ANOTHER MEDIUM is a single-player action-adventure game set in the 1980s town of Oakvalley. A young boy named Andrew returns home for studies only to encounter supernatural forces affecting his childhood friends, an eccentric girl delivering urgent warnings, and an unusual sensation in his mind. Players guide Andrew through a series of mysteries that reveal why the town is transforming and why he stands at its center.
Gameplay
The core loop centers on exploration of Oakvalley and its hidden layers. Players venture into other planes beyond the mortal world, document unusual finds in a journal, and navigate a living environment where time shifts from snow to thaw, day to night, and through crimson sunsets. These changes influence the atmosphere and available paths without serving as simple timers.
Combat occurs in top-down battles that extend beyond basic attacks. Dodge dashes and default strikes form the foundation, while specific enemy archetypes require counters, special attack and defense techniques, damage-over-time effects, and precise timings. Over twenty distinct inner voices can dominate the protagonist's thoughts through player choices, each shaping a unique combat style that evolves with skill development.
Inventory management involves a school backpack that speaks, retrieved early in the first area. Interactions with this item blur lines between imagination and supernatural elements. Additional activities include an untitled cartridge that risks exposure to forbidden horrors and tabletop sessions capable of warping reality, functioning as thresholds between worlds rather than isolated diversions.
Game Modes
ANOTHER MEDIUM operates entirely as a single-player experience with no multiplayer components. The primary structure revolves around three distinct story branches. Each branch alters the visual style, music, atmosphere, story events, the protagonist's development, and the overall fate of both the character and the world.
These branches emerge from decisions made throughout the narrative, creating divergent paths that redefine the entire playthrough. Exploration, combat encounters, and interactions with the town's eerie undercurrents adapt accordingly, ensuring no two branches deliver identical sequences or outcomes.
Narrative and Atmosphere
The story draws from influences including Twin Peaks, Stranger Things, The X-Files, Legends of the Galactic Heroes, and Dune. It examines themes of human duality, control, bonds, historical cycles, downfall, personal choice, coming-of-age, community, trauma, and memory. Every cutscene advances the plot by conveying emotion, expanding lore, or revealing secrets that deepen the central mystery.
Sound design reinforces the reflective quality of the setting. The soundtrack captures the spirit of locations or characters' emotions, with track titles presented from the protagonist's viewpoint. Daily routines in Oakvalley mask lingering gazes, unnatural movements, and flickering silhouettes, while an otherworldly domain beneath the surface threatens to break through.
Is It Worth Playing?
ANOTHER MEDIUM suits players who enjoy narrative-driven single-player adventures with meaningful choice systems and integrated combat mechanics. The branching structure encourages multiple playthroughs to experience how decisions reshape visuals, audio, events, and endings. Those drawn to atmospheric exploration, journal-keeping, and unconventional mini-games that tie into the supernatural elements will find alignment with the described systems.
The game remains in development with a planned 2027 release on PC. Its focus on evolving combat styles tied to inner voices and fully realized branch variations provides a clear draw for fans of choice-heavy action-adventure titles. Availability details will clarify once the title launches.
