Digital Foundry | The Medium tech analysis: a closer look at Xbox's first next-gen exclusive

Pancracio17 · Jan 27, 2021

Scottoest said:
Not really surprised. The fact that the textures take a second to pop in every time you switch between 3D items in the menu alone, suggests a lack of optimization.

I like Bloober, and that they do neat new things with their games, but I would like to see them button down the technical side of things more.

To be fair to the game its loading a level while the current one youre in is still loaded, and the environments themselves are pretty good. The concept behind the game needs a lot of optimization bloober probably couldnt do if you wanted it to run like a normal game.

Kholdy · Jan 27, 2021

It's a beautiful game, but from what I saw this split screen stuff don't bring much to the table and it's a big hit in perf/res.

I see this and I think of Soul Reaver and Raziel's Realm Shift. With today's hardware it would be insane.

MentalZer0 · Jan 27, 2021

The requirements to run this game on pc with RT at f 30fps... wth is going on here lol

canderous · Jan 27, 2021

Damn, the environments in this game are great. Also been a while since I played anything with the fixed cinematic angles like this, looks really cool. I'm not normally into horror games but thanks to game pass I'll at least be trying this.

Mr.Deadshot said:
I feel for the developers. It's a smaller indie (?) studio and now they are in the spotlight for delivering the "first Xbox series X console exclusive"... Talking about unrealistic expectations.

I don't know why MS binds games like this, Scorn and Bright Memory so heavily to their new console.

It is a hell of a lot of pressure for sure. This is not a full AAA console seller. IIRC the budget was around 8 million including the marketing. No doubt going to be put up against games with 5-10x the budget because "first series x exclusive."

BubblegumNemesis · Jan 27, 2021

Impressive stuff for a small team.

Nuclear Muffin · Jan 27, 2021

So this will probably be the lowest resolution we ever see on the Xbox consoles throughout this generation?

Doubt we'll see another game do something as demanding as this one; it's basically running two different games at the same time here!

Great to see a developer do something as unique and ambitious as this; despite the PR backlash they're going to receive from graphics whores. This is the kind of stuff I wanted to see on the DS/3DS/Wii U back in the day, so it's great to see someone at least try to carry the torch here! :D

Remeran · Jan 27, 2021

Stacey said:
Oh please.

Criticising a game that drops to 900/600p at 30fps in 2021 is completely valid.

Sure as long as there's context. The dual display is the culprit here, it's not really concerning considering it only hits those levels in those scenes.

Nuclear Muffin said:
So this will probably be the lowest resolution we ever see on the Xbox consoles throughout this generation?

Doubt we'll see another game do something as demanding as this one; it's basically running two different games at the same time here!

Probably not, I don't see many other studios making this decision. I still think it's kind of neat though.

headspawn · Jan 27, 2021

Stacey said:
You cannot be serious.

900p is blurry on a 1080p tv never mind the 4K rhetoric Microsoft is pushing for its console

Microsoft didn't make this game young warrior.

Stacey · Jan 27, 2021

MentalZer0 said:
The requirements to run this game on pc with RT at f 30fps... wth is going on here lol

A 3080 isn't able to maintain 60fps w/ RT at 1080p, we're all doomed

Lozjam · Jan 27, 2021

It's a shame that this smaller game, is the first exclusive for Series X and S. A lot is kind of riding on it to show the power of the console, because Microsoft kind of failed to do it.

Compared to the Playstation titles, this is a little bit underwhelming. Considering we have the amazing detail and art directions of Demon Souls running at 60 fps, 60fps Raytracing with Miles Morales, and just insane detail and pleasent graphics of astrobot(plus showing the capabilities of a new controller). A lot has been kind of riding on this title, since not even Halo will be exclusive.

Despite that though, it's a cool looking game. I might give it a try when Xcloud is a bit more mature, and I have non capped internet.

Props to the team for making a new way of visualizing the game. It's just unfortunate it has these caveats.

RedRum · Jan 27, 2021

Dictator said:
I am not sure why you would not expect it. It is literally rendering the game 2 times when it does drop down to that resolution. That would happen to any "next gen" game on Playstation 5 or Xbox Series X. If any other next gen game like Demon Souls for example had a dual view port view, it would also probably drop its resolution to 1080p or lower.

Many thanks for follow up posts like these.

