This review contains spoilers
"Flawed Masterpiece" is a descriptor I find tends to get a bit overused when it comes to media discussion, but in the case of "Silent Hill 4: The Room" I honestly think it's at it's most apt.
SH4 is a game that you can unfortunately kinda tell had a bit of troubled, rushed production, and this is mainly evident in the gameplay, which in my opinion is the weakest of the 4 team silent games. The game spams way more enemies at you then previous entries, and while I do think this works with the narrative, it also leads to a lot of monetary, with a lot of backtracking towards the second half, and a hud that's always on screen and kinda takes me out a bit. Puzzles were still pretty cool, though I prefer the riddles of the other installments.
Honestly though I don't care for all that too much, what I highly appreciate about SH4 is the narrative beneath the narrative. The main story the game tells is a pretty solid one, Walter is a memorable villain, and piecing everything together is pretty satisfying.
However, I feel like there's a lot the game is trying to tell that unfortunately went over many peoples heads, there's a bit of a hidden story here, which mainly involves its infamous protagonist Henry, who is often regarded as one of the worst in the series.
Throughout the game, Henry remains mostly silent, occasionally speaking only through a few whisper. This is an aspect I feel was intentional with the kind of character Henry is supposed to be, it's very easy to make assumptions about him being on a spectrum, and while I would incline to agree, he also fits into a certain archetype popular in Japan known as the "Hikikomori", funnily enough made more popular with a game that came out only about a month before this one, the RPG Maker title "Yume Nikki", which shares a few similarities with SH4
The Hikikomori is a socially reclusive person, one who tends to distance themselves from society, instead just lucking themselves in their own homes.
I feel that this game became a bit more relatable to folks around Covid times, when most were forced to remain in homes, you could almost imagine all the iconic chains featured on the game's cover blocking your own door, as the insanity slowly takes over, as you get so used to your personal space, that even the most minor of inconsistencies seem disturbing, which is captured in game via the various hauntings. However, I believe looking at it that way reveals only part of the larger picture.
The locks on Henry's door are something I see as symbolic really, of his own personal fear of the outside and desire to stay in-doors, he shares a lot with Walter really, with the many levels behind manifestations of their fear of the outside, all the enemies representing the inevitable social interactions Henry would rather avoid if possible, just speaking with people can be a terrifying prospect to many folks, and these, sorts of nightmares, represent what I believe Henry would rather avoid.
However, as Henry stays in his room longer and longer, he begins going mad, The Hauntings are elements I believe come from his massive paranoia, getting so used to his room it starts coming off as creepy. The game doesn't really specify just how long Henry spent in his apartment, if you want to you could imagine it's only been a few weeks, but I believe a few years is closer to the money, with all the time Henry spent going insane eventually getting him to start and try to overcome his fear of the wider world, as during the final act, he finally braves to exit room 302.
He initially finds to outside world to be as disturbing as he imagined, This is until he finally confronts Walter, the manifestation of all his fears, who wants to revive his "mother", who in reality is just the room he wants to stay in and never leave. And with Henry finally defeating that side of himself, he can finally brave the regular outside happily, warping up his arc, and ending Silent Hill 4.
SH4 is certainly a game that could've been better, and maybe even told its story in a way more would understand, but as a person who personally IS on the spectrum, and felt a lot of the emotions I believe henry felt during his journey, this is a game that meant a lot to me, 2 is still my favorite SH game, with this being a somewhat close second, but this is easily the one that hit the closest to home for me, and I hope others were able to experience what I did with this wonderful, beautiful, messy game
SH4 is a game that you can unfortunately kinda tell had a bit of troubled, rushed production, and this is mainly evident in the gameplay, which in my opinion is the weakest of the 4 team silent games. The game spams way more enemies at you then previous entries, and while I do think this works with the narrative, it also leads to a lot of monetary, with a lot of backtracking towards the second half, and a hud that's always on screen and kinda takes me out a bit. Puzzles were still pretty cool, though I prefer the riddles of the other installments.
Honestly though I don't care for all that too much, what I highly appreciate about SH4 is the narrative beneath the narrative. The main story the game tells is a pretty solid one, Walter is a memorable villain, and piecing everything together is pretty satisfying.
However, I feel like there's a lot the game is trying to tell that unfortunately went over many peoples heads, there's a bit of a hidden story here, which mainly involves its infamous protagonist Henry, who is often regarded as one of the worst in the series.
