While the reception for Silent Hill: The Short Message has been mixed, to say the least, it’s still racking up the downloads on PS5.

Silent Hill: The Short Message hits a milestone

The free game, marking the series’ return for its 25th anniversary, has been downloaded over one million times since PlayStation’s State of Play last week, where it was first revealed and released.

Konami announced the milestone on social media.

It certainly shows the hunger for more Silent Hill is there, and despite a vocal disdain for The Short Message from some quarters, it’s connected with others.

It sees legendary composer Akira Yamaoka return to score a Silent Hill game again, and creator Masahiro Ito is also involved in the modern spin on the formula.

The story of Silent Hill The Short Message is detailed below.

Following messages from her friend Maya, Anita finds herself at a crumbling apartment block, infamous for rumors of suicides. Drawn inside, Anita soon finds her sense of reality shattered as she encounters bizarre, otherworldly spaces, haunted by a twisted monster. Maya’s message was clear — “can’t leave til you find it” — but what is it that Anita is really looking for?

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25 years ago, Silent Hill made waves on the PlayStation and enlightened the world of video game horror, helping to shape the future classics of the genre. Long before the renaissance of heroic and caring video game dads, Harry Mason was looking for his daughter in a fog-ridden town, facing down hellish monsters while fear ran rampant, but he wouldn’t let anything stand in his way. Team Silent worked hard to make their protagonist the everyman, but he was also a complex and engaging character.

Harry is a novel writer, intelligent and practical, but willing to believe in things he may not fully understand. He’s physically capable, able to make quick decisions, and decent enough with a gun to defend himself, but he’s far from an action hero. What makes him stronger is his devotion to his adopted daughter, Cheryl, who he and his wife, Jodie, found on the side of the road. With his ward gone missing in the corrupted town after a car accident, he braves the dangers and embarks on a mission to save her, never losing focus of that goal. He doesn’t seem religious, even with some of the apparent demonic influence and black magic he encounters. He’s rationalizing what they’ve seen, opening up believing in the Otherworld, but pessimism certainly acts as a cornerstone of his beliefs. Harry worries constantly about his daughter’s safety, which leads him to give his child a stun gun when she’s older and kill a cult member to keep her a secret, but that’s later on. 

“I don’t like this feeling. Like something bad will happen… No doubt, something terrible is going on.”

There are a lot of parents who say they’ll do anything for their children, but few people are asked to literally go through a nightmarish hellscape and battle a god. He’s a single father, as Jodie passed away four years prior, but at no point does Harry question his purpose or reconsider his actions for the child they took in. During his adventure, Harry encounters other residents of Silent Hill, most of them women with vastly different personalities. Potentially, these ladies remind Harry of his daughter, or at least the type of woman she could become. Not all of them have Harry’s best interest in mind, but that’s fine. They aren’t his primary concern either.

Our protagonist does have his moments where he can be despondent, blinded by his goals, and slightly caustic, especially in some of his conversations with his allies. Players see a prominent example of Harry’s coldness in his final conversation with Lisa Garland, who is really going through it at the end. She’s one of the most interesting and tragic characters in the game, but the moment Harry realizes that she might be a part of the darker world he’s seen, he refuses to embrace or comfort her, even pushing her back as she cries. He shuts her in the room, bracing against the door while Lisa bangs on it. It’s heartbreaking, but also hard to blame him, as she could have attacked Harry or become another obstacle in the way of reaching Cheryl.

We also see this in his willingness to slay Cybil Bennett, a police officer who is stuck in Silent Hill as well and becomes the victim of a parasite that forces her to attack Harry. The player can either acquire items to save her from the menace or simply murder her. I always felt that Cybil was a great character for what little time she had on screen, and I tried to help her (though I failed the first time). It turns out that canonically, she was slain by Harry, who does show remorse concerning her death and questions why it had to happen, but it feels like there had to be another way. In the end, Harry can’t save his daughter if he’s dead, and we cannot question his dedication, no matter how many other bodies are stacked up in the process. 

“Cheryl is my daughter. I will save her. No matter what.”

The game has multiple endings, even one that involves Harry being abducted by aliens. In my recent replaying, I made sure to get the Good+ scenario, which sees Cybil saved, Dr. Michael Kaufmann dealt with, and a chance for Harry to raise his daughter again, but I know that’s not the real outcome. The canonical conclusion sees Harry escape with the child, with no Cybil, making it back to the highway and questioning everything he just witnessed, but that isn’t the ending I preferred for many years.