Gordon's Tulpa · Jan 27, 2021

I appriciate the ambition but I have yet to see examples where the dual screen mechanic is used in clever and inventive ways.It comes at a notable cost so I wonder if it was even worth it.

Remeran · Jan 27, 2021

Lozjam said:
It's a shame that this smaller game, is the first exclusive for Series X and S. A lot is kind of riding on it to show the power of the console, because Microsoft kind of failed to do it.

Compared to the Playstation titles, this is a little bit underwhelming. Considering we have the amazing detail and art directions of Demon Souls running at 60 fps, 60fps Raytracing with Miles Morales, and just insane detail and pleasent graphics of astrobot(plus showing the capabilities of a new controller). A lot has been kind of riding on this title, since not even Halo will be exclusive.

Despite that though, it's a cool looking game. I might give it a try when Xcloud is a bit more mature, and I have non capped internet.

Props to the team for making a new way of visualizing the game. It's just unfortunate it has these caveats.

Yeah, I know what you mean. I think on a whole the most impressive next gen game so far has been Demon's Souls. Shame that the first Xbox next gen exclusive release isn't a AAA XGS game but at the same time I'm kind of glad that a smaller studio is getting the opportunity to be in the spot light. In the grand scheme of things I don't really think this matters much.

digitalrelic · Jan 27, 2021

Is it just me or does DF's footage of the game look freaking fantastic? Looks better than any of the other footage I've seen.

Can't wait to play this:

DanielG123 · Jan 27, 2021

The hardware is literally having to run essentially two games at once, likely with ray tracing in some of those instances. This game, no matter if it's AA, is intensive as hell from the looks of it. However, at least from the DF guys, The Medium is very much worth experiencing.

That said, it does look like Bloober needs to tighten up their technical side of things. Hopefully, we'll see some optimization for both the consoles and PC soon.

Djalminha · Jan 27, 2021

The game looks great, I haven't noticed the resolution drops when I saw videos, I wonder how noticeable it'll be during gameplay but it does seem upscaling has come a long way.

Quick question, this game doesn't seem to have any combat or even game overs, am I right? If so, that'd be a brave choice for sure! Looking forward to trying it on my Series X when I get it!

brawndolicious · Jan 27, 2021

Gordon's Tulpa said:
I appriciate the ambition but I have yet to see examples where the dual screen mechanic is used in clever and inventive ways.It comes at a notable cost so I wonder if it was even worth it.

A game like this is not trying to be a tech demo that pushes every boundary, so if the developers choose to make that compromise then I'm okay with it. It's not ideal but I look forward to trying it out and seeing if I agree with how they divided GPU resources.

Jaded Alyx · Jan 27, 2021

Lozjam said:
Compared to the Playstation titles, this is a little bit underwhelming. Considering we have the amazing detail and art directions of Demon Souls running at 60 fps, 60fps Raytracing with Miles Morales, and just insane detail and pleasent graphics of astrobot(plus showing the capabilities of a new controller). A lot has been kind of riding on this title, since not even Halo will be exclusive.

Miles Morales isn't exclusive in that same sense either so you probably shouldn't use it there in your examples.

brain_stew · Jan 27, 2021

Mr.Deadshot said:
I feel for the developers. It's a smaller indie (?) studio and now they are in the spotlight for delivering the "first Xbox series X console exclusive"... Talking about unrealistic expectations.

I don't know why MS binds games like this, Scorn and Bright Memory so heavily to their new console.

It fills a gap in their Game Pass release schedule for a comparatively low cost while they wait on their internal studios to start doing the heavy lifting. For Bloober themselves it means that most (if not all) of their development budget is covered and the game gets much wider attention and coverage than it otherwise would have. Seems like a win-win all around really.

Deleted member 45130 · Jan 27, 2021

Enlisted is also another game that's only available on Series consoles or PC. Not had time to watch the video yet but will get to it later. Very interested to see how it looks at 900p across two viewpoints.

brain_stew · Jan 27, 2021

The environments look fantastic, I'm really impressed with the visuals from such a small studio.

The 900p comments aren't really helpful when made out of context, especially considering in the same video the framerate outside of dual view scenes was confirmed to settle around the 1440p range.

inspectah · Jan 27, 2021

plagiarize said:
Devs are promising a patch to clean them up, which we've seen happen with a number of other titles. Frame pacing issues aren't always due to the render budget being tight. Sometimes it can be the opposite in fact.

