During the Playstation presentation last week there was the surprise announcement that Silent Hill: The Short Message had not only been shadow dropped and was available to play, but also it was free. Heavily inspired by the infamous Silent Hills P.T demo, this two hour game isn't perfect, but is a huge step in the right direction after the inadvertent horror that is Silent Hill: Ascension. Being a giant Silent Hill fan, I think I am well placed to give an accurate view of this mini-game, it certainly doesn't deserve some of the over the top criticism some reviews have heaped on it.
You play as troubled teenager Anita (voiced by Fadile Waked), who has been asked to meet her artist friend Maya (Haruka Sakaguchi) at an abandoned apartment complex that is a popular hang-out spot for teens. Unable to locate her friend, Anita begins to explore the apartment complex, and unknown to her, begins a slide into a Hell dimension where she is forced to confront her many perceived past sins.
I had zero expectations for this new game and went into it having avoided anything at all about what the game would be like. Inspirations from the P.T demo are very apparent. The game takes place in a first person perspective, features a looping structure that sees you go through the same area of rooms over three separate chapters, and is far more focussed on psychological horror than anything more action based. Walking simulator is often a term used to put something down, but that is a genre with some great games in it (What Remains of Edith Finch, Paranormal Activity: The Lost Soul spring to mind). This falls into that sub-genre of horror and is a solid example of one of those. The game unfortunately isn't scary on the whole, I even waited until around midnight to play this in order to get the optimum experience. It does have a low level feeling of oppressive atmosphere with the abandoned apartment building feeling suitably ominous. I liked the backstory to the place and the town itself, with the apartment complex a suicide hotspot for troubled teens. It is created with some often wonderful looking graphics, each room daubed in graffiti and covered in piles of trash. The core of the game has you exploring these rooms and corridors, reading diary entries and getting constant messages on your mobile phone from your friends Maya and Amelie (Debora Uehara) There are a few slight puzzles to solve, such as working out a combination lock for a locker, and then there are set moments where you find yourself pursued down labyrinthian corridors by a fantastically designed monster that resembles a humanoid woman covered in cherry blossom petals.
These sections really brought to mind a similar idea from Silent Hill: Downpour (I was one of the few who actually really liked that one!), of having your character auto-running while pursued by something that will instant kill you should it catch up. These moments have been described as frustrating, but I really liked the change in pace, with the first person perspective and sound design combining to make it feel like you are constantly on the verge of being caught by the monstrous pursuer.
It isn't all fantastic however, and unfortunately part of that is down to the story. The Short Message prides itself on trying to tackle some serious subjects in a sensitive way, but ends up beating the player over the head a bit with its many themes it tries to stuff into the two hour game. In addition to a message at the game's start talking about what to do if someone you know is struggling with mental health problems, this same message pops up again at the end of each chapter, initially making me think I had reached the end when I was far from there. The topics were interesting, but shoving so many of them together made things seem a little bit over the top. Self harm, neglect, emotional, physical and sexual abuse, suicide, social media toxicity and pressure, depression, bullying and more are all themes explored, with all three main characters having parts of these as their backstory. I thought playing as a teenager trapped in a Silent Hill style Hell dimension was neat (the game takes place in a troubled German town, but isn't the first not to be set in that titular location), and it was also interesting to play the role of someone who self harms, having struggled with that myself for a decade or so in my earlier years.
Some of the ways the story is told were neat, Anita's sole object she has is her mobile phone, which is used to light her way. I thought the aspects of reliance on this technology felt cool for a Silent Hill game, but the messages between her and her friends didn't read as believable due to how cheesy they were all written. Other parts of the story are done via live action scenes of Maya talking to you. It was super distracting that Maya was obviously heavily dubbed, and also that the voice given to her and other characters had an American accent despite being set in Germany. Still, live action cutscenes in a Silent Hill game was something I felt was very cool.
I would be lying if I said I didn't enjoy Silent Hill: The Short Message. It looks great, feels just about suitably Silent Hill-ish, includes a wonderfully designed monster, and tackles some often side-lined topics. It's a shame the way the story is told can lack nuance at times, and would have been nice to have this in German with subtitles. Not a complete return to form, but for a free experience, this was a step in the right direction, and was something I am glad to have played.
SCORE:
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