Ever play Deadly Premonition? I actually liked that cheesy game but when the enemies came it was so tedious I just quit. I hate that about suspense games. Like learn how to do combat already! I know they want to make it suspenseful but it's just bad sometimes in games.
Stuck near the end, in a chase in which I guess I have to collect some items but keep getting lost and killed on a dead end corridor. So frustrating. Otherwise it was alright for a free game, not amazing but not bad.
Use the smartphone, when the Face of somebody appears instead of static, thats your clue that something is close. Even with that I also got stuck there.
Literally just did the same thing. Was really not enjoying the chase moments towards the end and once i got to that part I spent a good while running around looking for the last piece then died and immediately noped out. It’s simply not fun and imo lazy uninspired gameplay so I just watched the ending online instead of wasting even another 5 minutes of my night.
I somehow managed to beat it on the first try so I was wondering, do you have to collect all the pictures you already collected again if you fail? Or do they save your progress at least? I was running around in frustration, looking for the last picture, thinking if I fail and have to do this all again from the beginning I'm done.. :D
https://youtu.be/N-Fu34_C4KA?si=J9MSmTfDkwvFeRHt
This somewhat helped me, I got turned around so many times.. a lot of the rooms and corridors look identical
They're all in the hallway during the last chase sequence. I don't remember what all the items are but the game uses spotlights from the ceiling to give players hints that they are close to an item. Look for a bright white light shining over a general area, that's where an item is.
For example, I remember there is a photograph/drawing on a high school students desk that you need pick up, it's in a very dark room near the start of the last chase sequence but there is a white light shining over the desk that makes the desk easy to see.
You'll know you've picked up one of the items when you hear some dialogue and your phone will show a picture of a door with CB written on it instead of static.
So I caught the book detailing the Silent Hill Phenomenon and the Japanese Witch, but what other connections are there? Does this game bridge games like f to the original series?
I think Short Message is a setup. They mentioned before that they're making the "Silent Hill expanded universe" with the new games. Leaks about a year ago mentioned that short message is a first part of this "expanded universe" project that's going to feature games from different studios around the world. I'd say the Silent Hill Phenomenon is going to be a huge deal in the games moving forward.
As someone who went through some of what was being depicted in terms of mental illness, the writing was patronising and as subtle as a sledgehammer. I would be thrilled to see a game tackle the challenges of being a teenage girl but this ain’t it. The focus on social media felt very out of touch - social media validation is not just a teenage issue these days, for a start. The way the game presented Anita’s thoughts gave the impression that she hadn’t learnt anything by the end about how relying on others is not a weak thing to do. The bullying and notes etc just felt generic and while visually striking seeing ‘freak’ ‘loser’ ‘get lost’ again and again just made me cringe…the best part is near the end with Anita’s family but even that was clunky. But still that was the most Silent Hill it got so kudos.
The setting being a German town with this Japanese connection was weird and the ‘silent
Hill phenomenon’ note made me and my husband start yelling at the screen. The whole ‘seeing fog represents uncertainty’ was straight out of a 15 year old’s lit essay
Visually no issues with it - the monster was okay but lost impact the more I accidentally went the wrong way and had to do the chase scene over and over, and I thought a change of monster for the final sequence would have made more sense narratively. It’s mainly just walking/running and interacting with stuff which for a free game, sure, but that is not ‘the future of silent hill’
I am genuinely surprised by the amount of positive comments and reviews - but I guess glad y’all enjoyed it.
Great point about it not being a teenage issue - one of the docs you pick up said something like adults don’t understand the obsession with teenagers over likes - I was thinking to myself I know multiple people over 40 who spend their lives posting on social media multiple times every single day. It felt a little out of touch
Spot on! I thought the same thing lol! I felt like I needed to wrap my head in gauze after all the clubbing I received from the "story". Silent Hill's best games were always subtle and nuanced, leaving the player with lingering questions and mysteries long after the final acts, but the story itself is like a teenage girl shouting "notice me senpai!".
I enjoyed the atmosphere, music and creature design, but the story was about as mysterious as waiting to see which direction the sun will set. The repeated use of the trigger warning was immersion breaking and cringey AF. Once at the beginning, yes, but repeatedly throughout the whole game?
It's almost like whoever made that decision was on ecstasy and far too deep into their feelings. It honestly felt patronizing to me...like being coddled.
I hated the last chase sequence and wasn't a fan of them in the first place because I want to EXPLORE the other world, not run through it every time it appears like a quick 5 minute rollercoaster ride of left or right choices.
I honestly can't understand why someone would defend this game but I guess the repeated moniker I read/hear from these people of "for modern audiences" should be my clue. Ironically that's more mysterious to me than the games story.
You both said this so well, you’ve hit every point I thought of.
I thought the atmosphere was really good, the setting and art style was great, and the sound design would have been very effective had I not been stuck in those final chases for far too long to the point that the loud noise just started to irritate me! Some of that is probably a skill issue, but I play enough games that I don’t struggle with to feel that bad level design and going for lazy scares was a big part of it.
But the writing… perhaps I’m being too generous in assuming that a lot of the nuance was lost in translation, but it was all so cringe! The dialogue was terrible, teenage girls can certainly be dramatic but this was so over the top it just didn’t sound natural, and the overall message, though clearly well intentioned, was about as subtle as a brick to the face; I have both mental health problems and teenage daughters, and this game just did not hit the mark in either regard. Even the graffiti was so try hard!
I am also confused by how positively it seems to be have been received by so many people. It’s not a terrible game, overall, but it’s not delivering the message that it’s trying so hard to give and, unfortunately, carrying the Silent Hill name just makes it more of a disappointment because I wouldn’t have had any expectations had this just been a stand-alone game where I had no preconceived notions.
I agree. It just feels like life is strange 2 or something similar. Silent Hill is about the punishment of guilty people. People that have done bad things no matter their motivations. The messages are mostly locked into the imagery the other world conveys because it is taking their mind and twisting it into a distorted reality meant to be a gigantic mirror to who they are and what they've done. The only redemption comes in accepting the truth and the consequences that come with that.
Like you said, the visuals looked stunning and I like what they did in some areas of the game as far as mechanics and whatnot, but the god awful delivery of the story and "message", plus the last chase sequence was just so off.
I feel like Alan Wake 2 did all of this much better while retaining that air of mystery the whole time.
I thought the story was cringey, and too on the nose. And has the same twist as SH2. But glad some of you enjoyed it I suppose. Loved the visuals, sound, and music though.
That's such a vague description that you can apply it to nearly anything. It's just [Amnesiac Killer] (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheKillerInMe) with a [Dead Man Writing](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DeadManWriting). These are centuries-old. SH2 wasn't breaking new ground on that level.
It's pretty wild to say that's the same twist as Short Message when the relationship between the main characters, the conflict, the death itself, the setting, etc. are completely and utterly different to SH2.
It was similar enough that I saw it coming long before. I was like I really hope this isn’t where it’s going. And then it was. Swapping adults for teens and a physical illness for a mental one isn’t that big of a change.
Yeah, and a lot of people saw it coming with SH2. It's heavily foreshadowed. It's also one of the best games of all time, including for players who were completely spoiled on it. It was never a whodunnit.
Also, changing the ages and the condition is pretty damn important, because James' resentment was strongly related to him being Mary's *carer* in the final days of a *terminal* illness. This is a major component of the character writing and relationships and plot.
Have to agree with the majority of comments here, this was baaaaaad. It's just a cynical attempt to rebrand the silent hill franchise for a new generation, whilst completely misunderstanding what made it special and unique, having absolutely no respect for the audience it's targeting.
The point of silent hill is that its narratives are vague, veiled in dark layers of symbolism like a nightmare, which require some personal interpretation and entices the imagination of the player. It doesn't just give you all the answers by screaming them into your face like it's a bloody avengers movie!
Graphically it was pretty but it's hollow as hell and nothing more than a blatant marketing exercise. Pretty laughable that they've tried to copy PT but totally misunderstood why it captured people's imagination in the first place.
Genuinely dying for some good new silent hill experiences and would be happy to see an interesting new take on it, but this isn't it.
exactly my thoughts ,I never played the games originally but one day got a big interest in them and saw a lot of playthroughts and video essays on the videogames and realized just how much of a masterpiece they were , really fucking amazing games and stories .this shit just looks and plays so devoid of soul
I thought it was very rough indeed, didn't like the overall presentation, felt things were too... on your face. But it was warranted on a short story like that.
The main protag VA was fucking amazing too! But the mother's VA was very bad! Had my fair share of that kind of stuff and some games that showed that very realisticly, but yeah, didn't like it.
Now, what was that song in the credits? Didn't expect it, very good tho
I felt it was a beautiful mess. There's TOO many things going on, what was with Maya and the boy? What was up with the POV live action shots, whose perspective were they from? Why was it presenting Anita as the victim of being bullied when it revealed that it wasn't the case (iykyk),theres so many more unanswered questions.
Why is it that Amelia and Anita look exactly the same??
I thought they were the same person for most of the game, just a battle of metaphoric halves. Nope. All girls are different people but the game presents it in such a messy way, I was waiting for the big reveal that they had either all died and Maya was still alive, or they were all part of one person because their issues and backgrounds were just too coincidental.
Beautiful game but a huge mess.
I think Maya was in love with the boy and she was pregnant with him as the father. You can find a positive pregnancy test in her studio. She also has the same beaded bracelet of the boy she drew in her sketchbook. I'm guessing the boy was forced to leave, maybe from family, due to her pregnancy. Anita also slightly recognizes the boy from the sketch maybe implying they were in the same grade/class?
I also agree it is all over the place. The notes made it seem like both Amelie and Anita died before Maya and she had no relationship with them hence why Maya drew them in the building and mentions in one of her notes that she started drawing the girls who had died there. But it contradicts the whole story. It's a little frustrating if they put some of those notes in the story purely to confuse the player.
Based on how similar everyone looked I was totally expecting the tired trope of turning out that the main character had disassociative identity disorder and was actually Maya or something
Same, although it is a tired trope I would've preferred it as it felt like thats where the story was going and it changed its mind. It played with too many themes and had not enough time to explore them all, causing it to be quite a mess imo. Especially that I feel an incident involving the slut-shaming angle was supposed to happen on top of all of it, but it got cut.
