches of silence. It's like the devs have very little idea about what makes a good psychological horror game actually work.

Am I alone in this frustration with the game? Or am I simply being driven mad by it and will soon be ripped apart by Gaf?

It's a shame because everything else in the game is strong and so I will play to the end, but the relentless talking and BS really ruins it for me.

Anyone else out there with the same complaints?
Yeap, but it happens with a lot of games recently. Main characters keep talking about everything they’re doing. It’s especially frustrating in horror games because it takes you out of the atmosphere and the sense of dread. The voice acting is also to blame. She sounds too jolly for someone basically walking through a living hell.
 

darkangel-212559

Dreamcast Love
There must be a psychological issue that some people have when game characters talk to themselves. Perhaps it's the same thing as when someone near you is fidgeting and it drives you crazy.
I remember lots of complaints from Horizon Zero Dawn and people just hating that Aloy would make comments when playing.

I don't have this condition and like player inner monologs. And fidget all you want just don't smack gum. But some people it just gets in their craw and kills an otherwise great experience.

The Mediums biggest problem for me is that I am forced to play as a different character later on. This is what gets in my craw.
If suddenly I was forced to play as someone else during Horizon Zero Dawn my love for that game would tank hard.

It's part of the reason I really did not like The Last of Us part 2. Not the plot or characters. but me playing as someone else halfway through.
I haven't got to that part yet but I HOPE the new character doesn't talk so relentlessly as the first one does. We'll see I guess.
 

darkangel-212559

Dreamcast Love
Yeap, but it happens with a lot of games recently. Main characters keep talking about everything they’re doing. It’s especially frustrating in horror games because it takes you out of the atmosphere and the sense of dread. The voice acting is also to blame. She sounds too jolly for someone basically walking through a living hell.
You hit the nail on the head. I guess I'm especially upset because for me it takes away any of Akira Yamokas work. He is a master and I was hyped for it only because of his involvement. Tbh its the only reason why I'm forcing myself to keep playing.
 
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assurdum

Banned
I have a similar problem with the first two Tomb Raider reboot. Game is not bad but man Lara is the more annoying character ever, can't stop to moan a single second during the whole gameplay. They fixed it in the last game seems, but they getting worse in the gameplay.
 

Captain Hero

The Spoiler Soldier
Amen

man the first hour was good but then it felt just no and please girl dont make jokes while you are in a situation that demands your highly attention so stfu. I didn't like the talking I didn't like after that hour is just getting boring and drifted away from what a psychological game should be
 
I'm pretty this was mentioned in some reviews but I suppose it maybe doesn't bother everybody equally. For me it sort of felt like it was the sort of thing that's shown at game shows where the have the protagonist saying far more than usual just to explain to people who may be hearing about the game for the first time.
In terms of storytelling I find it to be quite a lazy and somewhat like a voice over in films. I don't mind having it there as an option for people who feel they need it because there will always be some people who do but it really should only be an option.
 

Altares13th

Member
This is a good point OP.
I think this has to do with the general belief in the gaming industry that humans need connections in order to be happy (or something).
If some people don't like multiplayer and are into solo instead, no worries, we'll give them virtual friends to play with so they don't feel alone and rejected (or something).
Nowadays, it's either virtual companion or over-talkative player character.
Games that don't conform to these principles are probably seen as boring in the eyes of the general public anyway.

Some developers rebel against it though:
- Ueda-san
- Playdead
- From software (though I'm not betting for the long term)
 

TonyK

Member
It's the opposite of silent characters like Link or Gordon Freeman. I hate both: monologue talkers and silents.
 

darkangel-212559

Dreamcast Love
Murphy is super vocal.
Man I really don't remember that. Probably because it wasn't as awful as fuck like in this game. Or maybe because I'm a Silent Hill fanboy who even defends homecoming and will buy anything labelled Silent Hill, even if its the worst game since Life of Tiger.

Yeah. Probably that.
 
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Jigsaah

Gold Member
Did you buy this?

I'm part of the official "Ripping-apart" faction of GAF. Pay me no attention.
 

Hugare

Member
Yeah, I hate it, but I understand why its there

"It wouldnt be realistic to remain silent in that situation".

