Chapter 168: Demanding Completion Requirements
As a simple demo, many players initially assumed it would be easy to complete. However, the reality was far from ideal.
Before the Game Expo, the video game industry had not received much news, as some manufacturers, although promising something, planned to announce it during the fair. However, Silent Hill PT, the demo used to test new virtual reality platforms, became the focus of media attention.
"The Silent Hill PT beta demo reached a completion rate of 1.76% after only one day online."
However, when many media outlets compiled this information based on the trophy records of the Nebula game platform and published the news, they were surprised.
'It had only been online for one day! And judging by the players' online conversations, it must have been played a lot! Did it not even achieve a 2% completion rate? Was it too difficult? Or perhaps too intimidating?'
Many media outlets were curious.
At Game Time, Ryan was also surprised to see this data. As it was just a test demo, few media outlets analyzed it. But now, seeing the completion data, he felt genuinely curious.
Driven by curiosity, he opened the Nebula game platform, downloaded the demo, and entered the game.
Ten minutes later, Ryan, with his heart in his hand, stood up from his chair, took several deep breaths, and with trembling hands, opened the curtains and began to sunbathe.
'Now he understood why the completion rate was so low!'.
Who, an average player, could get through this?
Of course, it was only the horror part; in fact, many players could still complete it. After all, it was not the highly immersive virtual reality version. With the PC version, players had many tricks to mitigate their fears. Not to mention the model changes for characters like the female ghost. After all, if something went wrong, a horror game could become a "shooter."
But adjusting the brightness, lowering the sound, and putting on crosstalk and upbeat songs, or even just sitting in a row with three or five guys holding hands and playing, aren't all these solutions?
The key is that the requirements for completing Silent Hill PT are quite demanding.
It was not until the next day that some hardcore players, after an exhaustive investigation of the game and forum debates, finally deciphered the requirements to complete Silent Hill PT.
What surprised many players was that, despite being just a test demo, Silent Hill PT told a simple story.
The game's hallways, with their infinite loop, repeated fourteen times, each one triggering a new plot point.
In the second loop, the player returned to a photo of his wife. Upon picking it up, three lines of text appeared: "Can you hear my voice? Can you decipher this message? If you come to me, I will always be waiting for you". This was the first clue in the game.
In various corners of the room, there were fragments of eight photos, each with ten phrases. By collecting each one, a random message was revealed in a different language, and these ten phrases contained crucial clues to complete the game.
Collectively, they are: "I stood motionless while waiting, whispering her name. Her fingers brushed my hand, which was ice-cold, and my body trembled. Waiting for this to end, I stood motionless. Her outstretched hand gradually faded into the mist, and I thought I heard a phone call."
Each time the player dies at the hands of the ghost of Lisa, a game over message appears, which causes the game to crash and close. However, this screen reveals a crucial piece of information: the protagonist's name: J.
The atmosphere becomes increasingly oppressive and unsettling as the game progresses. As the story unfolds, the player discovers how Lisa died. In another loop, the player can hear noises from the bathroom through a peephole in the hallway. Based on the sound effects, it can be inferred that Lisa had her eyes gouged out, her throat slit, and the fetus extracted from her abdomen. Lisa's bubbling sound was also caused by the bloody foam choking her throat.
The motive for Lisa's murder is revealed through a mysterious voice-over: "You were fired, so you drowned your sorrows in alcohol. You had to take a part-time job as a cashier at a store. The only reason I was making money there was because the manager liked me. You haven't forgotten that, have you? Ten months ago".
This also suggests that the protagonist killed Lisa because he believed she was unfaithful and that the baby she was carrying was not his.
After collecting all the information, you move on to the final loop and complete the three steps to complete the game.
The first step is simply to wait for a minute in front of the digital clock until it reaches zero. This confirms the statement you made when you picked up the photo: "I stood still."
Then, start walking ten steps forward and you will hear the baby's first laugh. At that moment, you will hear the sound of Lisa's heels. Follow the sound to find Lisa, keeping a certain distance, and then say the protagonist's name, which you have already collected: J, through the microphone.
This confirms the photo's statement: "I whispered her name."
Lisa will lunge at the player and possess them. At the same time, the screen shakes gently. In VR, players can feel the engine vibrations transmitted from the game pod. In the PC version, when using a controller, they will feel the controller vibrate, while when using only the mouse and keyboard, they will feel the screen vibrate.
This confirms a phrase from the collected photos: "Her fingers brushed my hand, and it was cold, and my body trembled."
Then, an unsettling music begins, but the player remains motionless, corroborating the next phrase: "I didn't move, and her outstretched hand gradually disappeared into the mist."
After the music fades, the baby's laugh is heard again and a phone rings in the hallway, confirming the player's last words: "I think I heard a call."
Upon approaching the phone, a voice is heard: "You have been selected."
An instant later, the door unlocks and the trophy for completing the game appears.
After reading the guides compiled by some expert players, countless players were stunned.
'It's too demanding!'.
Especially the final requirements. Without clues, it is impossible to deduce these steps. As expert players published their guides, countless players online began to talk about the game.
"I'm convinced! With these demanding conditions, I would be playing for a year and still wouldn't be able to complete it!".
"Hey, brother, be more confident! You'll never be able to complete it! Your time is 0.1 hours, how is it possible for you to complete it?".
"Haha, 0.1 hours? You're overestimating him! That's the default minimum time on the Nebula game platform. He must have checked it and then abandoned it! How do you know? Because that's what I did!".
"I highly recommend that someone sponsors this game. I think it's like extreme sports!".
"Your death is unimaginable!".
Despite the release of the demo guide, the discussion about Silent Hill PT continued without ceasing. Even on live streaming platforms, even with the guide available, some streamers were terrified.
A simple demo left countless players with an indescribable psychological scar. Some even joked about experiencing symptoms of PTSD, afraid to walk alone down the hallway to the bathroom at night, fearing they would find themselves in another hallway.
If there was any news that could truly relax players and change their mood, it would probably be that this year's game is finally beginning. They have finally received more news about the long-awaited prequel to Dark Souls!.
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