Shaun M Jooste 
Silent Hill: The Short Message Review | PS5 Horror Gaming
Our Silent Hill: The Short Message review captures the story, gameplay, visuals, sound, and more. Should you play this free horror game?
Operating System: PlayStation 5
Application Category: Game
3.5
Welcome to our Silent Hill: The Short Message review! HexaDrive and Konami co-developed this first-person horror survival horror game that launched on 31 January 2024 for free on the PS5. It features sensitive scenes and themes, specifically concerning suicide and depression.
While I could have presented this review of Silent Hill: The Short Message on the day of the launch, I decided to give my thoughts a few days to mull over the experience. Now that I know how I feel about it, it’s time for you to see what the horror game is like and what you are or aren’t missing out on.
PLEASE NOTE: I recommend not reading my Silent Hill: The Short Message review if you’re triggered by thoughts of suicide and chronic depression. Please contact a help centre near you if you suffer from such thoughts.
Silent Hill: The Short Message Review Part 1 // A Disturbing Story
The most exciting part of my Silent Hill: The Short Message review (for me) is evaluating the story. While it’s a short horror game, there’s a lot going on in the storyline to keep you intrigued. Let me show you some glimpses of what’s happening in the plot. The rest is for you to discover.
Silent Hill in another country
While the game’s name makes you think you’re going to Silent Hill, you’re not. You’re in a German town called Kettenstadt, which has suffered for many years from economic depression following the COVID pandemic. The only hint of our famous haunted town is when you find a letter discussing the “Silent Hill” phenomenon, where a fog sets in, and people become delusional and see monsters. I guess this sets the stage like Marvel credits foreshadowing for the upcoming Silent Hill f, set to take place in Japan.
Forgotten memories
The main character (shall we call her the antagonist?) is Anita. When you wake up in an abandoned apartment building, she somehow has forgotten what she’s been up to, how she landed up there, and the misery she caused in the recent past. It’s a convenient overused plot trick found in a few Silent Hill games, giving you the chance to learn her story as the game progresses.
The Key Characters
You’ve already met Anita, just mentioned in my Silent Hill: The Short Message review. In Chapter 1, you’ll learn about Maya, a Japanese friend you spent time with, going by the nickname Cherry Blossom. Then you’ll learn about another friend Amelie, who was part of your circle. Your mom also plays a key role in the game, becoming the end-Chapter boss that chases after you so she can kill you. I won’t mention any of these characters’ stories, as I want you to play the game to find out.
Depressions and Suicide
As indicated before at the start of my Silent Hill: The Short Message review, the central themes are depression and suicide. You find newspaper clippings, books, and notes that inform you how everyone in the German town went through an economic depression. The specific focus is on the apartment building where you live where teenage girls committed suicide by jumping from the roof. Also of note is how much the girls wanted people to like their social media posts, and how the absence of this validity is what drove them further into depression.
Similarities to previous Silent Hill games
If you’ve watched my Silent Hill: The Short Message review video, you’ll notice I put the mic on for commenting along the one. One of the key aspects I discuss is similarities with other games in the franchise. Here are the top three I related to:
- P.T. Demo / Cancelled Silent Hills: The Short Message is in first-person perspective, which is what Silent Hills was going to be like. There’s a part in the game where you walk through Anita’s house a few times to uncover what her mom did to her. It plays out the same as Silent Hills, but without as much depth in the complexity of puzzles and clues.
- Silent Hill 4 – The Room: There were only brief moments of this connection, such as replaying the same locations with a darker atmosphere or the spiral staircase heading downwards.
- Silent Hill – Shattered Memories: From the moment I saw the trailer up until writing this Silent Hill: The Short Message review, this is the game I kept saying is the most similar. You also had to investigate clues and uncover what was happening, followed by fast chase scenes to avoid monsters.
How long to play Silent Hill: The Short Message?
It took me roughly about 2 hours to complete Silent Hill: The Short Message, but I had small breaks to get my food or deal with pets in between. I’ve seen others clock in at about 90 minutes, but 2 hours is a safe bet if you’re taking it easy.
Silent Hill: The Short Message Review Part 2 // Linear Gameplay
The second part of my Silent Hill: The Short Message review examines the gameplay elements. You won’t find me discussing as much as the story side, because there isn’t much to discuss. So, let’s head straight into it.
