PlayStation 5 free game has been downloaded over 2 million times already

Though it only released on PlayStation 5 just last month, the latest game in the Silent Hill franchise has racked up over two million downloads. It’s no surprise given the popularity of the series, plus the fact that The Short Message was given away for free.

Silent Hill: The Short Message was given away for free as a little taster of things to come for fans of the survival horror. Konami has big plans for the Resident Evil rival of old, and what better way to get people excited than to offer up a freebie?

We're expecting several new Silent Hill titles including a remake of the acclaimed Silent Hill 2

The game follows Anita as she searches for a missing friend in a crumbling apartment block, that has become widely known as a place where suicides occur. Of course, everything goes off the rails from here while also becoming very spooky. “Anita soon finds her sense of reality shattered as she encounters bizarre, otherworldly spaces, haunted by a twisted monster.”

Focusing on social media and bullying, The Short Message makes the franchise feel more modern, with players utilising a mobile phone as a flashlight, and it feels like a fresh perspective for Silent Hill. Whether upcoming games can be judged by this super short experience is hard to say. While The Short Message has been received well, it doesn’t give us much to go on for the future of the series.

The game looks stunning on PlayStation 5 hardware and it’s filled with all the creepy moments you would expect from Konami. The fact that it’s been downloaded over two million times says a lot - it could be horror fans wanting something new, or Silent Hill fans giddy over a new story. Whichever the case may be, it’s great to see the game being so popular, especially for something so short. Let’s hope we get more like this.