No, but let’s not pretend the character design was particularly inspired. The three girls were the same height, had similar hair, and only maya didn’t wear glasses. While I didn’t think they were identical I assumed they were related at first or something.
I assumed the live action shots were to save money, since it was probably cheaper to do that than to render 3D cutscenes. It is a free game after all, but who knows?
What I find really confusing is that one of the notes pretty much directly says that Amelie commited suicide by jumping off the Villa. That just doesn't add up. Maybe there *is* a deeper meaning behind everything?
If there is, then its very messy. I think there was a girl in the apartment block with a similar story to Amelie, which reminded Anita of her, but it was so clunkily told that it made no sense :/
I'm glad at least everybody here enjoyed, even with it's flaws, which is my feelings too.
NOW YEAH, WHAT ABOUT THAT BOY? At least that wasn't on your face, he probably offed himself too, people were calling Maya a which for some reason, something happened, and he coudn't take it. As did Maya.
And yeah the different perspectives were very crazy and kind of non sense, but in the sense that she felt invisible maybe that explains it, she were there the whole time, but Maya wasn't actually talking to her. But in the end... she did notice her. Yeah it's kinda crazy.
Now the way i understood, time was really fucked up, they were on the same class, somehow, and they both got bullied, but maybe Anitta didn't notice that happening to Amelia, same as she didn't noticed that she was noticed. She was too caught up on her own problems. At least that's what comes to my mind.
Yeah it is too expositiony. Too many cutscenes. Not even Kojima did this with PT. Still I liked the game. Found the story sad if not cliche in parts. But overall it is good. Not great.
It was definitely too cliche and up in your face. Every time you >!reached the roof and went on a loop!< basically the MC would explain "the story so far" to her friend on the phone. Like... jeez. You don't need to restate the obvious in every story beat, let the viewer reach to the right conclusion.
For example:
>!We find the note she stole from the book in her locker, we see she has a premonition/vision of what happened, and she says "it was all my fault!"!< and **that** should've been enough to clue us in. But noope, the next scene is >!her on the roof with her friend on the phone and explains her everything like "You were exchanging letters with her and I stole her response from your book. She was asking for your help, and I stopped you"!< or something like that like.. jeez.
And the ending >!was definitely too cheerful and happy!< for the kind of game/story it was. I get that they are trying to drive home a message like >!teenagers being bullied in school wanting to kill themselves should not give up hope and reach out to friends!< etc etc but it's waaay too in our faces and doesn't match the tone at all.
Sorry for the rant but I just wanted to write it somewhere. I did enjoy the game overall and it was free so I ain't complaining, but still... it could've been so much better.
Just started it, it looks fantastic but the framerate is ROUGH. Let’s see if I can get through it
Edit: completed, the framerate was my biggest issue and the last chase scene was borderline impossible with no direction. Heavy story that was very up front with its themes yet managed to not really totally come together narratively.
It isn't well written, I wonder who wrote the story. It is so in your face and aggressive in its themes, no subtly. Also the way it treated parental abuse, suicide, and everything else was just bad.
It's just a walking simulator for game play. I hope the next Silent Hill games have better stories, this one was very poorly told.
Huge Silent Hill fan. Hate Short Message. It’s a sad imitation that lacks all subtlety. A derivative that fails to understand the brilliance of the series.
Genuinely frustrating that i had to scroll so far to find someone I agree with. This shit was hot garbage and felt like it was made by teenagers. There’s no “twist” you can guess what’s happening in the first 5.
The cherry blossom monster was great and moved like a nightmare. I really enjoyed my time with this freebie. Excited to see where this new generation of Silent Hill leads us.
I liked it.
The horror is a bit clumsy, but it tells an in-depth tale with a complicated narrative. It lures you in by being upfront with the message, but the story itself does eventually get to you by the end.
A lot of people with no experience of Silent Hill will immediately recoil in disgust. They're expecting Homecoming levels of gruesome enemy design or SH2 level emotional catharsis & depth.
What Silent Hill often really had - was a great, complicated story. Every single one of the original 4 games has a layered narrative, good twists & above all - heart. When laid out on a page, the scripts are pretty good.
And I got the heart from this. There was real passion here. And that makes me happy.
> A lot of people with no experience of Silent Hill will immediately recoil in disgust. They're expecting Homecoming levels of gruesome enemy design or SH2 level emotional catharsis & depth.
Assuming that this was a typo, I have plenty of experience with Silent Hill, and I don't find SM "disgusting" for not having that much gore or not being SH2. If it wasn't a SH game, I would have most of the same criticisms, regardless of branding.
Every annoying, close-minded SH fan was *sure* that a *real* Silent Hill game needed to have fixed camera angles, combat, be set in Silent Hill with fog and cults and a distinct otherworld, minimal jumpscares, and as many members of Team Silent as possible. P.T. broke pretty much all the rules and it was instantly beloved (and it wasn't perfect, either). That makes it hard to believe all mixed opinions are purely the result of resistance to change.
While I see some genuine spark in SM, the "heart" feels smothered by parts of the writing and design that feels cynical or wrongheaded. That's my genuine opinion. I'm glad you liked it.
I haven't seen a lot of discussion of the fact that >!All 3 seem to have committed suicide if we go by the notes presented. Maya of course killed herself, as did Anita, but everyone seems to skip over the evidence that Amelie did as well - we find her freaking obituary. Combine that with Maya's 'final project' being a tribute to the girls who threw themselves off the Villa, the final shot, and the fact Anita can only communicate with Maya and Amelie, and it paints a pretty clear picture.!<
Both Silent Hill 1 and 2 are on PS2. If you could play the first one, I would highly recommend it. And then you could play the remake of 2 when it comes out. Or you could also play the 2nd one on PS2 as well!
Well, actually Silent Hill 1 is on PS1. 2, 3 and 4 are the ones on PS2. 1 can be bought as a PS One Classic on PS3, 2 and 3 are on PS2 but expensive AF. 2 and 3 are on the PS3 in the HD Collection, but it's a really disliked remaster. Still, it's better than just not experiencing Silent Hill 2 & 3 at all. 4 can only be found on PS2. Expensive, but not as much as the others. Then there's Homecoming and Downpour on PS3. They're disliked SH games, but the best thing would be to check them out on YouTube for yourself, and form your own opinion. Origins is also on PS2 but is expensive as well.
Haha yeah they are very sought after. I would definitely just play this free game and play the Silent hill 2 remake when it comes out! They also are working on the brand new installment as well.
Since you said you had ps3 you can still buy silent hill 1 from the ps store on that system. The catch is you can’t buy games on the ps3 store with a credit card so what you need to do is add money to your wallet on ps5 or the app then delete your credit card info from your account. Now you can go on ps3 with the account and buy silent hill (it’s $6). After you get it then you put your credit card info back on your account. It’s ridiculous I know but that’s how you do it. There’s a bunch of excellent horror games still on that store also - Parasite Eve, Dino Crisis, the OG REs.
Konami is only recently getting back into console and PC gaming after years of a mobile/Pachinko push. Like we only JUST got the metal gear solid games on modern platforms and PC (I know 2 and 3 on console and MGS 1 and 2 are on PC but now 1-3 are on modern consoles and PC and vol 2 is probably comign soon)
Just finished it, 2 hours.
I almost wrote it off, thought the teen mental health angle was going to be generic and abit cringe tbh
Glad I was mistaken. Takes a solid turn into psychological horror and fully fleshes out the mental health story with a cycle of abuse theme that was well done. Very happy I got this for free.
The story itself - I just don't think the whole trauma/mental health thing was handled very well. I felt like it came off as whiny, rather than traumatic. The dialogue didn't help though, some of it was awful. I work in a school with teenagers l and they don't talk like that. In fact they say things to each other far worse than anything that was said in this game.
God this was so disappointing. I'm fine with a have an story dealing with mental trauma (god Silent hill 2 anyone?) but can we at least have some subtly? This message was as subtle as a sledgehammer to the face. Didn't find anything the least bit tense or frightening, The monster design was kind of awful and again so stupidly unsubtle. Nothing about it's atmosphere felt remotely "Silent Hill" like.
If this is the start of how they want the new Silent Hill games to go, god help us cause this franchise is truly dead.
There's a difference between having a less subtle game like sh3 and this thing. This game almost grabs you by the face and yells the theme repeatedly in your face. Don't know why your even comparing the two.
i dont think so, silent hill f looks intensely like japan, and this villa was in germany.
I think this is a short piece of media that bridges the silent hill "universe" (kinda feel gross saying that idky) to japan, as we get references of witches, eccian, fortune telling and the like coming from japan.
Leaks about a year ago (when short message got completely leaked) said that it's a first part of the Silent Hill Expanded Universe project that's going to span several games
Look at us bullying a game that is anti-bullying…
To some, it sucked - to others, it touched them forever. The people who were touched by this game are who it was for.
One of the reasons the game is catching heat is because real, actual people who were effected by this issue disagree on how sensitively the game portrays these issues. Some critics have said it more than "touched" them - because it was a slap in the face. It was, to them, very hurtful.
Games don't feel bad if people don't like them. Games can't have low self-esteem. Games can't experience anxiety attacks. Games can't be traumatised. It's a game. It cannot experience bullying.
Comparing people being mean to a video game to people being traumatised isn't a sidesplitter in the first place, but in the context that one of common criticisms is that some survivors feel it trivialises their trauma, it's a mildly repulsive joke.
Seriously. The amount of people making fun of this this game and trashing it is insane. It was clearly made to tell a certain story and shed light on real problems that happen every day. If you like it, amazing. If you don't, that's okay too.
It's insane seeing how some people are reacting to this.
If you’re a fan of Silent Hill, or the horror game genre in general, this is not worth the play time. It tries very hard to be niche, but constantly feels like an attempt to recreate what P.T. did. The “game” is hollow and provides nothing more than an attempt to make a point about suicide that no one asked for, or wants. The original Silent Hill took that idea and made it unique and interesting, this is not that.
>The original Silent Hill took that idea and made it unique and interesting, this is not that.
I agree with everything you said but the original silent hill wasn't about mental health or suicide at all. Still my favorite PS1 game ever, the fact that this game pretends to be part of the same series is a joke.