Do you have a link?
I´m wondering if I should play tomorrow evening or wait for the patch.

Gibordep · Jan 27, 2021

When the resolution drops to 900P is the total resolution, or on both perspectives (900 P + 900P)?

Jiraiya · Jan 27, 2021

digitalrelic said:
Is it just me or does DF's footage of the game look freaking fantastic? Looks better than any of the other footage I've seen.

Can't wait to play this:

ghostcrew said:
I haven't really dived into the hard tech stuff yet but, from a quick flick through the video it looks like it has a wonderful art style. And I'm vibing hard with the classic fixed camera angles.

These look really really great.

Indy_Rex · Jan 27, 2021

I was expecting something a bit more polished. Splitscreen dynamic taking a toll on performance is understandable, but hitting 900p lows on X is making me want to wait and see if Dictator will cover it on PC to see how it performs there. It's GP on either, so no loss there, but I'll wait and see on the PC ver. before downloading on X.

GhostofWar · Jan 27, 2021

Stacey said:
A 3080 isn't able to maintain 60fps w/ RT at 1080p, we're all doomed

1080p rtx 2060 performance.

The Medium RTX ON With RTX 2060 - Part 1: Single Reality

Featuring STRONG Silent Hill vibes The Medium breaks reality in the latest horror title from Bloober Studios and they deliver a visual feast and compelling s...

www.youtube.com

chandoog · Jan 27, 2021

BobbeMalle said:
MSGV was 900p on Xbox One and was considered a visual masterpiece. It's not sharp, but that doesn't mean it's not gorgeous.
Resolution is not a valid metric to consider the visual quality of a game, at least to me.

MGS V was also a very locked 60 FPS. The increase in temporal resolution there made up for the low pixel count.

RE: Medium

I have the game pre loaded via game pass, but reading comments that developers are promising patches to fix issues like frame pacing really makes me want to wait and not play it at launch.

Lozjam · Jan 27, 2021

Jaded Alyx said:
Miles Morales isn't exclusive in that same sense either so you probably shouldn't use it there in your examples.

Miles Morales, despite being also a last Gen title, also showcases the graphical strength of the PS5. Considering its one of the first 60fps console games, with Raytracing. It certainly looks very impressive, and will be compared to the Medium. Especially since it has a variety of caveats.

But really we are just getting off topic here.

I wish the developers all of the best though. But really, the Medium doesn't really feel like a next step evolution in technology. That's completely not their fault because they are a smaller studio. But I remember this is the one game that I was excited for from the Xbox showcase. It's a shame that it just seems, merely, whelming.

That running sequence though that really screams "Next Gen" though. So it's a mixed bag.

ThreepQuest64 · Jan 27, 2021

How is the game apart from its technical side?

StudioTan · Jan 27, 2021

Stacey said:
Oh please.

Criticising a game that drops to 900/600p at 30fps in 2021 is completely valid.

Then why not focus on the fact that game also runs at native 4k? Again, you're not making arguments in good faith.

Neuroxia · Jan 27, 2021

pswii60 said:
It drops down to 900p only occasionally and when it's literally rendering what is essentially two games simultaneously. It also explains why the PC spec requirements are higher than people were expecting.

That's the game mechanic the entire game is built around. So you're saying they shouldn't have made the game at all? Or that they should have made it a PC exclusive because it very occasionally drops to 900p in the most demanding scenes on console?

Running 2 games at the same time would be rendering 2x the full screen resolution, but that's not exactly the case here since the 2 viewports share the same screen estate.
So in this case the rendered number of pixels would be the same regardless if it's 1 or 2 scenes.
(for example 2x4k vs 4K split in 2 scenes).

With that being said, you still have to load and manage almost double the number of assets, plus effects and other stuff.

I'm super excited to give it a try tomorrow as i've enjoyed all the previous Bloober Team games.

Deleted member 45130 · Jan 27, 2021

Lozjam said:
Compared to the Playstation titles, this is a little bit underwhelming. Considering we have the amazing detail and art directions of Demon Souls running at 60 fps, 60fps Raytracing with Miles Morales, and just insane detail and pleasent graphics of astrobot(plus showing the capabilities of a new controller). A lot has been kind of riding on this title, since not even Halo will be exclusive.