Throughout the game, Henry remains mostly silent, occasionally speaking only through a few whisper. This is an aspect I feel was intentional with the kind of character Henry is supposed to be, it's very easy to make assumptions about him being on a spectrum, and while I would incline to agree, he also fits into a certain archetype popular in Japan known as the "Hikikomori", funnily enough made more popular with a game that came out only about a month before this one, the RPG Maker title "Yume Nikki", which shares a few similarities with SH4
The Hikikomori is a socially reclusive person, one who tends to distance themselves from society, instead just lucking themselves in their own homes.
I feel that this game became a bit more relatable to folks around Covid times, when most were forced to remain in homes, you could almost imagine all the iconic chains featured on the game's cover blocking your own door, as the insanity slowly takes over, as you get so used to your personal space, that even the most minor of inconsistencies seem disturbing, which is captured in game via the various hauntings. However, I believe looking at it that way reveals only part of the larger picture.
The locks on Henry's door are something I see as symbolic really, of his own personal fear of the outside and desire to stay in-doors, he shares a lot with Walter really, with the many levels behind manifestations of their fear of the outside, all the enemies representing the inevitable social interactions Henry would rather avoid if possible, just speaking with people can be a terrifying prospect to many folks, and these, sorts of nightmares, represent what I believe Henry would rather avoid.
However, as Henry stays in his room longer and longer, he begins going mad, The Hauntings are elements I believe come from his massive paranoia, getting so used to his room it starts coming off as creepy. The game doesn't really specify just how long Henry spent in his apartment, if you want to you could imagine it's only been a few weeks, but I believe a few years is closer to the money, with all the time Henry spent going insane eventually getting him to start and try to overcome his fear of the wider world, as during the final act, he finally braves to exit room 302.
He initially finds to outside world to be as disturbing as he imagined, This is until he finally confronts Walter, the manifestation of all his fears, who wants to revive his "mother", who in reality is just the room he wants to stay in and never leave. And with Henry finally defeating that side of himself, he can finally brave the regular outside happily, warping up his arc, and ending Silent Hill 4.
SH4 is certainly a game that could've been better, and maybe even told its story in a way more would understand, but as a person who personally IS on the spectrum, and felt a lot of the emotions I believe henry felt during his journey, this is a game that meant a lot to me, 2 is still my favorite SH game, with this being a somewhat close second, but this is easily the one that hit the closest to home for me, and I hope others were able to experience what I did with this wonderful, beautiful, messy game
Fans despised this game when it came out for stepping too far from the “original formula” but that’s what makes it special. They solved the map issue and got rid of most of the door simulator part that made older games lose immersion. Great plot, great characters, amazing ost and definitely the scariest entry of the games.
Although I absolutely love Silent Hill, Silent Hill 2 and Silent Hill 3, I unfortunately can’t give this the same ratings as them. This is the last “real” Silent Hill and while it has so many great ideas and concept, it also suffers a lot more than the previous titles. I still really like this game but it just isn’t on the same level.
7.5/10
7.5/10
The Room but without Tommy Wiseau.
The black sheep of the original four Team Silent games, but is that rightfully so? Well it for sure is understandable. Henry Townsend is the definition of a dull and one dimensional character. Pretty much in contrast to Heather who is arguably the most 4-dimensional character I have ever witnessed. However SH4 has the series most interesting villain. Tommy Wisea...I mean Walter Sullivan. He sure looks like Tommy though lol.
Anyway the story about Walter and the 21 sacraments is pretty damn intruiging. The enemy design is great. Enemy sounds are pretty damn odd though, especially those burping monsters. Combat is worse yet easier at the same time. Once you got the axe you become invinvible ruining much of the horror. Imagine how dangerous those Twin Victims (one of the best and most underappreciated monsters in the franchise) would be with Silent Hill 3 gameplay and combat mechanics. The handgun is kinda like a shotgun shooting through multiple enemies sometimes.
The level design is great but I miss the radio and flashlight. The escort mission isn't as bad as in RE4 but witout it and the backtracking is something I could do without but I don't really mind it. Akira Yamaokas score is a masterclass. Room of Angels anyone?
9/10 Ghosts haunting your apartment.
