One of the more promising next-gen games targeted for the Xbox Series X is The Medium, a psychological horror game that touches upon the connection between life and death.
It’s particularly unique in that it allows players to experience two distinct realities at the same time: The real world and that of the supernatural. It’s an innovative feature that should push The Medium well when it debuts in December of this year.
Even though it’s about to release, there are signs of trouble for Australian gamers. That’s because The Medium has been refused classification in this area, which signifies that it may not be releasing here at all.
Usually when this happens for a game, it’s because the developer broke some sort of rule. What that rule is in the case of The Medium still is unknown. Several in the industry have reached out to the Classification Board as to receive some sort of classification, but at this current time, there are no developments.
It would be very unfortunate for Australian gamers not being able to experience The Medium’s novel designs and competent horror elements that we’ve seen glimpses of in recent trailers. Could it be because of the game’s dark themes or some of the sensitive subject material involved in the story?
That’s hardly unlikely because Australian gamers have been privy to other horror games with similar elements over the years. Whatever the case, there is still light at the end of the tunnel for those in this region hoping to grab the horror game when it releases on the next-gen console from Microsoft in just a couple of months.
There are always opportunities for developers to see why their titles haven’t received classification. They can then tweak their designs according to these rules and eventually receive classification at a later date. That’s probably what’s going to happen with The Medium.
Or, this classification issue could have just been an algorithmic error. That can happen as well in the gaming industry. If you’re currently in Australia and are a horror gaming fan, rest easy. There should be some clarification here pretty shortly. In the meantime, you can check out the most recent trailers that highlight more of the game’s story and gameplay.
It looks like one of the more unique survival-horror games in some time. It wouldn’t be surprising to see it push a lot of Xbox Series X consoles early on thanks to its novel gameplay and visuals.