I’m actually in favor of the Bad ending, partially because it was the outcome I received the first time I ever played the game, but also it seemed the most fitting for Harry’s story and his life as a writer. In this version, the player doesn’t do Kaufmann’s sidequest and kills Cybil, which means we fight a different form of the final boss, our own daughter, who thanks us for ending her pain. Instead of running out or taking a portal, we see our hero crumble, face down, and questioning how this could have happened as the place collapses around him. Then, after the credits, we observe one final shot of Harry back in his jeep at the site of the accident from the beginning of the game. His head is bloody, and the horn is sounding, as we realize he’s died from the wreck and everything we just did was his final thoughts of trying to save his daughter, all created in his head from his hyperactive imagination or as a defense mechanism to combat the realization he was dying. It makes this line from earlier in the game hit harder. 

“Was that another dream? Did I pass out again? I don’t want to think so, but maybe this is all just going on in my head. I could have had a car accident, and now I’m lying unconscious in a hospital bed… I don’t know what’s real anymore…”

I find that outcome compelling, even if it doesn’t align with later games or explain what happened to Cheryl in that version. Something about the inescapable dread and weight of the nightmare that is Silent Hill makes that ending feel right. Even if it means we failed, and Harry had no chance of making it, that’s a solid story. Harry is a good father, but he’s a complicated man who deserves an equally weighty ending. Janky combat, annoying puzzles, tank controls and all, I will always love Harry’s nightmare, even if I like to play with the outcomes a little.

The post Silent Hill 25 Years Later: Harry Situations appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

The Australian Classification Board has rated Silent Hill: The Short Message MA15+ and heavily detailed what the game is about. To the point it outlines a lot of the story.

The story details match those revealed earlier this year by DuskGolem after the game was first rated for PS5 late in 2022

It’s revealed that the game is a first-person exploration psychological horror set in an apartment building known as The Villa in modern-day Germany. The story follows a woman named Anita who is searching for clues that might tell her what happened to her lost friend.

If you’d like to retain any mystery beyond that about Silent Hill: The Short Message, I would advise you to read no further as this essentially lays out the entire plot, and the contents are potentially upsetting.

Spoilers Ahead

Below are the classification details for Silent Hill: The Short Message. They delve quite deep into the heavy theme of suicide and explain key aspects of the plot.

Rated MA15+ for Strong suicide themes, horror violence, and coarse language

An exploration‑based psychological horror game in which players control characters in an apartment building called The Villa in modern‑day Germany. The player assumes the role of a young woman, Anita, who must explore The Villa through first‑person gameplay in order to collect clues and uncover what has happened to her friend. Anita is exploring a bathroom environment which features a bathtub filled with bloody water, blood‑splattered tiles and a razor blade on a bloodied sink. Upon examining a razor, Anita experiences a flashback. In a cutscene depicted through a first‑person point of view, a voice yells, “This is all your fault! Bad things happen because of YOU!” and a hand holding the razor enters the frame.

The character’s left arm enters the frame with horizontal scars evident across the character’s wrist. The scene cuts to a black screen before the razor makes contact with the character’s wrist. The following shot features an image of the character’s left arm with old and fresh scars. In a cut scene depicted through a mixture of third‑person and first‑person shots, the player character stands on the edge of the building’s rooftop, looking down. It is implied that Maya committed suicide by jumping off the ledge of the rooftop.

The player character, in a distressed state of mind, speculates that she will never compare to Maya. Echoes of her mother’s abusive tirades are heard in the background as Anita prepares to jump and says, “Maybe I can be like her… Here goes…” In a first‑person shot, her feet are seen near the edge of the ledge before, in a third‑person shot, she steps off and begins to fall. Throughout the game, cutscenes depicting self‑harm and suicide are followed by black screens which feature white text encouraging players to seek treatment and help if they are at risk of self‑harm and suicide and to offer support if they see people around them struggling.

In the Board’s opinion, depictions of suicide and self‑harm within the game occur in the broader context of discourse exploring issues revolving around mental health which encourages players to seek help or offer support to those in need. As such, the impact of the depictions does not exceed strong in impact and can be accommodated within the MA15+ classification.