You're kind of comparing apples to oranges though since this game is rendering two separate images whilst the other games you mention are rendering a single image.

I'm not sure what the budget was behind this game but I doubt it would have been given as much budget as both Spidey and Demons Souls.

I don't think too much has been riding on this, it looks like a pretty niche game that will likely gain a small following.

VinFTW · Jan 27, 2021

Am I really reading someone comparing demon souls and miles morales to the medium

like, how tone deaf, do people not understand the differences in resource and budget 😂

some of y'all are so harsh and I feel for the people who have to compete with these massive teams with unobtainable resources for 90% of the industry

P40L0 · Jan 27, 2021

ThreepQuest64 said:
How is the game apart from its technical side?

The best Bloober game to date apparently.

ghostcrew · Jan 27, 2021

Lozjam said:
Miles Morales, despite being also a last Gen title, also showcases the graphical strength of the PS5. Considering its one of the first 60fps console games, with Raytracing. It certainly looks very impressive, and will be compared to the Medium.

I really don't think many people will be spending too much time comparing Bloober Team's The Medium with giant AAA PlayStation Studios' Spider-man: Miles Morales.

At least I'd hope not.

ResidentDante · Jan 27, 2021

Lozjam said:
It's a shame that this smaller game, is the first exclusive for Series X and S. A lot is kind of riding on it to show the power of the console, because Microsoft kind of failed to do it.

Compared to the Playstation titles, this is a little bit underwhelming. Considering we have the amazing detail and art directions of Demon Souls running at 60 fps, 60fps Raytracing with Miles Morales, and just insane detail and pleasent graphics of astrobot(plus showing the capabilities of a new controller). A lot has been kind of riding on this title, since not even Halo will be exclusive.

Why are you even making these meaningless comparisons? It's not a competition. Just play the game for what it is. There's nothing riding on this, a dev has made a new game. The race for what is next gen or not for fanboys has to be the most idiotic and subjective competition ever.

You're shoehorning in console warring where it's not needed.

RedRum · Jan 27, 2021

Lozjam said:
It's a shame that this smaller game, is the first exclusive for Series X and S. A lot is kind of riding on it to show the power of the console, because Microsoft kind of failed to do it.

Compared to the Playstation titles, this is a little bit underwhelming. Considering we have the amazing detail and art directions of Demon Souls running at 60 fps, 60fps Raytracing with Miles Morales, and just insane detail and pleasent graphics of astrobot(plus showing the capabilities of a new controller). A lot has been kind of riding on this title, since not even Halo will be exclusive.

Despite that though, it's a cool looking game. I might give it a try when Xcloud is a bit more mature, and I have non capped internet.

Props to the team for making a new way of visualizing the game. It's just unfortunate it has these caveats.

Remeran said:
Yeah, I know what you mean. I think on a whole the most impressive next gen game so far has been Demon's Souls. Shame that the first Xbox next gen exclusive release isn't a AAA XGS game but at the same time I'm kind of glad that a smaller studio is getting the opportunity to be in the spot light. In the grand scheme of things I don't really think this matters much.

The real shame are the comparisons here.

BubblegumNemesis · Jan 27, 2021

ResidentDante said:
Why are you even making these meaningless comparisons? It's not a competition. Just play the game for what it is. There's nothing riding on this, a dev has made a new game. The race for what is next gen or not for fanboys has to be the most idiotic and subjective competition ever.

You're shoehorning in console warring where it's not needed.

QFT

Series XS will have a steady stream of interesting games, some AAA some not, that is the whole idea behind GP. I am quite happy with how this game turned out.

I don't usually play the Michael Bay AAA nonsense usually anyways.

JigglesBunny · Jan 27, 2021

Expecting mindblowing technical performance from a Bloober title is like expecting a five star meal at Wendy's. All things considered, this is a pretty damn good showing compared to their past titles and it seems like the dual-screen sequences work well despite the resolution hit.

People should reign in their expectations.

AndrewDean84 · Jan 27, 2021

Stacey said:
First next gen only title - 900p.

That's.....not what I expected. Regardless of the engine this is a very poor showing.

So do people skip the OP and skip right to the first reply?

Noema · Jan 27, 2021

Stacey said:
Oh please.

