Konami was responsible for the creation of the fantastic walking simulator horror experience, P.T., which generated widespread attention and acclaim upon it’s release in 2014. In response to P.T.’s success, CAPCOM released Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, breathing a fresh new perspective that propelled the series back into stardom. Almost a decade since the release of P.T, the Silent Hill dormancy has lifted with the release of Silent Hill The Short Message. This game attempts to utilise the framework of P.T, and deliver a story that addresses sensitive themes of cyberbullying, social media, and suicide. However, while the narrative intentions may have been well-intentioned, the execution left much to be desired, as the themes came across as more of a poorly constructed PSA rather than delivering the impactful horror experience one might have hoped for.

Before addressing the criticism, there are some plaudits I must attribute the game. Undoubtedly, the visual artistic elements of the game stand out as a key highlight. The game presents a dreary abandoned apartment complex and yet somehow strikes a perfect balance with the environment being both strikingly beautiful and oppressively intense. Walls adorned with sticky notes of hate-fuelled messages, the representation of thematic elements through graffiti on the walls all serve to contribute to the immersion of the experience.

Whilst the game only features one monster, it is meticulously designed by the talented Masahiro Ito, renowned for crafting iconic creatures from the early Silent Hill era, including Pyramid Head. Covered in cherry blossom petals that aligns with the narrative and artistic themes, the monster’s design is truly excellent. Despite this, it’s potential remains largely underutilised, making sporadic appearances in specific scripted chase sequences.

Masahiro Ito isn’t the only returning artist to the series, but so too did composer Akira Yamaoka, the man responsible for the wholly unique soundtracks of the previous Silent Hill games. Yamaoka pulls no punches here either, delivering an exceptional soundtrack that elevates the atmosphere even further. Despite the contribution these iconic artists have made, sadly the game falls shorts on all other fronts.

The Short Message’s gameplay doesn’t capitalise on the wonderful atmosphere developed and doesn’t captivate audiences the way it tries to. The on-the-nose dialogue, less than stellar performances, live action cutscenes, and plethora of notes to read leave the delivery of the narrative in an unstable place. You’re ultimately given no reason to feel invested in your character and it doesn’t have the time to marinate that earned investment from the audience. Other Silent Hill protagonists often begin on a journey that allows the player time to warm up to them, the themes of guilt and wrongdoing emerge over time which develop the level of complexity in the narrative. Unfortunately Anita isn’t much developed beyond her mental illness and trauma, making it hard to connect to the themes that it attempts to connect with.

The aforementioned chase sequences also don’t invoke the level of dread that they ultimately should, it becomes a rather mundane affair. Progression throughout the game can feel strange, whilst cutscenes and lore development can feel rewarding when it is well-written here it feels like a punishment, and almost all progression is this linear experience of trial and error until you find the correct escape route or pick up the appropriate newspaper article.

It’s a sad affair to see the state that Silent Hill is in at the moment, after a decade of no releases as discussed earlier, we have been met with the abysmal Silent Hill: Ascension, and the mediocre Silent Hill The Short Message. With Silent Hill 2 remake and Silent Hill f around the corner I am apprehensive and skeptical of the quality of these products but I hope with everything in me it is better than what fans of this iconic series have had delivered to them.

MILD GAME MECHANIC SPOILERS BELOW

KinitoPet is a charming, deceptive, and surprisingly immersive psychological digital horror video game that is impactful despite it's short runtime. The game presents you with a simulated personal computer, where you find yourself downloading a virtual assistance program, none other than the titular character KinitoPET, a pink axolotl AI companion that is eager to make you their newest friend. Whilst KinitoPET has a friendly demeanour at first, it’s not long until his demeanour changes and you find yourself at the mercy of his antics.

This premise may seem formulaic to other digital horror experiences but I assure you that the metaphorical and literal fourth wall breaks that KinitoPET is able to achieve is incredibly personal and is worth experiencing first-hand. KinitoPET will ask you questions, it wants to learn your name, your address, your fears… and it uses these answers against you. But it also goes one step further, manipulating your peripheral devices such as cameras and monitors, accesses your computer and altering files on your desktop to create a horror experience that transcends the boundary of the simulated computer.

As I mentioned briefly, this creates an incredibly personalised experience that uses your system, your sensitive information, and your responses against you, and combines them with elements more typical of digital horror games to create something unsettling. KinitoPET also has replayability, with multiple endings and secrets that fans of the game will want to discover first-hand.

The audio and visual design is incredibly effective in capturing that early era of personal computers, and the aesthetic of KinitoPET himself, the website, and the interactive games throughout are incredibly endearing to the time period but also subvert drastically in moments to create jarring moments of fear. If you’re a fan of digital horror I think this is a must play and at a fair price I would highly recommend this game to fans of the genre.

