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I just wanna point out how dumb Bloober Team's random references are. They take me out of their games. In the first 5 mins of The Medium, you can run into this newspaper which, I believe(?) has 3 random, stupid references in it. Maybe more? idk
There's probably a fourth reference here that I just don't know about but come on.
(Notice it's not "like A ninja", but "like Ninja," as a proper noun. Nice typo of "grenade," though.)
(Notice it's not "like A ninja", but "like Ninja," as a proper noun. Nice typo of "grenade," though.)
This hotel ledger is another example of the dev team going wild with references for literally no reason. Folks may argue that people graffiti references like this all the time but that excuse falls apart when you compare it to the previous newspaper I mentioned
This random cymbal-monkey on a gravestone is probably a reference to The Devil's Gift, which was re-cut into the film Merlin's Shop of Mystical Wonders, so you might be more familiar with it from Mystery Science Theater
And this part of The Medium is SO lifted from Silent Hill 2 that you can overlay the images and the angle of view almost perfectly lines up
Marianne peeps a flashlight through bars before being distracted by a creepy child, James from Silent Hill 2 peeps a key through bars before being thwarted by a creepy child.
These skin/meat doors are lifted from Silent Hill Homecoming, where they are FAR LESS IRRITATING TO DEAL WITH. The Medium makes you slooooowwwly carve these doors open, whereas Alex in HC just stabs and slices it open in a fluid, mercifully quick motion
And that's all the (most blatant, at least) references and steals I've found in The Medium so far, after less than 2 hours of playing. Just... come on. There's homages and then there's "well it worked in this thing, so...."
Adding to this thread whenever I play more of The Medium and find more bizarre references or blatant plagiarism. Spooky and dumb childrens' drawings collectables, seen in a few other things, but this is BlooberTeam's SH knockoff, so it's mainly lifted from Silent Hill Homecoming
The Medium: clock key needed to manipulate clock hands to solve lam environmental puzzle to open new area
Silent Hill 2: clock key needed to manipulate clock hands to solve actual cool puzzle to open new area
Silent Hill 2: clock key needed to manipulate clock hands to solve actual cool puzzle to open new area
Traversing to and from the Otherworld via mirrors is a gimmick stolen from Silent Hill Origins
The Medium: Rotate a spherical face thingy to manipulate the entrances of a nearby room.
Silent Hill 2: Rotate a cubical face thingy to manipulate the entrances of a nearby room
This one is just straight-up plagiaristic. Shame on BlooberTeam. https://silenthill.fandom.com/wiki/Rotating_Cube_Puzzle
Silent Hill 2: Rotate a cubical face thingy to manipulate the entrances of a nearby room
This one is just straight-up plagiaristic. Shame on BlooberTeam. https://silenthill.fandom.com/wiki/Rotating_Cube_Puzzle
And this is one of those ones where you squint and say "do they think this counts as a *cool* reference or are they just real dumb art thieves?": BlooberTeam used the Horse_ebooks photo as reference and put it in their horror game about child r*pe and holocaust stuff
And this one is a stretch I admit, but I guess I just I don't appreciate dead people talking through radios anymore, especially when the first word out of their ghostmouths is MARY (Silent Hill 2)
And that's all the weird crap I caught on this second play session! I'm at the 4.5 hour mark, FYI.
No yeah The Medium is a totally original work, no plagiarism here.
(We just met this guy. Maybe he differentiates himself from Mr. Scratch later in the game but hoo boy, first impressions can be something)
More "inspired by" Silent Hill 2 than outright lifted, but The Medium also has a long, long hallway with a sorrowful conversation playing while you walk down it. Medium's hall lengthens abruptly in an effect the team already used in Layers of Fear 2.
Overt reference to The Blair Witch Project, which BlooberTeam has already made a game for. It's pretty easy to find, and kinda distracting from the atmosphere, so I'm not a big fan of that.
Whenever BlooberTeam wants a four-digit number, they usually rely on 1138 or 1984
Along with the basic aesthetic of the alternate dimension being inspired by Beksinski, this critter feels like a beefed up, modern concept-art version of the Night Creeper, by the same artist. Different enough that I'm not mad about it though