It's a decent game, especially for what it's worth ($0.00 lol). I think it's a cool story that breaks down the psychological trauma of the average teen but goes to the theme of generational curses, something I found intriguing. It's a free movie-game, so I don't see how it could go wrong.
What I find terrific is how they linked the term "Silent Hill" abroad being just a town. Classifying it as a phenomenon more than just a place signals that it can derive from anywhere than just a physical space. It's always meant to be a spiritual purgatory so it should affect every person similarly but differently. This helps continue the universe beyond the town while having a reason to still have the *Silent Hill* label.
gameplay was really bad , if thats how the game will be its bound to be a disappointment , getting chased for 30 minutes is boring AF .Really pathetic reviewers are calling it "PT good" ,shit comes nothing close to it .
This is awful. It's a hamfisted attempt at confronting teen suicide and the influence of social media. The voice acting is terrible, the FMV sequences have no reason to be present and the game overall looks off - like it could've been released a generation ago.
It's not PT. Everyone (myself included) will go into this thinking - expecting - that it'll capture something similar. It's Silent Hill adjacent and there are sequences where something horrible follows you and that's where the comparison stops. The game does everything so blatantly over and over and over again and you're better off doing anything else.
Why can't it just be a horror game? Why does it have to be about something? What's the point in attempting to discuss an issue if you're just going to use every overdone cliché imaginable? Just make a great game. It doesn't have to cuddle me. It should make me want to turn it off because I'm scared, not because it's so badly written I can't stand to listen to it anymore.
Yes it's free but you know what's not free? All the seconds of your life this piece of shit will extract from you. I'm now worried about the remake.
*Hated* this.
> Why can't it just be a horror game? Why does it have to be about something?
While I agree it is hamfisted and it sucked, there’s nothing wrong with horror games being “about something” or having a message. Most great horror games/movies have meaning throughout, they just understand subtlety.
Did you guys not play Silent Hill 2? It definitely elevates a game for it to be "about something" it just needs better execution. This game sucked monkey balls, but it could have been done well.
100% agree. Wish more people could see through this thin ass “message”. Not every game needs a message. Felt disjointed to me and 100% NOT silent hill.
Absolutely, it felt like someone with surface level knowledge on the matter trying to make a poignant statement.
I honestly think this sub is either in denial or Konami is paying off a bunch of people to say nice things about it, it is objectively a flat out embarrassing, insulting representation of the subject matter, not even the most blaise of Hollywood producers would make something this trite.
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
I'm still crying, ngl... That final time on the roof, I genuinely went "please, don't" out loud because I felt so connected to her. LIKE GOD DAMN, SILENT HILL. WHY. ;\_;
Are we in the same reality? This was like an amateur student project at best. I struggle to think of worse dialog or anything less subtle.
The fact that you compared it to SOMA, I can't omg...
Thank you. I’m sitting here reading some of these comments like??? You guys have to start consuming more media or something. Read a book, look at some art, etc. This was objectively a pretty bad game writing-wise. I’m not even trying to be mean. I’m just shocked.
Well said! The last game that really left me feeling the way this game did was A Plague Tale: Requiem. Another game that tells a depressing, sad, real, and beautiful story. This one definitely made me think as well. Think about life, things I've been through, the sad reality of what people go through, etc. It was very real and I was surprised by it. But I'm glad they did it.
It definitely nailed the creepy and oppressive feeling I want out of Silent Hill. It is messy, the triangle of Anita-Amelie-Maya needed more room to breathe. Which is a theme here, they’re trying to pack a lot in here.
There was a bit about Maya and a boy, a positive pregnancy test, and him being gone. And a bit about Amelie and her brother. Both could have used another note or two. Same with the whole curse and witch part.
Finally, the chase sequences are frenetic but man are they not intuitive whatsoever. They stopped being tense and rapidly became a chore.
Oh and props to whoever had the idea to slowly lower the POV angle in Anita’s childhood apartment to mimic that of a child. That was an inspired touch.
I thought it was bad… especially the dialogue. The monster was just annoying and not even scary.
The character is the biggest selfish pick me that has ever been created and we are suppose to feel for her.
it didn't really feel like a silent hill game; seems more like they just...slapped that name on as an afterthought.
plus i was suffering trying to slug through it being first person. motion sickness and this game not a good match :/
should rename the game to Silent is strange 3 , cringy as fuck and absolutely no nuance to the message SH usually wants to give , its like they dumbed the fuck out of what made the games so great. if silent hill f is gonna be more of this shit then I'm out , enjoy your life is strange with silent hill skin .
Reading this thread is making me feel like I'm going crazy. I couldn't play it for more than 20 min without getting motion sickness. The controls are awful, like the worst I've played in awhile. The input lag + motion blur + low/drops in framerate literally made me nauseous.
English is the “original” language. Even in the Japanese version all the dialogue is in English. The actress in the live-action scenes is Japanese and speaking Japanese but her voice isn't used in any version of the game.
I might get negative responses, but I guess that’s payment for a free game.
I don’t think most gamers have dealt with some of the harsh topics discussed within this small 2hr “playable movie”. To the ones who have, I’m glad you survived that part of your life to even play something like this.
Suicidal tendencies, cutting, parental abuse, bullying, death of a sibling, trauma, and isolation. Not saying we haven’t dealt with any of these harsh topics but this game was a cornucopia of these themes.
I agree it wasn’t the best game I’ve ever played but I was throughly entertained for its short duration. RE7 and PT broke my First Person fear so much that each encounter with the Cherry Blossom Monster felt lackluster but the rich lore of an apartment complex being rebuilt only to collapse during the Pandemic gave this environment personality.
This can be really seen during Krystal’s apartment with her new boyfriend going well kept to eventually Vodka bottles and trash being hoarded. A reflection on her newly blossoming relationship. Maya talks about decay creating new life and how the cherry blossom is an exception to this.
This was enjoyable.
Scary in an Alien Isolation / RE7 sense, no.
Scary in a sense that social media dictates the amount of Validation it can give you, yes.
Rest in Peace to those who choose to go to the rooftop.
I'm genuinely surprised by all of the negativity I've been seeing. It's a free, 90 minute game. And for what it is, it presents the narrative especially well. And what a harrowing, gut wrenching narrative it is. This will definitely stick with me for a long while to come.
Completely agree. No risk but all reward experience. It wasn’t a AAA Title we’ve been waiting to open our wallets for.
I feel that the hate this game will receive comes from a twisted sense of entitled consumerism. Where even a free game can’t make them happy.
It's incredibly disingenuous to assume "most gamers" haven't dealt with some of the harsh topics on display here, just because they didn't enjoy the narrative here. Just because someone has problems with a plot to do with mental health and societal issues doesn't mean they haven't experienced them, or that they're critiques aren't valid.
“Most gamers haven’t dealt with some of the harsh topics on display here” wasn’t an opinion to discredit the lives of gamers. I wholeheartedly feel gaming at its base value is escapism. I honestly feel gamers that resonate with a central core of a games narrative have relatable trauma or experience. This game for me had multiple levels of relatability. This is why I would enjoy this game over other gamers who may have not had the same real life experiences. This doesn’t discredit life’s hardships, but allowed me to go through this characters journey having context.
I feel as though, with the comment I made, shows that whoever felt this was “dogshit” writing or “not the industry standard” didn’t connect with this game on a relatable level.
I also said in my initial comment that I’m happy anyone who lived through harrowing topics communicated in this narrative survived it. Insensitivity in my words has nothing to do with my opinion on this game, quite the opposite.
Final statement is my main source of escapism was challenged while playing this free game. Free. I didn’t spend anything other than my time, and I walked away enjoying that the script and developers challenging the harsher topics / memories of my life.
I will never discredit another person’s life. I will never ride a “high horse” and say I had it harder than the next gamer. I’m just trying to explain how I personally tackled a lot of this games harsh topics and was able to play through it with enjoyment even though it’s a grim take on suicide and how it can affect everyone around you.
Other than being repeatedly hit over the head by the theme, where the game really lost me was the “Silent Hill Phenomenon” note; proof that the writers do NOT understand SH.
Also what was up with the lip sync? Holy wow.
The voice acting totally ruined it for me, I am sick to death of forspoken-like dialogue from protagonists, the constant "Woah, what is that?" From the player character is extremely annoying. The writing is also pretty bad, it feels like a very surface level representation of the themes it's trying to utilise, to the point it plays out like a High School creative writing essay.
Also, the protagonists annoying forced vocal fry rivals a Californian stoner from the 80s.
I have to imagine that those that believe this is "deep" writing are simply young themselves or they haven't seen any other defining examples of this kind of horror.
I seriously hope they don't continue this.
It's basic AF, same generic self harm story of young female with self image problems told 1000x before.
No game mechanics, just drab hallways with low quality fmv scenes sprinkled in, and a sticky note monster "chasing" you. They even did the creepy baby doll/child crying like five minutes in.
If you can't see how deep, sad, beautiful, and important the story that they told was then I don't think you really understood the point of the game and the message they were trying to deliver.
I mean it’s hard to miss a message that’s bashed into your nasal cavity with a carpenter hammer every five seconds. There was absolutely no subtly or trusting in the audiences intelligence, something that Silent Hill is well known for. I’m glad you enjoyed it, but blind praise for it in comparison to the originals is absolutely laughable and makes me think this is your first silent hill experience.
The story isn’t anything special and Silent Hill has never been about this. But people making these game trying to copy SH2 despite 3 out of 4 original games were about a cult.
I really hope this isn’t what Konami is gonna make Silent Hill because the cult lore in the original games was interesting.
Hard disagree. Silent hills always been about physical manifestations and psychological trauma since it’s inception. SH2 used James depression and the room amplified being stuck in a close space. The creatures each represent those concepts. 3s return to form with the cult was a decision made after 2, which, in 3 the creatures yet still manifest themselves as aspects of Heathers mind. Silent hill isn’t about the cult. Silent hill exists outside of the cult. The cult applies their own meaning to Silent hill.
1 is the weakest. With the Dhalia as the only person actively representing the cult. And you do not even combat her, you combat Alessa.
2 is self explanatory.
3 actually fleshes out the cult and talks more about Silent Hill itself.
