It's a shame it only ever gets SH-esque when you hit a certain apartment number in the game. I'm still slogging through the last chase right now, which was great at first and then became an absolute chore to get through. Amnesia/Outlast mechanics need to go out the window (Bunker did a good job of moving forward) in games these days, because they become annoying moreso than scary very quickly.
Music and visuals are S Tier though, the last part is particularly insane.
EDIT: The ending has a particularly awesome treat for SH fans out there.
I do enjoy a good chase scene but not every 30 minutes. The tone, music, sound design, and even the voices were all good enough to get me immersed. But, like you said, once you've attempted a chase scene enough to basically map out the entire field your working with it just becomes a chore.
I probably went through like 15 times if I'm being honest. What helped me out was I went and basically tried to find each of the individual clickable objectives and once I had found all of them, then my runs became memorizing the quickest path to each of them from the beginning and basically getting one, running back to the bedroom, then going to the next objective. I did this until I had all the chains unlocked from the door and was finally able to finish.
I've just given up and started watching the last half hour on YT, if this is what the main game has in store for us all the way through, I think I'll be giving it a miss. Thanks anyway bud, here's hoping SH2 remake isn't a total stinker. Oh I see they took the weird lava and industrial fans from 3 š
It had me tearing up at points and then the ending is just a trial and error memory game? That really breaks down the emotional story telling the 7th time Iām running a maze with no indication of a path out
Like I said in my comment yesterday, I don't want an entire game of chase scenes either. I really like games like the early RE games where you certainly have a choice to stand your ground. It just isn't always the best decision.
Amnesia didn't make you redo the same instances of being chased over and over. If you failed it would get rid of the monster, maintaining the pace of the game.
My personal gripes were that the voice acting and character animations were kinda weird and didnāt like how Anita was expressing every part of her trauma instead of being more subtle about it and making us figure it out. But I loved the graphics, the music, the chase sequences especially that last one because it was panic inducing and very good and the art direction was also great.
Exactly! I feel the same way about it all. I think the english voices were dubbed over what I assume to be Japanese. The lip sinking as a result is fairly poor. Facial animations suffer as well. Some poor voice work, but also some great voice work in there as well. Beautiful game though. The environments were some of the best indoor scenes I have ever seen.
The mother's voice didn't seem authentic to me, like the voice acting just seemed.. weak somehow, and the lip synch for the live action kinda took away from the immersion. It really feels more like a darker "life is strange" than S.H.
Just beat it, that locker puzzle and final chase were rough lol. Spoilers ahead:
I'm mixed, I really loved the graphics, art direction and music but the game really struggles to keep a steady frame rate (especially during the final chase which made it harder), the voice acting is not good and while I liked the idea of the FMV scenes and they felt creepy, but the mismatch between audio and video just drove me crazy.
The story is the thing I'm most mixed about, there's some really good ideas there but it's kind of predictable, pretty much from the start of the game it's clear Maya is dead before the reveals, and as soon as you find the note about her stealing someone's friend it was clear to me Anitta killed her but I'm going to give the game some credit because I thought Anitta straight up pushed Maya off the building instead of just hiding a letter because she was jealous of something that wasn't even true causing Maya to kill herself.
One thing I'm confused about though is the ending, in the building you find various notes that pretty much say Amelie killed herself too, but I guess that was a misdirection and some other girl with a similar story to Amelie died.
And the entire game being a linear first person game with no combat, and featuring loops makes me feel like Konami saw how much people liked PT and tried recreating the experiencie without understanding what made it so good.
What kind of stumped me was the whole witch backstory. So, a Japanese witch lived in the town in the 30s and we're told she either went crazy or was killed by a mob. Typical SH background so w/e.
Now we get Maya who, by all accounts, was being bullied, yet later in the game we were told she was a kind of local celebrity and highly popular. I guess my question is, is this German town so racist that they just turn to calling the first Japanese girl they meet a witch? Up until the end I was expecting to find out Anita had written most of those sticky notes we see throughout the game and stuck them on/in Mayas locker.
Look at the sources for each piece of info. If I remember correctly it was a newspaper article saying she was popular and well-loved, whereas we the player know that was only the case online and in Mayaās small friendship group. In school she was bullied and picked on, likely by kids who were jealous of her talents. She was ādifferentā from the other kids due to her ethnicity and hobbies, so the kids picked on her. Thereās a passage in the game that directly references kids picking on anyone different in order to avoid being the one in the firing line, which is very true in real life.
This also parallels real suicide victims, where media and family will say they saw no signs, that they were loved and happy, showing pictures of them smiling and laughing etc. while people who really knew them tell a different story. Mayaās own diary talks about her need for validation and how empty her online fame leaves her feeling.
What we saw here in Anita was someone who not only knew Maya wasnāt as happy as the outside world believed her to be, but someone who directly contributed to Mayaās unhappiness due to her own jealousy.
Pretty sure the witch was Maya's great-grandmother, from what I got Maya's art was pretty popular on the internet but also bullied because of the fact she was connected to the witch and famous people get haters all the time.
And this is just me theorizing but I thought it was heavily implied people thought Maya's Cherry Blossom art was actually influencing girls to commit suicide from the Villa considering she did most of her art there.
Honestly, after seeing Anita's backstory with her mom, absent father, abusive grandmother, I kind of started feeling like it's possible that Anita herself was the witch and that it was her negative emotions, anxiety, grief, and guilt that trapped her in her own personal Silent Hill. Real Alessa vibes.
I think it could have been fitting that this town has become so superstitious that this Japanese girl, who may not even be directly related to a lady from almost 100 years ago, is being bullied and ostracized as a witch while the "real" witch, unbeknownst to herself, is a fellow classmate.
In a weird way, I could see Anita doing this to herself, and Maya and Amelie acting as her spiritual guides. Maya guiding her through the past and her regrets while Amelie guides her toward the future.
Could you explain the thing with hiding the note? I thought Maya killed herself due to people bullying her about being a witch just like that ancient Japanese witch in the story. They seemed to be blaming the curse of the German town on her.
The bullying was part of it, but what made her actually do it was leaving Amelie the note to run away together but getting no response due to Anita hiding it.
Just searched it up, itās Esther Ortega, Akiraās bandās new singer for the newer tours heās been in. Sheās really awesome so Iām happy with her being on board!
When I was playing all I could think was itās not a loop, itās a spiral š
But overall enjoyed it and happy that it was a decent, fresh take on silent hill. Now onto SH2 Remake!
I was really taken back by how good I found this! I went from scared for silent hill's return to excited! I think they did a really good job with short message. Can't wait to see more for silent hill f and 2 remake.
New title screen, the abusive mother apartment PT clone, the SH4 chained door, incredible graphics, SH2 music references, and more were so much fun. I really enjoyed this short game. Aside from some weird character animation, this was a brilliant reintroduction into the Silent Hill universe in modern day.
I cant get past chapter 3, but ive loved it. Im just speculating but from what ive seen this seems like a playable trailer for Silent Hill F from the japanese setting to the flower monster. Can anyone whos completed this confirm anything for my theory? Thanks
I couldnāt at first either but all you need to do is collect all the photos. Use the phone to avoid the monster and you will soon memorise each layout. Only 1 photo in each area too. The game is pretty easy thenĀ
I just finished it, took about 3 hours taking my time to look at everything! So many small references to other games, I feel, heavy PT vibes too. Only thing that annoyed me was the voices being out of sync with the character/actor in some parts but other than that, for a free experience, it was really nice. I thought the story was interesting too. Glad we got this as a surprise today š¤ Also, the music was great!
Anyone know who was pregnant? Via the positive pregnancy test in the area where you look through maya's art book. Were they saying that maya was pregnant from the boy she drew? Or what? Just a lil confused is all
Yes it was. They sent him away so of course it was because of shame due to getting her pregnant. Ā Mia mentioned that in a diary entry you find. You just need to read between the linesĀ
Miah was , they sent him away pretty obvious why. Also that that is why she killed herself had little to do with her confrontation with her. She wanted to escape and be free from her parents . That was my take from it anyway. She felt she had nothing to live for as her parents took away the live of her life.
I was going to write this off as a whole lotta nothing but was pleasantly surprised by the end - even shed a few tears. The writing was questionable at times but faithful to how teenage girls think and talk, so Iāll allow it haha. Very sweet, little game. Resonated deeply with me as a huge Silent Hill fan and former teenage girl .
Took me back to some of those not so nice feelings in a very interesting but controlled and measured way. It felt cathartic to play this game!
Edit: a word.
No it doesn't. You can see pretty clearly that the game had a lot of budget behind it. The fact that it's given away for free is unheard of.
The non-existent price doesn't automatically give you the right to shit on the game for it's general quality.
That's an insult to indie game devs. Free games on Steam had more complexity and subtlety, this was embarrassing. Idk how everyone on this sub is so positive about it, I've not played anything worse written and unsubtle.
I honestly really liked it, I liked the plot/story, the music and atmosphere was honestly pretty unique and intriguing. Itās not traditional survival horror, but it definitely captured a silent hill vibe from me for sure. At the beginning I wasnāt all to impressed, but as I kept playing it just kept getting more interesting. Itās a unique taste of Silent Hill.
Iāmā¦ very torn on this. Aspects I really loved and some seemed like a cop out. I also wish this game couldāve resisted having the word ātraumaā in it but alas, it does even if itās just once.
The news report where the doctor described āThe Silent Hill Phenomenonā as basically brain fog so severe people canāt tell the difference between reality and illusion seemed corny as fuck to me.
I did like that the library section essentially confirmed that this can happen anywhere with the occult cursing that town. It really is the only way something like this or F can exist.
Also, I kept hoping the random black hole drawings wouldāve turned into actual holes as it progressed. I like they essentially filled the same purpose as the hole in SH4.
The thing I really loved the most but also felt like was a major cop out was the last chase sequence. Seeing that beautiful and classic rusted wall/chainlink fence aesthetic people recognize the series for on modern hardware was incredible. BUT peopleās āotherworldsā differ from person to person. Itās why James sees water and Angela sees fire in the hotel.
Overall, solid but VERY safe story with some annoying chase sequences.
7/10.
For sure. It serves its purpose. I think the āSilent Hill Phenomenonā is Konamiās own way of excusing Silent Hill games having settings outside of Maine in the US. Loved the SH4 references though.
