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[h1]The gist of it:[/h1]
I don't think the developers of Madison realized the meaning of "cheap scare" and they probably thought it was a positive rather than a negative, as the game is a massive cheap scare simulator, and despite being overpriced, it was still a decent experience.
👍 [u]The good parts:[/u]
+Well-designed atmosphere
+Decent puzzles
👎[u]The bad parts:[/u]
-Exaggerated amount of cheap scares
-Overpriced
[h1]Story[/h1]
Despite the previous "horror" games I previously played/reviewed, at least Madison does in fact, have a horrific story to tell. It's a very short game, so it'll be hard to avoid going into spoilery territory, but I'll try to be as obtuse as possible. Essentially, you're a dude who sounds very gay, who wakes up in his grandparents' house, not knowing what happened before, but by the voice of your dad behind the locked door you can deduce something really bad happened. So it's your job to explore the house and figure out what's going on. As you explore, you realize shortly after that you are being possessed by an old lady witch who has some truly macabre things in the past.
That's the gist of it, but the game goes into some messed-up territory, so expect actual horror themes. It's not super deep, but it was well designed that I actually enjoyed it, and it never felt safe or generic.
Story rating: 7.5/10
[h1]Gameplay[/h1]
It's a walking sim, but it also has some well-designed and at times head-scratching puzzles. There are some survival aspects, though, you just get respawned, and you can repeat over and over. Essentially, the house is made of a lot of puzzles that require using the right item or paying attention to the environment, which you have to solve by exploring every nook and cranny. They're not very hard; however, the tension around you, the cheap scares, can certainly impact your solving skills.
Speaking of cheap scares, they are exaggerated to the point of not being scary or becoming tedious. There are moments where they just spam the same cheap scare moment every 2 minutes until you solve the puzzle.
Gameplay rating: 7.5/10
[h1]Audio[/h1]
The audio design is pretty good, especially the demonic ones. It'll keep you tense from start to finish, which is essential for any horror game. Voice acting is...not very good, at least not for your own character, as he sounds...very gay, and I don't mean that in an offensive way, but more like someone flamboyant/horny, fake, a voice that no real person, gay or not, would ever actually have in real life in these situations. The voice is so annoying that the devs made an option in-game to silence the protagonist. The soundtrack is as tense as the sound effects, so all around well done in this regard.
Audio rating: 7.5/10
[h1]Graphics, performance and tech analysis[/h1]
It's certainly not the best-looking game, nor are its options very good; for example, the audio has only one setting, and no, I'm not joking. There is just one slider for all audio. There are also very limited motion options, and despite being able to disable certain head movements, the game is still extremely floaty, and you might get motion sickness, so be aware of that. Aside from level design, which was pretty good, not a lot of effort went into anything else, which is a shame. The house is scary, but it lacks detail.
Graphics, performance, and tech analysis score: 7/10
[h1]Conclusion[/h1]
Overall, I recommend the game only if you're a fan of being spammed by a ton of cheap scares like I do, and even then, the price is way too high for what it offers. Get it on sale.
[h1]Final score: 7.3/10[/h1]
