FRIST_008 Silent Hill: The Short Message Review

Short Message is a finished game, not a tech demo of some future game. After finishing it, I'd even have paid 20 bucks for it. It's a horror game, so I followed all the rules: stayed home alone, turned off the lights and started the game. The DualSense is supposed to surprise you, and it does. The phone vibrating from a new message right in your hands, message sounds coming out of the controller, a grate you brush against while running, an enemy nearby, a shaking fridge: in all these moments the DualSense goes wild. It's an ecstasy of immersion you can only get on PlayStation 5. This is exactly how it should be used in horror games. Emptiness and loneliness pull you into the atmosphere of an abandoned building. The notes are well written; it's a pity they aren't voiced. The game syncs with the player on a deep level: the heroine doesn't remember much about herself, just as the player knows nothing about her past. And that's not just okay, it's the game's signature move. When you think you've seen it all, the game slaps you in the face again and changes beyond recognition. It's a horror game and a walking simulator. It's a game of tag where you don't know where to run. I died more than once because I couldn't figure out what to do and where to go; the levels could have been designed more clearly. But the atmosphere hid my complaints about the gameplay and the technical side behind a thick fog. The tension in Short Message is unique: uncertainty, things left unsaid, not understanding the rules or why the corridors keep looping, just like Lovecraftian horror. I'm not a big fan of the series, but for me this is a good Silent Hill: a psychological Japanese horror with notes of psychedelia. Is it a deep game? Yes. Is it a good one? Yes. It lasts 2–3 hours, so go play it.