Even in old SH games there was tons of thoughts from the MC when checking stuff on the environment. But it was text only, since they didnt have the disc space/budget to do voice acting for everything.

But realism be damned, I say

In Outlast you go through a lot of fucked up shit but the MC stays silent all the way through, and it was way more scary because of it
 

sainraja

Member
I couldn't get into it when I played it on the Xbox (SX) and I liked games with fixed camera angles. I don't prefer that view but I understand how it works if that matters.
 

GymWolf

Member
What does an horror game protagonist even says?! "I'm shitting my pants" on repetition every 30 sec?!
 

darkangel-212559

Dreamcast Love
Yeah, I hate it, but I understand why its there

"It wouldnt be realistic to remain silent in that situation".

Even in old SH games there was tons of thoughts from the MC when checking stuff on the environment. But it was text only, since they didnt have the disc space/budget to do voice acting for everything.

But realism be damned, I say

In Outlast you go through a lot of fucked up shit but the MC stays silent all the way through, and it was way more scary because of it
The difference there is very often that text would also work to heighten the already very tense atmosphere and a lot of the time it wasn't any more than one or two descriptive sentences. There would also still be long gaps of silence in between.

Here it's just pure cringe with out loud 'jokes' and other crap used to describe literally everything. It never stops.
 
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Kuranghi

Member
I don't mind when characters talk to themselves incessantly tbh, probably because I do it myself IRL. Its just annoying in, for example, Horizon when she says the same thing over and over or just makes a totally pointless comment like talking about sliding down a hill for 1.6 seconds lol.

It does sound annoying in a game like this though.

Now I'm imagining Gordon Freeman just wittering on the whole of the tram journey intro :messenger_tears_of_joy: Just shouting out to all the distant scientists from the tram:

Gordon: "HEY! I'M THE NEW GUY, CAN'T WAIT TO WORK WITH YOU! I'LL BE DOING SOME EXPERIMENTS WITH THE ANTI-MASS SPECTROMETER, HOPE I DON'T MESS UP ON MY FIRST DAY, LOLZ!"

Scientist: *Turns to see what the noise is and falls into the radioactive waste*
 

Jigsaah

Gold Member
Well I sub to Game Pass Ultimate so yes. Just not upfront.
Good on ya...

Yea I think a lot of horror games try to thread the needle between being too scary and still keeping the atmosphere up. I recently played Resident Evil 3 Remake and...it was more like an action game, not scary at all. I can remember thinking during some of the cutscenes that it would be cool if this was actually playable.

My favorite horror game of all time was Eternal Darkness on the Gamecube. That's Psychological Horror for yo ass. I did beat Silent hill 2 as well but I kinda ruined it for myself because I would play at night while my girlfriend was watching. She would always be asking questions and would jump just because I opened the door.

Nothing worse than having a back seat gamer talking about "kill it kill it kill it" and then when you do saying "great job, babe".

AdeptFamousIbex-size_restricted.gif
 

Kuranghi

Member
The difference there is very often that text would also work to heighten the already very tense atmosphere and a lot of the time it wasn't any more than one or two descriptive sentences. There would also still be long gaps of silence in between.

Here it's just pure cringe with out loud 'jokes' and other crap used to describe literally everything. It never stops.

I love in the OG RE games when you examine something in the environment and the text says something short but ominous and it really elevates the atmosphere because you read it in your own voice/head. I like that they kept that in 2 and 3 remake, sometimes they comment on things you pick up but often its just the text and thats better in many cases I think.
 

martino

Member
blame rocksteady and batman AA for making popular what we can call "story mumbling" with low IQ audience in mind.
it's almost everywhere now
 

StreetsofBeige

Gold Member
Aaah The Medium. A much needed horror game within the third person perspective.

I awaited eagerly for release, hyped as an OG SH Hill fan to have Akira Yamoka on board for sound scapes and music, even if it wasn't entirely him in charge.

I remember playing it day 1. The first hour was strong, and I was enjoying the atmosphere. But then the main character started to talk about EVERYTHING happening. All. The. Time. It started to ruin all the atmosphere that Bloober Team were going for. Then even the cutscenes had cringe dialog and voice acting whenever she was talking with that little girl.

And... much to my frustration it is totally ruining the game for me. I just don't understand why the devs thought having the main character never shutting the FUCK UP about EVERYTHING would work for a psychological horror game. For myself I think that's a great sin for this kind of game.

