29 October 1997.
Halloween is approaching, and many people have already started dressing up in their spooky costumes, giving the season its unmistakably eerie atmosphere. The feeling of Halloween is truly one of a kind, and gamers are especially excited this year because ZAGE is releasing three major titles this month: Silent Hill, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, and Nascar Rumble.
Of the three games being released, only one of them—Nascar Rumble—lacks any horror elements. The other two, especially Silent Hill, have gamers talking. Many players are genuinely unnerved by what they've heard about Silent Hill, and anticipation has turned into cautious excitement. In a recent issue of ZAGE POWER magazine, which regularly teases upcoming releases from the company, a chilling quote from Zaboru himself was featured: "This game is really scary, and if you're not strong enough, it's going to mess with your head."
That quote alone sparked a wave of curiosity and dread among fans. The idea that a game could psychologically affect players was both thrilling and intimidating. It didn't help that screenshots showed fog-covered streets, twisted imagery, and a disturbing atmosphere unlike anything seen before. The horror community is buzzing, with forums lighting up as gamers speculate about the story, the monsters, and how far Silent Hill will push boundaries.
This Halloween, it's become almost a rite of passage—gamers challenging themselves to play Silent Hill with their friends, braving the game's unsettling world together. For many, it's not just about surviving the scares, but proving they have the nerves to face whatever nightmares Zaboru has unleashed.
One of the most eager gamers was Alan Rogers, a confident high school student known among his friends for being fearless when it came to horror games. On that particular day, he had just picked up the brand-new Silent Hill game from the official ZAGE store. Holding the case like a badge of honor, he flashed a proud grin. Standing beside him were his two best friends, Brendan and Julian, who had tagged along more out of curiosity than courage.
Alan held the game up and declared, "Tell you what, this'll be a breeze! Remember how I beat Resident Evil a couple of weeks ago? This is gonna be the same—just scary at first. I'll crush it, no doubt." His confidence was nearly overflowing, his voice filled with cocky certainty.
Brendan raised an eyebrow and looked at Julian. "I don't know, man," Brendan said hesitantly. "This one feels really different. Zaboru even said it himself—this game's not like the others."
Julian nodded in agreement, his tone more cautious. "Yeah, man. Zaboru said it's psychological. It messes with your head. That's not the same as Resident Evil."
Alan waved a dismissive hand, completely unfazed. "Come on, guys. It's just a game. Relax! Let's go fire this up," he said, already turning toward the direction of his house.
The three teens took off down the sidewalk, the sky starting to dim as Halloween decorations lit up the neighborhood. Paper ghosts flapped in the wind, jack-o'-lanterns flickered on porches, and the cool autumn air smelled faintly of candy and burning leaves. Brendan and Julian, though too nervous to play horror games themselves, had always enjoyed watching Alan play. They liked the thrill—the jumps, the tension, the screaming at the screen—but when it came time to pick up the controller, they always passed.
Alan's house was cozy, and by the time they arrived, the living room was already set up for the perfect horror game session: lights off, snacks on the table, and the TV glowing softly in the dark. Brendan and Julian grabbed blankets and curled up on the couch while Alan popped in the Silent Hill to disc into his ZEPS 3 with the confidence of a seasoned player. He plopped down on the floor, controller in hand, completely ready.
But in the back of their minds, Brendan and Julian couldn't shake the feeling that tonight's game was going to be something different—something they wouldn't forget.
It didn't take long after Alan started playing Silent Hill for the unease to sink in. The opening cutscene introduced Harry Mason, a desperate father searching for his missing daughter, Cheryl, after their car mysteriously crashed on the edge of a fog-covered town called Silent Hill. The atmosphere was thick with tension—Alan leaned in, intrigued, controller tight in his hands.
