CONTENT WARNING: The following article details instances of suicide and self-harm which may be distressing to some readers.
The Australian Classification Board (ACB) seems to have revealed a whole heap of significant details about an unannounced (but previously leaked) Silent Hill game, Silent Hill: The Short Message.
South Korea’s Game Rating and Administration Committee classified Silent Hill: The Short Message last September, but was very light on details. Now, more details have come to light about the title in the ACB’s annual report on significant ratings decisions in the last year, as first spotted by VGC.
The report, published on Monday, confirms that Silent Hill: The Short Message was rated MA 15+ by the Australian Classification Board due to “strong suicide themes, horror violence, and coarse language,” with the game described as an “exploration-based psychological horror game” set in modern-day Germany.
Silent Hill: The Short Message appears to have the player assuming the role of a young woman named Anita as she explores an apartment building called “The Villa” in order to “uncover what has happened to her friend.” The report goes on to describe a number of cutscenes from the game in detail, outlining depictions of self-harm and suicide.
The ACB report notes that the depictions of these themes in Silent Hill: The Short Message “occur in the broader context of discourse exploring issues revolving around mental health which encourages players to seek help or offer support to those in need,” and as such is not considered too strong in impact by the Board, allowing it to fall within the MA 15+ classification bracket.
A truncated outline of Silent Hill: The Short Message from the ACB report can be read below. For complete transparency, we’ve omitted a paragraph that goes into considerable detail on the methods of suicide involved. If you’d like to read the full report, you can do so here.
“Silent Hill: The Short Message — Strong suicide themes, horror violence and coarse language: an exploration‑based psychological horror game in which players control characters in an apartment building called The Villa in modern‑day Germany.
The player assumes the role of a young woman, Anita, who must explore The Villa through first‑person gameplay in order to collect clues and uncover what has happened to her friend. Anita is exploring a bathroom environment which features a bathtub filled with bloody water, blood‑splattered tiles and a razor blade on a bloodied sink. Upon examining a razor, Anita experiences a flashback.
In a cut‑scene depicted through a first‑person point of view, a voice yells, “This is all your fault! Bad things happen because of YOU!” The character’s left arm enters the frame with horizontal scars evident across the character’s wrist.
In a cut‑scene depicted through a mixture of third‑person and first‑person shots, it is implied that Maya [died by] suicide… The player character, in a distressed state of mind, speculates that she will never compare to Maya. Echoes of her mother’s abusive tirades are heard in the background as Anita…says, “Maybe I can be like her… Here goes…”
Throughout the game, cut‑scenes depicting self‑harm and suicide are followed by black screens which feature white text encouraging players to seek treatment and help if they are at risk of self‑harm and suicide and to offer support if they see people around them struggling. In the Board’s opinion, depictions of suicide and self‑harm within the game occur in the broader context of discourse exploring issues revolving around mental health which encourages players to seek help or offer support to those in need. As such, the impact of the depictions does not exceed strong in impact and can be accommodated within the MA 15+ classification.”
The characters and events outlined in the ACB report appear to be pretty consistent with leaks from May 2022, which included images allegedly taken from Silent Hill: The Short Message. The leaks referenced two characters named Maya and Anita, as well as images of a corridor covered in sticky notes, and a woman’s face with handwritten insults and phrases peeking out from under her skin. The images were promptly taken down by copyright warnings issued by Konami at the time.
Based on the ACB report, paired with previous leaks, it looks like we may be seeing a reveal for Silent Hill: The Short Message pretty soon, although it’s anyone’s guess if or when this might occur. Konami hasn’t officially confirmed anything as of yet, but the good old Australian Classification Board appears to have beaten them to the punch with a whole tonne of new info, which could potentially force their hand to speak out sooner, rather than later.
Help is available.
If you need mental health support, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or chat online.
Under 25? You can reach Kids Helpline at 1800 55 1800 or chat online.
If you require immediate assistance, please call 000.
Lead Image Credit: Konami / Dusk Golem / Silent Hill
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