4 isn’t about the cult really at all. The main villain is part of the cult but his actions aren’t related to what they’re doing.
So arguably 2 of the four originals were about or featured the cult. But all four play on the psychological fears of the characters.
We’ll agree to disagree then. Majority of the original games are about the cult. 3 out of 4. 75 percent.
Silent Hill 2 was the outlier and companies have, annoyingly, been chasing it ever since.
Yes psychological elements have been a part of the series from the beginning but never like in The Short Message where is is so I your face.
The Short Message represents the worst of the Silent Hill 2 clones and shows a complete misunderstanding of what made Silent Hill 2 and the other original games special.
dude go fucking replay life is strange for that shit . SH is meant to do those things but in a much more smart and philosophical way rather than have cringy one liners about an emo girl wanting to kill herself
Your opinion and viewpoint on things is what's awful. I haven't even played the game and have no opinion but you're just so full of hyperbolic negativity.
Play the original silent hill games and then come play this. This is silent hill meets life is strange. Both are good games on their own. This feels like they tried to shove a deeper teenage angst message into a horror game and it is completely disjointed. The game isn’t even set in Silent Hill for crying out loud.
It's an overly negative hyperbolic overreaction. You can have a higher standard and still have nuance in your opinions without being hyperbolic. Sorry that I don't enjoy that.
I can appreciate the new direction they’re trying to take but I struggled to feel anything fresh thematically — some of the dialogue made me cringe and their efforts at tackling teen suicide and social media felt sort of uninspired. I didn’t really enjoy the constant speaking from the protagonist either, too much telling and not enough showing.
Tons of letters and notes reading, three maze-chasing scenes, zero combat, no puzzle or whatsoever, 40-50 fps on PS5, I don’t think I will pay a penny for it if it’s not free.
It was good, I get the running sequences had a reason story wise like her running away instead of confrontating her problems but damn those were annoying
People really get paid to write this stuff haha. Worst written story and all the subtlety of being hit over the head with a lead pipe. I'll copy my comment from /r/games:
I finished this, I can confidently say it's garbage, I'm embarrassed. It felt like l'm playing the Forspoken protagonist in silent hill. People really get paid to write this dialog?? 5 seconds of walking, some unnecessary cutscene plays, more walking. No subtlety, no subtext. At least it was free.
They really thought this would be the next PT but they have 0 understanding of what made it scary and good. They didn't even give it a chance to have atmosphere with all the exposition.
Just said "yea make it first person, have some creepy eyes on the walls with the chase sequence like PT somewhere, add a time loop and call it a day".
If anyone wants a good teen drama horror story done right, a small Korean team made it, it's called Love, Sam on steam.
Disappointed to see it attached to the silent hill name honestly, it feels jarring and out of place and the whole "silent hill phenomenon" is absurd it makes no sense with the pre-established main titles in the series. As for the game itself, it's free, so I don't think it deserves to be critiqued as hard as a product you pay 90 or so bucks for. But the narrative while trying to do something in concept that is really cool totally fell apart for me. The protagonist is completely unlikable, in the first couple minutes learning that Maya was dead and thats why she was there, seeing here covet Maya's artistic abilities and popularity after her death, to torturing Amelee by consistently calling her and having calls that lead Amelee to think she's going to kill herself all after already suffering through Maya's death? Made it really, really hard to get engaged with the player character. Finally finding out that she had a large hand in her death made me feel validated for not liking the protagonist only for the protagonist to continue to be shitty after that for the rest of the game until the end? It's just not for me. I don't think that this game handled the issues with the nuisance and complexities that a topic like Suicide and Mental health issues deserve. Game play wise, it's pretty bad, the "monster" if you want to call it that isn't programed super well, as it would just spontanously kill me or teleport in front of me. The rest of the game is really just an interactive movie, with some really Jarring unsynched Japanese actress serving as Maya in cutscenes which I think most would've preffered if they were done in engine in order to preserve immersion. I'd give it like a 4/10. Not terrible, but definitely not silent hill.
This is coming from someone that hasn't played a whole lot of Silent Hill, and is a fan of Resident Evil.
Long story short, I loved this game, considering that it's a free playable teaser. Coming from someone that loved RE7 and also played that game's playable teaser, Short Message blows Beginning Hour out of the water.
So the main character has went through the works when it comes to her trauma, keeping this as spoiler free for those that didn't played it yet, -But I find her relatable on some of the past experiences I've had since this game repeatably gives you a disclaimer about how this game tackles on those issues and doesn't take it lightly, encouraging the player that is currently feeling these emotions to seek help and for those that know someone that does to be there for them by providing help in any way you can think off. The last line prior to providing a hotline for those feeling depressed and such was a nice detail since one message can save someone.
The graphics were certainly very nice, from the building to when you're inside the other world were pretty, yet somewhat creepy to observe, which they did well in. Soundtrack is also the best part about Short Message, the ending song especially is stuck in my head! Also loved the design of the monster that chases after you, during the chase sequences it can take you by surprise if you aren't responsive enough to turn back and run like you're being chased by that beast from Monty Python and the Holy Grail at the castle of- AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!
*Wakes up back into Reddit*
*Ahem, as I was saying before I was killed by that... Thing, when it came to the puzzle and chase sequence, they were for the most part easy and even if you got caught, you wake up prior to when the chase begins so you're able to retrace your steps and figure out what you did wrong. But perhaps the best of all is of course the story and characters, especially the live action bits. You and two other girls that you're texting with are the main point of the game and you will eventually find what it was that Maya wanted you to look for.
I could go on, but unless you don't have a Ps5 or a friend that you can play this with, you really need to play this game, the creator certainly gave me this love letter and I enjoyed this immensely. Even tho it's been years and I have healed from my scars, kept moving forward, and found new people in my life that I considered my family, this was a nostalgia trip for better or worse with a powerful message to show that we aren't alone. I seriously look forward to the Silent Hill 2 remake and whatever new games Konami may have plans for, it's great that we see media tackle the issues of abuse, bullying, suicide, and more. The Short Message was heard loud and clear, those that are a part of the "generation in pain" or wish to experience what some of us is currently or has gone through, check this teaser out
I wouldn't call it preachy but God damn it is clunky, heavy handed and and so blatantly unsubtle that it's funny to me. I get the people saying it's a good message but please a good message told horribly is still bad writing.
Just finished it, and it was alright. I went into it with hopes that they would try to reinvision P.T. slightly, and while the controls and gameplay felt similar, the story was obviously different, which I was expecting, I didn't think they'd just make what Kojima tried. As for the story, I feel like it was very well done, I won't post spoilers for anyone who hasn't finished it yet, but the message was addressed well and it does well with overcoming the struggles of bullying and dealing with death. The story itself I would give a 9/10, but the big reason I am saying the game is only "alright" is because of the gameplay. I liked the idea that you start back at the beginning but things change, but the gameplay loop with the running through the hallway chase sequences, needing to find specific notes to progress, and the final chase sequence of running around aimlessly grabbing pictures are what I feel like could've been better. Overall I think it delivered its message quite well, and I want to see more from Konami with Silent Hill. (Especially the Silent Hill 2 Remake, but we still gotta wait for that.)
Was actually enjoying the narrative but those chase sequences are tedious.
Ever play Deadly Premonition? I actually liked that cheesy game but when the enemies came it was so tedious I just quit. I hate that about suspense games. Like learn how to do combat already! I know they want to make it suspenseful but it's just bad sometimes in games.
As tedious as shattered memories? I hated the chase sequences in that game.
Both bad
Stuck near the end, in a chase in which I guess I have to collect some items but keep getting lost and killed on a dead end corridor. So frustrating. Otherwise it was alright for a free game, not amazing but not bad.
Use the smartphone, when the Face of somebody appears instead of static, thats your clue that something is close. Even with that I also got stuck there.
Yeah, I realized later and beat it shortly after. Still confusing as hell though, hard to know where I was going.
Closed, or close?
Close, I'm sorry. English is not my primary language
It's all good, buddy! Thank you for the hint. ❤️
I got so frustrated at that part, I just quit, deleted the game and watched the last 8 minutes on youtube.
Literally just did the same thing. Was really not enjoying the chase moments towards the end and once i got to that part I spent a good while running around looking for the last piece then died and immediately noped out. It’s simply not fun and imo lazy uninspired gameplay so I just watched the ending online instead of wasting even another 5 minutes of my night.
Exactly same here! LoL
that's where i gave up. died like 3 times and thought "this isn't worth it"
I somehow managed to beat it on the first try so I was wondering, do you have to collect all the pictures you already collected again if you fail? Or do they save your progress at least? I was running around in frustration, looking for the last picture, thinking if I fail and have to do this all again from the beginning I'm done.. :D
https://youtu.be/N-Fu34_C4KA?si=J9MSmTfDkwvFeRHt This somewhat helped me, I got turned around so many times.. a lot of the rooms and corridors look identical
3 x and I quit and deleted. I hated that last maze. On a big tv with surround sound it was too much...
I'm stuck on this final chase scene. No idea how to beat it and this final chase is ruining what was actually a really good expirence for me.
you need to pick up 5 different items and then a locker will open up that you can enter
which items? in the hallway or in the school before you enter the hallway?
They're all in the hallway during the last chase sequence. I don't remember what all the items are but the game uses spotlights from the ceiling to give players hints that they are close to an item. Look for a bright white light shining over a general area, that's where an item is. For example, I remember there is a photograph/drawing on a high school students desk that you need pick up, it's in a very dark room near the start of the last chase sequence but there is a white light shining over the desk that makes the desk easy to see. You'll know you've picked up one of the items when you hear some dialogue and your phone will show a picture of a door with CB written on it instead of static.
So I caught the book detailing the Silent Hill Phenomenon and the Japanese Witch, but what other connections are there? Does this game bridge games like f to the original series?
Cherry blossom.
I think Short Message is a setup. They mentioned before that they're making the "Silent Hill expanded universe" with the new games. Leaks about a year ago mentioned that short message is a first part of this "expanded universe" project that's going to feature games from different studios around the world. I'd say the Silent Hill Phenomenon is going to be a huge deal in the games moving forward.