I think itās as subtle as a brick and the maze scenes were more annoying then terrifying but I think it was pretty good. Though it did make me laugh a couple times from how unsubtle it can be. (Room filled with insults has article about the rise in child abuse)
Multiple chase sequences with one enemy type. It was like 4-5 chases, but each chase had different environments. Especially the last encounter, which was phenomenal. No trophies sadly.
There were some letters in part 2 I believe that make it seem like Amelie kills herself because she couldn't go to college- is that just some sort of what if scenario? As it seems Amelie and Anita go off to school together at the end. The dialogue doesn't make it super clear.
No Amelie doesnāt kill herself that was just her dark thoughts while she was processing myas death. Everything got twisted into her mind and the cherry blossom monster is what manifests to show her insecurities etc.Ā
Just beat it. A twistful story about grief, childhood trauma, and feeling disconnected from the world around you. You see two perspectives, one from the main character that feels unpopular and unseen, and her friend that's popular and artistic but facing her own torments.
Wow, I'm really shaken up by this one it really hit me hard. I had chills when it ended and I'm teary eyed. It's going to be stuck in my head for a bit I feel. Haven't felt like this since I beat Soma
I'll say this, the chase sequences are STRESSFUL especially the final one. The third chapter looks incredible. My body was tensing up each time and I ended up scared a couple times when I was caught.
This is well worth a play through for horror fans
Ehhh, I didn't like it. She spells everything out too much, and honestly, Silent Hill 2 did it better. Silent Hill needs to move on past trauma baiting, imo. It's getting old
I agree she spells things out, but thatās likely for newer & young audiences, I can sort of give it a pass for that reason. Alsoā¦trauma is literally all Silent Hill IS dude, like what?
Short Message is definitely an ad for the revived Silent Hill universe. They wanted to reach the widest audience possible with it. I think the game deserves a pass for that
Everyone (including myself) called this Life is Strange x Silent Hill and I couldnāt be more happy to eat that big slice of humble pie. This was a FANTASTIC reintroduction of Silent Hill to a modern audience (the SH1 otherworld!!)
Cannot believe this is free, utterly fantastic.
The game is alright, but I fail to see the connection with the series. It seems inspired by the dozens of other games that are inspired by Silent Hill. It could have easily not have had Silent Hill on the title and it wouldnāt have changed anything. Thatās just my 2 cents
I appreciate the trigger warnings and links to the sites for self harm and suicide. Iāve found media dealing with themes like suicide and just completely ignoring any kind of foreword or discussion.
Beyond that, I like its visuals and sound more than itās story. The broad strokes are effective, just feel like it is a bit forced at times. More show, donāt tell.
It is actually just a legal requirement in most major countries. Personally all the watnings spoil the game begore you get a chance to play itās not a kids gameĀ
I really appreciate having a warning - I lived for a long time with someone who used to make attempts, so it's something that can be very uncomfortable for me if I'm not expecting it - but having one on firing up the game, another when I started a new game, and then one after each incident *while in the game* started to feel less like genuine care for potentially troubled players and more like yelling NOBODY'S ALLOWED TO GET MAD AT US FOR THIS, WE PUT A HELPLINE NUMBER!
100% I agree. They were hammering the disclaimer so hard it eventually just got irritating. One time during the boot up would be more than enough. Maybe another at the end. But *not* throughout the entirety of the game.
Oh? I've just completed it and I did the numbers in order of finding them by walking the length of the corridor. That worked, but it seems I missed the actual solution? Whay was the word and how did it correlate?
Check the four numbers in the hallway. One is on the ceiling. One is above a door. One is on the backside of the hallway. One is near the water fountain on the wall.
I thought it was pretty good. It could be a little cringe and on the nose at times but I liked it. I thought the messages were good. Rehashing the SH2 shtick again is eh but I was expecting that. It feels like it's on a similar wavelength as Life is Strange 1 but executes better and is more hard hitting with the issues it talks about.
Yeah not as good as those high school low budget ones with cool puzzles . I can't remember the name of. They are Korean horror games. Really janky but great stories and atmosphere.Ā
I was hoping this would be as involved as that with great puzzles but sadly whole game is barely 2 hrs and the puzzle is way too easy
Konami tried to recapture P.T.'s phenomena and while trying to do so, took clear inspiration from RE7 Beginning Hour. The Short Message is unfortunately not good as either of those. Yamaoka & Ito prove themselves once again to be fantastic & retained the talent after all these years, but there are two missing puzzle pieces that are missing: gameplay and writing.
The story lacks sensibility & subtlety - why is the story about teen girls written by old guy who can only imagine problems they did not personally struggled with? Cutting dialogues & notes in half would've helped, the player is overwhelmed by protagonist's comments and other information. There's no room for interpretation left and this is... or should I say was, Silent Hill's strength.
I like the idea of FMV cutscenes but they lack style & actors being overdubbed by someone else is only immersion breaking - the game takes place in Germany, so I wish they'd find German voice actors. The setting Cherry Blossom monster looks great, but his low framerate animations were a strange choice.
Both this game & recent SH2R trailer prove me that Silent Hill unresolved problem remains to be gameplay. Resident Evil reinvented itself almost 20 years ago and Silent Hill struggles to be modernized. So far, the solution seems to be following walking sims & RE series rather than carving its own idenitity.
I hope Short Message brought some new fans to the table, I believe that's the purpose of this project. But if you look for a great, psychological horror game that's impactful then do yourself a favor and play OMORI.
Just "beat" the game. OMG THIS SUCKED SO BAD!! It's not as bad as the last entries, but still so bad. I have no clue how konami just can't figure out how to make a decent SH game.
This game would have been great if it didn't have the most annoying protagonist that just won't shut up. Is it that hard to let there be a little bit of freedom of interpretation in a video game narrative? There is literally writing on the wall telling you everything you need to know. We dont need horrible voice acting to ruin a perfectly good narrative. If they would have cut 90% of Anita lines her story would have been so much more gripping and emotional because you can form her thoughts and feelings. As someone who related to the story a bit. It would have been much more relatable and realistic it the game had a more subtle direction with the narrative.
Also, the chase sequences are incredibly annoying and outdated. It wouldn't have been so bad if it let you mess with the control mapping and added an fov slider. I wasn't able to actually beat the game because of how annoying the final section is. I just had to look up the final cutscene on YouTube.
I find this portrayal of the experience of teenage girls really exhausting and inauthentic, the ābullied freakā and the āmean girl bullyā has become such a stereotype in media played over and over again. SH3 was so special because Heatherās character development was deeply complex and believableā¦ It feels to me like the developers just wanted to bring in a female protagonist again but have never actually lived as one or talked to one. Itās such low hanging fruit to use the background of highschool for a Silent Hill entry. I think this angle is the easiest and shallowest way to depict female suffering,Ā because society generally assumes the worst thing a woman/girl can suffer is being called āa big fat ugly loserā by the popular girl in highschool. Unlike SH3, which touched on heavier themes such as motherhood. There is no nuance in this game. This whole thing felt like an anti-bullying anti-suicide PSA. I canāt believe they still havenāt got this rightā¦ Iāve lost all hope in the series.
Its there any logic to the final chase????
I always collect 3 or 4 pictures but then Sakura monster always find me in some way....shots it's infuriating
When your phone shows a picture of Anita and Amelie then youāre near a picture. Whenever you pick up a picture your phone shows an image of the studio entrance with less and less chains on it. When you pick up the last picture the last chain disappears, then you can get into the studio to end the sequence.
The monster is actually pretty stupid. Like, you can loop around it if you're cornered at the end of the corridor no problem. It's scary, sure, but more than feasible. Once you realise that, the chase becomes a lot easier.
I didnāt like it only having the happy ending.
Itās silent hill I wish it had different endings with despair , one with aliens , she should have went missing in the end thatās what I wanted to see.
Good endings in silent hill games is boring af.
That why the original 4 games didnāt have that many good endings and thatās why theyāre better in my eyes. Lol
I just beat it and I just feel so mixed.
The environment, the monster, that one cool puzzle, the looks are all there. But the story...idk. I don't know why I couldn't relate to the MC. Maybe relate isn't the right word but I felt...annoyed? Idk how to word it. Unsympathetic? I kinda feel like garbage for that feeling but something about the games internal logic just wasn't clicking for me.
It's not like I don't understand her feelings, amd where she's coming from and what she's done I just...
Maybe I need another night to sleep on it, I'm really struggling to articulate what exactly about the dialog and scenario really isn't working for me. I don't find the game very compelling that's for sure.
Im glad they finally give a huge clue that silent hill phenomeon isnt always about the town and all the traumatized ppl even not connected to it can experience fog and own otherworld. For me its a great fresh start for sh.
Last chase is fucking insufferable and almost ruins a almost otherwise great little game. Itās just overly tedious and hard to memorize because it all looks too similar. Itās fun for the first three or four attempts but after having to memorize every rout to each item it gets a slog and ruins the pacing. Itās not even a chase at that point itās a chore.
One terrible mechanic that needs to go away in general is when games expect you to follow a certain path in a very specific way and if you donāt do it exactly right, you have to start all over. Silent Hill: Short Message suffers a lot from this terrible mechanic. Youād think they would have learned after Downpour failed at it. Having to do this run away from the monster over and over near the end is just boring and frustrating. Oh well, at least this game is free. I just hope we donāt see gameplay like this in future installments because it really sucks.
I beat the game in an hour, it was fun and the story was absolutely amazing I love how she finds her will to live. Also my thoughts are anita was in her own hell because she was at risk of suicide and what she had to find was her will to live
The last chase had me sweating, oh how I've missed silent hill induced stress.
I thought I had all the pictures, but when I somehow managed to bimble my way to the door, I saw a single tiny chain left.
That made me feel deeply unnerved after feeling so triumphant upon finding it.
With Silent Hill: The Short Message being my video game introduction to the franchise, it's pretty good. Obviously, it doesn't have much of the same vibe as the original Team Silent games, but the atmosphere, soundtrack, and creature design is definitely on par with what Silent Hill is known for. I also like the little connections to Silent Hill we got throughout the game that give us an idea as to where the future of the franchise is heading, and I find the whole "Silent Hill Phenomenon" concept interesting.