The black sheep of the original four Team Silent games, but is that rightfully so? Well it for sure is understandable. Henry Townsend is the definition of a dull and one dimensional character. Pretty much in contrast to Heather who is arguably the most 4-dimensional character I have ever witnessed. However SH4 has the series most interesting villain. Tommy Wisea...I mean Walter Sullivan. He sure looks like Tommy though lol.
Anyway the story about Walter and the 21 sacraments is pretty damn intruiging. The enemy design is great. Enemy sounds are pretty damn odd though, especially those burping monsters. Combat is worse yet easier at the same time. Once you got the axe you become invinvible ruining much of the horror. Imagine how dangerous those Twin Victims (one of the best and most underappreciated monsters in the franchise) would be with Silent Hill 3 gameplay and combat mechanics. The handgun is kinda like a shotgun shooting through multiple enemies sometimes.
The level design is great but I miss the radio and flashlight. The escort mission isn't as bad as in RE4 but witout it and the backtracking is something I could do without but I don't really mind it. Akira Yamaokas score is a masterclass. Room of Angels anyone?
9/10 Ghosts haunting your apartment.
Left to Rot
Team Silent's last effort went into this experimental and odd entry in the Silent Hill franchise. It is not as well remembered as the trilogy itself, at least for what I could read on the internet and asking people online. It is quite sad, but I can totally understand why after finishing it and is not everyone would enjoy, initially. Specially comming from prior entries which follow a set structure regardless of how wildly they might differ thematically. The Room is different.
We awake in an unknown apartment complex, inside what must be our room: 302. After taking a look at the main entrance to the room, we find out the door is completely shut. Someone took a huge amount effort and emphasis on not wanting us to leave the room whatsoever.
"Don't Go Out!!"
-Walter
Peeking into the door's peephole reveals that we are at least not alone, a lone woman wonders outside our door. She can't hear us and our only way to interact with "the outside world" is through pen and paper; notes. After exploring most of what the room has to offer up to that point, we end up staring at a large hole in the bathroom wall. In classic Silent Hill fashion, our protagonist ventures straight into the darkness to another entirely different location where the adventure starts.
The Room as I said before drifts away from the conventional spirit of the series. For instance, it is not even located in Silent Hill to begin with but a town nearby called South Ashfield. The town is full to the brim with people just living an everyday life, that is quite a contrast to the other three games. It makes emphasis in the room itself, not just as a place but as an enigmatic living entity that lives on it's own throughout several small changes we'll be seeing while we progress in the adventure. It feels like being inside of a creature that doesn't exist or rather, we can't comprehend.
But where does the "bad reception" comes from exactly? Tough one. The very nature of this game being an experiment of sorts for Team Silent delivers a layer of complexity above prior titles when it comes to storytelling and structure. It's story is secretly told and sparse ine the aforementioned notes, that can be found through the apartment and the world themselves we explore. How the game structures the map is simpler than prior entries, since it's divided into little worlds entirely different from one another. Think of it just as a level or zone. The absense of challenging puzzles (aside from the water prison world puzzle) might have been one of the factors too since they were not challenging at all. It is fractured into little pieces and the room serves as the central hub to take a break from time to time, read through the notes and piece the story together in something that can make sense in your head.
But, I believe there is something definitely lacking in The Room: Emotion. It is known that Silent Hill as a town can manifest people worst thoughts and transform them into reality. What does that have to do with Silent Hill exactly? This isn't about the protagonist we control, Henry. But rather it's the story of Walter Sullivan; an individual with more close ties to the town of Silent Hill, an it's religious cult. The distant nature of Henry is quite peculiar as it is non-intrusive and let's the story flow naturally while exploring a world that is not his with more ease. But it lacks that strange yet beliveable human connection characters previous titles had up to that point. This is were The Room fails to make an impact on me.
The Room is unusual, unsettling and quite interesting knowing this is Team Silent last game. Definitely feels like a side-project, while Silent Hill 3 was recieveng all the manpower and money possible to develop; Silent Hill 4 was a strange experiment that they turned into a full game. For me, it's the scariest Silent Hill game by a long shot. Don't believe me? See the intro for yourself.
Team Silent's last effort went into this experimental and odd entry in the Silent Hill franchise. It is not as well remembered as the trilogy itself, at least for what I could read on the internet and asking people online. It is quite sad, but I can totally understand why after finishing it and is not everyone would enjoy, initially. Specially comming from prior entries which follow a set structure regardless of how wildly they might differ thematically. The Room is different.
