Impressions from the interactive series Silent Hill Ascension – an interesting experiment with mediocre execution

In early November, an unusual project was released: Silent Hill Ascent. At the announcement stage, the developers’ promises were intriguing: a completely new experience, an interactive series whose ending is determined by the audience themselves, the atmosphere of Silent Hill and many opportunities to interact with the characters. After the release, it became clear that the creators had actually implemented most of what was announced, but in a completely different “specific form”, which already left many fans disappointed. We also played and watched and are ready to share our impressions.

Firstly, it is worth explaining a little what an interactive series is. Anyone who has played the Dark Pictures Anthology series or Until Dawn makes you feel right at home. You have multiple characters, each with their own problems, beliefs and views. In Silent Hill Ascension, the characters have another indicator: hope. It is not yet very clear how exactly it should work, but the makers themselves explain this as ‘the chance of success’. The higher the hope score, the more motivated the character is to fight for a happy ending.

Unlike The Dark Pictures Anthology, you cannot directly control the heroes. We watch short episodes that give context to the situation. All viewers will then be asked to vote on one of three event development options. The next day the plot continues, taking into account the majority’s choice. On paper it looks interesting, but in detail the project turned out to be more of a demo.

There is no coherent story. We reviewed all available materials. After the introductory video, which explains the basic mechanics, situations immediately begin. This leads to a number of problems. You know nothing about the characters, you don’t understand the context and, as they say, you aren’t immersed in the atmosphere. The menu, which gives a brief introduction to each of the characters, is located so deep in the depths of the various windows and sections that we personally only found it by accident.

The episodes that are already available are usually no longer than 2-3 minutes. At the same time, absolutely everyone in the frame behaves as if the viewer is not watching the first episodes, but the tenth. No exposure and involvement. Things get worse when monsters appear. So far they have only scared the characters and cannot influence the encounters with them. Such unexpected acquaintances only raise new questions, the answers that no one even thinks about giving.

If you slow down a bit and browse the site (here’s how you can watch the series in Russia, and only with a VPN), the picture becomes a little clearer. There are three lines in front of us, two of which are directly connected for the time being, and the third separately. Here is a young family who has joined a strange cult. Here are a brother and sister trying to recover from addiction, so they turn to a cult for help. The third story is about the unexpected death of a tyrannical mother. The daughter suspects the meek father, but he seems to have developed amnesia and cannot say anything. Perhaps this is the line that most closely captures the spirit of Silent Hill so far. Let’s repeat: all this is interesting only on paper. In practice, you don’t empathize with the characters at all and there is no special desire to follow the show.

But you will have to follow it if you want to reveal the gameplay part of the project. After registration, each viewer creates a character. The customization is primitive and Silent Hill Ascension’s graphics leave a lot to be desired. Your character will not be directly involved in what is happening, but you can win the chance to make a cameo, and be careful here – most of the actions in the “game” are paid, access to them can be obtained through a season pass.

Perhaps this is the main reason for the audience’s dissatisfaction, because monetization of the series will bring opportunities for mobile gaming giants like Genshin Impact and RAID: Shadow Legends. You can’t make your character recognizable for free, the chance of a cameo is almost zero and most options are simply not available.

When voting, the participant spends special points. On average, one vote is worth 100 units. You can replenish your wallet without spending money by completing puzzles. There are about four, but one is available every day.

In addition, there is a separate section for improving the hope indicator, but only for two or three of the heroes (they change every day). Completing individual mini-games will replenish your pile, but again, only one activity is available for free. Moreover, the amount is so insignificant that for a noticeable increase you have to do it literally without stopping.

The second point is QTE. All situations are available within 24 hours of release, but looking online can sometimes give you access to quickly perform a series of simple actions. If successful, the character is saved from the monster, avoided danger, or receives important information. This happened in other interactive films. Here too the outcome depends on the majority, but at some of the most important moments the decision can only be made by one viewer in the world. It goes without saying that those who have not purchased a season pass will never get this opportunity.

When making a choice, the game marks which solutions are ‘better’. The corresponding icons are literally drawn above the actions. Naturally, the majority of participants vote for a positive outcome, and the remaining two forks are behind by points on an astronomical scale.

The situation can be turned around if you spend more points on the option, but for this you will again have to pay a decent amount or fill up the number in monotonous puzzles and mini-games. If Silent Hill Ascension truly felt the spirit of the main games, perhaps this would all make sense, but as it stands, spending your hard-earned money seems like a questionable decision. In addition, prices are indicated in dollars and transfers from Russia cannot be made.

There is also a chat in the series, but for some reason without moderation. Viewers are spamming games and paying for emojis, so there’s simply no discussion that the creators were counting on.

At this point, Silent Hill Ascension seems like a half-baked concept. The characters are potentially interesting, but they’re not compelling at all, and the format doesn’t allow for them to be revealed. A minimum of exposure prevents immersion, and the requirement of donations at every turn cuts off any atmosphere at the root.

As an experiment, the series certainly deserves attention, but it is almost impossible to really influence anything (certainly not for free). Everything the developers promised is here, but in a completely perverse form, aimed at pumping out money. As a game, Silent Hill Ascension would look much better in an interactive movie format, such as The Dark Pictures Anthology, where choices could be made by a limited number of participants. We, like many, were unfortunately left disappointed.