MADiSON (video game) explained

MADiSON is a first-person horror video game developed and published by the Argentine studio Bloodious Games. It was released on July 8, 2022, for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.[1] A Nintendo Switch version was released on August 26, 2022.[2]

Plot

The game takes place in a large house, where the player takes control of Luca, a teenage boy who receives an instant camera for his 16th birthday. The camera belonged to a serial killer 30 years earlier, and through the camera the spirit of the killer plans to use Luca to put an end to a macabre ritual.[3]

Gameplay

MADiSON focuses on the use of an instant camera to connect the world of the living with that of the dead. This is achieved through the game by solving puzzles, discovering secrets that cannot be seen with the naked eye, and driving away demonic entities, among other examples.[4]

Development

The game began development in 2016, and was announced through a demo released on itch.io a year later.[5] This demo was very well received by users, surpassing 100,000 downloads on the platform. The studio continued with the development of the video game and finally in 2021 announced its launch for PC through a trailer. Presenting the second trailer a month later on Gamescom, they revealed the official release date after 5 years of development, confirming that the game would be out on January 7, 2022.[6] [7] [8]

The studio postponed the game's release to a later date in 2022, citing inconvenience in publishing the game under the previously used trade name, Nosebleed Games.[9]

Release

On release, MADiSON was noted as one of the 20 highest-selling games on Steam for the month of July.[10]

MADiSON VR

On January 30, 2023, the founder of BLOODIOUS GAMES, Alexis Di Stefano, officially announced the development of a virtual reality version called MADiSON VR. The announcement was made at a Perp Games Showcase via IGN. MADiSON VR will arrive later in 2023 for PSVR2 platforms with physical editions, and PCVR.[11]

Reception

MADiSON received an aggregate Metacritic score of 75/100 for its PC version, indicating "generally favorable" reviews, and 72/100 for its PS5 version, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[12] [13]

IGN awarded the game an 7/10, writing that Madison was a creepy game with genuine scares.[14] Shacknews gave it 9 out of 10 stars, mentioned the game's writing as consistent, contrasting the usual trend of "a sluggish second act after an incredible opener". The reviewer praised the quality of the puzzles, tension that never decreased, and lore that was unpleasant "on a true crime level".[15] HobbyConsolas stated that Madison was the most terrifying adventure they had played in a while.[16]

MADiSON was scientifically recognized as the "Scariest Video Game of All Time", by The Science of Scare Project from Broadband Choices who has set out to scientifically measure the scariest forms of entertainment available. 200 participants were invited to play over 45 horror games released in the last three decades. In each case – the subjects’ heart rate was monitored during the game. The heart rate was measured while resting, right in the middle of the game, and the highest jumps in heart rate were recorded.The respondents playing at Madison recorded an average of 97 beats / minute, and at the peak this rate stopped at 131 bit/s, with the new IP beating off established franchises such as Resident Evil and Silent Hill.[17] [18]

MADiSON was declared of cultural interest in Buenos Aires, Argentina.[19]

