#the short message

[emptyhead57]

Cherry Blossom Monster - Silent Hill: The Short Message (Masahiro Ito)

[omercifulheaves]

Silent Hill: The Short Message (2024)

Art by Masahiro Ito

[thenumberfives]

cinematic parallels

[samaeljigoku]

The new kid has come to join in!

[veegodoi87]

"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

[carbkaiju]

if you wanna make a good horror game, be sure to let the audience get a really good look at the monster for at least 10 seconds. it’s WAY scarier when they have no doubts about what’s chasing them. don’t let their imaginations wake up and get to thinking. looping gauntlets are also hot right now, so be sure to put one of those in. but if you really want to get the player’s heart racing, hide a fetch quest in the looping chase sequence. also, be sure your character has lots of meaningful dialogue so the player never gets confused about what they should be thinking or feeling at any given second. you want to make sure a player will understand how good your story is. don’t let the character be silent or reflective, players have to know exactly what a character is thinking. but the number one rule for a great horror game is never let the tension build. always be sure to break the tension with a scary sound, or another meaningful piece of dialogue, keep reminding the player that they’re playing a Horror Video Game. it’s really important you make a game where the player never forgets they’re playing a video game.

[madame-mortician]

SAKURA HEAD • SILENT HILL: THE SHORT MESSAGE

[changethecircumstances]

Just finished SH: The Short Message. I feel it's one of those games that if it were its own thing, people would feel more positively about it but because it has the SH title, people are being more critical of it

The story was on the nose at times but it's also a very short game compared to works that have more breathing room to delve into things and be more nuanced (not to say it couldn't have been done better, some aspects of the story I think could have) but overall it was decent

Also people complaining they made silent hill a 'mental illness' with that one article, it didn't feel like that to me at all. It felt more some doctor who knows jackshit came up with this theory to explain the weird phenomena of silent hill (a phenomena that now seems to be spreading) I didn't take it to mean they were retconnong silent hills meaning, more that it was a cool Easter egg to show what those outside of silent hills influence do to try and rationalize something they can't understand

Also ending song was a banger so it was cool getting to hear new silent hill music

[2-d-rogue]

Finished Silent Hill: The Short Message (completed the night it was released).

After the disaster that was Ascension, wasn't expecting anything from this at all. The way it starts didn't give me much confidence, either.

However, much to my surprise, it ended up being pretty solid. The more the story unfolds, the more I found myself engrossed and relating to it and its character(s). It was almost like playing PT and/or SM once again, which was fine by me. I can't say it was a game with the freshest ideas out there, but the topics they covered are very Silent Hill-ish (depression, suicide, bullying, supernatural, etc.), and each memo found kept me intrigued. The subtle build-up in the little details were nice touches as well.

It is not without faults, however. There are a few plot holes (although, to be fair, perhaps there are simply some details I missed that could explain them). I can't say I was a fan of the last two chase sequences, and it can get a little too "in-your-face". There's also the lack of puzzles, as there's only one that technically counts near the end. This all being said, I still enjoyed myself with this short game.

It was nice seeing Ito, Yamaoka, and a few other members who worked on the original games show up again, too. I could immediately tell by the music it was Yamaoka on the soundtrack, and it's nice seeing a monster done by Ito once again. Their work here (as usual) is fantastic.

This certainly did give me hope that a good/decent Silent Hill title can still be made. Definitely gonna hold out for Townfall and f when they come out.

[maidenmelanie]

I finished Silent Hill: The Short Message and really enjoyed it. I love how sakura blossoms were incorporated in the artwork and creature design throughout the game with the juxtaposition of beauty/ugliness. It was a very nice palate cleanser to play after the mess of Ascension.

I tried to take some closer shots of the cherry blossom creature designed by Masahiro Ito. I really love the way it looks; Soft, but still scary. Not something you would often associate with horror.

[farashibutjustfoolingaorund]

I liked the Short Message I thought it was good. On the nose in ways that make it hard to take seriously at times, but overall I felt the story was engaging and downright compelling in certain moments.

I like how it subtly made the world of Silent Hill feel bigger and more filled out without detracting from the story.

Loved the monster design that thing goes crazy.

[atruelovedoll]

Bad girl gets an empty plate

[kdidgaming]

The Short Message

[dangan-kagura]

I’m still not sure if I should try out Silent Hill: The Short Message

Obviously, the one reason I want to play it is because I’m assuming the game is Konami’s apology game for removing PT almost 10 years ago. I’ve never played PT. I only know that it was a “Playable Teaser” for an unreleased Silent Hill game entitled “Silent Hills” with an “s” at the end and that the game was planned to have been made by Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima. The cancellation of Silent Hills of course meant the removal of PT since it’s technically a demo despite how well received it was and I’m aware that fans and critics were upset about PT being removed.

I know The Short Message is a free game, but here’s what I’m concerned about. I’m worried that I’m gonna suck at the game. The thing about horror survival games like Silent Hill and Resident Evil is that there’s a lot of puzzle solving stuff and I’m no good at puzzle games. In fact, back in 2009, I did rent Silent Hill: Homecoming just to try out what the series is like. I know it’s not the best game in the series, but it was the only one in the series I could play at the time. I don’t really remember much, but I will say that I got stuck in the first quarter of the game and didn’t have a clue what to do next and just gave up.

Even if I do somehow figure out how to beat The Short Message, another thing concerning me is the upcoming remake of Silent Hill 2. If I somehow admit that I enjoyed playing The Short Message and later try out the Silent Hill 2 remake but am unable to beat the game because I don’t have a clue what to do, it’s probably gonna be Homecoming all over again. It would probably be a different experience compared to The Last of Us which almost plays more similar to how Uncharted is played and I’m a fan of both of those games. Playing Silent Hill however would be more like playing Dino Crisis or the PS1 Resident Evil games which I also sucked at.

Anyways, that's all I came to say.

[dottyduke]

Silent Hill: The Short Message is a decent game but it's not a good Silent Hill game (and that opinion in itself is super controversial!).