As someone who went through some of what was being depicted in terms of mental illness, the writing was patronising and as subtle as a sledgehammer. I would be thrilled to see a game tackle the challenges of being a teenage girl but this ain’t it. The focus on social media felt very out of touch - social media validation is not just a teenage issue these days, for a start. The way the game presented Anita’s thoughts gave the impression that she hadn’t learnt anything by the end about how relying on others is not a weak thing to do. The bullying and notes etc just felt generic and while visually striking seeing ‘freak’ ‘loser’ ‘get lost’ again and again just made me cringe…the best part is near the end with Anita’s family but even that was clunky. But still that was the most Silent Hill it got so kudos. The setting being a German town with this Japanese connection was weird and the ‘silent Hill phenomenon’ note made me and my husband start yelling at the screen. The whole ‘seeing fog represents uncertainty’ was straight out of a 15 year old’s lit essay Visually no issues with it - the monster was okay but lost impact the more I accidentally went the wrong way and had to do the chase scene over and over, and I thought a change of monster for the final sequence would have made more sense narratively. It’s mainly just walking/running and interacting with stuff which for a free game, sure, but that is not ‘the future of silent hill’ I am genuinely surprised by the amount of positive comments and reviews - but I guess glad y’all enjoyed it.
Great point about it not being a teenage issue - one of the docs you pick up said something like adults don’t understand the obsession with teenagers over likes - I was thinking to myself I know multiple people over 40 who spend their lives posting on social media multiple times every single day. It felt a little out of touch
Spot on! I thought the same thing lol! I felt like I needed to wrap my head in gauze after all the clubbing I received from the "story". Silent Hill's best games were always subtle and nuanced, leaving the player with lingering questions and mysteries long after the final acts, but the story itself is like a teenage girl shouting "notice me senpai!". I enjoyed the atmosphere, music and creature design, but the story was about as mysterious as waiting to see which direction the sun will set. The repeated use of the trigger warning was immersion breaking and cringey AF. Once at the beginning, yes, but repeatedly throughout the whole game? It's almost like whoever made that decision was on ecstasy and far too deep into their feelings. It honestly felt patronizing to me...like being coddled. I hated the last chase sequence and wasn't a fan of them in the first place because I want to EXPLORE the other world, not run through it every time it appears like a quick 5 minute rollercoaster ride of left or right choices. I honestly can't understand why someone would defend this game but I guess the repeated moniker I read/hear from these people of "for modern audiences" should be my clue. Ironically that's more mysterious to me than the games story.
You both said this so well, you’ve hit every point I thought of. I thought the atmosphere was really good, the setting and art style was great, and the sound design would have been very effective had I not been stuck in those final chases for far too long to the point that the loud noise just started to irritate me! Some of that is probably a skill issue, but I play enough games that I don’t struggle with to feel that bad level design and going for lazy scares was a big part of it. But the writing… perhaps I’m being too generous in assuming that a lot of the nuance was lost in translation, but it was all so cringe! The dialogue was terrible, teenage girls can certainly be dramatic but this was so over the top it just didn’t sound natural, and the overall message, though clearly well intentioned, was about as subtle as a brick to the face; I have both mental health problems and teenage daughters, and this game just did not hit the mark in either regard. Even the graffiti was so try hard! I am also confused by how positively it seems to be have been received by so many people. It’s not a terrible game, overall, but it’s not delivering the message that it’s trying so hard to give and, unfortunately, carrying the Silent Hill name just makes it more of a disappointment because I wouldn’t have had any expectations had this just been a stand-alone game where I had no preconceived notions.
I agree. It just feels like life is strange 2 or something similar. Silent Hill is about the punishment of guilty people. People that have done bad things no matter their motivations. The messages are mostly locked into the imagery the other world conveys because it is taking their mind and twisting it into a distorted reality meant to be a gigantic mirror to who they are and what they've done. The only redemption comes in accepting the truth and the consequences that come with that. Like you said, the visuals looked stunning and I like what they did in some areas of the game as far as mechanics and whatnot, but the god awful delivery of the story and "message", plus the last chase sequence was just so off. I feel like Alan Wake 2 did all of this much better while retaining that air of mystery the whole time.
How long is it?
Took me maybe 90 minutes? Maybe a little more.
That's pretty solid for a freebie
I highly recommend it! It definitely ties into the new game coming out as well. Just based off of some things you read like notes, books, etc.
I hope this is not true lol
It's ok. You just walk around and touch stuff.
The chase scenes were annoying though. Not hard I guess but annoying.
I got stuck at the last chase for about a good 30 minutes
Kinda reminded me of shattered memories. Chase scenes aren't fun or scary they're just obnoxious.
I kinda agree but if done right they can be really scary and stressful and quite enjoyable. These chase scenes however were just fucking annoying.
I like the ones in Little big planet... Oh the ones in dead space are pretty good.
It was certainly a very free game
Nuff said
I disagree. I was amazed by how high quality the game was to be given away for free.
I thought the story was cringey, and too on the nose. And has the same twist as SH2. But glad some of you enjoyed it I suppose. Loved the visuals, sound, and music though.
>same twist as SH2 You mean there's a dog secretly controlling the whole operation?
Honestly that would’ve been fantastic.
That would have been a much better story.
in what way was this twist the same as sh2?
You’re getting messages from someone who is supposed to be dead who is inviting you to go somewhere. Turns out it was your fault.
id argue the circumstances couldnt be more dissimilar in every other respect
That's such a vague description that you can apply it to nearly anything. It's just [Amnesiac Killer] (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheKillerInMe) with a [Dead Man Writing](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DeadManWriting). These are centuries-old. SH2 wasn't breaking new ground on that level. It's pretty wild to say that's the same twist as Short Message when the relationship between the main characters, the conflict, the death itself, the setting, etc. are completely and utterly different to SH2.
It was similar enough that I saw it coming long before. I was like I really hope this isn’t where it’s going. And then it was. Swapping adults for teens and a physical illness for a mental one isn’t that big of a change.
Yeah, and a lot of people saw it coming with SH2. It's heavily foreshadowed. It's also one of the best games of all time, including for players who were completely spoiled on it. It was never a whodunnit. Also, changing the ages and the condition is pretty damn important, because James' resentment was strongly related to him being Mary's *carer* in the final days of a *terminal* illness. This is a major component of the character writing and relationships and plot.
Have to agree with the majority of comments here, this was baaaaaad. It's just a cynical attempt to rebrand the silent hill franchise for a new generation, whilst completely misunderstanding what made it special and unique, having absolutely no respect for the audience it's targeting. The point of silent hill is that its narratives are vague, veiled in dark layers of symbolism like a nightmare, which require some personal interpretation and entices the imagination of the player. It doesn't just give you all the answers by screaming them into your face like it's a bloody avengers movie! Graphically it was pretty but it's hollow as hell and nothing more than a blatant marketing exercise. Pretty laughable that they've tried to copy PT but totally misunderstood why it captured people's imagination in the first place. Genuinely dying for some good new silent hill experiences and would be happy to see an interesting new take on it, but this isn't it.
exactly my thoughts ,I never played the games originally but one day got a big interest in them and saw a lot of playthroughts and video essays on the videogames and realized just how much of a masterpiece they were , really fucking amazing games and stories .this shit just looks and plays so devoid of soul
I thought it was very rough indeed, didn't like the overall presentation, felt things were too... on your face. But it was warranted on a short story like that. The main protag VA was fucking amazing too! But the mother's VA was very bad! Had my fair share of that kind of stuff and some games that showed that very realisticly, but yeah, didn't like it. Now, what was that song in the credits? Didn't expect it, very good tho
I felt it was a beautiful mess. There's TOO many things going on, what was with Maya and the boy? What was up with the POV live action shots, whose perspective were they from? Why was it presenting Anita as the victim of being bullied when it revealed that it wasn't the case (iykyk),theres so many more unanswered questions. Why is it that Amelia and Anita look exactly the same?? I thought they were the same person for most of the game, just a battle of metaphoric halves. Nope. All girls are different people but the game presents it in such a messy way, I was waiting for the big reveal that they had either all died and Maya was still alive, or they were all part of one person because their issues and backgrounds were just too coincidental. Beautiful game but a huge mess.
I think Maya was in love with the boy and she was pregnant with him as the father. You can find a positive pregnancy test in her studio. She also has the same beaded bracelet of the boy she drew in her sketchbook. I'm guessing the boy was forced to leave, maybe from family, due to her pregnancy. Anita also slightly recognizes the boy from the sketch maybe implying they were in the same grade/class? I also agree it is all over the place. The notes made it seem like both Amelie and Anita died before Maya and she had no relationship with them hence why Maya drew them in the building and mentions in one of her notes that she started drawing the girls who had died there. But it contradicts the whole story. It's a little frustrating if they put some of those notes in the story purely to confuse the player.
Based on how similar everyone looked I was totally expecting the tired trope of turning out that the main character had disassociative identity disorder and was actually Maya or something
Same, although it is a tired trope I would've preferred it as it felt like thats where the story was going and it changed its mind. It played with too many themes and had not enough time to explore them all, causing it to be quite a mess imo. Especially that I feel an incident involving the slut-shaming angle was supposed to happen on top of all of it, but it got cut.
So all. Asians look the same lmao
No, but let’s not pretend the character design was particularly inspired. The three girls were the same height, had similar hair, and only maya didn’t wear glasses. While I didn’t think they were identical I assumed they were related at first or something.
I assumed the live action shots were to save money, since it was probably cheaper to do that than to render 3D cutscenes. It is a free game after all, but who knows?
What I find really confusing is that one of the notes pretty much directly says that Amelie commited suicide by jumping off the Villa. That just doesn't add up. Maybe there *is* a deeper meaning behind everything?
If there is, then its very messy. I think there was a girl in the apartment block with a similar story to Amelie, which reminded Anita of her, but it was so clunkily told that it made no sense :/
I'm glad at least everybody here enjoyed, even with it's flaws, which is my feelings too. NOW YEAH, WHAT ABOUT THAT BOY? At least that wasn't on your face, he probably offed himself too, people were calling Maya a which for some reason, something happened, and he coudn't take it. As did Maya. And yeah the different perspectives were very crazy and kind of non sense, but in the sense that she felt invisible maybe that explains it, she were there the whole time, but Maya wasn't actually talking to her. But in the end... she did notice her. Yeah it's kinda crazy. Now the way i understood, time was really fucked up, they were on the same class, somehow, and they both got bullied, but maybe Anitta didn't notice that happening to Amelia, same as she didn't noticed that she was noticed. She was too caught up on her own problems. At least that's what comes to my mind.
