For a free Silent Hill game featuring Akira Yamaoka's music, this isn't that bad. But if you really look at it, it kinda is, right?

A Short Message reminds me of that RE7 demo, which is great, but it didn't impact me as much.

Visuals look nice and the atmosphere is eery. The new monster that chases you helps in that regard, since its design is pretty unique. The pacing flows well, keeping you going through this very short experience. I like the delicate theme they've chosen to talk about, the location you're trapped at, and even its lore. The story is ok, I guess, but the soundtrack is what steals the show. As usual.

What's sad is that this experience feels a little empty. Voice acting sucks and it's not convincing at all. The story is fine, but I couldn't care much about the characters. Writing is to blame here, because it's too on the nose. The ending was good, but a bit obvious. One other thing that really bothered me was the chase sequences. The first one is intense, but all the other ones are very messy. ESPECIALLY THAT LAST ONE!

I also missed a bit more of... well, of Silent Hill, actually. RE7 comes to mind again. It's a quite differente from previous ones, but it does give you a Resident Evil experience. A Short Message slightly mentions SH, delivering a glimmer of its tone, thanks to the monster, art direction and the music.

I thought this was going to be a cool introduction to what was coming for the franchise, but it didn't really get me excited. But, hey... it's still free!

Reviewed on Apr 05, 2024


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