Criticising a game that drops to 900/600p at 30fps in 2021 is completely valid.

Resolution isn't the only measure of image quality. You should read Dictator's posts on the topic on this very thread, but hey, who's got time for that when you've gotta shitpost, right?

Claiming that this game, even at 900p, looks like a 2013 game, constitutes pretty outrageous hyperbole, and is what causes people to assume you're arguing in bad faith.

Jaime.GGG · Jan 27, 2021

can't wait to visit those awesome environments this weekend!

Fiery Phoenix · Jan 27, 2021

This is indeed the Series X's first exclusively next-gen showcase, right? Hard to believe, but very cool to finally see one in action.

brain_stew · Jan 27, 2021

GhostofWar said:
1080p rtx 2060 performance.

The Medium RTX ON With RTX 2060 - Part 1: Single Reality

Featuring STRONG Silent Hill vibes The Medium breaks reality in the latest horror title from Bloober Studios and they deliver a visual feast and compelling s...

www.youtube.com

DLSS putting in overtime there, such a brilliant feature. Those RT Ultra reflections look brilliant, although I'm not sure I will want to take the performance hit. I like that RT is disabled in dual reality mode to keep up performance when using the "on" setting, that seems like a smart optimisation and seems inline with the Series X version.

plagiarize · Jan 27, 2021

inspectah said:
Do you have a link?
I´m wondering if I should play tomorrow evening or wait for the patch.

It was mentioned in the DF video towards the end of the section talking about performance. John said he'd contacted the developers about the frame pacing issue and that they were going to look into fixing it with a patch.

dgrdsv · Jan 27, 2021

Gibordep said:
When the resolution drops to 900P is the total resolution, or on both perspectives (900 P + 900P)?

900p+900p is 1800p. It doesn't work like this.
You have a 16:9 frame of some resolution.
By default it's 3840x2160 on XSX (what is called "4K" these days).
This frame can then be split by some percentage between two different cameras rendering two different viewports*.
It means that you still have a 2160p frame which is rendering 1920x2160 for one viewport and 1920x2160 for the other.
When the res go down it goes down across the whole frame.
So if the res is being dropped down to "900p" (which is 1600x900 actual resolution) you're getting two viewports rendered at 800x900 each.

(* Or "worlds". I'm still puzzled by why its being brought up since the game's unveil as being different to what, for example, Hitman games were doing back on PS2/Xbox/PS360 when they've had a similar split view. Fahrenheit on PS2 is another such example. Same assets reuse, sure, but this is RAM requirements, not rendering. So fundamentally this game isn't doing any wonders when rendering two "worlds" and it certainly can be done on any previous gen h/w. )

Fortinbras · Jan 27, 2021

Andromeda said:
30fps with frame-pacing issues? That game must be very demanding considering the lower resolutions.

I have never played a game by the developer that ran well on console, the trailers always looked much better.

Blair Witch for example gave me a headache.

Speaking of Bloober Team: I don't think they ever delivered ray tracing for the Series X version of The Observer, a feature that was advertised before the release.

catashtrophe · Jan 27, 2021

This looks really good

After playing the Res Evil Village demo i've got hyped to play some horror games i've not played yet (Alien Isolation and Res 2 Remake) and this

OldDirtyGamer · Jan 27, 2021

Lozjam said:
Miles Morales, despite being also a last Gen title, also showcases the graphical strength of the PS5. Considering its one of the first 60fps console games, with Raytracing. It certainly looks very impressive, and will be compared to the Medium. Especially since it has a variety of caveats.

But really we are just getting off topic here.

I wish the developers all of the best though. But really, the Medium doesn't really feel like a next step evolution in technology. That's completely not their fault because they are a smaller studio. But I remember this is the one game that I was excited for from the Xbox showcase. It's a shame that it just seems, merely, whelming.

That running sequence though that really screams "Next Gen" though. So it's a mixed bag.

I dont think many would have expected this game to go up against one of sonys biggest titles

And I would argue it does feel like a evolution in tech as it is essentially rendering two games at once In points , and also has some rt

cakely · Jan 27, 2021

"Rough around the edges" sounds about right judging by the previews.

The Medium has some really low bounds to the DRS.

Digital Foundry | The Medium tech analysis: a closer look at Xbox's first next-gen exclusive

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