One of the big next-generation launch titles releasing this holiday season is Bloober Team’sThe Mediumfor PC and Xbox Series X. A psychological horror title,The Mediumwill be one of Microsoft’s first Xbox Series X exclusive titles and is intended to take advantage of the Xbox Series X’s unique abilities, including rendering two game worlds simultaneously thanks to the console’s built-in SSD. Now, Bloober Team has announced that it has brought on famed voice actor Troy Baker to voice the game’s villain, a gruesome monster known as ‘The Maw.’
The Mediumis a psychological horror game thatrenders two game worlds simultaneously, one of which represents the real world and another that represents a dark, hellish world as an interpretation the mental frustrations of protagonist Marianne.
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As part of Gamescom 2020, Troy Baker sat down with IGN to discuss his role as the game’s villain, in which he discussed how distinct The Maw is in comparison to other characters he has played, “I’ve played the brooding hero, I’ve played the hands-on-hips superhero but The Maw is something like I’ve never done before.”
Talking about the role, Baker revealed that he worked with the developer to create the impression of “an entity outside of gender” for The Maw. Baker discussed the creation of the character briefly, describing how The Maw’s motion-capture performance was provided by a separate actor using stilts to bring the level of physicality needed to the role, which Baker himself later dubbed over from home due to the on-going COVID-19 pandemic. Troy Bakeralso praised Bloober Teamand the game itself, comparing it to early CD-ROM PC horror games andSilent Hill. Troy Baker also compared the game’s tone to that of EA’sDead Space.
The comparison toSilent Hillisn’t unsurprising, asThe Mediumfeatures belovedSilent Hillcomposer Akira Yamaokaproviding the soundtrack, making it the composer’s first major work on a horror title since 2009’sSilent Hill: Shattered Memories.
This is one of two upcoming next-gen projects from Bloober Team, as the Polish developer is alsoresurrecting its first-person cyberpunk horror gameObserverfor in the form ofObserver: System Redux, an expanded remaster of the 2017 original. Both titles will be launch titles, withThe Mediumremaining exclusive to Xbox Series X and PC, while also launching into Xbox Game Pass upon its release.
The Mediumlaunches in holiday 2020 on Xbox Series X and PC.
