MADiSON is an incredible experience. People who know me will recognize that I don't get frightened by horror very much anymore. I have played and watched so much I am desensitized to it, similar to many other people. MADiSON scared me.
The atmosphere is oppressive. It is as, if not more, oppressive than the atmosphere of Silent Hill 2 Remake, one of the most atmospheric horror games I have ever played. The atmosphere left me on edge for the entire game, leading me to actually being scared to move onto the next area sometimes. I would actually jump, and even scream, at jump scares. Something I haven't done since I was much younger. The game is scary.
The story is amazing. It is a sad story, presented very well. It is made to be a mystery that slowly pieces itself together, a common method of telling a story, but MADiSON does it excellently. It gradually answers enough questions, and gives you more, leading to you being very interested to learn more. That gives you the drive to keep pushing.
MADiSON wears it's inspiration on it's sleeves. Hideo Kojima's P.T. has inspired many games, and created a subgenre of horror that MADiSON calls home. I have not played any game that captures what made P.T. special so well. This game is what P.T. would have been if it was a full game instead of just a teaser.
The gameplay, is simple but interesting. It mostly revolves around solving puzzles, and with its main unique mechanic being the camera. The puzzles are... vague and sometimes confusing. I have seen the puzzles as a common critique of MADiSON, however, I couldn't disagree more. The puzzles are excellent. They embody the spirit of P.T., where the puzzles were made to be confusing, nonsensical, and difficult on purpose, while removing the completely frustrating parts of it. MADiSON's puzzles are meant to be figured out in their entirety. They often don't tell you what to do, and it is left to the player to figure out what the puzzle is.
This is more personal to me, but the solutions to the puzzles were exactly what I expected. I have always had an issue with puzzles in horror games, or puzzles in general for that matter, that I would over complicate them. Think of some obscure way the game wanted me to get the solution, when really, it was much more simple than I thought. MADiSON has those solutions that I normally look for. It feels like the puzzles were made for me, I was able to look at them, and think how I always want to think with other horror games. It made me feel recognized.
MADiSON is a modern classic. It is what anyone who enjoyed P.T., and wished there was more of, should play. This game is phenomenal in every way, it is exactly what a horror game should be in my eyes. 10/10
