One of the big next-generation launch titles releasing this holiday season is Bloober Team’s The Medium for PC and Xbox Series X. A psychological horror title, The Medium will 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 Medium is a psychological horror game that renders 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 Baker also praised Bloober Team and the game itself, comparing it to early CD-ROM PC horror games and Silent Hill. Troy Baker also compared the game’s tone to that of EA’s Dead Space.
The comparison to Silent Hill isn’t unsurprising, as The Medium features beloved Silent Hill composer Akira Yamaoka providing the soundtrack, making it the composer’s first major work on a horror title since 2009’s Silent Hill: Shattered Memories.
This is one of two upcoming next-gen projects from Bloober Team, as the Polish developer is also resurrecting its first-person cyberpunk horror game Observer for in the form of Observer: System Redux, an expanded remaster of the 2017 original. Both titles will be launch titles, with The Medium remaining exclusive to Xbox Series X and PC, while also launching into Xbox Game Pass upon its release.
The Medium launches in holiday 2020 on Xbox Series X and PC.
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Source: IGN