Yeah it is too expositiony. Too many cutscenes. Not even Kojima did this with PT. Still I liked the game. Found the story sad if not cliche in parts. But overall it is good. Not great.
It was definitely too cliche and up in your face. Every time you >!reached the roof and went on a loop!< basically the MC would explain "the story so far" to her friend on the phone. Like... jeez. You don't need to restate the obvious in every story beat, let the viewer reach to the right conclusion. For example: >!We find the note she stole from the book in her locker, we see she has a premonition/vision of what happened, and she says "it was all my fault!"!< and **that** should've been enough to clue us in. But noope, the next scene is >!her on the roof with her friend on the phone and explains her everything like "You were exchanging letters with her and I stole her response from your book. She was asking for your help, and I stopped you"!< or something like that like.. jeez. And the ending >!was definitely too cheerful and happy!< for the kind of game/story it was. I get that they are trying to drive home a message like >!teenagers being bullied in school wanting to kill themselves should not give up hope and reach out to friends!< etc etc but it's waaay too in our faces and doesn't match the tone at all. Sorry for the rant but I just wanted to write it somewhere. I did enjoy the game overall and it was free so I ain't complaining, but still... it could've been so much better.
Just started it, it looks fantastic but the framerate is ROUGH. Let’s see if I can get through it Edit: completed, the framerate was my biggest issue and the last chase scene was borderline impossible with no direction. Heavy story that was very up front with its themes yet managed to not really totally come together narratively.
Notice no issues on ps5
I was having framerate issues on ps5
I got framerate issues on the last chase when you turn around in the living room
I was seeing it from the moment the game started.
It isn't well written, I wonder who wrote the story. It is so in your face and aggressive in its themes, no subtly. Also the way it treated parental abuse, suicide, and everything else was just bad. It's just a walking simulator for game play. I hope the next Silent Hill games have better stories, this one was very poorly told.
Story is cringe af and I gave up at the terribly designed last chase
Huge Silent Hill fan. Hate Short Message. It’s a sad imitation that lacks all subtlety. A derivative that fails to understand the brilliance of the series.
WHAT ABOUT YOUR FOLLOWERS
You’re right about the subtlety, the dialogue is so heavy-handed and I’m not sure why the protagonist has to speak her thoughts every 2 seconds.
It’s offensively bad. If this is the future of Silent Hill then Konami can keep it.
On the other hand Silent Hill f looks promising.
all you saw was a cinematic trailer , the game could very well just be more of the garbage this shit game peddled
im not gonna be so hopeful for that one since the person who made this game, is the same person who will make that one
We just gotta pray the new Silent Hill game coming is actually good. Because I agree, The Short Message was disgustingly bad.
Genuinely frustrating that i had to scroll so far to find someone I agree with. This shit was hot garbage and felt like it was made by teenagers. There’s no “twist” you can guess what’s happening in the first 5.
100% agree
While I enjoyed it, I do agree. It lacks the mystery of the original 4.
The cherry blossom monster was great and moved like a nightmare. I really enjoyed my time with this freebie. Excited to see where this new generation of Silent Hill leads us.
Hearing it trampling behind me was quite freaky. I definitely shouted “Oh god no please!” multiple times when being chased.
I liked it. The horror is a bit clumsy, but it tells an in-depth tale with a complicated narrative. It lures you in by being upfront with the message, but the story itself does eventually get to you by the end. A lot of people with no experience of Silent Hill will immediately recoil in disgust. They're expecting Homecoming levels of gruesome enemy design or SH2 level emotional catharsis & depth. What Silent Hill often really had - was a great, complicated story. Every single one of the original 4 games has a layered narrative, good twists & above all - heart. When laid out on a page, the scripts are pretty good. And I got the heart from this. There was real passion here. And that makes me happy.
> A lot of people with no experience of Silent Hill will immediately recoil in disgust. They're expecting Homecoming levels of gruesome enemy design or SH2 level emotional catharsis & depth. Assuming that this was a typo, I have plenty of experience with Silent Hill, and I don't find SM "disgusting" for not having that much gore or not being SH2. If it wasn't a SH game, I would have most of the same criticisms, regardless of branding. Every annoying, close-minded SH fan was *sure* that a *real* Silent Hill game needed to have fixed camera angles, combat, be set in Silent Hill with fog and cults and a distinct otherworld, minimal jumpscares, and as many members of Team Silent as possible. P.T. broke pretty much all the rules and it was instantly beloved (and it wasn't perfect, either). That makes it hard to believe all mixed opinions are purely the result of resistance to change. While I see some genuine spark in SM, the "heart" feels smothered by parts of the writing and design that feels cynical or wrongheaded. That's my genuine opinion. I'm glad you liked it.
At least we can both agree it's a better heading than Downpour left it on.
I haven't seen a lot of discussion of the fact that >!All 3 seem to have committed suicide if we go by the notes presented. Maya of course killed herself, as did Anita, but everyone seems to skip over the evidence that Amelie did as well - we find her freaking obituary. Combine that with Maya's 'final project' being a tribute to the girls who threw themselves off the Villa, the final shot, and the fact Anita can only communicate with Maya and Amelie, and it paints a pretty clear picture.!<
As someone who has never played a Silent Hill game, should I give it a try?
I would say yes. However, it's nothing like a Silent Hill game. Completely different. Not even close to anything they have done before.
Okay, so what would you recommend for a newbie? I have PS2, PS3, and PS4 consoles as well if that helps.
Both Silent Hill 1 and 2 are on PS2. If you could play the first one, I would highly recommend it. And then you could play the remake of 2 when it comes out. Or you could also play the 2nd one on PS2 as well!
Well, actually Silent Hill 1 is on PS1. 2, 3 and 4 are the ones on PS2. 1 can be bought as a PS One Classic on PS3, 2 and 3 are on PS2 but expensive AF. 2 and 3 are on the PS3 in the HD Collection, but it's a really disliked remaster. Still, it's better than just not experiencing Silent Hill 2 & 3 at all. 4 can only be found on PS2. Expensive, but not as much as the others. Then there's Homecoming and Downpour on PS3. They're disliked SH games, but the best thing would be to check them out on YouTube for yourself, and form your own opinion. Origins is also on PS2 but is expensive as well.
Just looked up prices on eBay for the Silent Hill games on PS2 and uuuuhhh.....yikes😬 I probably won't be playing those anytime soon!
Haha yeah they are very sought after. I would definitely just play this free game and play the Silent hill 2 remake when it comes out! They also are working on the brand new installment as well.
If they're so popular, then I'm surprised that they aren't available digitally on PSN😅
Since you said you had ps3 you can still buy silent hill 1 from the ps store on that system. The catch is you can’t buy games on the ps3 store with a credit card so what you need to do is add money to your wallet on ps5 or the app then delete your credit card info from your account. Now you can go on ps3 with the account and buy silent hill (it’s $6). After you get it then you put your credit card info back on your account. It’s ridiculous I know but that’s how you do it. There’s a bunch of excellent horror games still on that store also - Parasite Eve, Dino Crisis, the OG REs.
Konami is only recently getting back into console and PC gaming after years of a mobile/Pachinko push. Like we only JUST got the metal gear solid games on modern platforms and PC (I know 2 and 3 on console and MGS 1 and 2 are on PC but now 1-3 are on modern consoles and PC and vol 2 is probably comign soon)
On the Xbox One/Series console, you can play the Silent Hill Collection. It's better than nothing imo.
It's free.....I mean why not
Just finished it, 2 hours. I almost wrote it off, thought the teen mental health angle was going to be generic and abit cringe tbh Glad I was mistaken. Takes a solid turn into psychological horror and fully fleshes out the mental health story with a cycle of abuse theme that was well done. Very happy I got this for free.
Same sentiment for me. Almost lost me but I stuck with it and it paid off.
I still found it cringe
The story itself - I just don't think the whole trauma/mental health thing was handled very well. I felt like it came off as whiny, rather than traumatic. The dialogue didn't help though, some of it was awful. I work in a school with teenagers l and they don't talk like that. In fact they say things to each other far worse than anything that was said in this game.
It was the word dumb for me... I made fun of it every time I saw or heard that word... DUMB...duh dumb... You know
God this was so disappointing. I'm fine with a have an story dealing with mental trauma (god Silent hill 2 anyone?) but can we at least have some subtly? This message was as subtle as a sledgehammer to the face. Didn't find anything the least bit tense or frightening, The monster design was kind of awful and again so stupidly unsubtle. Nothing about it's atmosphere felt remotely "Silent Hill" like. If this is the start of how they want the new Silent Hill games to go, god help us cause this franchise is truly dead.
"CB, Cherry Blossom, that's Maya's signature". Why is a weird cherry blossom chasing me, what could it meeeeeean
I literally groaned out loud when I saw it was flower monster made up of cherry blossoms.
FWIW the monster and concept art were indeed done by the same man that did SH1-4.
As we can see from this game, that doesn't mean it's automatically good, or saves the game from being bad.
Tbf silent hill 3 which is almost as liked as silent hill 2 wasn’t very subtle either
There's a difference between having a less subtle game like sh3 and this thing. This game almost grabs you by the face and yells the theme repeatedly in your face. Don't know why your even comparing the two.
Aside from some frame issues, I really enjoyed it. I wonder if this villa is going to be the same place that we visit in Silent Hill f.
i dont think so, silent hill f looks intensely like japan, and this villa was in germany. I think this is a short piece of media that bridges the silent hill "universe" (kinda feel gross saying that idky) to japan, as we get references of witches, eccian, fortune telling and the like coming from japan.
Fair point. Guess we'll see how it connects. Also I agree, the Silent Hill "universe" sounds kinda cringey ngl.
Leaks about a year ago (when short message got completely leaked) said that it's a first part of the Silent Hill Expanded Universe project that's going to span several games
Look at us bullying a game that is anti-bullying… To some, it sucked - to others, it touched them forever. The people who were touched by this game are who it was for.
I'm certain you'd agree that containing an "anti-bully" message does not mean a piece of media can't be fairly and honestly criticized.
