MADiSON tells a very creepy, macabre, and harrowing demon-infested tale where the protagonist, Luca, must explore various locations in and around his grandfather's house. Using a special camera, Luca will explore terrifying locales while snapping photos in order to solve the game's intricate and cryptic puzzles. A demon has infused its way into the family lineage and a dark ritual must now take place with Luca at the center of it.
There's no getting around just how scary MADiSON truly is. From scary 3d audio to unexpected gameplay moments to the game's ingenious puzzles, this is one game that attempts to keep you immersed around each and every derelict corner. The game does a fairly decent job at getting players up to speed when it comes to exploring this horrific game, however, there are still some good things to keep in mind when first jumping into MADiSON.
5 Explore Every Single Nook And Cranny
There's no getting around that MADiSON is a pretty complex game that requires players to search around every draw, door, safe, and hallway. One of the best things to know early on in this game is that the game simply doesn't hold players' hands. While Luca does have a notebook to keep players on an overarching path such as seeking out a certain door or part of the house, the game mostly keeps players guessing and exploring.
Now, this could either be a boon or a hindrance depending on the type of player experiencing MADiSON, however, on either side of the spectrum, exploring is critical to success in this game, especially when it comes to the devious puzzles. Oftentimes a scrap of paper or a key (for example) are hidden just out of reach, requiring players to seek out every nook and cranny in the game world.
4 Storing Items In The Universal Safe
MADiSON features myriad items to discover, pick up, interact with, and store for future puzzles. New players to this game might be wondering how they can store all of the key items they stumble across during this harrowing journey through Luca's demon-filled madness. The game gives players eight inventory slots and these slots fill up quite quickly with special key items, Luca's notebook, a hammer, and some other surprises that won't be spoiled here.
Fortunately, the game doesn't just make players drop the items at random, but instead, gives players red universal safes that are strewn about certain sections of the game. These universal safes can hold numerous items and any item can be accessed from any safe, hence making it universal. However, one of the frustrations of MADiSON is that it can be tough to know which items to store and which to keep in Luca's inventory since puzzles often require multiple parts to solve.
3 Puzzles Are Generally Multi-Faceted Affairs
MADiSON is an interesting horror game, one that relishes in just being a horror walking simulator but at other times, completely flipping the tables to becoming complex puzzle-centric horror games. This dichotomy makes the game quite unnerving since it's really hard to know what will come around the next corner. Puzzles in this game harken back to more old-school horror franchises like Silent Hill or Resident Evil, requiring players to think outside the box...and sometimes inside.
Most puzzles in this game necessitate multiple steps, generally leading to finding a few key items, bringing them back to a certain location, using Luca's camera to decipher what to do, then putting it all together. One way to get through the puzzles is to simply focus time on one environment at a time, making sure every item is picked up and every item is interacted with prior to moving on.
2 Photographs Lying Around Means It's Time For The Camera
Easily the most unique feature of MADiSON is Luca's camera. This old-school camera snaps photos in real-time and can reveal clues about Madison's downfall, the grandfather's obsession with contacting the dead, and Luca's role in all of the scary supernatural events taking place. Not since the likes of the Fatal Frame series has a camera been used this successfully in a horror game. On the game's normal mode, the camera can be used as much as possible, without the worry of running out of film, battery, and the like.
Even though the game is incredibly liberal with camera resources, many players might be confused about when they should use the camera to solve a puzzle or otherwise progress the game's intense story. Fortunately, MADiSON throws players a bone in the form of photos lying around an environment. When players see a bunch of these in a certain area, it means the camera should be used in order to progress. Simply snap photos of the various environmental details in order to reveal their contents. The photo will then need to be shaken to show a "clear" image of what to do.
1 Randomized Events, Puzzles, And Playthroughs
MADiSON could have just gone for a one-and-done experience, where, once a player wraps up Luca's demonic story, a new game would just lead to the exact same outcomes. Interestingly, MADiSON eschews this in favor of randomized playthroughs where puzzles, locations, and key items are all different, at least to some extent, ensuring each player has a different experience with the game.
This is an important thing to note since a challenging puzzle-centric horror game like this one could lead many players to look up a guide. While solutions, items, and puzzles, in general, have the same overarching path, they change location somewhat and also reshape how to solve some of the experiences play out. This more prominently comes into play with the game's randomized specters that haunt the player around every corner.
MADiSON is available on Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.