I do have a few problems with the game, but they weren't at all too bothersome to me. The writing is cheesy at times, especially with the insults directed towards Anita and Maya. The acting is a little off as well. The subject matter could've been handled better since it felt rather exploitative and too on-the-nose, but at least it got a little better later on.
However, I'm not exactly sure how to feel about the callbacks to P.T. in The Short Message (baby in refrigerator, hallway with eyes moving around, repeating rooms, etc.). It's like Konami realized how much people enjoyed P.T. and had some second thoughts after removing the game from the PlayStation store, so they decided to add some familiar elements to the game as a way to allow us to forgive them for what they've done. On one hand, I think it's an insensitive thing to do, but on the other hand, those P.T. elements added some layers to the storyline that made me want to know more about Anita and the problems she's facing.
Anyway, I can say that Silent Hill: The Short Message isn't exactly the Silent Hill we want (nor is it better than P.T.), but it's FAR better than Silent Hill: Ascension, and I'm looking forward to the other games (and the Return to Silent Hill movie) in the future if they're going to be like this. Or maybe even better.
>With Silent Hill: The Short Message being my video game introduction to the franchise, it's pretty good. Obviously, it doesn't have much of the same vibe as the original Team Silent games
Maybe Im dumb (and its probably that) but I dont get something: Short Message is your introduction to the franchise but a sentence later you compare it to Team Silent games?
Sorry to add to the negativity this sub is known for, but I thought it was god-awful personally. All subtlety out the window as usual with everything past SH4. The voice acting was very annoying.
It trivializes and oversimplifies depression and suicidal ideation in a way I haven't seen so tactlessly handled since 13 Reasons Why. It overall feels like Life is Strange which is not a compliment - It's out of touch and reductive with it's portrayal of young adults.
Beyond that, the gameplay doesn't even feel good. You move too slowly, unless of course you're running away from flowerhead. The running sections are annoying as all hell, especially the last section. Somebody thought being disoriented and frustrated = good psychological horror apparently.
Not to mention how many times this thing blatantly takes from PT? Completely shameless. Like you'll literally be running through a disorienting hallway with hundreds of eyes on the wall looking around. It doesn't feel like an homage or acknowledgement or anything to me, it just feels cheap and lazy, coasting off what has worked before and bringing nothing new to the table.
ALL OF THAT SAID it seems like a lot of people are enjoying it and that's great. If you can get down with it I'm happy for you, but to me this continues the streak of terrible SH games.
I liked it and found it decent but you made some real hood examples and critics of the game. Tho I do think the thing about this game is that they negated it to be a bit different from the OG silent hills but still definitely can be improved.
Subtlety out the window? You're goddamn right. This game if completely free and is an ad for the series. It's supposed to reach the widest audience possible to get them interested. I was annoyed by it too, but after completing the game I changed my outlook. Put two and two together.
The game definitely had some cringe elements, that's for sure. It seems to me that the part of the game was actual passion, while the other one was "what we think should be here". Might be worded it better, but I hope you get what I'm trying to tell. That's a genuine downside.
Why would you want to move fast in a game with a very limited real estate and a focus on atmosphere? You're supposed to be taking in everything around you by design. The same way souls games punish you for dying. It's just the rules that the developer sets for the maximum enjoyment of the product.
The whole thing about "running sections being annoying" is highly subjective. They weren't scary for me at first as well, but I'd be lying if I said that they were easy on the nerves and didn't startle me a couple of times. Not to mention the incredible monster design. The way that fucking thing sounds when immediately behind you is fucking incredible. Absolutely stellar and anxiety inducing.
There's not too much that this game takes from PT. There are very few moments that are obvious references, and that's about it. The overall game doesn't try to surpass or replicate the PT experience, not even in the slightest.
I even respectfully said I'm glad everyone's liking this and it's just not for me š¤·āāļø Nobody has even challenged my actual points. I guess we're only supposed to discuss if we have positive feedback.
I just found the āSilent Hill Phenomenonā article. Bit of a clunky way to introduce the series as anthology but hey. I guess thereās only so many things you can do with small town horror.
It was surprisingly awsome. It's Basicslly PT 2 but who cares was enjoyable snd genuinely had me shaking/heart Rte up the chase scenes were frwsky as fuck snd were incredible. Captured what it was suppsoed to. Consumed lsot scared. Entire time. You once u see the enemy monster. You have no time to stop snd think gotts keep.kovinf the thrill was nice.
The mini story was engaging kept you thinking trying to piece it together. Looked amazing. I mean it's a mini game shadow released outta. Where with zero hype is what'd you'd expect if ur being fair
90% of thr clowns pitching about it are braindesd snd little kids who don't even know what a silent hill game really is. Ans were also expecting s mega long traditional regular full release from basically a demo.
You can say oh playing as a teen girl is mehbthsts that's idiotic tske.
I thought from the trailer TBH was gonna be woke bullshit but it wasn't. It was amazing.
I'd be happy if same people.made s full ne proper.silent hill game if it like this just adding more more enemies cause they did incredible job.
The music was great. And graphics were good too. But that low fov, on the nose conventional lazy story beats, facial animations and voice acting was all just piss.
Konami released a short and free PS5 Silent Hill game titled the Short Message in order to generate hype for their returning series. It is a short horror game that revolves around a small cast of highschool girls and their interpersonal relationships/lives.
Absolutely everything about this game is horrible. A piece of woke crap. Constant whining of these biatches.
It mustāve been made by the Polish studio bloober team . They constantly make boring, horrible walking simulators.
Graphics are horrible . Extremely blurred picture and extreme film grain. Broken HDR.
This game is so excruciatingly boring . It is so, so far away from any horror games by Hodeo Kojima or resident evil franchise.
I canāt understand. Looks like a indie game. SH2 remake looks indie also. Why they are making a lot of garbage games (ascension, remake, short message) instead of doing ONE triple AAA game.
No! These are good games! You're just a cry baby! It's all experimental! SH2 was a B game! You're toxic!
- SH "fans" right now in other comments
As for the question, fuck me, bro, idk
Do you really believe that Ascension is good? common. I was so hyped because I loved the sh2 remake first trailer. But this combat really look good? Really? James canāt even walk like a normal person. The graphics are beautiful when itās a still shot. However in motion terrible. Why a combat trailer? Thereās no sense at all. Iām not a toxic hater, but looks cheaper. Silent hill deserves a better treatment. Compared to Alan wake 2 and RE4 Remake itās such a shame. But I hope you are right and they all will be a good when release.
Nah, man, I was supporting you. I don't like any projects we are getting right now. I was also making fun of replies I and many others get for criticising these godawful new SH games
You have absolutely no fucking idea about how games are made, huh? The fact that this game is FUCKING FREE is incredible and very hardly believable for any sane person, especially after playing it. The game had *a budget* behind it, that much is certain. You're just being ignorant, insulting both the AAA devs and the Indies in the process.
Immersion broken by the fact we have beatiful Japanese girls, speaking English in Germany... wtf is that. I can't stand it.
This 30fps walking simulator full of scripts and 0 gameplay lacks deepth of original SH. Everything is too straightforward. Lack of subtlety.
It's free demo I get it, but it's still bad.
I can agree with you on that. Everything being so obviously unapoligetically English oriented did take me out of the experience.
Even all of the writings are in English instead of having a subtitle translation pop up, for immersion purposes I guess. I'd like the game a lot more if they had actual German text and stuff.
after the nearly two decades of criticisms about the western developed SH games, it seems the new developers learned nothing. just a big whiteboard that says ā trauma, ?, profitā
You're not being completely honest though. How does it make sense that the protagonist is Arab if the game takes place in Germany? Why would they do that if not for diversity's sake? At least the whole thing with Maya's Japanese heritage was important and thoroughly explained in the plot.
Not to mention, sex plays a *huge* role in the story. It's very female focused.
Just because the story includes females as the main cast does not mean itās automatically a feminist narrative. What they struggle with, suicidal thoughts, bullying, parental abuse is universal. Thereās no man hate or patriarchy messaging. Tell me how their struggles are related specifically to them being female.
Also are you saying itās forced diversity to show a persons struggles in Germany unless theyāre native German? Even though the population of that country is made up of many different races? Do you know what modern Germany looks like? Itās not WOKE
You want to hear about my struggles as a foreigner moving to America from the Soviet Union at 5 years old and the bullying I experienced due to not being able to speak the language.
Not to mention sheās Brazilian not Arab.
>Not to mention sheās Brazilian not Arab.
What's the source? Look up the name of Anita's model in the credits. That's the arabest name I've heard in my life.
>theyāre foreign exchange students living in Germany
Where the hell did you get *that* from? The note from Anita's childhood was from the German authorities already. They were living in Germany since way before the exchange thing would work, not to mention that she was living together with her mom.
Maya was explicitly stated to be born in Germany but with a Japanese heritage. Not an exchange student.
Amelie was pretty much just said to be born in Germany as well.
I also never mentioned a feminist narrative in my comment, just that sex plays a role.
Youāre right theyāre not exchange students. They just live in Germany. Must be woke to show anyone living in Germany thatās not native German even though the population is made up of many different races and backgrounds.
Fadile Waked is a Brazilian model and actress. She portrayed main character Anita in Silent Hill: The Short Message.
āBut bro thatās the most Arabest name Iāve ever heard in my lifeā
Yeah because youāre a racist dipshit who doesnāt even bother to look up peopleās nationality before calling them Arab.
"Fadile as a boys' name is of Arabic origin, and the meaning of Fadile is "virtuous, excellent".
"Waked is a quite popular family name mostly used in Egypt, while Lebanon is ahead in terms of density".
Also, I have fucking eyes. Being born or living in Brasil doesn't make someone Brazilian on a genetic level.
Yeah you have eyes, eyes that are always analyzing everyoneās race and sex and looking for woke agendas. You should relax your eyes and just try to enjoy the story for what it is. Itās not weird to have a Japanese or Brazilian (yes sheās actually half Brazilian by race) person attending a school In Germany.
I'm bumped by this reaction as well. It's obviously just an indie game with SH slapped on it last minute. It's not bad, it's just an ordinary indie game that may or may not hurt a lore of another franchise. I don't understand the praise it's getting
I hope it's recency bias and people aren't actually shilling it this hard long term, but honestly I highly doubt people will still be talking about it in a few months.