We awake in an unknown apartment complex, inside what must be our room: 302. After taking a look at the main entrance to the room, we find out the door is completely shut. Someone took a huge amount effort and emphasis on not wanting us to leave the room whatsoever.
"Don't Go Out!!"
-Walter
Peeking into the door's peephole reveals that we are at least not alone, a lone woman wonders outside our door. She can't hear us and our only way to interact with "the outside world" is through pen and paper; notes. After exploring most of what the room has to offer up to that point, we end up staring at a large hole in the bathroom wall. In classic Silent Hill fashion, our protagonist ventures straight into the darkness to another entirely different location where the adventure starts.
The Room as I said before drifts away from the conventional spirit of the series. For instance, it is not even located in Silent Hill to begin with but a town nearby called South Ashfield. The town is full to the brim with people just living an everyday life, that is quite a contrast to the other three games. It makes emphasis in the room itself, not just as a place but as an enigmatic living entity that lives on it's own throughout several small changes we'll be seeing while we progress in the adventure. It feels like being inside of a creature that doesn't exist or rather, we can't comprehend.
But where does the "bad reception" comes from exactly? Tough one. The very nature of this game being an experiment of sorts for Team Silent delivers a layer of complexity above prior titles when it comes to storytelling and structure. It's story is secretly told and sparse ine the aforementioned notes, that can be found through the apartment and the world themselves we explore. How the game structures the map is simpler than prior entries, since it's divided into little worlds entirely different from one another. Think of it just as a level or zone. The absense of challenging puzzles (aside from the water prison world puzzle) might have been one of the factors too since they were not challenging at all. It is fractured into little pieces and the room serves as the central hub to take a break from time to time, read through the notes and piece the story together in something that can make sense in your head.
But, I believe there is something definitely lacking in The Room: Emotion. It is known that Silent Hill as a town can manifest people worst thoughts and transform them into reality. What does that have to do with Silent Hill exactly? This isn't about the protagonist we control, Henry. But rather it's the story of Walter Sullivan; an individual with more close ties to the town of Silent Hill, an it's religious cult. The distant nature of Henry is quite peculiar as it is non-intrusive and let's the story flow naturally while exploring a world that is not his with more ease. But it lacks that strange yet beliveable human connection characters previous titles had up to that point. This is were The Room fails to make an impact on me.
The Room is unusual, unsettling and quite interesting knowing this is Team Silent last game. Definitely feels like a side-project, while Silent Hill 3 was recieveng all the manpower and money possible to develop; Silent Hill 4 was a strange experiment that they turned into a full game. For me, it's the scariest Silent Hill game by a long shot. Don't believe me? See the intro for yourself.
I played this game over 50 times when I was younger, it makes sense on how I was diagnosed with autism.
I really wish I could sing higher praises of this game, but unfortunately it is living deep within the shadow of the first 3 games. A lot of people will claim the Team SILENT quadrilogy has "purposefully bad gameplay and controls" to make things more tense, but those first 3 games do indeed have a really good and tight gameplay loop. Silent Hill 4 does not have that.
It is constantly throwing new shit at the wall non-stop until the game ends. New mechanics, new ideas, new enemies, and normally this would rock, but these things don't particularly mesh well in all honesty, especially not with this game's absolutely ridiculous new control scheme. In a game where the camera shifts SO MUCH I don't think anything BUT tank controls will work. I also don't think a Silent Hill game needs to have half of its runtime be a bad escort mission with the worst AI ever where the quality of your escorting ties into the game's ending.
Some positives, this is easily one of the best sounding games of its generation. Great music, great sound design, its solid. The story, while a little confusing and hard to follow at first, is really strong here. The inventory management actually adds a fun level of depth to these games that prior entries didn't have. The creature designs are absolutely killer. And before Eileen joins you the core gameplay loop is conceptually good.
But like I said, this game is sadly living in the shadow of 3 way way way better games. Wish I had more kindness to give it, but this was just frustrating for a lot of its runtime. BUT its still a Team SILENT game so it is of course better than 80% of games that released the same year as it. This game IS good, I just wish it were MORE good.
