roryortega

[roryortega]

We now live in a world where there are 2 Silent Hill 2 games. Hurray!

[roryortega]

The second Silent Hill Transmission was both really good and disappointing. Disappointing because I had hoped we'd get a nugget of information regarding f and townfall. They are both so mysterious and intriguing. Where it was really good however was in the showcase of silent hill 2 remake gameplay.

I will admit I had my reservations about Bloober Team and whether they could pull this remake off but what was shown really eased my concerns. I knew it would look great visually but I'm still blown away at how well the town is translating from 2001. All the new faces look great and from what I'm hearing of the new cast they're doing an admirable enough job! Glad to have Akira Yamaoka back for two games in a row, I love that the old ost is only being improved upon.

To get the movie out of the way first, I'll say that Gans and his team continue to wow with their use of practical effects and set recreation. I'm looking forward to seeing this all translated to the big screen. My issues with the last film aren't even with the liberties take with the sh1 plot but more with the poor writing and execution of those ideas. My hope is that there's a major improvement in that department in the near two decades since.

Back to the remake. Not everything regarding sh2r was perfect however. They deyassified Maria a bit, a few line deliveries could use another take, I noticed some framerate dropping, choppy animation here and there and yes, if we have to talk about it:

Angela has a little uncanny valley to her model. Seeming ever so slightly low res, hair texture a bit off and can probably benefit from better lighting. There are good faith critiques that I think could realistically be improved upon as we draw nearer to release

However I am disappointed in a section of this base that thinks it's okay to act like chuds. No Angela doesn't look "fat", no her new face isn't "ugly", no this isn't a supposed "woke revision". If these are your takeaways to Angela having a new mocap model/actor and you claim to be a fan of the original then I'm afraid it's YOU who has changed more than she has.

Actress Gianna Kiehl may not fill the shoes for you that Donna Burke did mocapping (is that a word) did back 01 and that's fine. But be kind and fair in your critiques and offer practical solutions rather than just making insults. Thank you.

[roryortega]

silent hill short message was way better than i expected. sure its got some flaws and is no where near as good as the originals but its the best SH game in a very long time

yes the voice delivery was hella cringe in places, has 0 subtlety and the way it tried to shoehorn in a reference to the titular town was less than ideal but thats surface level stuff. bones were good. simple. but good.

and like yeag the game as a whole was kinda basic when u dig into the themes but it was told well, humbly presented and shadow dropped as a small little thing and not overhyped. monster design was great. atmosphere was great. good graff. idk i fuck w it.

[roryortega]

I recently finished Silent Hill The Short Message for a third time last weekend and my final takeaway is that it is heavily flawed and does not contend with the original four games, (which kind of feel like untouchable masterpieces at this point but that's neither here nor there.)

• It doesn't let the horror really get to your head leaving a lingering sense of dread like the originals do.

• It isn't very subtle in pivotal moments either.

• The voice acting wreaks of poor anime dubbing.

• It really could've benefitted from more puzzles and player freedom to interact with the environment for flavor text from Anita.

• There are occasionally frame rate dipps.

• Finally, that last chase is bs because they introduce a new mechanic with Anita's phone during the one stressful moment where it's used. Good game design would introduce this mechanic well ahead of time.

I say all this to make it abundantly clear that this game has a laundry list of issues that where easy fixes had they had the proper feedback. So I sympathize with those who took away from this game negatively, free or not! However-

I actually really really liked it!

So much so in fact that it might officially be my new fifth favorite entry in the series after the four Team Silent games. Listen I get things could've been done so much better but the content that I think it absolutely nails are in the aesthetics, artistry (save for a few reused assets), sound design, ost, characters (yes you read that right) and honestly the overarching story is good imo just needed better execution in some areas (mostly involving Krysta Planert's VA being terrible. ) This might be my new favorite otherworld transition. The post it notes are so striking and different from yet another Silent Hill 1 & 3 style of blood and metal grates. I also just think it's far more appealing than ripping off the movie like Homecoming, turning everything to ice like Shattered Memories or the American McGee channeling that Downpour's otherworld was doing.

It's teeming with so much passion and most importantly empathy and it made me feel. That's important because this franchise hasn't made me do that in a very long time.

I also quite dig the direction to make these Silent Hill-ism's international. I feel like Silent Hill 3 & 4 set this precedent up nicely and games like Origins or Homecoming where hurt by trying to add to the immediate details or the original games. Downpour just had no SH vibes to me whatsoever and turns the continuity of the town from Stephen King-esque to full blown metropolis? It's a total mess. The Short Message doesn't pull off this international thing off flawlessly however. I wish the reason for making this game take place in Germany was to build on this universe's Germanic history, possible mysticism, and lore. It does this a little bit but it's all relative and I really wanted more. My hope is that Silent Hill ƒ is just completely and unabashedly Japanese in its presentation and if it has to detach from canon and be anthologized to do that I'm on board.

Wrapping this up because I didn't want to make this a long post.

Anita Planert is a wonderful Silent Hill protagonist and I'm adopting her as my own. If you want to make fun of her cringy teenage angst you have to go through me!

P.S.

Cherry Blossom is the best Silent Hill monster since Valtiel

[roryortega]

Silent Hill: The Short Message - Anita Planert Concept Art

Source: Dusk Golem/Silent Hill Wiki

[roryortega]

Silent Hill: The Short Message (2024)

Silent Hill: The Short Message is a 2024 survival horror game co-developed by Konami Digital Entertainment and HexaDrive and published by Konami. It is free & available on PS5.

Following messages from her friend, 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?

[roryortega]

Давно сюда не загружала ничего, пусть будет

[roryortega]

C.B

[roryortega]

Silent Hill: the Short Message was srs so GOOD, so here is a little doodle painting of "Sakura Head".

[roryortega]

when your circle small but all yall crazy !!!!

[roryortega]

imposter syndrome

[roryortega]

i love her im her

[roryortega]

in my restless dreams

[roryortega]

It doesn't matter who I am. I'm here for you, James. See? I'm real.

[roryortega]

𝚂𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝙷𝚒𝚕𝚕: 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚂𝚑𝚘𝚛𝚝 𝙼𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚊𝚐𝚎 (𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟺)

[roryortega]

"Helping girls to blossom and show their inner beauty, as well as coloring this ugly city a little. Just like and comment!" 🌸📱❤️

- C.B. (Cherry Blossom), Maya Aco Hindenburg