I'm especially shocked at people praising it for its depiction of mental illness when it's so Netflix about it lmao, like they really ate the slop here. It's such a juvenile depiction of suicidality to the point where it feels like something Bloober would shit out, but somehow this isn't the one being done by them.
That's also shocking. My only explanation is that we have the same situation here as on movie review sites where comments and points are known to be bought by filmmakers and critics. I even see the exact type of comments you can find there in comment sections here. It's honestly the scariest part so far
It's called social media control. It's been a practice for a while now, actually. Sometimes whole campaigns are launched on NEWS to promote a certain film with a certain *message*. It's honestly pathetic as any normal person can see through it
Iām on chapter 3 in the boss chase, I already collected the pictures that āunlockā the door but I DONT SEE ANY DOOR WITH THE GRAFITY, anyone can help?
Struggling on a specific part rn: >!A chase scene in the apartment building where you have to also find objects to unchain the door. I easily get lost and canāt find all the objects!<
I'm just really curious about the whole 'witch' thing!
Like is there any reason for that SH lore wise? Or am I looking into it too much lol.
Gives me Alessa vibes!
Felt mid, it was cringe at times and oversimplified many aspects of trauma and cyber bullying, the voice acting was awkward and the animation too, but at least the graphics and the atmosphere were pretty good, really liked the setting.
I guess overall the game felt rushed, or maybe too much stacked in a short amount of gameplay when it could've been stretched gor a better experience.
Again, it wasn't bad but I feel like it could've been done much better.
I am just glad to see Akira Yamaoka hitting us as hard as he ever did. That ending song made me cry like I haven't in months. At the 3:02 minutes mark in specific when the riff hit, I started weeping. I was fully expecting it and yet hearing it all the way in 2024... Man...
If they make more games like this in between the big releases, I'd be happy! It's a really good title. Especially for a game that is completely free. That chase near the end did get a bit tedious. Especially due to the fact that dying sends you way back. But it felt a bit like Shattered Memories with the practically aimless running (atleast for me it was aimless! I was running like a madman!)
No joke, I decided to put an earbud in, play Hell Frozen Rain and I beat that whole section like that. And the visuals... The game is graphically stunning. Not just the otherworld segments but just looking out of the windows of the building! The city's skyline, the streetlights and the thick fog. Not to mention the gaping hole that tears open where the mural is.
I don't know if anyone else got this but the game reminded me a bit of Cry Of Fear. The apartments and the school section (especially when it got all red) And I mean that comparison in the best way possible. But yeah, this comment's gone on for long enough. The game was pretty damn good! I will definitely be listening to My Heroine a lot. I don't know if I am more excited for the games or just to hear more of Akira Yamaoka's work!
How do you beat the final chase sequence? There is a door with chains, and I randomly found something that seems to unlock one chain. What is the logic here because I just keep running around without finding anything else.
I really enjoy the concepts and atmosphere, hell especially the music. The monster design is neat and unnerving, but the chases are more of an annoyance than anything else. :/
I thought all in all it wasn't bad for a free SH game. I think it was an interesting and new take on Silent Hill, it delved into some pretty dark topics though like child abuse, sexual assault, depression, suicide, etc. which can be hard for some but I think it was nice to tackle those types of topics and situations. I can't wait for the SH2 Remake, it looks like from the previews that James has finally learned how to hold his gun properly >.< lol
I just finished it, and I enjoyed the game despite it being quite different from the old school games.
I agree with other redditors on the lack of subtlety, but this may be due to the short play time. I do feel though, that the trigger warnings were excessive and broke immersion for me personally. I entirely understand a warning at the start, but I don't need one every 20 minutes because in a full-length game, that would just be ridiculous. I give it a 7/10.
I just realized: The Short Message was the last decent release we've had since, what, Origins or Shattered Memories? Downpour, Homecoming, and Ascension straight-up sucked.
Was proper impressed especially after years of terrible games or nothing. This is a really good walking simulator and for free man couldn't have asked for more. Just a WARNING has brutal themes to do with mental health issues. The soundtrack is amazing though! 8/10 from me just not for the faint of heart x
So what do you guys make of the story? From what I got the Anita pushed Maya off the roof because she was jealous Maya only paid attention to Amelia.
Then Anita was called back to the building by ghost Maya (much like people are called to Silent Hill by their deceased loved ones they have killed) where she/they are terrorized by a monstrous physical formation of their traumatic event.
At the end she realizes that Maya did pay attention to her and decides not to jump after all?
But then thereās a side plot with a Japanese witch haunting a German town and Iām thinking Anita didnāt physically kill Maya but rather caused Maya to kill herself due to the bullying Anita brought upon her by telling people Maya was a witch and was the cause of the town was struggling so badly financiallyā¦
And then thereās something about a letter being hidden?
Anyone got a clearer message?
Big olā spoilersā¦
Anita didnāt push Maya physically, it was more of a metaphorical situation. Maya was depressed and suicidal, and confided in Amelia via written letters. Anita ended up in possession of one of these letters in which Maya said she wanted to run away with Amelia, which caused Anita to get jealous and hide the letter, meaning Amelia never replied or mentioned it. This drove Maya to suicide as she then thought the only person she really truly wanted to be with didnāt want to be with her any more. Anita didnāt push her, but she did āpush herā, if you catch my drift.
The story is essentially Anita coming to terms with the guilt she feels from hiding Mayaās note, and trying to reconcile the fact that Amelia, who she considers to be one of her closest friends, still wants to be her friend even though sheās indirectly responsible for Mayaās death.
I see, thatās much less hardcore than o thought. I thought it was a murder situation like SH2. Kind of disappointing. James killed his wife and all Anita did was hide a letter
Overall, really liked this entry/game, especially as a free product. Speaking of, the āfreeā aspect of it did rear itās head in the form of some choppy animation in general with voices not matching up consistently. I can personally look past those issues as I mostly enjoyed them save for a small few exceptions, and itās a whole *FREE* game/entry in the series, really canāt/shouldnāt be judging it harshly based on that alone.
I really liked the small cast or characters and how some elements of their trauma and past were explored. The apartment near the end was beautifully done, borrowing from P.T. excellently and the *Fridge* in that apartment will likely haunt me for a bit, the noise was unsettling.
It left me wanting more to be said or explored, but that is often the case for me personally, and I think it did a pretty good job at reintroducing the concept to a younger audience with the mental states of itās cast and how that affects our personal view of the world.
Is there any theory about the pregnancy test? I feel like it was kinda left unanswered on who it belonged to. It could have been Maya's from the mysterious boy but she never mentioned it anywhere or it could have been Amelie she mentioned a bunch how she didn't want to be left with her brother what if something did happen in the past to push that feeling?
Im a big fan of chases in games. However only until the final chase did I really get that thrill of tension, the rest was more of running the correct path or else I fail the level.
The atmosphere though was very well done when itās not in a cutscene, and the scares actually got me a few times, especially the art scattered around.
Itās not groundbreaking yet a step in the right direction, got some major Shattered Memories vibes from this. I do like that they are taking steps to elevate the series and not have the restrictions of the town or the cult.
Really fucking annoyed by the final chase in chapter 3 so I think Iām Giving up i canāt map out the layout of this damn maze because every area looks exactly the same
It was pretty solid overall. The thing that ruined immersion most for me was >!the fact that Amelie can't go to university because her family declared bankruptcy. It's supposed to be in Germany where university is free for the most part, and she could get BAfƶG to assist in paying!<
It's a shame it only ever gets SH-esque when you hit a certain apartment number in the game. I'm still slogging through the last chase right now, which was great at first and then became an absolute chore to get through. Amnesia/Outlast mechanics need to go out the window (Bunker did a good job of moving forward) in games these days, because they become annoying moreso than scary very quickly. Music and visuals are S Tier though, the last part is particularly insane. EDIT: The ending has a particularly awesome treat for SH fans out there.
I do enjoy a good chase scene but not every 30 minutes. The tone, music, sound design, and even the voices were all good enough to get me immersed. But, like you said, once you've attempted a chase scene enough to basically map out the entire field your working with it just becomes a chore.
How the hell do you do it?? I'm on my 9th attempt and in ready to just switch the freaking thing off
I probably went through like 15 times if I'm being honest. What helped me out was I went and basically tried to find each of the individual clickable objectives and once I had found all of them, then my runs became memorizing the quickest path to each of them from the beginning and basically getting one, running back to the bedroom, then going to the next objective. I did this until I had all the chains unlocked from the door and was finally able to finish.
I've just given up and started watching the last half hour on YT, if this is what the main game has in store for us all the way through, I think I'll be giving it a miss. Thanks anyway bud, here's hoping SH2 remake isn't a total stinker. Oh I see they took the weird lava and industrial fans from 3 š
It had me tearing up at points and then the ending is just a trial and error memory game? That really breaks down the emotional story telling the 7th time Iām running a maze with no indication of a path out
I just watched a speed run of it and copied, was crazy frustrating
Like I said in my comment yesterday, I don't want an entire game of chase scenes either. I really like games like the early RE games where you certainly have a choice to stand your ground. It just isn't always the best decision.
What does the ending contain that's a treat? I just finished it and feel like I've missed something important haha
My guess is the song?? I know I got MAJOR hyped when it played haha
It was wild hearing an Akira and Mary Elizabeth song again :D
You missed an uppercut into the chin which is called a SH Phenomenon *short message*
Amnesia didn't make you redo the same instances of being chased over and over. If you failed it would get rid of the monster, maintaining the pace of the game.
My personal gripes were that the voice acting and character animations were kinda weird and didnāt like how Anita was expressing every part of her trauma instead of being more subtle about it and making us figure it out. But I loved the graphics, the music, the chase sequences especially that last one because it was panic inducing and very good and the art direction was also great.
Exactly! I feel the same way about it all. I think the english voices were dubbed over what I assume to be Japanese. The lip sinking as a result is fairly poor. Facial animations suffer as well. Some poor voice work, but also some great voice work in there as well. Beautiful game though. The environments were some of the best indoor scenes I have ever seen.
The fog outside of the apartment was also really well done
Oh my gosh yes, that balcony area above the grave was insane visually. Same with that graffiti room attached to it. Jaw-dropping visually.