As Harry began to walk into the ghostly town, Alan gulped. "W...what is this?" he muttered. He hadn't expected it to feel so real. A constant wall of dense fog blocked most of the player's view, limiting visibility to just a few feet ahead. No music played. Just the echo of footsteps, the occasional distant clang of metal, and a low, eerie breeze. There was a weight in the silence, something that made Alan, Brendan, and Julian hold their breath between steps.
Alan kept exploring, unsure where he was going. The town was deserted, but it felt like something was watching. "Dude, I hate this," Brendan whispered, half-laughing, half-serious. "It's too quiet."
Then Harry reached a narrow alley. The game's camera shifted to a strange, skewed angle that made the path feel claustrophobic. Brendan and Julian tensed up. The screen dimmed. The world began to darken rapidly. Streetlights faded out, and Harry had to rely on a weak lighter he found earlier. The walls turned grimy and bloody. Sirens blared in the distance.
"What is happening?!" Alan said aloud, his voice no longer cocky but anxious.
"W-Wait—is that blood?" Brendan pointed at the screen as they reached a grisly wall smeared in red. Julian's voice rose. "Be careful, Alan!"
He nodded, jaw clenched, trying to keep his cool. The alley twisted unnaturally, like a nightmare maze. Suddenly, he turned a corner—and there it was. A hanging corpse, twitching slightly. Next to it, mutilated bodies. Then came something worse—disfigured, childlike creatures crawled from the shadows with knives in hand. Harry had no weapons. No way to defend himself. Alan tried to run, but the camera angles made movement difficult.
The monsters lunged. The screen flashed red. Harry collapsed, consumed by the horrors.
Then—darkness.
Alan sat frozen, his mouth slightly open. Suddenly, a new scene faded in: Harry jolted awake in a dimly lit diner. A woman in a police uniform stood nearby. "Are you okay?" she asked. Her name: Cybil.
The room was safe—for now. But in Alan's real living room, no one spoke for a full ten seconds.
This wasn't just another horror game.
It was something deeper, darker—and they all knew it.
As the three teens sat in the dim glow of the television, the silence in the room mirrored the unease lingering on the screen. Harry Mason stood across from Cybil, the police officer, who asked a few questions about what had happened. The dialogue was sparse, but every word felt heavy. Alan read the subtitles aloud, unconsciously trying to process the story as it unfolded.
"Okay," Alan said, "Let's review the story so far basically Harry crashed… and Cheryl is missing… but now he's in this town where nothing makes sense."
Brendan leaned forward. "Do you think she's real? I mean, what if Cheryl doesn't even exist? What if this is, like, all in his head or something?"
Julian shook his head. "Nah man, I think she's real. But maybe the town is cursed or haunted. Like, maybe everyone who ends up here sees something different."
Alan nodded slowly as he guided Harry through the diner, picking up a health drink and a map from the counter. The map was scribbled with handwritten notes. "Look at this," Alan muttered. "They're giving you clues, but it's so vague."
Outside, the fog was still thick. The moment Harry stepped through the diner's doors, the chilling sound of wind returned, brushing past invisible alleyways and crumbling brick walls. Alan paused the game. "Okay, I need a second," he admitted, shaking his hands out. "This game's already messing with me."
Brendan laughed nervously. "You? Messed up? We've only seen, like, the first scene."
"I know, but it's really different from Resident Evil" Alan said. "It's quiet, and slow, but it gets under your skin. Like… it wants you to relax just enough to catch you off guard."
Julian grabbed a handful of chips, trying to distract himself. "This is way scarier than Resident Evil. In that game, you shoot zombies. In this one, you don't even know what's real."
They resumed the game. Harry walked the fog-covered streets, the radio he found earlier now quietly crackling. Static flared up as he approached a shadowy figure in the distance.
"Okay, here we go again," Alan said, gripping the controller tightly.
"What's that thing?" Brendan asked, inching closer.
"It's moving weird," Julian added. "Is it even human?"
The static intensified, and the figure turned—revealing a twisted, faceless creature. Alan fumbled with the controls, trying to ready the pipe Harry had picked up earlier.
