Formidable Romans < Wii < Full Reviews < Video Game Reviews < Nintendo Power

MADISON09/14/2022

Hello Dad, Bobo?

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It all starts quite abruptly: you play Luca, a young man about whom we don’t know much, and he himself doesn’t know much more: you regain consciousness in what seems to be your house, but the place seems in a lamentable, gloomy state, and let’s be honest: creepy! To add to the picture, you hear your father’s voice screaming horrors at you through the wall… He seems determined to come and catch you and give you a bad time… But his words are so violent and incoherent …Let it add to your confusion and fear. What are you doing there ? Why don’t you remember anything? A dark exploration of your home begins…

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Your steps are hesitant, heavy, filled with confusion. You talk to yourself a lot, trying to figure out how you got there… Nothing works. You weave through narrow corridors, dark rooms, environments that seem to evolve each time you return to them. Ugh! It’s too much: the best thing is to try to escape this oppressive place by helping yourself with the clues and objects that you will find there. Among these objects, you will find a Polaroid camera which will react strangely when you take a picture of certain elements.

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It is THE most successful game mechanic for sure, the one that is likely to make you jump at times! When the flash fires, you never know what will happen… Or what will appear on the photo you will have between your fingers. Strange phenomena have clearly taken possession of this house, between witchcraft and evil spirits…

We won’t say more about the story here to avoid any spoilers and let you meet dear Madison for yourself, but you get the idea, right?

Do you have heavy legs? It’s normal…

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Now let’s talk more about the gaming experience: the general atmosphere is a success, really heavy and will plunge you directly into anxiety: the lighting plays with your nerves a lot, while the sounds and various noises come to make you raise your fur. Technically, the game is not magnificent but the rendering remains very correct. Luca’s progress is, as we have said, slow and hesitant, sometimes tearful, which adds to the immersion. The image is grainy, imperfect, but again this ultimately adds a little more to the immersion. Last important point: the manipulations are (a little) more tedious than in a classic game. Example: to open a door, it is not enough to press a button. You will also have to open it yourself using the stick. Ditto for drawers and other cupboards. These manipulations, far from being a defect, add a little more stress and are welcome.

The story itself does not revolutionize the genre and revolves around well-known themes, but the essential is not there: it is very well conducted and always makes you want to move forward to find out more.

Being afraid should not prevent you from thinking…

Above all, Madison offers you puzzles to solve which are not always easy. Some will require you to rack your brains, or even to have a checklist available. Some puzzles may block you for a while, but in general, salvation will come from using your camera in the right place, at the right time… And that’s where the jumpscares will arrive! Small flat, the game offers you an inventory very limited in capacity and not very practical to use. For once, this does not add anything to the immersion and will also force you to deposit certain items in a chest while waiting to retrieve them later, which causes some unnecessary round trips. We would also have appreciated subtitles that are a bit more readable… In portable mode, it’s limit-limit. Nothing serious either. Finally, a system of audio cassettes to be collected throughout the game will help you better understand what is happening to you and get to know Madison better!

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Needless to say more: Madison has fulfilled her role very well as far as we are concerned. The game is creepy and scary, and some passages made us jump! It’s what we expected, after all… The lifespan is also good enough, and Madison should give you what you pay for… At least if you take the trouble to play it in the right conditions: turn off good lights, turn up the sound… And go wander in this terrifying world!

We would love to thank the author of this write-up for this incredible material

Formidable Romans < Wii < Full Reviews < Video Game Reviews < Nintendo Power

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