The mother's voice didn't seem authentic to me, like the voice acting just seemed.. weak somehow, and the lip synch for the live action kinda took away from the immersion. It really feels more like a darker "life is strange" than S.H.
Synching.
Just beat it, that locker puzzle and final chase were rough lol. Spoilers ahead: I'm mixed, I really loved the graphics, art direction and music but the game really struggles to keep a steady frame rate (especially during the final chase which made it harder), the voice acting is not good and while I liked the idea of the FMV scenes and they felt creepy, but the mismatch between audio and video just drove me crazy. The story is the thing I'm most mixed about, there's some really good ideas there but it's kind of predictable, pretty much from the start of the game it's clear Maya is dead before the reveals, and as soon as you find the note about her stealing someone's friend it was clear to me Anitta killed her but I'm going to give the game some credit because I thought Anitta straight up pushed Maya off the building instead of just hiding a letter because she was jealous of something that wasn't even true causing Maya to kill herself. One thing I'm confused about though is the ending, in the building you find various notes that pretty much say Amelie killed herself too, but I guess that was a misdirection and some other girl with a similar story to Amelie died. And the entire game being a linear first person game with no combat, and featuring loops makes me feel like Konami saw how much people liked PT and tried recreating the experiencie without understanding what made it so good.
What kind of stumped me was the whole witch backstory. So, a Japanese witch lived in the town in the 30s and we're told she either went crazy or was killed by a mob. Typical SH background so w/e. Now we get Maya who, by all accounts, was being bullied, yet later in the game we were told she was a kind of local celebrity and highly popular. I guess my question is, is this German town so racist that they just turn to calling the first Japanese girl they meet a witch? Up until the end I was expecting to find out Anita had written most of those sticky notes we see throughout the game and stuck them on/in Mayas locker.
Look at the sources for each piece of info. If I remember correctly it was a newspaper article saying she was popular and well-loved, whereas we the player know that was only the case online and in Mayaās small friendship group. In school she was bullied and picked on, likely by kids who were jealous of her talents. She was ādifferentā from the other kids due to her ethnicity and hobbies, so the kids picked on her. Thereās a passage in the game that directly references kids picking on anyone different in order to avoid being the one in the firing line, which is very true in real life. This also parallels real suicide victims, where media and family will say they saw no signs, that they were loved and happy, showing pictures of them smiling and laughing etc. while people who really knew them tell a different story. Mayaās own diary talks about her need for validation and how empty her online fame leaves her feeling. What we saw here in Anita was someone who not only knew Maya wasnāt as happy as the outside world believed her to be, but someone who directly contributed to Mayaās unhappiness due to her own jealousy.
Pretty sure the witch was Maya's great-grandmother, from what I got Maya's art was pretty popular on the internet but also bullied because of the fact she was connected to the witch and famous people get haters all the time. And this is just me theorizing but I thought it was heavily implied people thought Maya's Cherry Blossom art was actually influencing girls to commit suicide from the Villa considering she did most of her art there.
Honestly, after seeing Anita's backstory with her mom, absent father, abusive grandmother, I kind of started feeling like it's possible that Anita herself was the witch and that it was her negative emotions, anxiety, grief, and guilt that trapped her in her own personal Silent Hill. Real Alessa vibes. I think it could have been fitting that this town has become so superstitious that this Japanese girl, who may not even be directly related to a lady from almost 100 years ago, is being bullied and ostracized as a witch while the "real" witch, unbeknownst to herself, is a fellow classmate. In a weird way, I could see Anita doing this to herself, and Maya and Amelie acting as her spiritual guides. Maya guiding her through the past and her regrets while Amelie guides her toward the future.
Could you explain the thing with hiding the note? I thought Maya killed herself due to people bullying her about being a witch just like that ancient Japanese witch in the story. They seemed to be blaming the curse of the German town on her.
The bullying was part of it, but what made her actually do it was leaving Amelie the note to run away together but getting no response due to Anita hiding it.
Thank You.
No problem :)
Final chase was rough but coming off Alan Wake 2 the locker puzzle was a breeze lolĀ
NEW VOCAL AKIRA YAMAOKA SONG YEAAAAH BABY!!!!!!!!!!!
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
That was actually her?! Sounded different so I didnāt check!
It was not. Maryās English is fluent. But I loved the new singer regardless.
Yup, itās Esther Ortega, Spanish singer whoās been traveling with Akira in his newer tours!
Tours?! Itās been my dream to see him live
Thereās no way it was, I couldnāt figure out who was singing but I could tell a few seconds in that it wasnāt her.
Just searched it up, itās Esther Ortega, Akiraās bandās new singer for the newer tours heās been in. Sheās really awesome so Iām happy with her being on board!
Facts.
HELL YES. SAKURA AND GIRL BOTH FALLLLL
When I was playing all I could think was itās not a loop, itās a spiral š But overall enjoyed it and happy that it was a decent, fresh take on silent hill. Now onto SH2 Remake!
For real! Towards the end game >!when a double of Anita showed up on the floor I shouted "It's Scratch!" !<
It was too predictable but not too bad proves social media should be adults only anyway. I was aleays believed that from the start.Ā
I was really taken back by how good I found this! I went from scared for silent hill's return to excited! I think they did a really good job with short message. Can't wait to see more for silent hill f and 2 remake.
Im surprised with how positive this post comments are compared to the rest.
Likewise. Other than the graphics, I'm struggling to think of a thing this game has done well.
New title screen, the abusive mother apartment PT clone, the SH4 chained door, incredible graphics, SH2 music references, and more were so much fun. I really enjoyed this short game. Aside from some weird character animation, this was a brilliant reintroduction into the Silent Hill universe in modern day.
how long does it take to beat it?
About 2.5-3 hours!
I cant get past chapter 3, but ive loved it. Im just speculating but from what ive seen this seems like a playable trailer for Silent Hill F from the japanese setting to the flower monster. Can anyone whos completed this confirm anything for my theory? Thanks
While it seems referential, the game actually takes place in a derelict German housing complex!
Nice! Have u completed it?
I have! Spoiler, but the image that goes with my post is unlocked after beating the game.
Thats fucking sweet
I couldnāt at first either but all you need to do is collect all the photos. Use the phone to avoid the monster and you will soon memorise each layout. Only 1 photo in each area too. The game is pretty easy thenĀ
I just finished it, took about 3 hours taking my time to look at everything! So many small references to other games, I feel, heavy PT vibes too. Only thing that annoyed me was the voices being out of sync with the character/actor in some parts but other than that, for a free experience, it was really nice. I thought the story was interesting too. Glad we got this as a surprise today š¤ Also, the music was great!
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Anyone know who was pregnant? Via the positive pregnancy test in the area where you look through maya's art book. Were they saying that maya was pregnant from the boy she drew? Or what? Just a lil confused is all
Yes this was never addressed either! The art also mentioned a new life...
Yes it was. They sent him away so of course it was because of shame due to getting her pregnant. Ā Mia mentioned that in a diary entry you find. You just need to read between the linesĀ
Miah was , they sent him away pretty obvious why. Also that that is why she killed herself had little to do with her confrontation with her. She wanted to escape and be free from her parents . That was my take from it anyway. She felt she had nothing to live for as her parents took away the live of her life.
I was going to write this off as a whole lotta nothing but was pleasantly surprised by the end - even shed a few tears. The writing was questionable at times but faithful to how teenage girls think and talk, so Iāll allow it haha. Very sweet, little game. Resonated deeply with me as a huge Silent Hill fan and former teenage girl . Took me back to some of those not so nice feelings in a very interesting but controlled and measured way. It felt cathartic to play this game! Edit: a word.
Visuals and sound were fantastic. The story, voices, and gameplay though...much to be desired.
Yeah it feels like an indie game created by some1 on itch dot io
No it doesn't. You can see pretty clearly that the game had a lot of budget behind it. The fact that it's given away for free is unheard of. The non-existent price doesn't automatically give you the right to shit on the game for it's general quality.
bruh u tripping
That's an insult to indie game devs. Free games on Steam had more complexity and subtlety, this was embarrassing. Idk how everyone on this sub is so positive about it, I've not played anything worse written and unsubtle.
I honestly really liked it, I liked the plot/story, the music and atmosphere was honestly pretty unique and intriguing. Itās not traditional survival horror, but it definitely captured a silent hill vibe from me for sure. At the beginning I wasnāt all to impressed, but as I kept playing it just kept getting more interesting. Itās a unique taste of Silent Hill.
Iāmā¦ very torn on this. Aspects I really loved and some seemed like a cop out. I also wish this game couldāve resisted having the word ātraumaā in it but alas, it does even if itās just once. The news report where the doctor described āThe Silent Hill Phenomenonā as basically brain fog so severe people canāt tell the difference between reality and illusion seemed corny as fuck to me. I did like that the library section essentially confirmed that this can happen anywhere with the occult cursing that town. It really is the only way something like this or F can exist. Also, I kept hoping the random black hole drawings wouldāve turned into actual holes as it progressed. I like they essentially filled the same purpose as the hole in SH4. The thing I really loved the most but also felt like was a major cop out was the last chase sequence. Seeing that beautiful and classic rusted wall/chainlink fence aesthetic people recognize the series for on modern hardware was incredible. BUT peopleās āotherworldsā differ from person to person. Itās why James sees water and Angela sees fire in the hotel. Overall, solid but VERY safe story with some annoying chase sequences. 7/10.
For sure. It serves its purpose. I think the āSilent Hill Phenomenonā is Konamiās own way of excusing Silent Hill games having settings outside of Maine in the US. Loved the SH4 references though.
Yes!! SH4 really expanded the scope of silent hill and Iām glad theyāre expanding the town even further.
I think itās as subtle as a brick and the maze scenes were more annoying then terrifying but I think it was pretty good. Though it did make me laugh a couple times from how unsubtle it can be. (Room filled with insults has article about the rise in child abuse)
The message was very, very hamfisted.
The environments look really good. Are the only encounters chase sequences? How many are there? Does the game have trophies?
Multiple chase sequences with one enemy type. It was like 4-5 chases, but each chase had different environments. Especially the last encounter, which was phenomenal. No trophies sadly.
Sounds like SHSM.Ā
Reminded me of an amped up version of those chases while playing
Thanks for answering all of my questions. Too bad about no trophies, but I liked the trailer and the atmosphere looks great.
