From its trailers, MADiSON instantly looked to offer something that grabbed me; an elevated horror title where narrative and an overall experience were its main goal. And after having played MADiSON from start to finish, I can happily say that it truly delivered. Through its non-combat-oriented gameplay and the perfectly created house of haunts, MADiSON hits a homerun in giving players a horror ride worth the trauma.

Story

MADiSON’s story is heavily veiled throughout its runtime. I really don’t want to give out too much information on it as playing the game is the best way to experience it. I will say that it does a fantastic job of implementing various twists and turns to keep the story interesting. It manages to tie in ideas from various horror films such as The Babadook, Insidious, and Hereditary, intersecting in a cohesive, effective, and original way. When this game wants you to feel something narratively, it goes all-in on it. I was hooked from start to finish.

Gameplay

When it comes to gameplay, this title is very lean but that’s not a bad thing. As this is supposed to be a narrative-heavy horror title, you aren’t going to be doing much. You’re supposed to be a “regular person”, and most of us have no idea how to fight ghoulies or anything like that.

The majority of the game will have you backtracking through the house that serves as the centerpiece for the entire game, with various jumpscares and changes to the room to evoke the feeling that you’re being watched. The house will constantly transport you to various locations that also play a big part in the story. Within the house and various locations, you’ll be looking for objects and solving puzzles.

Most puzzles are boiled down to finding the correct door for your key, with others being more grandiose and having multiple layers to figure out in order to solve them. I really enjoyed the puzzles as most of them were pretty difficult not only to figure out but to actually complete. You will be doing a lot of walking from one puzzle to another and getting scared.

This game’s main feature is the polaroid camera that you carry around with you. You’ll most times use it to trigger some kind of spooky cinematic, solve a puzzle, or just push the game on to the next sequence. I really liked its existence and you’ll find yourself stuck at times unless you rely on its usage. Having its flash in unlit rooms can also either be a blessing or curse depending on if something is lingering ahead of you in the dark.

There are several enemies within the game but since you can’t fight, you’ll usually be evading them for a moment or stunning them with your camera flash. I was hoping that the majority of ghostly confrontations wouldn’t result in much combat but just some scares and was happy that this was the path the developers took.

Audio and Visuals

This game is very heavy on theatrics which makes the experience so effective. There are constant noises going on to make you worry to look over your shoulder and music to heighten tense moments. Moments can feel excruciatingly scary as you anticipate a big scare only for nothing happen. Then you have the other moments when all sounds stop at once, leaving you waiting and wondering if something is going to jump out at you.

I am absolutely blown away by just how bone-chilling this game can be at times. The house and various locations look fantastic, as well as the various in-game enemies. Everything just scared me at every turn. The method of flickering a ghoulie on-screen for a split second when I would least expect it is way scarier than one slowly making its way to you. This is something the game will often do and, it is really effective.

Verdict

MADiSON is one of my favorite games of 2022 and one of, if not the best horror game I’ve ever played. It’s an elevated horror experience that’s terrifying from start to finish and plays its cards smart. Over its duration, you’ll be introduced to new layers of its dense story and become enthralled with its haunted house as you trek further and further towards its wild conclusion. If you like to get scared, I cannot recommend this enough.