Fortnite is an incredibly important video game which has been dishevelled from it’s rightful place as a beloved titan of the video game landscape, missing out on the respect and legacy it so dearly deserves. It was a game that encapsulated the hearts of so many upon it’s release, but quickly drew controversy primarily as a result of it’s success. It became a hot topic in discussions around addiction in video games, the controversial use of microtransactions, and on it’s impact on children regarding screen-time and distractions from school. Whilst these criticisms are fair, it’s important to recognise Fortnite is praiseworthy on several fronts, and as a review on the experience it offers I can only find praise swarming my mind when it comes to this video game.

As much as people don’t want to admit, this game is innovative in fun. There are countless opportunities to make fun within the game. Fortnite not only has incredibly satisfying gunplay and unique building gameplay but also innovates on the movement aspect of the game. Since it’s inception, Fortnite has added several opportunities for fun ways to get around the map aside from utilising the building mechanics. This includes a huge array of power ups that grant the ability to move with style, such as flying with a jetpack, swinging with either a grappling hook, ODM Gear from Attack on Titan, or Spiderman’s iconic web shooters, but also use shockwave grenades to launch you or your friends into the action. This in combination with the huge array of vehicles leads to an exciting way to traverse the map in new and interesting ways. You can also vault, grab onto ledges, slide jump, and sprint around the various locales, offering one of the most entertaining movement systems in a video game currently.

The seasonal format keeps the game fresh, introducing new gameplay gimmicks, a brand new arsenal of weaponry to experiment with, the aforementioned new movement techniques, and varied locations to explore and loot. This keeps the game from growing stale as many others in the genre have fallen victim to. There are also live events, that vary from cataclysmic lore-changing battles, to live concerts with some of the most renowned music artists in the world. The cosmetic and seasonal aspect of Fortnite is a breeding ground for excitement and hype, to the point where there will most likely always be a reason to revisit Fortnite even if you decide to take a prolonged break from the game. Fortnite evolves on a regular basis, what began as a fort-building wave-based shooter, turned into an iconic battle royale, but has now established itself as a platform for experiences derived from user creativity. This allows Fortnite to thrive, creating a whole plethora of minigames and modes to experience alike Halo 3 custom games or Roblox, which adds even more replayability and discoverability within the game.

Whilst many players, especially more disgruntled older player bases, will see collaborations with media titans like Marvel, Dragon Ball, and DC as cash-grabs, I see these as a fulfilment of childhood wonder. I would have dreamt for an experience like this as a child, to be able to play as your favourite characters across fiction in a near infinite number of game-modes, its just an opportunity for some innocent joy. I am not an advocate for microtransactional battle-pass oriented games, and a lot of criticism has been directed to Fortnite for these reasons which I completely empathise and understand. However, I think for what the market is, the game offers fair prices, with interesting and varied collaborations with licenced properties sprinkled in with some excellent original designs.

The art style that Fortnite has embodied is colourful and vibrant, setting itself apart from other shooters and battle royale games that focus on realism. The visual design allows for the game to achieve a timeless look that facilitates crossovers with various franchises whereby the characters are well-represented but also means that the game is accessible to more people on more systems with lower specs and allows cross-play so friends aren’t locked out of playing together. Although a certain portion of the video game community as a result sees the game as childish, it is insecure to think that of the game purely because of the art style especially in spite of the fact that it tends to look and function better than most.

Fortnite’s reputation was soured following updates and the increase in skill-level of those devoted to playing, especially when it came to the building mechanics. For those who struggle to meet the pace of experienced builders in the default battle royale mode, Fortnite also offers a no-build mode which is structured entirely around the gunplay and movement of the game. This focuses on the aforementioned movement and gunplay taking the spotlight, providing even more opportunities for casuals or newer players to enjoy the experience without the added pressure of learning the unique building mechanics that are specific to Fortnite. This is also a testament to the committed development team at EPIC that listen extensively to the community to bring new and exciting ways to play to their player base.

Despite the high skill cap within the player base it remains a game whereby anyone can win. It encourages different playstyles, you can play aggressively running in any direction you hear gun fire to get involved in the action, or you can play mostly passively, avoiding confrontation and waiting for your time to strike. Fortnite is a fantastic vessel for entertainment for both competitive players and casuals alike. It accommodates those who play videogames for fun and those who compete at the highest level to win. It is accessible to all ages.

Aside from the extremely valid criticisms around the monetary issues of Fortnite, I feel the vast majority of resentment towards the game is unfounded and unfair. Video games like Fortnite wouldn’t stick around simply due to having licenced characters and following hot trends, look at Fall Guys for example. The truth is the fundamentals of Fortnite are enjoyable to their core, it is filled to the seams with content, challenges, lore, and makes for an excellent game to play with friends or solo. I will defend this game to the death of me, it is a generational game and excels in everything it wants to be and more.