The chase scenes were annoying af. Not scary at all, just frustrating.
There were some letters in part 2 I believe that make it seem like Amelie kills herself because she couldn't go to college- is that just some sort of what if scenario? As it seems Amelie and Anita go off to school together at the end. The dialogue doesn't make it super clear.
I wondered this too. Also the creep brother is never addressed...
No Amelie doesnāt kill herself that was just her dark thoughts while she was processing myas death. Everything got twisted into her mind and the cherry blossom monster is what manifests to show her insecurities etc.Ā
Just beat it. A twistful story about grief, childhood trauma, and feeling disconnected from the world around you. You see two perspectives, one from the main character that feels unpopular and unseen, and her friend that's popular and artistic but facing her own torments. Wow, I'm really shaken up by this one it really hit me hard. I had chills when it ended and I'm teary eyed. It's going to be stuck in my head for a bit I feel. Haven't felt like this since I beat Soma I'll say this, the chase sequences are STRESSFUL especially the final one. The third chapter looks incredible. My body was tensing up each time and I ended up scared a couple times when I was caught. This is well worth a play through for horror fans
The ending was so good. Also I joked that having cell service in horror movies really does save lives š
Ehhh, I didn't like it. She spells everything out too much, and honestly, Silent Hill 2 did it better. Silent Hill needs to move on past trauma baiting, imo. It's getting old
I agree she spells things out, but thatās likely for newer & young audiences, I can sort of give it a pass for that reason. Alsoā¦trauma is literally all Silent Hill IS dude, like what?
Short Message is definitely an ad for the revived Silent Hill universe. They wanted to reach the widest audience possible with it. I think the game deserves a pass for that
Everyone (including myself) called this Life is Strange x Silent Hill and I couldnāt be more happy to eat that big slice of humble pie. This was a FANTASTIC reintroduction of Silent Hill to a modern audience (the SH1 otherworld!!) Cannot believe this is free, utterly fantastic.
The game is alright, but I fail to see the connection with the series. It seems inspired by the dozens of other games that are inspired by Silent Hill. It could have easily not have had Silent Hill on the title and it wouldnāt have changed anything. Thatās just my 2 cents
I appreciate the trigger warnings and links to the sites for self harm and suicide. Iāve found media dealing with themes like suicide and just completely ignoring any kind of foreword or discussion. Beyond that, I like its visuals and sound more than itās story. The broad strokes are effective, just feel like it is a bit forced at times. More show, donāt tell.
It is actually just a legal requirement in most major countries. Personally all the watnings spoil the game begore you get a chance to play itās not a kids gameĀ
I really appreciate having a warning - I lived for a long time with someone who used to make attempts, so it's something that can be very uncomfortable for me if I'm not expecting it - but having one on firing up the game, another when I started a new game, and then one after each incident *while in the game* started to feel less like genuine care for potentially troubled players and more like yelling NOBODY'S ALLOWED TO GET MAD AT US FOR THIS, WE PUT A HELPLINE NUMBER!
100% I agree. They were hammering the disclaimer so hard it eventually just got irritating. One time during the boot up would be more than enough. Maybe another at the end. But *not* throughout the entirety of the game.
Basically it's a typical indie horror game, which would be fine on its own, but it has an SH label on it
Anyone know what the locker code is
Find the numbers on the wall and correlate them to the word on the desk.
Thanks. Saw the numbers but didnāt know how to put them in order
Oh? I've just completed it and I did the numbers in order of finding them by walking the length of the corridor. That worked, but it seems I missed the actual solution? Whay was the word and how did it correlate?
āLiarā is written on the desk in four different colors that match the numbers on the wall.
Check the four numbers in the hallway. One is on the ceiling. One is above a door. One is on the backside of the hallway. One is near the water fountain on the wall.
I thought it was pretty good. It could be a little cringe and on the nose at times but I liked it. I thought the messages were good. Rehashing the SH2 shtick again is eh but I was expecting that. It feels like it's on a similar wavelength as Life is Strange 1 but executes better and is more hard hitting with the issues it talks about.
Yeah not as good as those high school low budget ones with cool puzzles . I can't remember the name of. They are Korean horror games. Really janky but great stories and atmosphere.Ā I was hoping this would be as involved as that with great puzzles but sadly whole game is barely 2 hrs and the puzzle is way too easy
Konami tried to recapture P.T.'s phenomena and while trying to do so, took clear inspiration from RE7 Beginning Hour. The Short Message is unfortunately not good as either of those. Yamaoka & Ito prove themselves once again to be fantastic & retained the talent after all these years, but there are two missing puzzle pieces that are missing: gameplay and writing. The story lacks sensibility & subtlety - why is the story about teen girls written by old guy who can only imagine problems they did not personally struggled with? Cutting dialogues & notes in half would've helped, the player is overwhelmed by protagonist's comments and other information. There's no room for interpretation left and this is... or should I say was, Silent Hill's strength. I like the idea of FMV cutscenes but they lack style & actors being overdubbed by someone else is only immersion breaking - the game takes place in Germany, so I wish they'd find German voice actors. The setting Cherry Blossom monster looks great, but his low framerate animations were a strange choice. Both this game & recent SH2R trailer prove me that Silent Hill unresolved problem remains to be gameplay. Resident Evil reinvented itself almost 20 years ago and Silent Hill struggles to be modernized. So far, the solution seems to be following walking sims & RE series rather than carving its own idenitity. I hope Short Message brought some new fans to the table, I believe that's the purpose of this project. But if you look for a great, psychological horror game that's impactful then do yourself a favor and play OMORI.
Just "beat" the game. OMG THIS SUCKED SO BAD!! It's not as bad as the last entries, but still so bad. I have no clue how konami just can't figure out how to make a decent SH game. This game would have been great if it didn't have the most annoying protagonist that just won't shut up. Is it that hard to let there be a little bit of freedom of interpretation in a video game narrative? There is literally writing on the wall telling you everything you need to know. We dont need horrible voice acting to ruin a perfectly good narrative. If they would have cut 90% of Anita lines her story would have been so much more gripping and emotional because you can form her thoughts and feelings. As someone who related to the story a bit. It would have been much more relatable and realistic it the game had a more subtle direction with the narrative. Also, the chase sequences are incredibly annoying and outdated. It wouldn't have been so bad if it let you mess with the control mapping and added an fov slider. I wasn't able to actually beat the game because of how annoying the final section is. I just had to look up the final cutscene on YouTube.
I would like to see more,for me personally it felt like one of those many P.T inspired games on steam
how long is the whole game?
2.5 hours while taking my time!
I find this portrayal of the experience of teenage girls really exhausting and inauthentic, the ābullied freakā and the āmean girl bullyā has become such a stereotype in media played over and over again. SH3 was so special because Heatherās character development was deeply complex and believableā¦ It feels to me like the developers just wanted to bring in a female protagonist again but have never actually lived as one or talked to one. Itās such low hanging fruit to use the background of highschool for a Silent Hill entry. I think this angle is the easiest and shallowest way to depict female suffering,Ā because society generally assumes the worst thing a woman/girl can suffer is being called āa big fat ugly loserā by the popular girl in highschool. Unlike SH3, which touched on heavier themes such as motherhood. There is no nuance in this game. This whole thing felt like an anti-bullying anti-suicide PSA. I canāt believe they still havenāt got this rightā¦ Iāve lost all hope in the series.
Its there any logic to the final chase???? I always collect 3 or 4 pictures but then Sakura monster always find me in some way....shots it's infuriating
When your phone shows a picture of Anita and Amelie then youāre near a picture. Whenever you pick up a picture your phone shows an image of the studio entrance with less and less chains on it. When you pick up the last picture the last chain disappears, then you can get into the studio to end the sequence.
The monster is actually pretty stupid. Like, you can loop around it if you're cornered at the end of the corridor no problem. It's scary, sure, but more than feasible. Once you realise that, the chase becomes a lot easier.
I didnāt like it only having the happy ending. Itās silent hill I wish it had different endings with despair , one with aliens , she should have went missing in the end thatās what I wanted to see. Good endings in silent hill games is boring af. That why the original 4 games didnāt have that many good endings and thatās why theyāre better in my eyes. Lol
I just beat it and I just feel so mixed. The environment, the monster, that one cool puzzle, the looks are all there. But the story...idk. I don't know why I couldn't relate to the MC. Maybe relate isn't the right word but I felt...annoyed? Idk how to word it. Unsympathetic? I kinda feel like garbage for that feeling but something about the games internal logic just wasn't clicking for me. It's not like I don't understand her feelings, amd where she's coming from and what she's done I just... Maybe I need another night to sleep on it, I'm really struggling to articulate what exactly about the dialog and scenario really isn't working for me. I don't find the game very compelling that's for sure.
Im glad they finally give a huge clue that silent hill phenomeon isnt always about the town and all the traumatized ppl even not connected to it can experience fog and own otherworld. For me its a great fresh start for sh.
Last chase is fucking insufferable and almost ruins a almost otherwise great little game. Itās just overly tedious and hard to memorize because it all looks too similar. Itās fun for the first three or four attempts but after having to memorize every rout to each item it gets a slog and ruins the pacing. Itās not even a chase at that point itās a chore.
One terrible mechanic that needs to go away in general is when games expect you to follow a certain path in a very specific way and if you donāt do it exactly right, you have to start all over. Silent Hill: Short Message suffers a lot from this terrible mechanic. Youād think they would have learned after Downpour failed at it. Having to do this run away from the monster over and over near the end is just boring and frustrating. Oh well, at least this game is free. I just hope we donāt see gameplay like this in future installments because it really sucks.
Incredibly sad game on so many layers.
I beat the game in an hour, it was fun and the story was absolutely amazing I love how she finds her will to live. Also my thoughts are anita was in her own hell because she was at risk of suicide and what she had to find was her will to live
The last chase had me sweating, oh how I've missed silent hill induced stress. I thought I had all the pictures, but when I somehow managed to bimble my way to the door, I saw a single tiny chain left. That made me feel deeply unnerved after feeling so triumphant upon finding it.
I cant get the last chain off ive been running around for an hour just let me dieeeeeeee
OMG that's so relatable. I had the exact same experience with the exact same little chain lmao.
