The Medium Trailer Shows Off "Dual-Reality" Horror Gameplay

When Layers of Fear studio Bloober Team debuted its next horror game, The Medium, it said that it would be exclusive to PC and Xbox Series X, skipping the current generation altogether. At the time the studio suggested that the next-gen power was necessary for its key feature, and now we may have gotten our first look at what it meant. A new trailer during the Xbox Series X event showcased the "Dual-Reality" feature.

The story follows Marianne, a medium in touch with both the physical and spirit world, so the game shows both realities simultaneously. You control her movements with one analog stick and manage interactions between worlds to solve puzzles. In an announcement, Bloober boasts that both worlds are full-fledged and distinct from one another, and you can swap between them without loading screens.

The Medium is coming to Xbox Series X and PC via Steam this holiday. Pre-orders will get a soundtrack from composer Akira Yamaoka and Bloober's Arkadiusz Reikowski, along with a digital art book. Xbox Series X pre-orders are available now.

"The idea was like in 2012, I think, the first iteration of it," lead game designer Wojciech Piejko told GameSpot in May. "I can't tell you right now about our most important feature, because we will have to save it for later. But the gameplay mechanic built around those two worlds couldn't be fully realized on current-gen hardware. This is something that I think will distinguish our game from any other. It's also even patented. So yeah, the game simply cannot work the same way on current-gen platforms."