It is constantly throwing new shit at the wall non-stop until the game ends. New mechanics, new ideas, new enemies, and normally this would rock, but these things don't particularly mesh well in all honesty, especially not with this game's absolutely ridiculous new control scheme. In a game where the camera shifts SO MUCH I don't think anything BUT tank controls will work. I also don't think a Silent Hill game needs to have half of its runtime be a bad escort mission with the worst AI ever where the quality of your escorting ties into the game's ending.
Some positives, this is easily one of the best sounding games of its generation. Great music, great sound design, its solid. The story, while a little confusing and hard to follow at first, is really strong here. The inventory management actually adds a fun level of depth to these games that prior entries didn't have. The creature designs are absolutely killer. And before Eileen joins you the core gameplay loop is conceptually good.
But like I said, this game is sadly living in the shadow of 3 way way way better games. Wish I had more kindness to give it, but this was just frustrating for a lot of its runtime. BUT its still a Team SILENT game so it is of course better than 80% of games that released the same year as it. This game IS good, I just wish it were MORE good.
Me and the bad bitch I pulled by inviting her to fight a serial killer
Walter Sullivan alone is enough
probably the creepiest silent hill game. i really love the concept of being trapped inside your own apartment, i love the soundtrack, the first half of the game is amazing but once you get eileen with you and have to revisit the same places, it gets really awful.
There are parts to Silent Hill 4 that are downright genius. The use of first-person in the apartment in particular leads to some really tense moments.
However, during most of the gameplay I found myself not as engaged with the game as with the previous titles. The levels are extremely disconnected and most don't have any interesting set-pieces like the toilet gag from SH1's school, the Mirror room from SH3, and so on.
Of course, the second part of the game just being a retread doesn't help. While the first half was somewhat tense, all tension and horror just turned into frustration in the back half of the game.
I understand this was likely a publisher's demand or very troubled development, but I'd prefer a very short focused game that consisted only of the levels from the first part.
However, during most of the gameplay I found myself not as engaged with the game as with the previous titles. The levels are extremely disconnected and most don't have any interesting set-pieces like the toilet gag from SH1's school, the Mirror room from SH3, and so on.
Of course, the second part of the game just being a retread doesn't help. While the first half was somewhat tense, all tension and horror just turned into frustration in the back half of the game.
I understand this was likely a publisher's demand or very troubled development, but I'd prefer a very short focused game that consisted only of the levels from the first part.
This entry gets a really bad rep, but I'm not completely sure why. The atmosphere and new mechanics in the apartment really hit me, and while there were some downsides i.e. pointless combat changes to make it "better," and a few tedious or needlessly difficult bits, this has imagery and characters on par with the rest of the series. The music is obviously phenomenal, but the art direction is incredibly underrated, and Walter is a stand-out character even for "just being a guy," comparative to the previous antagonists. There's so much cool symbology and experimental tricks that stick out even next to SH2 and 3, and a lot of little things that make an apparent bridge between classic SH and what Kojima wanted to do with his addition to the series. I'd say easy mode is the way to go here, the puzzles are more fetch-quest than riddle and so higher difficulties may make some sections tedious, but otherwise I highly recommend sticking through and seeing the story in full.
After much hesitation, I finally decided to bite the bullet and play Silent Hill 4. It was always the most interesting game of the Team Silent games for me due to its polarizing reception. This game is like the middle ground between good and bad according to the community. However, now that I have finally finished Silent Hill 4. I can give some of my thoughts.
First and foremost, Silent Hill 4 is not as good as its predecessors in my opinion. The minds of Team Silent took a slightly different creative approach to the game. This can mostly be seen within its gameplay. Silent Hill 1-3 allowed you to use both guns and melee weapons. However, as you keep playing 4, you'll notice that the game is more melee focused. There are a ton of melee weapons to be found since there are only 2 guns within the game. Taking a page out of Resident Evil, Silent Hill 4 features a limited inventory. Now personally, I never found the limited inventory to be an issue. The only thing I can really complain about the inventory is that handgun/revolver ammo no longer stack, so you have to carry individual stacks. The same also applies to health items.