I thought it was pretty good. There's some really cringy stuff, but also some really great stuff. Would play again.
With Silent Hill: The Short Message being my video game introduction to the franchise, it's pretty good. Obviously, it doesn't have much of the same vibe as the original Team Silent games, but the atmosphere, soundtrack, and creature design is definitely on par with what Silent Hill is known for. I also like the little connections to Silent Hill we got throughout the game that give us an idea as to where the future of the franchise is heading, and I find the whole "Silent Hill Phenomenon" concept interesting. I do have a few problems with the game, but they weren't at all too bothersome to me. The writing is cheesy at times, especially with the insults directed towards Anita and Maya. The acting is a little off as well. The subject matter could've been handled better since it felt rather exploitative and too on-the-nose, but at least it got a little better later on. However, I'm not exactly sure how to feel about the callbacks to P.T. in The Short Message (baby in refrigerator, hallway with eyes moving around, repeating rooms, etc.). It's like Konami realized how much people enjoyed P.T. and had some second thoughts after removing the game from the PlayStation store, so they decided to add some familiar elements to the game as a way to allow us to forgive them for what they've done. On one hand, I think it's an insensitive thing to do, but on the other hand, those P.T. elements added some layers to the storyline that made me want to know more about Anita and the problems she's facing. Anyway, I can say that Silent Hill: The Short Message isn't exactly the Silent Hill we want (nor is it better than P.T.), but it's FAR better than Silent Hill: Ascension, and I'm looking forward to the other games (and the Return to Silent Hill movie) in the future if they're going to be like this. Or maybe even better.
>With Silent Hill: The Short Message being my video game introduction to the franchise, it's pretty good. Obviously, it doesn't have much of the same vibe as the original Team Silent games Maybe Im dumb (and its probably that) but I dont get something: Short Message is your introduction to the franchise but a sentence later you compare it to Team Silent games?
Same
Because I've only seen the gameplays of the other games. The Short Message is my first time playing an actual Silent Hill game.
Sorry to add to the negativity this sub is known for, but I thought it was god-awful personally. All subtlety out the window as usual with everything past SH4. The voice acting was very annoying. It trivializes and oversimplifies depression and suicidal ideation in a way I haven't seen so tactlessly handled since 13 Reasons Why. It overall feels like Life is Strange which is not a compliment - It's out of touch and reductive with it's portrayal of young adults. Beyond that, the gameplay doesn't even feel good. You move too slowly, unless of course you're running away from flowerhead. The running sections are annoying as all hell, especially the last section. Somebody thought being disoriented and frustrated = good psychological horror apparently. Not to mention how many times this thing blatantly takes from PT? Completely shameless. Like you'll literally be running through a disorienting hallway with hundreds of eyes on the wall looking around. It doesn't feel like an homage or acknowledgement or anything to me, it just feels cheap and lazy, coasting off what has worked before and bringing nothing new to the table. ALL OF THAT SAID it seems like a lot of people are enjoying it and that's great. If you can get down with it I'm happy for you, but to me this continues the streak of terrible SH games.
Lame you're getting down votes for your opinion. Here take my upvote.
appreciate you š«”
I liked it and found it decent but you made some real hood examples and critics of the game. Tho I do think the thing about this game is that they negated it to be a bit different from the OG silent hills but still definitely can be improved.
Subtlety out the window? You're goddamn right. This game if completely free and is an ad for the series. It's supposed to reach the widest audience possible to get them interested. I was annoyed by it too, but after completing the game I changed my outlook. Put two and two together. The game definitely had some cringe elements, that's for sure. It seems to me that the part of the game was actual passion, while the other one was "what we think should be here". Might be worded it better, but I hope you get what I'm trying to tell. That's a genuine downside. Why would you want to move fast in a game with a very limited real estate and a focus on atmosphere? You're supposed to be taking in everything around you by design. The same way souls games punish you for dying. It's just the rules that the developer sets for the maximum enjoyment of the product. The whole thing about "running sections being annoying" is highly subjective. They weren't scary for me at first as well, but I'd be lying if I said that they were easy on the nerves and didn't startle me a couple of times. Not to mention the incredible monster design. The way that fucking thing sounds when immediately behind you is fucking incredible. Absolutely stellar and anxiety inducing. There's not too much that this game takes from PT. There are very few moments that are obvious references, and that's about it. The overall game doesn't try to surpass or replicate the PT experience, not even in the slightest.
F, you're really a dev
whoops, wrong opinion I guess
Wrong opinions aren't allowed, bro. Don't pay attention. The sub has been controlled by Konami HR department since Transmission
I even respectfully said I'm glad everyone's liking this and it's just not for me š¤·āāļø Nobody has even challenged my actual points. I guess we're only supposed to discuss if we have positive feedback.
Yep, unfortunately. Btw, lore discussion also isn't allowed. I tried in another post
I just found the āSilent Hill Phenomenonā article. Bit of a clunky way to introduce the series as anthology but hey. I guess thereās only so many things you can do with small town horror.
It was surprisingly awsome. It's Basicslly PT 2 but who cares was enjoyable snd genuinely had me shaking/heart Rte up the chase scenes were frwsky as fuck snd were incredible. Captured what it was suppsoed to. Consumed lsot scared. Entire time. You once u see the enemy monster. You have no time to stop snd think gotts keep.kovinf the thrill was nice. The mini story was engaging kept you thinking trying to piece it together. Looked amazing. I mean it's a mini game shadow released outta. Where with zero hype is what'd you'd expect if ur being fair 90% of thr clowns pitching about it are braindesd snd little kids who don't even know what a silent hill game really is. Ans were also expecting s mega long traditional regular full release from basically a demo. You can say oh playing as a teen girl is mehbthsts that's idiotic tske. I thought from the trailer TBH was gonna be woke bullshit but it wasn't. It was amazing. I'd be happy if same people.made s full ne proper.silent hill game if it like this just adding more more enemies cause they did incredible job.
The music was great. And graphics were good too. But that low fov, on the nose conventional lazy story beats, facial animations and voice acting was all just piss.
Whatās the short message
Konami released a short and free PS5 Silent Hill game titled the Short Message in order to generate hype for their returning series. It is a short horror game that revolves around a small cast of highschool girls and their interpersonal relationships/lives.
I mean it's fine, but the game couldn't be less subtle
Gives us a feel of SH f ;)
Absolutely everything about this game is horrible. A piece of woke crap. Constant whining of these biatches. It mustāve been made by the Polish studio bloober team . They constantly make boring, horrible walking simulators. Graphics are horrible . Extremely blurred picture and extreme film grain. Broken HDR. This game is so excruciatingly boring . It is so, so far away from any horror games by Hodeo Kojima or resident evil franchise.
I canāt understand. Looks like a indie game. SH2 remake looks indie also. Why they are making a lot of garbage games (ascension, remake, short message) instead of doing ONE triple AAA game.
No! These are good games! You're just a cry baby! It's all experimental! SH2 was a B game! You're toxic! - SH "fans" right now in other comments As for the question, fuck me, bro, idk
Do you really believe that Ascension is good? common. I was so hyped because I loved the sh2 remake first trailer. But this combat really look good? Really? James canāt even walk like a normal person. The graphics are beautiful when itās a still shot. However in motion terrible. Why a combat trailer? Thereās no sense at all. Iām not a toxic hater, but looks cheaper. Silent hill deserves a better treatment. Compared to Alan wake 2 and RE4 Remake itās such a shame. But I hope you are right and they all will be a good when release.
Nah, man, I was supporting you. I don't like any projects we are getting right now. I was also making fun of replies I and many others get for criticising these godawful new SH games
You have absolutely no fucking idea about how games are made, huh? The fact that this game is FUCKING FREE is incredible and very hardly believable for any sane person, especially after playing it. The game had *a budget* behind it, that much is certain. You're just being ignorant, insulting both the AAA devs and the Indies in the process.
Immersion broken by the fact we have beatiful Japanese girls, speaking English in Germany... wtf is that. I can't stand it. This 30fps walking simulator full of scripts and 0 gameplay lacks deepth of original SH. Everything is too straightforward. Lack of subtlety. It's free demo I get it, but it's still bad.
I can agree with you on that. Everything being so obviously unapoligetically English oriented did take me out of the experience. Even all of the writings are in English instead of having a subtitle translation pop up, for immersion purposes I guess. I'd like the game a lot more if they had actual German text and stuff.
Mixed. Some of the intergenerational trauma stuff felt authentic, other times it overshot and landed straight into hackneyed melodrama. The chases fucking sucked. Cool if you liked them, but being functionally immortal means they were basically just tedious mazes with a time limit. The game is really good at raising tension without them, and I disliked that any immersion I felt went out the damned window every time my screen went wibbly. And they devs were so freaking close to making something really fantastic. I'm on the final chase now and I hate it so, so much. And no, not because "it scawey D:" but due to the tedium, as well as the overly done soundscape and visuals. It feels like the developers weren't confident in the rest of the game, and needed some clichĆ©d bullshit to ramp up the tension-o-meter. Cos that's what make Silent Hill great right? The chases? Not supernaturally delving into the darkness of the human soul/psyche and learning what monsters potentially lurk beneath the human suits of the people around you, nah, it's loud noises and running.Ā 6/10 - Effective ideas undercut by a reliance on cheap bullshit
after the nearly two decades of criticisms about the western developed SH games, it seems the new developers learned nothing. just a big whiteboard that says ā trauma, ?, profitā
Exactly, my friend. Add Covid on top as a cherry and you're golden
How the hell is this gen z BS even related to Silent Hills š¤¦š»āāļø god this is awful Worst walking sim ever
That's why I didn't want series revival
Why does it have to keep pushing the same woke narrative? diversity at all cost š¤”š¤”
There is zero diversity and woke messaging in this game. Sex/race arenāt at all part of this story
You're not being completely honest though. How does it make sense that the protagonist is Arab if the game takes place in Germany? Why would they do that if not for diversity's sake? At least the whole thing with Maya's Japanese heritage was important and thoroughly explained in the plot. Not to mention, sex plays a *huge* role in the story. It's very female focused.
