MADiSON
Games review
As of Aug 12, 2026, MADiSON is rated 75/100 on Metacritic (21 critic reviews), and 87% positive on Steam (3,414 reviews). Each source is shown in its own units, never blended into one score.
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Is MADiSON worth it in 2026?
MADiSON earns its 87% Steam rating on the strength of genuine scares and a suffocating atmosphere, but the Metacritic gap, critics landing it at 75/100, reflects a real design problem that player enthusiasm tends to paper over: this is primarily a puzzle game wearing a horror costume, and the puzzles are consistently unintuitive and almost entirely without guidance. Four separate reviewer complaints cite the lack of hints, four more flag the puzzle-heavy balance over horror, and the split reaction, loving the atmosphere, hating the logic, is the defining experience here, not an edge case. The polaroid camera mechanic and voice acting give the game genuine personality, but tedious item-hunting pads the runtime and a documented hard-lock bug at the final combination puzzle means the entire experience can die at the finish line with no recourse.
Horror fans who enjoy cryptic, low-hint puzzle-solving in a creepy first-person setting and are comfortable consulting guides when the game's logic stops making sense.
A hard-lock bug at the final combination puzzle has wiped out players' entire runs at the end of the game, one reviewer reported losing nine hours of progress to it and noted others were hitting the same wall. Verify this is patched before purchasing.
AI-generated editorial synthesis of the source scores and sampled review themes, not a hands-on test. Reviewer experiences and allegations are not independently verified facts.
Pros
- effective scares and jumpscares8
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- This game get's an "8". Scary fun, though the musical puzzle in the last quarter of the game was drawn out a bit more than it should have been. Recommended, especially if on sale.
- In all honesty, it's a great horror game like I peed my pants in some moments BUT and it's a BIG BUT it is a HORRIBLE PUZZLE GAME. The game has great graphics and the story is in...
- What a horror game. i was scared the whole game and the jumpscares was on point and it was definetly the scariest game i have ever played. some of the puzzles were a little diffi...
- creepy atmosphere and tension4
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- la ambientacion dpm, los sustos igual. el juego da miedo la verdad. la unica queja que tengo es que o yo soy imbecil o el 80% de los puzzles son 0 intuitivos y necesitas jugar el...
- The idea of demons and supernatural forces is a fantastic thing to explore and MADiSON did just that the puzzles are challenging the atmosphere is creepy and the occasional scream,...
- It has become my newest favorite, I'm glad I bought it and took my time playing it. It wasn't easy but it wasn't hard to follow. It had great atmosphere, makes it scary or at the...
- solid overall game quality3
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- The idea of demons and supernatural forces is a fantastic thing to explore and MADiSON did just that the puzzles are challenging the atmosphere is creepy and the occasional scream,...
- Reminds me of visage, silent hill, and the movie hereditary all thrown together. great game. Puzzles weren't too difficult. everyone was fairly straight forward.
- Idk why but I like it better than visage! Feels smoother in both controls and puzzle design, same level of horror (or even higher??)
Cons
- unintuitive puzzle design4
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- la ambientacion dpm, los sustos igual. el juego da miedo la verdad. la unica queja que tengo es que o yo soy imbecil o el 80% de los puzzles son 0 intuitivos y necesitas jugar el...
- In all honesty, it's a great horror game like I peed my pants in some moments BUT and it's a BIG BUT it is a HORRIBLE PUZZLE GAME. The game has great graphics and the story is in...
- у игры явный дисбаланс между хоррор состовляющей и головоломками хотя на самом деле сами головоломи которые можно назвать головоломками простые а вот хождение туда не знаю куда в п...
- puzzle-heavy over horror4
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- Short puzzle-style game. I loved it. If you're looking for more of a PT or Visage experience, this is NOT it. Just to be warned. This is much more puzzle than it is enemies. If...
- In all honesty, it's a great horror game like I peed my pants in some moments BUT and it's a BIG BUT it is a HORRIBLE PUZZLE GAME. The game has great graphics and the story is in...
- THE MOST BORING HORROR GAME EVER. IF YOU WANT TO MAKE PUZZLE GAME, PLEASE COLLAB WITH SUDOKU DEVELOPER GAME. THANK YOU. 1/100
- lack of puzzle guidance3
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- la ambientacion dpm, los sustos igual. el juego da miedo la verdad. la unica queja que tengo es que o yo soy imbecil o el 80% de los puzzles son 0 intuitivos y necesitas jugar el...
- у игры явный дисбаланс между хоррор состовляющей и головоломками хотя на самом деле сами головоломи которые можно назвать головоломками простые а вот хождение туда не знаю куда в п...
- Its a very fun game, best jumpscares but there is like no clues and the game gets confusing
Themes and quotes are drawn from 19 sampled reviews with text. Each score above uses its source's displayed count. Theme counts are how many of the sampled reviews mention each point.
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