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Interactive streaming series Silent Hill: Ascension isn’t off to a great start if backlash over its microtransactions is anything to go by. The series premiered on Halloween and is free to stream, but it is riddled with microtransactions that players say soil the experience.

What’s going on with Silent Hill: Ascension microtransactions?

First, there’s a $20 Founders Pack that includes a Season Pass of sorts, access to all puzzles, cosmetics, and emotes. Then, there are “Influence Points” (IP) that players pay real money for and use to influence decisions. Viewers can earn IP by doing things like logging in daily, but that only nets a small amount. Players are concerned that folks who spend a good chunk of money on IP will sway the on-screen decisions.

Developer Genvid disputes this, however. “The Influence Point packs are intentionally small to prevent any individual user from overwhelming decisions,” CEO Jacob Navok said in a statement to IGN. “Instead, IP packs are focused on cosmetic unlocks and collections that are completely voluntary and unrelated to the narrative control.” Navok also published a series of tweets clarifying the confusion surrounding microtransactions.

Konami has not commented on the controversy.

Earlier today, Sony announced that weekly compilations of Silent Hill: Ascension will be available exclusively to PS5 and PS4 players 24 hours ahead of other platforms via Sony Pictures Core.

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After years of rumors, Konami finally announced multiple Silent Hill games except something called “The Short Message” that has been confirmed by rating boards. Silent Hill: The Short Message was first leaked by known insider Dusk Golem, who has now leaked its story details.

This article contains spoilers so read on at your own risk.

What’s Silent Hill: The Short Message all about?

According to Dusk Golem, The Short Message’s protagonist is a 17-year-old named Anita, who doesn’t have any friends in school with the exception of one girl named Maya. Anita and Maya have been friends since childhood but end up growing apart because Anita has been behaving rather strangely. One example of her strange behavior that Dusk Golem provided is “looking at shocking things on the internet.”

Things apparently take a turn for the worst when Maya is found dead one day from an apparent suicide. Disturbed by her death, Anita sets out to figure out what happened to Maya while battling her own demons. Things certainly aren’t what they seem and Anita is determined to uncover the truth.

According to Dusk Golem, the last time they heard anything about The Short Message’s plot was in 2020 so things may have changed.

The post Silent Hill: The Short Message Story Details Reportedly Leaked appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

Reports have surfaced that Sony Interactive Entertainment has struck an exclusivity deal with Konami for the rumored Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater Remake, Silent Hill games, and a new Castlevania. Silent Hill 2 remake has already been confirmed as a time-limited PS5 console exclusive, and MGS has been rumored to be the same. However, this is the first we’ve heard about a new Castlevania release potentially being a PS5 console exclusive.

Konami has yet to confirm Metal Gear Solid 3 Remake

The latest report comes from Windows Central’s Jez Corden and has been partially corroborated by VideoGamesChronicles’ Andy Robinson.

Much like Silent Hill, rumors about MGS 3 Remake have been swirling for a number of years, but Konami has yet to officially confirm anything. However, the company has previously expressed its desire to breathe new life into its beloved franchises. In the case of Silent Hill, Konami announced multiple new projects in collaboration with external partners.

Before E3 2023 was canceled, it was reported that Konami would unveil a new Castlevania game as well as MGS 3 Remake at the event. Now, the games are expected to be showcased at an upcoming PlayStation event by the end of May or early June.

Considering the aforementioned franchises’ history on PlayStation, a PC and PS5-only release doesn’t seem like a stretch, but only time will tell if these rumors are true or not.

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Sam Barlow, the writer for prior Silent Hill games, is concerned that the Silent Hill 2 remake by Bloober Team cannot be done “without upsetting people.” Having worked on Silent Hill: Origins and Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, Barlow is actually excited to see how the developer will change and modernize the classic horror game, but he also believes that doing a remaster of it is “like the biggest poison chalice in videogames.”

Bloober Team said it would take “a very safe approach” to the Silent Hill 2 Remake

Speaking with PCGamesN at GDC 2023, Barlow believes that the Silent Hill 2 remake is a difficult task to fulfill:

Personally, I’m less excited about playing a remaster. It’s also like the biggest poison chalice in videogames, doing a remaster of Silent Hill 2. I mean, good luck to them because I don’t know how you can do that without upsetting people.

Silent Hill 2 is definitely a classic that many fans don’t want altered in any major way, which is mainly the reason why Bloober Team stated in January that it would be playing things safe for the remaster. At the time, the developer said that it wants to “remain faithful to the original title.”