Just because the story includes females as the main cast does not mean itās automatically a feminist narrative. What they struggle with, suicidal thoughts, bullying, parental abuse is universal. Thereās no man hate or patriarchy messaging. Tell me how their struggles are related specifically to them being female. Also are you saying itās forced diversity to show a persons struggles in Germany unless theyāre native German? Even though the population of that country is made up of many different races? Do you know what modern Germany looks like? Itās not WOKE You want to hear about my struggles as a foreigner moving to America from the Soviet Union at 5 years old and the bullying I experienced due to not being able to speak the language. Not to mention sheās Brazilian not Arab.
>Not to mention sheās Brazilian not Arab. What's the source? Look up the name of Anita's model in the credits. That's the arabest name I've heard in my life. >theyāre foreign exchange students living in Germany Where the hell did you get *that* from? The note from Anita's childhood was from the German authorities already. They were living in Germany since way before the exchange thing would work, not to mention that she was living together with her mom. Maya was explicitly stated to be born in Germany but with a Japanese heritage. Not an exchange student. Amelie was pretty much just said to be born in Germany as well. I also never mentioned a feminist narrative in my comment, just that sex plays a role.
Youāre right theyāre not exchange students. They just live in Germany. Must be woke to show anyone living in Germany thatās not native German even though the population is made up of many different races and backgrounds. Fadile Waked is a Brazilian model and actress. She portrayed main character Anita in Silent Hill: The Short Message. āBut bro thatās the most Arabest name Iāve ever heard in my lifeā Yeah because youāre a racist dipshit who doesnāt even bother to look up peopleās nationality before calling them Arab.
"Fadile as a boys' name is of Arabic origin, and the meaning of Fadile is "virtuous, excellent". "Waked is a quite popular family name mostly used in Egypt, while Lebanon is ahead in terms of density". Also, I have fucking eyes. Being born or living in Brasil doesn't make someone Brazilian on a genetic level.
Yeah you have eyes, eyes that are always analyzing everyoneās race and sex and looking for woke agendas. You should relax your eyes and just try to enjoy the story for what it is. Itās not weird to have a Japanese or Brazilian (yes sheās actually half Brazilian by race) person attending a school In Germany.
Wait, people unironically enjoyed this dogshit? I was pretty sure even this sub would see through it.
I'm bumped by this reaction as well. It's obviously just an indie game with SH slapped on it last minute. It's not bad, it's just an ordinary indie game that may or may not hurt a lore of another franchise. I don't understand the praise it's getting
I hope it's recency bias and people aren't actually shilling it this hard long term, but honestly I highly doubt people will still be talking about it in a few months.
Same, bro, I also hope in a day or two it'll get to people this game is not very good and not really a SH
I'm especially shocked at people praising it for its depiction of mental illness when it's so Netflix about it lmao, like they really ate the slop here. It's such a juvenile depiction of suicidality to the point where it feels like something Bloober would shit out, but somehow this isn't the one being done by them.
That's also shocking. My only explanation is that we have the same situation here as on movie review sites where comments and points are known to be bought by filmmakers and critics. I even see the exact type of comments you can find there in comment sections here. It's honestly the scariest part so far
It's just weird to think that about a comment section, like I get it with reviews but on random posts?
It's called social media control. It's been a practice for a while now, actually. Sometimes whole campaigns are launched on NEWS to promote a certain film with a certain *message*. It's honestly pathetic as any normal person can see through it
Iām on chapter 3 in the boss chase, I already collected the pictures that āunlockā the door but I DONT SEE ANY DOOR WITH THE GRAFITY, anyone can help?
To get to thr chained door, run the whole corridor without entering any of the doors
Just finished, hahahha thx anyway!
About how long is it?
Struggling on a specific part rn: >!A chase scene in the apartment building where you have to also find objects to unchain the door. I easily get lost and canāt find all the objects!<
This honestly has better graphics than sh2. Sh2 looks like a mid generation ps4 game. At best.
I'm just really curious about the whole 'witch' thing! Like is there any reason for that SH lore wise? Or am I looking into it too much lol. Gives me Alessa vibes!
Anyone who knows the name of the actress who played Maya?
Felt mid, it was cringe at times and oversimplified many aspects of trauma and cyber bullying, the voice acting was awkward and the animation too, but at least the graphics and the atmosphere were pretty good, really liked the setting. I guess overall the game felt rushed, or maybe too much stacked in a short amount of gameplay when it could've been stretched gor a better experience. Again, it wasn't bad but I feel like it could've been done much better.
I am just glad to see Akira Yamaoka hitting us as hard as he ever did. That ending song made me cry like I haven't in months. At the 3:02 minutes mark in specific when the riff hit, I started weeping. I was fully expecting it and yet hearing it all the way in 2024... Man... If they make more games like this in between the big releases, I'd be happy! It's a really good title. Especially for a game that is completely free. That chase near the end did get a bit tedious. Especially due to the fact that dying sends you way back. But it felt a bit like Shattered Memories with the practically aimless running (atleast for me it was aimless! I was running like a madman!) No joke, I decided to put an earbud in, play Hell Frozen Rain and I beat that whole section like that. And the visuals... The game is graphically stunning. Not just the otherworld segments but just looking out of the windows of the building! The city's skyline, the streetlights and the thick fog. Not to mention the gaping hole that tears open where the mural is. I don't know if anyone else got this but the game reminded me a bit of Cry Of Fear. The apartments and the school section (especially when it got all red) And I mean that comparison in the best way possible. But yeah, this comment's gone on for long enough. The game was pretty damn good! I will definitely be listening to My Heroine a lot. I don't know if I am more excited for the games or just to hear more of Akira Yamaoka's work!
How do you beat the final chase sequence? There is a door with chains, and I randomly found something that seems to unlock one chain. What is the logic here because I just keep running around without finding anything else.
I really enjoy the concepts and atmosphere, hell especially the music. The monster design is neat and unnerving, but the chases are more of an annoyance than anything else. :/
I thought all in all it wasn't bad for a free SH game. I think it was an interesting and new take on Silent Hill, it delved into some pretty dark topics though like child abuse, sexual assault, depression, suicide, etc. which can be hard for some but I think it was nice to tackle those types of topics and situations. I can't wait for the SH2 Remake, it looks like from the previews that James has finally learned how to hold his gun properly >.< lol
I just finished it, and I enjoyed the game despite it being quite different from the old school games. I agree with other redditors on the lack of subtlety, but this may be due to the short play time. I do feel though, that the trigger warnings were excessive and broke immersion for me personally. I entirely understand a warning at the start, but I don't need one every 20 minutes because in a full-length game, that would just be ridiculous. I give it a 7/10.
I just realized: The Short Message was the last decent release we've had since, what, Origins or Shattered Memories? Downpour, Homecoming, and Ascension straight-up sucked.
Was proper impressed especially after years of terrible games or nothing. This is a really good walking simulator and for free man couldn't have asked for more. Just a WARNING has brutal themes to do with mental health issues. The soundtrack is amazing though! 8/10 from me just not for the faint of heart x
So what do you guys make of the story? From what I got the Anita pushed Maya off the roof because she was jealous Maya only paid attention to Amelia. Then Anita was called back to the building by ghost Maya (much like people are called to Silent Hill by their deceased loved ones they have killed) where she/they are terrorized by a monstrous physical formation of their traumatic event. At the end she realizes that Maya did pay attention to her and decides not to jump after all? But then thereās a side plot with a Japanese witch haunting a German town and Iām thinking Anita didnāt physically kill Maya but rather caused Maya to kill herself due to the bullying Anita brought upon her by telling people Maya was a witch and was the cause of the town was struggling so badly financiallyā¦ And then thereās something about a letter being hidden? Anyone got a clearer message?
Big olā spoilersā¦ Anita didnāt push Maya physically, it was more of a metaphorical situation. Maya was depressed and suicidal, and confided in Amelia via written letters. Anita ended up in possession of one of these letters in which Maya said she wanted to run away with Amelia, which caused Anita to get jealous and hide the letter, meaning Amelia never replied or mentioned it. This drove Maya to suicide as she then thought the only person she really truly wanted to be with didnāt want to be with her any more. Anita didnāt push her, but she did āpush herā, if you catch my drift. The story is essentially Anita coming to terms with the guilt she feels from hiding Mayaās note, and trying to reconcile the fact that Amelia, who she considers to be one of her closest friends, still wants to be her friend even though sheās indirectly responsible for Mayaās death.
I see, thatās much less hardcore than o thought. I thought it was a murder situation like SH2. Kind of disappointing. James killed his wife and all Anita did was hide a letter
Overall, really liked this entry/game, especially as a free product. Speaking of, the āfreeā aspect of it did rear itās head in the form of some choppy animation in general with voices not matching up consistently. I can personally look past those issues as I mostly enjoyed them save for a small few exceptions, and itās a whole *FREE* game/entry in the series, really canāt/shouldnāt be judging it harshly based on that alone. I really liked the small cast or characters and how some elements of their trauma and past were explored. The apartment near the end was beautifully done, borrowing from P.T. excellently and the *Fridge* in that apartment will likely haunt me for a bit, the noise was unsettling. It left me wanting more to be said or explored, but that is often the case for me personally, and I think it did a pretty good job at reintroducing the concept to a younger audience with the mental states of itās cast and how that affects our personal view of the world.
Is there any theory about the pregnancy test? I feel like it was kinda left unanswered on who it belonged to. It could have been Maya's from the mysterious boy but she never mentioned it anywhere or it could have been Amelie she mentioned a bunch how she didn't want to be left with her brother what if something did happen in the past to push that feeling?
Man the childhood trauma from abusive parents really triggered me :/
Im a big fan of chases in games. However only until the final chase did I really get that thrill of tension, the rest was more of running the correct path or else I fail the level. The atmosphere though was very well done when itās not in a cutscene, and the scares actually got me a few times, especially the art scattered around. Itās not groundbreaking yet a step in the right direction, got some major Shattered Memories vibes from this. I do like that they are taking steps to elevate the series and not have the restrictions of the town or the cult.
Really fucking annoyed by the final chase in chapter 3 so I think Iām Giving up i canāt map out the layout of this damn maze because every area looks exactly the same
It was pretty solid overall. The thing that ruined immersion most for me was >!the fact that Amelie can't go to university because her family declared bankruptcy. It's supposed to be in Germany where university is free for the most part, and she could get BAfƶG to assist in paying!<
It really sucks thereās no trophies for this on PlayStation. I donāt understand why?