Madison: An Overrated Game

Why I Think Madison Is Extremely Overrated and Relies on the Cheapest Scare Tactics

Disclaimer: This is just my opinion. What scares people is subjective, regardless of whether the method is "cheap" or not. If you found Madison scary or simply disagree with me, feel free to share your thoughts and reasons!

My biggest issue with Madison lies in how it creates fear. ALMOST EVERY JUMPSCARE in this game boils down to something flashing in your face. You can see this pattern repeated endlessly throughout the game, with very few exceptions. This mechanic is used so excessively that I became desensitized to it—it’s always the same thing, and there’s never any real threat. Nothing will actually happen to you.

Following this line of thought, the game keeps throwing these little scares at you until you’re stuck on some puzzle designed purely to waste your time. You’ll spend a lot of time stuck, with NOTHING happening during that period—which completely kills the game’s pacing. It often becomes boring, and any tension it built up is gone.

Let’s talk about the chase scenes. They rely entirely on trial and error, and that’s it. For example, there’s that annoying puzzle in the church while you’re being chased by the fake Hunk (you know, the guy who seems to teleport in front of you). He stabs you, which is honestly just a minor inconvenience and a waste of time.

Now, I will say the Blue Knees section is, in my opinion, the best part of the game. You actually need to listen for him and avoid him by using the camera, which genuinely creates a challenge without being frustrating. But, for me, that’s where the praise ends.

On the other hand, Visage, in my opinion, does everything better (and yes, I acknowledge that it has similar problems and is far from perfect). The difference is that in Visage, I never feel safe. I’m always concerned about my sanity, the game constantly reinvents itself with varied sections, and there’s always something new happening in the house.

Anyway, these are just my thoughts after platinum-ing Madison (yes, I do like the game to some extent; the story is what saves it for me). But I genuinely don’t understand how this game is considered one of the scariest experiences out there.