Basic gameplay with no combat
One of the most disappointing elements of Silent Hill: The Short Message is that there’s no combat. I’m one to rather face my demons in horror games instead of running away from them. Most of the game consists of exploring and uncovering what happened in the apartment building, and the rest is spent running away from your monster mommy. You either escape or you die.
Easy puzzles to solve
For my Silent Hill: The Short Message review, I found most of the puzzles to be quite basic. When you find a locker with a combination lock, you already know to look around for the numbers somewhere in the location. There wasn’t a puzzle that had me so stumped I needed to resort to YouTube (thank heavens). Basically, the whole game is a puzzle, where you replay locations until you discover the dark truth of what really happened.
To Run or Not to Run: It’s not in your control
The most frustrating part you’ll hear me complain about the most in my Silent Hill: The Short Message review video is that I can’t run in the exploration locations. I spend time going back and forth to make sure I don’t miss anything, but then want to speed up to get back to where I was. The game forces you to run with the boss chase scenes, whether you like it or not. I’m not fond of this forced gameplay and would have liked toggling movement speed.
Is Silent Hill: The Short Message scary?
In short, no: Silent Hill: The Short Message is not that scary if you’re used to playing horror games. Sure, there are a few jump scares that may make your heart beat a bit faster, but this game relies more on suspense than outright gore and violence. Escaping the chasing boss is just another puzzle rather than something to fear. Plus, the boss isn’t even that iconic, not even close to the likes of Pyramid Head from SH2 or Twin Victim from SH4.
Silent Hill: The Short Message Review Part 3 // Atmospheric Sound and Visuals
Alright, you’ve reached the penultimate segment of my Silent Hill: The Short Message review. If Konami got anything right, it’s the visuals and the sound. They create excellent tones for what’s coming and that air of suspense I mentioned before.
What Silent Hills / P.T. Demo promised in visuals
When it comes to the visuals, you’ll find me mentioning a few times in my Silent Hill: The Short Message review video how much I love the graphics. It’s what we loved in the P.T. Demo and hoped for in the cancelled Silent Hills. Ever since Resident Evil dared to go first-person with horror games in RE7, Silent Hill fans were wishing for the same. I’m really impressed with what the design team achieved. Masahiro Ito returns as the game’s monster designer.
Real acting in video cutscenes
Also of note for my Silent Hill: The Short Message review is that you’ll actually see the real actors in the video cutscenes. It adds a different touch to the game, but you’ll mostly see Maya more than any of the other characters.
Akira Yamaoka strikes again with stunning music
If you know anything about the Silent Hill brand, you’ll know that Akira Yamaoka is the master behind all of the most popular songs from past games. He returns with more stunning music and background sound themes for various locations, which adds to the suspense. It’s good to have him at the helm of sound again.
Brilliant voice acting, poor lip-syncing
I also loved the voice acting of the various characters, as you could hear the emotion in their voices. However, there were moments when their lips on the videos didn’t quite match the words, or they didn’t seem to be enunciating words properly. At times, I wasn’t sure if this was deliberate or just poor video editing.
Silent Hill: The Short Message Review // Final Verdict
That’s it for my detailed Silent Hill: The Short Message review. Overall, it was fantastic to play a new Silent Hill game again. If I had written this review on day 1, I probably would have given it full marks simply for being a SH title. However, there are many areas that could have been improved, and now I expect more from a franchise I still love and adore.
Should you play Silent Hill: The Short Message? Well, it’s free, so I don’t see why not. It’s an enjoyable experience, even if it’s not that scary. At least it gives you a taste of the haunted town we’ve grown to love so much.
Pros // What I Liked
- Hints of previous Silent Hill games
- Atmospheric music
- Stunning graphics
- Engaging story
- It’s free!
Cons // What I Didn’t Like
- Short gameplay
- Non-challenging puzzles
- Annoying boss chase scenes
- We’re not in Silent Hill anymore
- No combat
Read our Silent Hill-inspired horror novel!
Now that my Silent Hill: The Short Message review is over, why not check out my horror novel inspired by the franchise. Sacred Valley: Betrayal is the first book in The Boatman Saga of 7 planned titles, which captures the essence of Silent Hill. As a matter of fact, you can see it as an alternate universe or even a town encountering the same “Silent Hill Phenomenon” mentioned in The Short Message. I hope you enjoy reading it!
