Silent Hill: The Short Message Spiel

by Rian

Silent Hill is finally back with a new game after a fumbled P.T.. With Silent Hill 2 Remake on the horizon, The Short Message is a good starter for any players to get back to the series, what it meant to play a Silent Hill game and what that town held for characters. The Short Message does not ask for all prior knowledge of the series as this is free and too short to be a full-priced game to begin with, but fans of the series can find trivia of the town Silent Hill and the game franchise in the game.

As a short game, the game is limited with short time frame. The problem lies within, however, as the game introduces subjects that it simply cannot develop within the limited playtime: generational abuse, domestic abuse, teenage anxiety, school bullying, xenophobia, cyberbullying, the list just goes on. The creature therein is a culmination of the combined fears; and as the player is trying to run away, the tension does persuade a sense of urgency while hush up some frustrations.

The game’s special maneuver to introduce stack of themes by reciting them falls short with how quickly the subject matter grows. Unfortunately, this is intended experience. The chase sequence expects players to live through the overwhelming torment, but the repeated experience quickly desensitizes the overwhelming urgency. Imagine an unending game of Simon; after few hours of playing, most players would learn the beginning patterns as it becomes part of the muscle memory. What these stacking maneuverer has accomplished inevitably leads the players to become desensitized to the themes of horrors, then the elements of horror, one after the other, become a mere noise for the players.

Conclusions: Stretched Message

It doesn’t help the fact that Konami wanted the game controversy-free. In every corner of the game, it flashes PSA on suicide and suicide hotlines. It is commendable effort on Konami’s part to ensure players can safely enjoy the game. However, knowing full well the game is built on the idea of isolation, on the idea of repeated torment, horror seems to take the back seat in the face of public safety.