The beginning of 2024 witnessed amazing brand-new games like Palworld and Enshrouded. It also saw the arrival of a new Silent Hill game, The Short Message. Here’s everything you need to know about the return of the classic franchise and the Silent Hill: The Short Message review scores.
The Short Message has arrived on the PlayStation Store out of nowhere. Coming from the talented game studio Hexadrive, the new Silent Hill game is also completely free to play. Despite being free of charge, it also takes around two hours to beat. This is definitely surprising on Konami’s part.
Well then, let’s have a look at Silent Hill: The Short Message review scores to see what the players and game critics around the world think about it.
Here are some of the Silent Hill: The Short Message review scores:
- GameSpot — 30
- Hardcore Gamer — 40
- Push Square — 40
- Noisy Pixel — 50
- GamesRadar+ — 60
- Screen Rant — 80
Silent Hill: The Short Message review scores don’t spell good things about Konami’s attempt to revive its decade-old franchise. Although the gaming landscape has been eyeing for a solid Silent Hill entry, it seems like the Japanese game giant has failed once again.
Silent Hill: The Short Message Reviews Scores Are Alarming
Most reviews point out that The Short Message doesn’t bring anything new to the table. Its “Walk around and find objects that you can interact with” formula doesn’t seem like it captivated many reviewers as well.
According to most reviews, The Short Message also shifts to a more condensed narrative that doesn’t fit well with the beloved series. Its story revolves around a teenage girl called Anita and her search for her close friend, Maya.
Indeed, the themes and the imagery used to depict her story have their shining moments. But they still fall short due to limited gameplay and extreme lack of subtlety. Some reviewers even said that even the Silent Hill references in Hideo Kojima’s OD trailer were more exciting.
Great Ideas Overshadowed by Shallow Gameplay
While taking the role of Anita can be interesting for a few hours, it seems like The Short Message falls short of building on its intriguing story ideas. There is no doubt that the themes in the game can immerse you thanks to great visuals at times. But the over-simplified gameplay mechanics rendered the return of Konami’s beloved franchise quite regressive, weakening the expectations for the Silent Hill 2 remake even further.
On the other hand, it seems like the developer Hexadrive used the capabilities of Unreal Engine 5 in a great way. Thanks to that, The Short Message gets the atmosphere right most of its playtime. But it still feels lacklustre due to the wasted potential of its story and characters.
Silent Hill: The Short Message and the Future of Silent Hill
Silent Hill: The Short Message review scores and pieces highlight that the game can be incredibly unsubtle at times. In fact, it tries so hard to be a part of the Silent Hill series with its straightforward references to previous games like Silent Hill: Homecoming.
While the majority of the game makes us feel pessimistic about the future of Silent Hill, it also comes with stunning loops and brilliant imagery. In short, The Short Message is a mixed bag of interesting ideas and restrictive gameplay. While it’s not an essential horror game to play, the staunch fans of Silent Hill should still give it a chance as it’s completely free to play.
Final Thoughts
Silent Hill: The Short Message review scores seem like yet another failed attempt at reviving the long-awaited Silent Hill franchise. However, it’s definitely not as unnecessary as the previous multimedia endeavour, Silent Hill: Ascension.
After years of waiting under the bed, the critically acclaimed Silent Hill series is now making a return. However, the reviewers believe that The Short Message doesn’t signal positive things about the future of the franchise. Despite offering interesting ideas and solid world-building elements, The Short Message restricts itself with its shallow gameplay and generic tropes of modern horror games.
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