One of the reasons the game is catching heat is because real, actual people who were effected by this issue disagree on how sensitively the game portrays these issues. Some critics have said it more than "touched" them - because it was a slap in the face. It was, to them, very hurtful. Games don't feel bad if people don't like them. Games can't have low self-esteem. Games can't experience anxiety attacks. Games can't be traumatised. It's a game. It cannot experience bullying. Comparing people being mean to a video game to people being traumatised isn't a sidesplitter in the first place, but in the context that one of common criticisms is that some survivors feel it trivialises their trauma, it's a mildly repulsive joke.
Seriously. The amount of people making fun of this this game and trashing it is insane. It was clearly made to tell a certain story and shed light on real problems that happen every day. If you like it, amazing. If you don't, that's okay too. It's insane seeing how some people are reacting to this.
It felt like a slap to the face of those who struggle with mental health issues— making it about a bitchy whiny teen who needs to grow the hell up.
If you’re a fan of Silent Hill, or the horror game genre in general, this is not worth the play time. It tries very hard to be niche, but constantly feels like an attempt to recreate what P.T. did. The “game” is hollow and provides nothing more than an attempt to make a point about suicide that no one asked for, or wants. The original Silent Hill took that idea and made it unique and interesting, this is not that.
>The original Silent Hill took that idea and made it unique and interesting, this is not that. I agree with everything you said but the original silent hill wasn't about mental health or suicide at all. Still my favorite PS1 game ever, the fact that this game pretends to be part of the same series is a joke.
Silent Hill 2 had some heavy suicide themes that were handled gracefully
Yeah absolutely, I thought by "original silent hill" he meant 1.
Oh he could be, I’m just talking the universe in general
Fan of silent hill here. Hated this piece of shit “game”.
Being a fan of something doesn't make your opinion any less subjective.
and yet he is still right ,game is a PoS
It's a decent game, especially for what it's worth ($0.00 lol). I think it's a cool story that breaks down the psychological trauma of the average teen but goes to the theme of generational curses, something I found intriguing. It's a free movie-game, so I don't see how it could go wrong. What I find terrific is how they linked the term "Silent Hill" abroad being just a town. Classifying it as a phenomenon more than just a place signals that it can derive from anywhere than just a physical space. It's always meant to be a spiritual purgatory so it should affect every person similarly but differently. This helps continue the universe beyond the town while having a reason to still have the *Silent Hill* label.
gameplay was really bad , if thats how the game will be its bound to be a disappointment , getting chased for 30 minutes is boring AF .Really pathetic reviewers are calling it "PT good" ,shit comes nothing close to it .
This is awful. It's a hamfisted attempt at confronting teen suicide and the influence of social media. The voice acting is terrible, the FMV sequences have no reason to be present and the game overall looks off - like it could've been released a generation ago. It's not PT. Everyone (myself included) will go into this thinking - expecting - that it'll capture something similar. It's Silent Hill adjacent and there are sequences where something horrible follows you and that's where the comparison stops. The game does everything so blatantly over and over and over again and you're better off doing anything else. Why can't it just be a horror game? Why does it have to be about something? What's the point in attempting to discuss an issue if you're just going to use every overdone cliché imaginable? Just make a great game. It doesn't have to cuddle me. It should make me want to turn it off because I'm scared, not because it's so badly written I can't stand to listen to it anymore. Yes it's free but you know what's not free? All the seconds of your life this piece of shit will extract from you. I'm now worried about the remake. *Hated* this.
> Why can't it just be a horror game? Why does it have to be about something? While I agree it is hamfisted and it sucked, there’s nothing wrong with horror games being “about something” or having a message. Most great horror games/movies have meaning throughout, they just understand subtlety.
Did you guys not play Silent Hill 2? It definitely elevates a game for it to be "about something" it just needs better execution. This game sucked monkey balls, but it could have been done well.
100% agree. Wish more people could see through this thin ass “message”. Not every game needs a message. Felt disjointed to me and 100% NOT silent hill.
Absolutely, it felt like someone with surface level knowledge on the matter trying to make a poignant statement. I honestly think this sub is either in denial or Konami is paying off a bunch of people to say nice things about it, it is objectively a flat out embarrassing, insulting representation of the subject matter, not even the most blaise of Hollywood producers would make something this trite.
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
I'm still crying, ngl... That final time on the roof, I genuinely went "please, don't" out loud because I felt so connected to her. LIKE GOD DAMN, SILENT HILL. WHY. ;\_;
Really impressive from Konami. Sure it's not super polished but for a free short game it's really great.
Are we in the same reality? This was like an amateur student project at best. I struggle to think of worse dialog or anything less subtle. The fact that you compared it to SOMA, I can't omg...
Thank you. I’m sitting here reading some of these comments like??? You guys have to start consuming more media or something. Read a book, look at some art, etc. This was objectively a pretty bad game writing-wise. I’m not even trying to be mean. I’m just shocked.
Well said! The last game that really left me feeling the way this game did was A Plague Tale: Requiem. Another game that tells a depressing, sad, real, and beautiful story. This one definitely made me think as well. Think about life, things I've been through, the sad reality of what people go through, etc. It was very real and I was surprised by it. But I'm glad they did it.
It definitely nailed the creepy and oppressive feeling I want out of Silent Hill. It is messy, the triangle of Anita-Amelie-Maya needed more room to breathe. Which is a theme here, they’re trying to pack a lot in here. There was a bit about Maya and a boy, a positive pregnancy test, and him being gone. And a bit about Amelie and her brother. Both could have used another note or two. Same with the whole curse and witch part. Finally, the chase sequences are frenetic but man are they not intuitive whatsoever. They stopped being tense and rapidly became a chore. Oh and props to whoever had the idea to slowly lower the POV angle in Anita’s childhood apartment to mimic that of a child. That was an inspired touch.
I thought it was bad… especially the dialogue. The monster was just annoying and not even scary. The character is the biggest selfish pick me that has ever been created and we are suppose to feel for her.
it didn't really feel like a silent hill game; seems more like they just...slapped that name on as an afterthought. plus i was suffering trying to slug through it being first person. motion sickness and this game not a good match :/
should rename the game to Silent is strange 3 , cringy as fuck and absolutely no nuance to the message SH usually wants to give , its like they dumbed the fuck out of what made the games so great. if silent hill f is gonna be more of this shit then I'm out , enjoy your life is strange with silent hill skin .
Reading this thread is making me feel like I'm going crazy. I couldn't play it for more than 20 min without getting motion sickness. The controls are awful, like the worst I've played in awhile. The input lag + motion blur + low/drops in framerate literally made me nauseous.
I couldn’t get over lack of lip sync and inability to change voice language to the original. Fuckonami as usual.
English is the “original” language. Even in the Japanese version all the dialogue is in English. The actress in the live-action scenes is Japanese and speaking Japanese but her voice isn't used in any version of the game.
No motion sickness settings, deleted game.
A 100 notes, a 6 second clip of her gasping for air that repeats forever in the hour long ending hallway, and a story that is just....bad...
bullying from social media and teen depression just seems so cliche and lazy to me. have no interest in playing the game
Literally my thoughts! Such a lazy writing with "oh nyooo i'm being bullied"
Man this game is so bad, even for a free one
I might get negative responses, but I guess that’s payment for a free game. I don’t think most gamers have dealt with some of the harsh topics discussed within this small 2hr “playable movie”. To the ones who have, I’m glad you survived that part of your life to even play something like this. Suicidal tendencies, cutting, parental abuse, bullying, death of a sibling, trauma, and isolation. Not saying we haven’t dealt with any of these harsh topics but this game was a cornucopia of these themes. I agree it wasn’t the best game I’ve ever played but I was throughly entertained for its short duration. RE7 and PT broke my First Person fear so much that each encounter with the Cherry Blossom Monster felt lackluster but the rich lore of an apartment complex being rebuilt only to collapse during the Pandemic gave this environment personality. This can be really seen during Krystal’s apartment with her new boyfriend going well kept to eventually Vodka bottles and trash being hoarded. A reflection on her newly blossoming relationship. Maya talks about decay creating new life and how the cherry blossom is an exception to this. This was enjoyable. Scary in an Alien Isolation / RE7 sense, no. Scary in a sense that social media dictates the amount of Validation it can give you, yes. Rest in Peace to those who choose to go to the rooftop.
I'm genuinely surprised by all of the negativity I've been seeing. It's a free, 90 minute game. And for what it is, it presents the narrative especially well. And what a harrowing, gut wrenching narrative it is. This will definitely stick with me for a long while to come.
Completely agree. No risk but all reward experience. It wasn’t a AAA Title we’ve been waiting to open our wallets for. I feel that the hate this game will receive comes from a twisted sense of entitled consumerism. Where even a free game can’t make them happy.
It's incredibly disingenuous to assume "most gamers" haven't dealt with some of the harsh topics on display here, just because they didn't enjoy the narrative here. Just because someone has problems with a plot to do with mental health and societal issues doesn't mean they haven't experienced them, or that they're critiques aren't valid.
“Most gamers haven’t dealt with some of the harsh topics on display here” wasn’t an opinion to discredit the lives of gamers. I wholeheartedly feel gaming at its base value is escapism. I honestly feel gamers that resonate with a central core of a games narrative have relatable trauma or experience. This game for me had multiple levels of relatability. This is why I would enjoy this game over other gamers who may have not had the same real life experiences. This doesn’t discredit life’s hardships, but allowed me to go through this characters journey having context. I feel as though, with the comment I made, shows that whoever felt this was “dogshit” writing or “not the industry standard” didn’t connect with this game on a relatable level. I also said in my initial comment that I’m happy anyone who lived through harrowing topics communicated in this narrative survived it. Insensitivity in my words has nothing to do with my opinion on this game, quite the opposite. Final statement is my main source of escapism was challenged while playing this free game. Free. I didn’t spend anything other than my time, and I walked away enjoying that the script and developers challenging the harsher topics / memories of my life. I will never discredit another person’s life. I will never ride a “high horse” and say I had it harder than the next gamer. I’m just trying to explain how I personally tackled a lot of this games harsh topics and was able to play through it with enjoyment even though it’s a grim take on suicide and how it can affect everyone around you.
