“Silent Hill and Resident Evil Were a Great Inspiration for Us” – The Medium Developer

It’s hard for anyone to make games in the horror genre and not be inspired by genre titans such as the classic Resident Evil and Silent Hill games. Bloober Team, in fact, have been very vocal about how the latter in particular has been a source of inspiration for them (The Medium even boasts legendary Silent Hill composer Akira Yamaoka’s talents).

Speaking to us in a recent interview, The Medium producer Jacek Zieba once again spoke about this. Asked specifically about The Medium’s fixed camera angles (which is a break from all of Bloober’s previous horror games, which have typically been first person), Zieba told us that one of the reasons the game adopts this approach is to echo the style of the classic Resident Evil and Silent Hill games (and the fact that Bloober Team felt fixed cameras would be best suited to The Medium’s dual reality gameplay).

“We experimented with various camera angles during development, and we ultimately decided that the use of  semi-fixed camera angles was the best solution for the most comfortable game experience when it comes to exploring the world in either a single or in dual reality,” Zieba told GamingBolt.

“Because of fixed camera angles, we were able to introduce an even stronger cinematic feel to the whole game,” he added. “At the same time, we somehow refer to old-school horror games such as Silent Hill or Resident Evil, which were a great inspiration for us when designing The Medium.”

We also spoke with Zieba about Bloober Team’s love for Silent Hill in particular, and he had glowing things to say about Konami’s legendary franchise, saying that it (and Silent Hill 2 in particular) have “always been  a great inspiration” for the studio.

“In our opinion, Silent Hill 2 is one of the best horror games ever,” he said. “Both Silent Hill 2 and the Silent Hill series have always been  a great inspiration for us as we approach psychological horrors.

“With The Medium, Silent Hill 2 was one of the main inspirations when it comes to the atmosphere of the game. When playing The Medium, players who are familiar with the Silent Hill series should experience similar themes and aesthetics in our game, especially in the context of the overall atmosphere.”

The Medium is due out for Xbox Series X/S and PC on January 28, 2021. During our interview, we also asked Zieba if Bloober Team intend to bring the game to PS5 as well, to which he responded that the developer has no such plans for now.