This makes subsequent playthroughs pointless except for achievement hunting. By the middle of the game, players can easily guess how the ending plays out. That predictability is precisely where the story falters. It's not hard to figure out: a demon is trying to possess Luca through a macabre ritual involving dismemberment and sacrifices. Where MADiSON drops the ball is the story. Although most places are not visually stunning, they perfectly capture the haunting atmosphere the game strives for. Particularly, the attention to detail in the dilapidation of the house is excellent. A lot of care was put into designing each location Luca visits, from his grandparent's home to a sprawling cathedral from the 1980s. The game features high-quality textures and fantastic visual and level design, which is not common with most indie horror games. Luca occasionally offers hints through dialogue and drawings in his notebook, but they are extremely vague and don't always point out the way forward. Even on the easiest difficulty, players may get stumped about their next steps. The only downside of this higher challenge level is that the path forward is sometimes unclear, so players may need a guide to know what the next step is, especially if they're playing on the hardest difficulty. Best of all is that players revisit locations seen at the beginning of the game regularly, adding a lot of depth to the environment. There's a wide variety of puzzles – though many still fall into the adventure game "find an item and use it" trope – and scares are littered throughout them. The answers are not always obvious and require some deduction skills to figure out. MADiSON's puzzles are quite challenging, which may feel rewarding for players seeking a higher-difficulty horror game. They're especially problematic during the final puzzle, which sends player back to the start if they are "jump scared." Their increasing frequency as the game progresses becomes more of a nuisance than a scare. Unfortunately, the game relies on them heavily, and by the end, they feel cheap and frustrating rather than scary. Newer players may be caught off guard by them, but longtime horror players will likely see them coming. Some of them are completely unpredictable and caused genuine terror when they happened. MADiSON also incorporates overt horror in the form of jump scares. The other voice actors, though sparsely used, are just as captivating in their delivery. Although many lines are read in similar tone, it's nonetheless refreshing to hear a horror protagonist speak like they're actually in mortal danger. Luca's fear and pain are evident based on the way he talks and groans his way through the events of the story. There's no time to relax, and the sound design reinforces that.Ĭapping the excellent sound design is the phenomenal voice acting, particularly from Luca's voice actor, Jacob Judge. Even though some cues get repetitive, they never fail to unsettle the player. Picture frames clatter to the ground unexpectedly and shadows move suddenly in Luca's peripheral vision. Creaking wood, slamming doors, and unnerving voices keep the player on edge. Without even displaying an image on the photo, MADiSON fills the player with dread simply by implying danger is ahead.īloodious Games creates a tension that is palpable from beginning to end, primarily due to the phenomenal sound design. By snapping a picture and waving it about to clear it, players see that the image is bloodied and burnt – the telltale sign of the game's main antagonist. A statue previously located at the end of this hallway is suddenly shrouded in darkness and red lighting, and it looks. In one segment, Luca walks down a hallway to his grandparents' living room after surviving a terrifying encounter. MADiSON uses this mechanic well to create subtle horror. RELATED New Horror Game for July 2022 Could Be One of the Scariest Games of the Year MADiSON requires players to snap photos of various objects to progress through the puzzles, and the camera can also be used to light up dark areas and fend off demons. While the game does seem to take inspiration from those games, it also distinguishes itself with its Polaroid camera mechanic. Veteran players familiar with common horror tropes may initially view MADiSON as an Outlast or P.T.
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