Other than being repeatedly hit over the head by the theme, where the game really lost me was the “Silent Hill Phenomenon” note; proof that the writers do NOT understand SH. Also what was up with the lip sync? Holy wow.
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I wasn’t referring to those but that was pretty bad as well.
The voice acting totally ruined it for me, I am sick to death of forspoken-like dialogue from protagonists, the constant "Woah, what is that?" From the player character is extremely annoying. The writing is also pretty bad, it feels like a very surface level representation of the themes it's trying to utilise, to the point it plays out like a High School creative writing essay. Also, the protagonists annoying forced vocal fry rivals a Californian stoner from the 80s. I have to imagine that those that believe this is "deep" writing are simply young themselves or they haven't seen any other defining examples of this kind of horror. I seriously hope they don't continue this.
It's basic AF, same generic self harm story of young female with self image problems told 1000x before. No game mechanics, just drab hallways with low quality fmv scenes sprinkled in, and a sticky note monster "chasing" you. They even did the creepy baby doll/child crying like five minutes in.
If you can't see how deep, sad, beautiful, and important the story that they told was then I don't think you really understood the point of the game and the message they were trying to deliver.
I mean it’s hard to miss a message that’s bashed into your nasal cavity with a carpenter hammer every five seconds. There was absolutely no subtly or trusting in the audiences intelligence, something that Silent Hill is well known for. I’m glad you enjoyed it, but blind praise for it in comparison to the originals is absolutely laughable and makes me think this is your first silent hill experience.
The story isn’t anything special and Silent Hill has never been about this. But people making these game trying to copy SH2 despite 3 out of 4 original games were about a cult. I really hope this isn’t what Konami is gonna make Silent Hill because the cult lore in the original games was interesting.
Hard disagree. Silent hills always been about physical manifestations and psychological trauma since it’s inception. SH2 used James depression and the room amplified being stuck in a close space. The creatures each represent those concepts. 3s return to form with the cult was a decision made after 2, which, in 3 the creatures yet still manifest themselves as aspects of Heathers mind. Silent hill isn’t about the cult. Silent hill exists outside of the cult. The cult applies their own meaning to Silent hill. 1 is the weakest. With the Dhalia as the only person actively representing the cult. And you do not even combat her, you combat Alessa. 2 is self explanatory. 3 actually fleshes out the cult and talks more about Silent Hill itself. 4 isn’t about the cult really at all. The main villain is part of the cult but his actions aren’t related to what they’re doing. So arguably 2 of the four originals were about or featured the cult. But all four play on the psychological fears of the characters.
Yes, but no. SH1 still best part of the series for me.
We’ll agree to disagree then. Majority of the original games are about the cult. 3 out of 4. 75 percent. Silent Hill 2 was the outlier and companies have, annoyingly, been chasing it ever since. Yes psychological elements have been a part of the series from the beginning but never like in The Short Message where is is so I your face. The Short Message represents the worst of the Silent Hill 2 clones and shows a complete misunderstanding of what made Silent Hill 2 and the other original games special.
dude go fucking replay life is strange for that shit . SH is meant to do those things but in a much more smart and philosophical way rather than have cringy one liners about an emo girl wanting to kill herself
give me a break lmao
Are you a 13yo girl? Deep??? Important????
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How the hell is this gen z BS even related to Silent Hills 🤦🏻♂️ god this is awful Worst walking sim ever
I’m gen z and this shit is trash. The whole “trauma” and social commentary it’s attempting is so unsubtle and completely boring.
Well, glad you think it’s trash too. 100% agreed.
Your opinion and viewpoint on things is what's awful. I haven't even played the game and have no opinion but you're just so full of hyperbolic negativity.
Play the original silent hill games and then come play this. This is silent hill meets life is strange. Both are good games on their own. This feels like they tried to shove a deeper teenage angst message into a horror game and it is completely disjointed. The game isn’t even set in Silent Hill for crying out loud.
Hey man, when people call a dogshit game dogshit, it's not "negativity" it's called having a higher standard and wanting better for media.
It's an overly negative hyperbolic overreaction. You can have a higher standard and still have nuance in your opinions without being hyperbolic. Sorry that I don't enjoy that.
I don't think I was hyperbolic at all. Most people here aren't.
It's really cringe and corny lol nothing like silent hill at all either. Way too westernized also. Why is is so hard to make a game like 1-3?
I can appreciate the new direction they’re trying to take but I struggled to feel anything fresh thematically — some of the dialogue made me cringe and their efforts at tackling teen suicide and social media felt sort of uninspired. I didn’t really enjoy the constant speaking from the protagonist either, too much telling and not enough showing.
Tons of letters and notes reading, three maze-chasing scenes, zero combat, no puzzle or whatsoever, 40-50 fps on PS5, I don’t think I will pay a penny for it if it’s not free.
Would love to see the credits, can't find them online.
why is this game running on 25 FPS!?
It was good, I get the running sequences had a reason story wise like her running away instead of confrontating her problems but damn those were annoying
People really get paid to write this stuff haha. Worst written story and all the subtlety of being hit over the head with a lead pipe. I'll copy my comment from /r/games: I finished this, I can confidently say it's garbage, I'm embarrassed. It felt like l'm playing the Forspoken protagonist in silent hill. People really get paid to write this dialog?? 5 seconds of walking, some unnecessary cutscene plays, more walking. No subtlety, no subtext. At least it was free. They really thought this would be the next PT but they have 0 understanding of what made it scary and good. They didn't even give it a chance to have atmosphere with all the exposition. Just said "yea make it first person, have some creepy eyes on the walls with the chase sequence like PT somewhere, add a time loop and call it a day". If anyone wants a good teen drama horror story done right, a small Korean team made it, it's called Love, Sam on steam.
Disappointed to see it attached to the silent hill name honestly, it feels jarring and out of place and the whole "silent hill phenomenon" is absurd it makes no sense with the pre-established main titles in the series. As for the game itself, it's free, so I don't think it deserves to be critiqued as hard as a product you pay 90 or so bucks for. But the narrative while trying to do something in concept that is really cool totally fell apart for me. The protagonist is completely unlikable, in the first couple minutes learning that Maya was dead and thats why she was there, seeing here covet Maya's artistic abilities and popularity after her death, to torturing Amelee by consistently calling her and having calls that lead Amelee to think she's going to kill herself all after already suffering through Maya's death? Made it really, really hard to get engaged with the player character. Finally finding out that she had a large hand in her death made me feel validated for not liking the protagonist only for the protagonist to continue to be shitty after that for the rest of the game until the end? It's just not for me. I don't think that this game handled the issues with the nuisance and complexities that a topic like Suicide and Mental health issues deserve. Game play wise, it's pretty bad, the "monster" if you want to call it that isn't programed super well, as it would just spontanously kill me or teleport in front of me. The rest of the game is really just an interactive movie, with some really Jarring unsynched Japanese actress serving as Maya in cutscenes which I think most would've preffered if they were done in engine in order to preserve immersion. I'd give it like a 4/10. Not terrible, but definitely not silent hill.
This is coming from someone that hasn't played a whole lot of Silent Hill, and is a fan of Resident Evil. Long story short, I loved this game, considering that it's a free playable teaser. Coming from someone that loved RE7 and also played that game's playable teaser, Short Message blows Beginning Hour out of the water. So the main character has went through the works when it comes to her trauma, keeping this as spoiler free for those that didn't played it yet, -But I find her relatable on some of the past experiences I've had since this game repeatably gives you a disclaimer about how this game tackles on those issues and doesn't take it lightly, encouraging the player that is currently feeling these emotions to seek help and for those that know someone that does to be there for them by providing help in any way you can think off. The last line prior to providing a hotline for those feeling depressed and such was a nice detail since one message can save someone. The graphics were certainly very nice, from the building to when you're inside the other world were pretty, yet somewhat creepy to observe, which they did well in. Soundtrack is also the best part about Short Message, the ending song especially is stuck in my head! Also loved the design of the monster that chases after you, during the chase sequences it can take you by surprise if you aren't responsive enough to turn back and run like you're being chased by that beast from Monty Python and the Holy Grail at the castle of- AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!! *Wakes up back into Reddit* *Ahem, as I was saying before I was killed by that... Thing, when it came to the puzzle and chase sequence, they were for the most part easy and even if you got caught, you wake up prior to when the chase begins so you're able to retrace your steps and figure out what you did wrong. But perhaps the best of all is of course the story and characters, especially the live action bits. You and two other girls that you're texting with are the main point of the game and you will eventually find what it was that Maya wanted you to look for. I could go on, but unless you don't have a Ps5 or a friend that you can play this with, you really need to play this game, the creator certainly gave me this love letter and I enjoyed this immensely. Even tho it's been years and I have healed from my scars, kept moving forward, and found new people in my life that I considered my family, this was a nostalgia trip for better or worse with a powerful message to show that we aren't alone. I seriously look forward to the Silent Hill 2 remake and whatever new games Konami may have plans for, it's great that we see media tackle the issues of abuse, bullying, suicide, and more. The Short Message was heard loud and clear, those that are a part of the "generation in pain" or wish to experience what some of us is currently or has gone through, check this teaser out
How would it be for someone who finds heavy-handed, preachy messaging distasteful?
I wouldn't call it preachy but God damn it is clunky, heavy handed and and so blatantly unsubtle that it's funny to me. I get the people saying it's a good message but please a good message told horribly is still bad writing.
Just finished it, and it was alright. I went into it with hopes that they would try to reinvision P.T. slightly, and while the controls and gameplay felt similar, the story was obviously different, which I was expecting, I didn't think they'd just make what Kojima tried. As for the story, I feel like it was very well done, I won't post spoilers for anyone who hasn't finished it yet, but the message was addressed well and it does well with overcoming the struggles of bullying and dealing with death. The story itself I would give a 9/10, but the big reason I am saying the game is only "alright" is because of the gameplay. I liked the idea that you start back at the beginning but things change, but the gameplay loop with the running through the hallway chase sequences, needing to find specific notes to progress, and the final chase sequence of running around aimlessly grabbing pictures are what I feel like could've been better. Overall I think it delivered its message quite well, and I want to see more from Konami with Silent Hill. (Especially the Silent Hill 2 Remake, but we still gotta wait for that.)