Bloober Team’s latest video goes into more depth on what powers The Medium’s main character, Marianne, will have, and how she can influence both the real world and the spirit world.
Marianne is the medium in question. She is drawn to the abandoned Niwa Hotel in Krakow, and the trailer above gives us a look at some gameplay footage and shows what that dual-reality gameplay experience will be like, with Marianne able to influence both realms. Michal Napora of the community team tells us that Marianne has “attuned senses… even in our real world, she can see, feel, and sense things that other people wouldn’t normally pick up on.” This guides her to clues in the real world as well as the spirit realm — like in the trailer, she is able to sense important hidden objects, or to guess that she should be looking in a certain place.
Marianne can also “sense energy or emotions emitting from certain physical objects. She can tune into those objects and let them relive the events of the past through so-called Echoes in her mind,” to gain a hidden insight into places or events. In the spirit world, “she can also reveal small fragments of a soul frozen in a specific moment of time.” This lets her hear what happened at that time, giving her more hints and context. Marianne is also able to “communicate with the lost souls that are lingering in the spirit plane,” and this seems to be how she’s able to talk to that creepy little girl that’s been popping up in all the trailers. We know from the trailer which showed us the game’s antagonist, The Maw, that this girl is called Sadness; a “mysterious masked girl who resides at the abandoned Niwa Hotel.” It looks like she’s the reason that Marianne is drawn to the hotel, and she also knows a little about The Maw, who she says “ate all of them… all of my friends.” From what we’ve seen so far of Marianne’s dual experiences, she can only see Sadness and The Maw in the spirit world, but can see echoes of them in the real world.
Bloober Team says the spirit realm isn’t heaven or hell or limbo; “it’s a place that’s really closely tied with our reality, separated only by a very thin veil, almost like a waiting room before you go to the afterlife.” Souls with “unfinished business” or issues might wind up there, and you can help send them on, finding out more about the past of the hotel as you do.
The Medium launches on January 28th for Xbox Series X|S and Windows, arriving day one for Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Game Pass for PC.