One of the key reasons why the OG SH games work so well is that it's just you, the terrifying soundscapes and long stretches of silence. It's like the devs have very little idea about what makes a good psychological horror game actually work.

Am I alone in this frustration with the game? Or am I simply being driven mad by it and will soon be ripped apart by Gaf?

It's a shame because everything else in the game is strong and so I will play to the end, but the relentless talking and BS really ruins it for me.

Anyone else out there with the same complaints?
Play Hellblade.

Most amount of unskippable psychotic bipolar disorder ever. And that was in the first hour.
 

Shakka43

Member
I'm going to be checking out Tormented Souls tonight which I'm excited for. Its billed as a proper tribute to the old school SH and RE games. Also made by a Japanese dev. I'm desperate for that PS2 level of horror games. From the gameplay videos so far it looks like they don't have any talking from the main character during general game play. I thought The Medium would scratch that itch but it really doesn't.
The game really catches that PS2 horror era feel to perfection, you are gonna enjoy that one.
 

TGO

Hype Train conductor. Works harder than it steams.
I'm going to be checking out Tormented Souls tonight which I'm excited for. Its billed as a proper tribute to the old school SH and RE games. Also made by a Japanese dev. I'm desperate for that PS2 level of horror games. From the gameplay videos so far it looks like they don't have any talking from the main character during general game play. I thought The Medium would scratch that itch but it really doesn't.
You'll love Tormented Soul's
My only complaint about it is some puzzles are a bit vague.
And that FMV at the beginning looks like it was encoded in 1997.
In fact both these games have a bad FMV at the beginning.
The Medium intro looks like it's running on a GCN with its low colour palette.
As for the game, I don't really mind her talking, they could tone it down a bit.
But I can definitely see why Konami wants to work with them.
The two worlds thing I'm not really into.
The Mirror was better imo.
or maybe they should have had it on the a button and you can change at will.
But the whole split thing, nah don't like it.
And I noticed some said in the OT that are other parts that seem like they was done by another team and are better.
While I agree that it does seem to be like it was done by another team, I disagree about them being better.
It probably the worse parts of the game.
And the camera angles go straight out the window in those parts too
The only good thing is the powers
 
I hate expository dialogue in the first place but the recent trend of characters seemingly telling themselves why they're doing every single thing they do is absolutely disgusting. It's as if the devs are catering to brainlets that can't figure out even basic shit. In the end it just makes the characters seem insane, constantly explaining their own actions to themselves. Even Psychonauts 2 had a decent amount of this kind of shit. Yes I know where I'm supposed to go next Raz, shut the fuck up and let me explore.

It's just a new form of player hand-holding so journalists can "play" their new cinematic masterpiece, and it's voice by a famous voice actor! 9/10!

It breaks any sort of immersion, prevents me from figuring out things on my own or worse it tells me what I already know.
 

martino

Member
I thought it was Naughty Dog with Uncharted 🤔
Maybe i was not clear it's not about mumbling it's about a specific kind of them.
the one where you feel developer think you are really dumb and the you need that mumbling to understand what in happening in the story or what you need to do in the game.
Or another kind you see in open world : the one reminding often you have THAT mission to do.
 
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Bloober Team somehow made a name for themselves but I have no fucking idea how because maybe one of their games was good. The rest were all mediocre shit, The Medium included. I need better horror games to scratch my butt. Visage was the last great horror I played in the last....5 years? Dunno when Alien Isolation came out. How hard is it to make a good horror games fucking hell.
 

Dr Bass

Member
Bloober Team somehow made a name for themselves but I have no fucking idea how because maybe one of their games was good. The rest were all mediocre shit, The Medium included. I need better horror games to scratch my butt. Visage was the last great horror I played in the last....5 years? Dunno when Alien Isolation came out. How hard is it to make a good horror games fucking hell.
I believe the term is "scratch my itch." :messenger_tears_of_joy:
 

Life

Member
But yeah I complained months back about the protagonist talking to herself in-game. Really off-putting considering it's supposed to be fucking horror...and she's cheering herself on like it's sports or something.

The Medium was basically on-rails right until the end though. That's a much bigger problem. It's basically a casual horror game.
 
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