The first exclusive Xbox Series X | S tested by Digital Foundry

British side Digital foundry just revealed his technical analysis for The medium, expected on January 28th on Xbox Series X and S. This particularly affects an exclusive next-generation game, which is therefore not available for the first generation.

The medium is the last production of Bloober team. Your previous productions include observer (including a recently released remake series X | S), Layers of fear or Blair Witch. Titles with edited and terrible atmospheres in their essence. The medium is part of this line. There you play a young woman named Marianne who has to investigate the disappearance of a child in a hotel complex.

Digital foundry his analysis begins with the differentiation of the separate bases The medium

its predecessor. Namely this one We are facing a game in the third person perspective. A choice that allows to highlight the beauty of the panoramas, especially outdoors, great. Powered by Unreal Engine 4, the details are impressive. Whether in the vast forests, abandoned ruins or in the hotel itself, The “feeling” of the next generation is there. The characters are well modeled too, with very gritty NPC as it should be. That said, the animations could use a bit of work. According to the analyst, the movements seem stiff, especially in the characters’ eyes. Still, according to the author, the horror genre requires that many people should not be shocked.

One of the special features of The medium is the “Dual Reality” system. In short, you can see on the screen at the same time the two worlds in which you will develop. The world of the living is bursting with realism, while that of the spirits is an “extraordinarily” different representation. Or a split screen where you see your character twice. And it seems that the rendering is once again unprecedented. The grain and the materials differ from world to world. The sensation is all the more noticeable as we have to constantly switch between the two to solve puzzles. While this effect causes delays in the display of textures, it is rare. In the end, the Polish region represented in the game turns out to be excellent and very atmospheric.

For pure technology, the S series runs at constant 1080p / 30fps when switching to full screen. When the screen is split, the frame rate will remain stable but the resolution will change to 900p. With regard to the X series, we’re talking about native 4K / 30 fps and a reduction to 1440p during “dual reality”. Ray tracing is in place The medium, but only in series X and not in all scenes. The S series has to be content with pre-programmed reflections, but still tempting. Digital foundry Also note differences when rendering shadows between the two consoles, better quality on X.

The analyst concludes The medium would be technically impractical for the previous generation. It is above all the “dual reality” that sets this game apart from the others. This means that the console will run two games at the same time on the same screen and with optimal graphics rendering. A tour de force possible thanks to the power of the new consoles!

The medium is available in the Microsoft Store and included in the Game Pass at this address.