That said, Barlow is excited that Konami is finally using the Silent Hill brand “as a platform to have a range of interesting psychological horror games.” In particular, he is very interested in what developer No Code has brewing for Silent Hill Townfall.

In October 2022, Konami also announced Silent Hill f, which is set in 1960’s Japan, in addition to the real-time interactive series Silent Hill: Ascension.

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Actor Jeremy Irvine has been cast in the Return to Silent Hill movie as James Sunderland, who is also the protagonist of Silent Hill 2. Actress Hannah Emily Anderson has been cast in the film as well, likely as Mary, but it’s actually unclear what her name will be in this horror reboot.

Return to Silent Hill plot will follow Silent Hill 2

As noted by Deadline, the story for Return to Silent Hill will more or less be directly adapted from the classic Silent Hill 2, originally released on PlayStation 2 in 2001. Jeremy Irvine, an English actor who some may recognize for his work in War Horse (2011) and the Treadstone TV series (2021) from the world of Jason Bourne, will play James who receives a strange letter from “his one true love” that leads him to Silent Hill.

• Buy Silent Hill on Blu-ray on Amazon
• Buy Silent Hill Revelation on Blu-ray on Amazon

Director Christophe Gans, who directed the original Silent Hill film, describes the movie as “a mythological love story” and reveals that some of the iconic monsters from the game will be reimagined with “new designs.” He hopes that Return to Silent Hill and the Silent Hill 2 remake “will propel the franchise forward.” Filming will begin in April in Germany and Eastern Europe.

Gans revealed that he was working on a Silent Hill movie all the way back in February 2020, and even disclosed that Konami was working on several Silent Hill games before their announcement. It likely took this long for the movie to start production, because Konami wanted this film and the new Silent Hill games “to help marketing and engagement” with one another.

The post Return to Silent Hill Movie Finally Casts James Sunderland Actor appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

Back in September, the Game Rating and Administration Committee of Korea rated Silent Hill: The Short Message for unspecified platforms. The project was expected to be officially announced during Konami’s Silent Hill Transmission showcase held in October, but was mysteriously missing from the event. Now, it has been rated specifically for the PS5 by the same rating board.

What is Silent Hill: The Short Message?

The Korean rating board update was first spotted by Gematsu, and doesn’t reveal much else other than it’s headed to the PS5. The rumored Bloober Team project is a remake of Silent Hill 2, Then, there’s Silent Hill: Ascension – a real-time interactive series. The rumored Annapurna Interactive project is called Silent Hill: Townfall, and finally, there’s Silent Hill f – a new story set in Japan in the 1960s.

So far, the only plausible theory is that The Short Message is the demo code named Sakura that was leaked a while ago, but there’s no official word on this from Konami yet. The publisher has said that it has more new Silent Hill projects coming in the future from multiple “talented teams” so it remains to be seen if The Short Message is that leaked demo or yet another upcoming Silent Hill game.

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During the Silent Hill Transmission yesterday, Konami revealed the Silent Hill 2 Remake, three new Silent Hill games, a movie, and plenty of other merchandise. However, it seems like they’re not finished there. During the stream, Konami Producer Motoi Okamoto revealed there will be more games on the way as they partner with other “equally talented” developers.

Four new Silent Hill games aren’t enough

All of the games revealed during the Transmission are collaborations with other developers. Silent Hill 2 Remake is in the hands of Bloober Team, Silent Hill: Townfall is the responsibility of Annapurna Interactive and No Code Studios, and Silent Hill f is being created by NeoBards Entertainment. Meanwhile, the Silent Hill: Ascension real-time interactive series is being developed by Genvid, Bad Robot Games, Behaviour, and DJ2 Entertainment. There will be more games on the way, though, with even more developers brought into the fold. When asked if there will be any more partners besides those already revealed, Okamoto replied: “I can’t say yet, but we plan to expand our partnerships in the future with equally talented teams.”

One of those new Silent Hill games could be the recently leaked Silent Hill: The Short Message. Recently rated in Korea, the game was conspicuously absent from yesterday’s Transmission. Rumored to be a teaser demo akin to P.T., insider Lance McDonald claims the reason behind its absence could be because of a leak that has revealed around an hour of footage. Only time will tell if the game/demo turns out to be a reality.

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