Xbox Game Pass: 10 Best Horror Games You Must Play
4. The Medium
The newest horror entry arriving on Game Pass is Microsoft’s first Xbox Series X/S exclusive, owing to it’s unique split screen mechanic which shows the real world and the spirit world simultaneously at certain scripted sequences. Marianne is the titular medium, and we follow her in the wake of her adoptive father’s death, as she gets sucked into the mystery of Polish workers' resort, The Niwa.
Bloober Team's graphical design for both worlds is effectively creepy, especially the spirit world. Taking inspiration from the polish artist Zdzisław Beksiński, its oddly beautiful, but also has some gross-out moments included in the environments. The music is equally stylish. Akira Yamaoka (of Silent Hill fame) takes composing duties for the spirit world, creating a constant unnerving feeling as you explore, and Arkadiusz Reikowski scores the real world, which is beautiful and dreamlike.
The Medium is primarily a puzzle game, but what sets it apart from similar games is its use of the spirit world. Certain items or pathways are only available in one world, forcing you to decide which one to traverse. This mechanic makes for unique puzzle solutions, and even the game's only enemy, The Maw (disturbingly voiced by Troy Baker), is a puzzle.
The only downside to the game is that there isn't more of it. The Medium can be completed in two or three sittings.