The Medium - review and comparison of game graphic settings

In today's graphics review of The Medium, we will look at and compare graphics settings and their impact on picture quality in RTX and DLSS modes. Let's move on directly to testing.

The game offers a choice between DX 11 and DX 12. In DX 11, surprisingly, the picture looks more realistic if we do not pay attention to reflective surfaces. Below are screenshots for comparison.

DX 12 was used for the test.

Ray tracing. In this item, you can choose between 3 settings: “Off”, “On”, “Ultra”. Ray tracing only appears if you run the game with DX12 enabled, because RTX does not appear as part of the graphics options when DX11 is selected. Let’s compare “On” and “Ultra”. Reflections become more realistic, but you may notice strange behavior on some surfaces (glass on a clock and on a bookcase). Developers have a lot to work on. When "Off" there are no reflections on the floor or reflective surfaces.

Normal quality (localization error). Has 3 parameters: “Low”, “Medium”, “High”. When you switch to “Medium,” the texture of the curtain changes, the lighting of small objects becomes unnatural, and the haze outside the window disappears. At “Low” these effects are enhanced.

Smoothing. There are 4 options to choose from: Off, FXAA, TXAA and DLSS. The game uses a fixed camera, which makes it difficult to fully appreciate this setting. The difference between DLSS and TXAA is clearly visible, especially in the first location (note the grass). Let's compare FXAA and TXAA, FXAA noticeably blurs the image. With the Off option, there is no anti-aliasing and you may see pixel jaggedness.

During the test, a “bug” was noticed. Artifacts were noticed when switching to DLSS.

DLSS. 3 parameters. Let's compare "Medium" and "High". There are minor changes on small objects, pay attention to the motorcycle and grass. There are minimal differences when switching to Low.

Next comes Shadow quality. 3 parameters. When switching to “Medium”, shadows from small objects disappear, the edges of the shadows are blurred and scattered. On Low you get a dark image.

PS Where is the character's shadow?

Texture quality. Standard 3 parameters: “Low”, “Medium”, “High”. Let's look at the difference between "Low" and "High". There are minimal differences in the wood floors, curtains and small details. In the next screenshot, no difference was noticed.

SSAO (Screen Space Ambient Occlusion). Is an imitation of global illumination. The difference is minimal and barely noticeable on small objects.

When switching to DX 11, the difference is more noticeable.

SSR (Screen-space reflections). Has 2 parameters: “Off” and “On”. The difference was only noticed in the mirror.

When moving to DX 11, the difference is more noticeable, since there is no ray tracing.

Quality FAQ (Sub-Surface Scattering). 2 parameters: “Low”, “High”. The difference is subtle: pay attention to the ears, lips and eyebrows.

LPV (Light Propagation Volumes). 2 parameters: “Off” and “On”. There are minimal differences.

Quality of effects. Standard 3 parameters. The difference between “Medium” and “High” is minimal. At “Low” the picture becomes less realistic and flat.

Shader quality. Has 3 parameters. There is no point in showing all parameters. The difference is minimal.

So, let's summarize. Graphically the game looks different. Some sections appear photorealistic, while in other places the scenes lack detail. The Medium is memorable for its high-quality story development, excellent soundtrack and many cultural references. I can confidently recommend it to fans of this genre.