If you feel like some intense horror and scares then Silent Hill: The Short Message is a free game now available on PS5 to download starting today. Konami says Silent Hill: The Short Message is a new short-form Silent Hill title that forms part of the studios’ upcoming lineup for the series.
Back in 2022, Konami announced the studio was looking to revive the series and last year it announced the Silent Hill 2 Remake. There’s also a new mobile game available, Silent Hill: Ascension.
Konami says Silent Hill: The Short Message started as an experimental project. By the look of things, the game merges classic Silent Hill horror gameplay with a familiar “Silent Hill: The Room” design. It is also told from the first-person perspective which is something we haven’t seen from the series (apart from the cancelled Norman Reedus and Hideo Kojima game – sad face).
The game is a psychological horror story. Even the reveal trailer had the protagonist leaping off the roof in what seemed like a suicide attempt.
“We wanted to make a new, modern Silent Hill. As part of that we explored how we could incorporate contemporary problems. We ended up looking at how modern youth communicate online and through phones, and the role that could play in a psychological horror story. For instance, a frightening thing about social media is how even insignificant individual comments can, en masse, build and build until they become this overwhelming wave of hate crashing down on you.”
Konami wanted to explore modern-day themes in Silent Hill: The Short Message. Themes such as online bullying, isolation, depression and the general pressure of living in today’s world.
“We chose to set our story around young characters like this. Characters who are genuinely suffering and lost, where even one more minor setback can wind up pushing them even deeper into a spiral of anguish. But, in the same way, even the smallest kindness can be the thing that pulls them back from the brink. And that’s what also makes this game a message, from us to everyone living with that ever-present conflict and pressure.”
It is unclear just how long Silent Hill: The Short Message is. But it is a free game and there are no strings attached. You just download it on PS5 and play it. I know “free” in gaming comes with various terms and conditions but in this case, it is literally as free as you can get.
