Madison

Madison is a creepy crawl through a twisted haunted house with enough genuine out-of-your-seat scares to leave you shaken like a Polaroid picture.

Despite my misgivings, Madison still offers a respectable evening of frights and is worth a look for fans of psychological horror. It succeeds in building tension and puzzle variety, stumbling when it becomes obsessed with bamboozling players with head-tilting solutions and stopping their hearts with lame jump scares. But when the game hits right, you’ll be glad no one caught the look on your face.

Equal parts terrifying and amusing, Madison is doing some really great things with the first-person horror template. If only it had eased up on the puzzles a bit.

Maybe you'll find something to like if you've never played a horror game like this before, but for anyone well-versed in the genre, the ground MADiSON covers is very well-worn.

If you're a fan of horror games that focus more on atmosphere and scares rather than combat, then MADiSON is a no-brainer. It's not the most original game and it mostly follows the lead of pioneers like the aforementioned Outlast or even Hideo Kojima's P.T, but that doesn't matter. What you've got here is an effective horror experience regardless, and one that you're going to enjoy from start to finish.

MADiSON is consistent, and that’s one of the key factors in a great horror game. A lot of games tend to struggle with a sluggish second act after an incredible opener or fall off in the final act, but that does not happen here. The puzzles remain a delight to solve, the tension never eases up, and just when you think you’re safe, a light will flicker, and you’ll catch a glimpse of the monster and you’ll need to change your pants. Beyond this, the story and lore is disturbing on a true crime level and manages to maintain its pacing. Suffice it to say, MADiSON is an unnerving, unsettling, and truly terrifying experience.

Although the story doesn't deliver anything fresh, it serves the game well and provides a platform for the game's excellent design and well-crafted horror. Go into MADiSON without any pretense of a groundbreaking story to find a terrifying journey through the minds of pained and neglected killers. Overall, MADiSON is a great first game by a new developer and is sure to provide plenty of scares.

With MADiSON, we experienced a truly immersive journey that profoundly impacted us through its ability to craft psychological horror that transcends genre clichés. The constant potential to be startled and terrified around every corner of the house is exactly what we seek in a title of this kind—and here, it is delivered flawlessly. Filtering reality and unreality through the lens of the Polaroid camera adds a nostalgic, retro flavor perfectly blended with modern horror sensibilities, harmonizing brilliantly with the darkness of both the story and the environment. The necessity to interpret and form one’s own understanding of what is seen creates a sense of interactive storytelling—where you shape an elusive ending, unseen even for a moment—fueling curiosity and the desire to see it through to completion. MADiSON will surprise players, as it did me, on every front: technical, graphical, auditory, and narrative. Personally, I highly recommend it to those seeking a mature, contemplative, and unsettling psychological horror experience—one that delivers a uniquely intense and memorable journey. It is not a game for those wanting frantic action or a straightforward plot, but for those willing to lose themselves in a visual and auditory nightmare that lingers long after the screen goes dark. Months or even years later, certain scenes, atmospheres, and images from the game will remain vividly etched in your memory and heart. If genuine terror is what you seek, MADiSON delivers it without compromise.

Madison VR is derivative, some of the puzzles have annoyingly obscure solutions and there really should be more VR comfort options, but the foreboding atmosphere and genuine frights more than make up for this. Put on your PSVR 2, plug in the earphones and get ready to have the bejesus scared out of you.

A fun game and concept with a specific audience. The issues with the brightness and layout knocked it down a few points. But the overall graphics and uniqueness still made MADiSON a fairly enjoyable experience.