He managed to strike the monster just in time, knocking it down with a sickening crunch.
Everyone exhaled.
"Oh God," Brendan said, clutching a pillow. "That thing was terrifying."
"I don't even think that was the worst of it," Alan said. "We're just getting started."
Julian glanced at the clock. "How long do you think this game is?"
Alan shrugged. "Doesn't matter. We're in it now."
For the next hour, they took turns deciphering notes found in abandoned buildings, listening closely to cryptic messages on payphones, and reading diary entries that hinted at something much bigger—something wrong with the town itself. The deeper they went, the more they began to discuss the meaning behind it all.
"It's like," Brendan started, "Silent Hill isn't just scary because of monsters. It's like the town itself is alive. I don't like this."
Alan nodded. "Yeah… and shut the hell up I'm the one who is playing man."
Julian giggle. "But do you think it's that deep? The silent hill town itself. I mean there are weird feelings about this town and I'm sure it's not just me?"
"I don't know," Alan admitted. "But the more I play, the more I feel like it's not just about a missing girl. There are other shits going on here man."
They all sat in silence again, this time not out of fear—but thought. The game had them. Not with jumpscares or loud noises—but with its mystery, its slow descent into darkness, and its ability to make them question what was real.
The group pressed on, following the trail of subtle clues and increasingly bizarre visuals. As Alan navigated the fog-choked streets, the tension in the room was thick enough to cut. Every creaking gate, every flash of static from the radio, sent chills up their spines. It was Brendan who pointed out the note that directed them toward the school—a central location known in Silent Hill lore to hold darker secrets.
When they arrived, the school building loomed like a monument to forgotten horror. Inside, lockers rattled for no reason, whispers echoed from empty hallways, and the shadows seemed to twitch when no one was looking. Alan moved Harry cautiously, the flashlight casting a cone of pale light that flickered every time the power threatened to cut out.
They found strange symbols scrawled in red ink across classroom walls. The deeper into the school they went, the more the environment shifted. Doors led to places that didn't make sense, the lighting dimmed to a sickly green, and eventually, they entered what the game called the "Otherworld." The familiar school had morphed into a twisted, rust-covered nightmare version of itself.
Brendan gripped the armrest of the couch. "Why does everything look like it's been burned?"
Julian added, "It's like the place is alive… like it's bleeding through dimensions."
They finally reached the clock tower courtyard, where a strange noise reverberated through the air. The screen pulsed with static as the first real boss approached: a monstrous, lizard-like creature with exposed flesh and a gaping jaw.
"Oh crap. That's it. That's the boss!" Alan said, sitting up straighter.
The room fell silent except for the roaring sounds coming from the game. The creature lunged, its mouth snapping inches from Harry. Alan dodged, striking with the pipe again and again. The fight was brutal—Harry was slower, clumsier, and the monster's movements were unpredictable. Brendan and Julian yelled advice between bites of their fingernails.
"Left! Left! Dodge now!"
"Use the health drink, quick!"
After several near-deaths and one restart, Alan managed to land a critical blow just as the creature reared up. With a distorted screech, it collapsed, thrashing violently before dissolving into black smoke.
The victory was met with loud cheers from all three. Brendan even stood up and shouted, "We did it! First boss down!"
Alan let out a shaky breath. "Okay… that was insane. And if that's just the first boss… we're in for a long night."
Julian smiled nervously. "A long, terrifying night... Are you ready, Alan?"
Alan grinned, glancing at both of his friends. The adrenaline from the boss fight was still pumping through him. "Oh, I'm more than ready," he said. "This is getting good—creepy, yeah—but seriously good."
He tightened his grip on the controller, eyes locked on the screen. "Let's go! I'm really intrigued by this story now. I want to know what happens next." With that the 3 of them continue playing.
To be continue
AN : I can't forget Silent Hill but somehow the scariest part for me are when the game just started and you don't know what to do but after i got my first weapon and combat everything become less scarier
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