Awards

YearAwardCategoryResultRef
2018Expo EVAPeople's ChoiceWon[20]
2022Expo EVABest GameWon[21]
NYX Game AwardsBest NarrativeWon[22]
Moscow XII DROP FestivalBest Horror GameWon[23]
TYGABest Spanish/Latin GameWon[24]
ShacknewsBest Horror GameWon[25]
Rely On HorrorCommunity Game Of The Year Won[26]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: April 11, 2022 . Psychological Horror Title 'MADiSON' Arrives June 24 for PC, Consoles [Trailer] ]. . September 13, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220913125720/https://bloody-disgusting.com/video-games/3710378/psychological-horror-title-madison-arrives-june-24-for-pc-consoles-trailer/ . live .
  2. Web site: August 26, 2022 . Mini Review: MADiSON - Jump Scares Aplenty In This Effective, If Unoriginal, Horror . Nintendo Life . en . September 13, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220913125716/https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/nintendo-switch/madison . live .
  3. July 14, 2022 . Madison Review - Snapshots Of Potential . https://web.archive.org/web/20220714164550/https://www.gameinformer.com/review/madison/snapshots-of-potential . dead . July 14, 2022 . Game Informer.
  4. Web site: July 15, 2022 . Madison review . September 14, 2022 . . en . February 26, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230226010338/https://www.ign.com/articles/madison-review . live .
  5. Web site: May 31, 2022 . Madison: Hands-On Preview . . January 31, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230131072950/https://www.ign.com/articles/madison-hands-on-preview . live .
  6. Web site: July 7, 2021 . Polaroid-based Horror Game MADiSON Coming to Steam in 2021 . Rely On Horror . January 31, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230131072951/https://www.relyonhorror.com/latest-news/polaroid-based-horror-game-madison-coming-to-steam-in-2021/ . live .
  7. Web site: Wilson . Mike . July 7, 2021 . [Trailer] Upcoming Psychological Horror Title 'MADiSON' Arms You With a Polaroid For Fighting Demons ]. . January 31, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230131072956/https://bloody-disgusting.com/video-games/3672839/trailer-upcoming-psychological-horror-title-madison-arms-you-with-a-polaroid-for-fighting-demons/ . live .
  8. News: July 9, 2021 . El juego de terror en primera persona Madison llegará a PC en 2021 . . January 31, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230131072951/https://www.eurogamer.es/el-juego-de-terror-en-primera-persona-madison-llegara-a-pc-en-2021 . live .
  9. Web site: Romano. Sai. April 7, 2022. First-person psychological horror game MADiSON coming to consoles in 2022. September 14, 2022. Gematsu. January 31, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230131072950/https://www.gematsu.com/2022/01/first-person-psychological-horror-game-madison-coming-to-consoles-in-2022. live.
  10. Web site: 30 August 2022 . Top Steam Releases of July 2022 . . 25 October 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221025040547/https://store.steampowered.com/sale/top_july_2022?tab=1 . live .
  11. Web site: MADiSON VR . 2023-01-30 . IGN . 30 January 2023 . en . 2023-01-30 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230130194837/https://www.ign.com/videos/madison-vr-announcement-trailer . live .
  12. Web site: MADiSON . 2022-09-14 . Metacritic . en . 2023-01-31 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230131080209/https://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-5/madison . live .
  13. Web site: MADiSON . 2022-09-14 . Metacritic . en . 2023-02-13 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230213140147/https://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/madison . live .
  14. Web site: July 15, 2022 . Madison review . . en . February 26, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230226010338/https://www.ign.com/articles/madison-review . live .
  15. Web site: 6 July 2022 . MADiSON review: A snapshot of true terror . . en . 13 September 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220913180256/https://www.shacknews.com/article/131221/madison-review . live .
  16. Web site: July 6, 2022 . Análisis de Madison, el juego más terrorífico de los últimos tiempos . . es . September 13, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220913180302/https://www.hobbyconsolas.com/reviews/analisis-madison-juego-terrorifico-ultimos-tiempos-1088941 . live .
  17. Web site: The Science of Scare: Scariest Video Games in 2022 . Broadband Choices . en . 2022-10-07 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221007191807/https://www.broadbandchoices.co.uk/features/science-of-scare-games . live .
  18. Web site: 6 October 2022. Science has found 'the scariest horror game of all time'. GAMINGbible. en. 7 October 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20221007192919/https://www.gamingbible.co.uk/news/science-has-found-the-scariest-horror-game-of-all-time-20221006. live.
  19. Web site: 21 October 2022 . Declaran de municipal y cultural un videojuego creado por joven de Ranelagh . Verdad e Investigación . en . 25 October 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221025040548/https://verdadeinvestigacion.com.ar/2022/10/21/declaran-de-interes-municipal-y-cultural-un-juego-creado-por-joven-de-ranelagh/ . live .
  20. Web site: November 7, 2018 . Juegos ganadores de la EVA 2018 . Pressover . September 13, 2022 . January 31, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230131074503/https://pressover.news/noticias/juegos-ganadores-de-la-eva-2018/ . live .
  21. Web site: September 19, 2022 . EVA 2022: Premios y resumen de la exposición de videojuegos más grande de Latinoamérica . Pressover . September 20, 2022 . January 30, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230130052347/https://pressover.news/noticias/eva-2022-premios-resumen/ . live .
  22. Web site: September 23, 2022 . NYX Game Awards Winners . NYX Game Awards . September 23, 2022 . September 23, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220923192538/https://nyxgameawards.com/winner-info.php?id=1520/ . live .
  23. Web site: September 25, 2022 . Post Report Of The 12th Festival . Moscow International Horror Film Festival DROP . October 12, 2022 . November 26, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221126125047/http://horrorpremia.com/post-report-of-the-12th-festival/ . live .
  24. Web site: December 11, 2022 . TYGA 2022 Results . The Youtube Game Awards TYGA 2022 . December 12, 2022 . December 12, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221212171723/https://tygawards.com/#categories . live .
  25. Web site: December 29, 2022 . Shacknews Best Horror Game of 2022 - MADiSON . Shacknews . July 25, 2023 . July 25, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230725011724/https://www.shacknews.com/article/133480/shacknews-best-horror-game-2022-madison . live .
  26. Web site: December 31, 2022 . Rely On Horror's 2022 Community Game Of The Year Is…MADiSON . Rely On Horror . July 25, 2023 . January 23, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230123154958/https://www.relyonhorror.com/latest-news/site-news-patreon/rely-on-horrors-2022-community-game-of-the-year-ismadison/ . live .
  27. Web site: 19 September 2023. Pressover. EVA 2023: videojuegos ganadores y récord histórico de asistentes. <