By Theresa Afful

Silent Hope, an action RPG released this fall, is set in a peaceful country where the former King silences the people, steals their speech, and then runs away into an endless hole called The Abyss. In this Switch game, the Princess cried, mourning her father’s actions, until her solidified tears buried her after these events. Years later, when the memory of these events has faded, seven heroes are drawn to the Princess. They must delve into The Abyss’ depths to find the long-lost king and reunite the royal family to free her from her shining captivity.

Silent Hope’s artwork is truly captivating. It tells the story of anime-style heroes with big eyes who bravely confront the dark side. The design is very captivating and the artwork is truly remarkable. I am particularly fond of the color scheme of each of the seven heroes, which is based on their clothing or hair. In particular, I’m appreciative of the vibrant visuals, diverse locations,  and fluid animation, as they have achieved remarkable results with what they have created. And there’s a spacey beauty as you leap into The Abyss.

One of the locations that stood out to me especially was the third layer known as the Frozen World. It’s a winter wonderland-type map where there snow and ice cover it entirely. Other than the snow I love the enemies that we have to fight, like Pugil Panda, who looked both cute and scary with his big, orange, slashing claws. One of the heroes, known as “The Rogue,” has long purple hair and the rest of her back and white maid-style outfit complements those purple tresses. She’s a fighter – with fast swords that cut quickly. As she heads into battle, she leads forward with purpose.    

Unfortunately, the story of Silent Hope is predictable. Beyond what I outlined above, I find the storyline of the game to be not that innovative. From the moment you see the Princess in the crystal you already know that you going to be the one tasked to free her. Then you get more information on your task which is to save both her and her father.  Which is not to say I didn’t take to the tale. I liked the story Silent Hope presented for what it was. In my opinion, it doesn’t add much to the game. There won’t be any interesting conversations because the 7 playable characters are just your avatars of destruction.

In terms of audio, the game’s soundtrack was enjoyable to listen to and pertinent to the subject matter, although there is no awe-inspiring background music. On the other hand, the frequency of the Princess’ audio lines in base camp was a bit irritating. While the characters you play are cute and offer interesting world and character interactions, the amount of original lines of dialogue does not match their frequency, which may lead players to lower their voice volume at the beginning of the game.  The Princess seems to like to speak on her own even without you interacting with her. She repeats, over and over again, “If you wish with all your heart, then I’m sure any wish you make will come true someday… I just know it.” lt’s nice a nice sentiment the first few times, and then all she does is say random things about her loneliness or her father. I gave up and muted her. 

I received the collectors’ edition of the game and what was in it was the Silent Game for the Switch, an exclusive 96-page full-color artbook, and the original soundtrack CD. Thanks to the book, I was able to get an understanding of all the monsters and enemies that I would be dealing with in the abyss.

I have played enough of the game to get the credits rolling, and, overall, I liked Silent Hope. It may seem like a small thing, but many games overlook the fun aspects of the main game in favor of side features. It took me a while to unlock the other levels of the game, but I won’t stop soon. What made the game fun for me was how we didn’t have to stick to one character but instead, I could change to different ones, I like how I could collect different materials to level up weapons and increase the damage on enemies. I always tried to level up each character to the point where it took only one hit to kill each monster on each level.  The controls are simple to learn. When I was in The Abyss, I only used two of the many controls: A and R. I used A to attack, and R to dodge enemy attacks.

Listening to the different music allows me to immerse myself in each character I choose. The music in the game is quite relaxing and calm and I could listen to it for hours. When I listen to the Princess reveal more information about the King and what happened, I get more and more interested. She does reveal how her father always overworked himself before diving into The Abyss, but other than that she only talks about how much she worries for her father. That got old for me.

Deciding to embark on one more journey is an easy decision to make, however. When the Princess reveals the amount of time you have spent in the Abyss, it is hard to resist the urge to further increase your strength and power levels until you return to Base Camp. I have spent several late nights in this manner, and I do not regret it. The hours you will spend in “just a bit more mode” for Silent Hope will be an enjoyable experience from beginning to end—provided you can endure the Princess’s incessant chatter when you are at Base Camp between missions, and the risk of fainting and being taken back to Base Camp before you are fully prepared. Somehow, that’s all part of why Silent Hope is, ultimately, an engaging experience.

Bronx resident and NYVGCC intern Theresa Afful is in her first year of high school after graduating Mott Hall III middle school in June.