The combat in Silent Hill games haven't always been the greatest. Like I mentioned earlier, Silent Hill 4 takes a slight departure from the original 3 games and goes more melee focus. You can perform normal attacks and charged attacks with any melee weapon you find. The gauge for charged attack vary depending on the weapon. Charged attacks is the norm for when doing combat since you're given i-frames during the attack animation. You also have the option to dodge in combat, but I never did it too much. If you want to have a more solid time with this game, then use the Rusty Axe once you find it. It's charged attack is absurd and it eliminates the need of having other weapons in your inventory. It's just that good and it gets rid one of the biggest problems people have with the game.
One of the biggest things against Silent Hill 4 is the 2nd half of the game where you have to escort Eileen through your world revisits. Eileen, herself, doesn't particularly have the greatest AI in the world. There are times where she'll either get stuck at corners and you have to wait for her. Genuinely, the only hindrance Eileen does is make you slow down for her. Henry easily outruns her and you'll be waiting for her to catch up. She can't access the next room unless she's within a certain proximity of Henry, so you have to wait on her. The only time this can be annoying is if you're traveling through a room with hummers which only happens a handful of times. One slight thing I want to add here is that she can help in combat if you give her one of her weapons. Although, there's a risk of her taking damage or getting in the way. Anyways, the escorting itself isn't as bad as people make it out to be. It's like an overblown exaggeration similarly to Ashley in the original Resident Evil 4.
Presentation is one of Silent Hill's strongest suites and I think 4's overall tone is good. The titulary room, Room 302, is an interesting concept. It acts as a safe haven while also imploring that there's something else more menacing going on as you collect red notes. Speaking of the red notes, the story in Silent Hill 4 is really good and interesting. You won't understand the overall narrative at first, but as you collect more memos it's quite interesting. The characters featured within the game aren't really all that interesting outside of one person. That one person being Walter Sullivan. The entire game centers around him as you explore his manifestations, learn his background, and understand his motives to why he's performing the 21 Sacraments. Walter is potentially the best antagonist within the Silent Hill games. The worlds that you do get to explore are fine. I didn't find any of them to stand out personally on a visual level excluding Room 302. However, I do find the Water Prison to be the most interesting in terms of aesthetic and lore. It's also the first time you encounter the Twin Victim. Speaking of enemies, Silent Hill 4 doesn't have a memorable enemy lineup except for the Twin Victim. The most memorable thing about the enemies are the stock sound effects that play you fight and kill them. An interesting thing that Silent Hill 4 does take from is Japanese horror with the introduction of ghosts. The ghosts aren't exactly all that threatening, but rather impose themselves as annoying enemies. Although, they didn't feel that annoying. The only annoying ghosts are the victim ghosts.
I want to talk about the soundtrack here for a moment. It's interesting because Silent Hill 4's soundtrack is good. Not as memorable as the first 3, but still good with its own selection of memorable songs. I'm really huge on Tender Sugar, Room of Angel, Nightmarish Waltz, and Pulsating Ambience. I think the only reason I really wanted a short paragraph here is to mention the official soundtrack that you can listen to on music services. It's quite interesting that Silent Hill 4's official soundtrack is comprised of both music heard in-game, but also music that's just not even featured within the game itself. I don't know why, but it kind of intrigues me. Anyways, just know that Silent Hill 4 has a good soundtrack but isn't as strong as Silent Hill 1-3.
Although, my thoughts are quite scattered on Silent Hill 4. I find the game itself to be interesting conceptually. In fact, it somewhat feels generic in a way, yet also maintains that feeling of being a Silent Hill game. I'm somewhat relieved to have finished this game because now I don't have to doubt whether the game is bad or not. It's good just not as good as what came before. I do implore that any doubters of this game do give it a chance because there is something here.
First and foremost, Silent Hill 4 is not as good as its predecessors in my opinion. The minds of Team Silent took a slightly different creative approach to the game. This can mostly be seen within its gameplay. Silent Hill 1-3 allowed you to use both guns and melee weapons. However, as you keep playing 4, you'll notice that the game is more melee focused. There are a ton of melee weapons to be found since there are only 2 guns within the game. Taking a page out of Resident Evil, Silent Hill 4 features a limited inventory. Now personally, I never found the limited inventory to be an issue. The only thing I can really complain about the inventory is that handgun/revolver ammo no longer stack, so you have to carry individual stacks. The same also applies to health items.
The combat in Silent Hill games haven't always been the greatest. Like I mentioned earlier, Silent Hill 4 takes a slight departure from the original 3 games and goes more melee focus. You can perform normal attacks and charged attacks with any melee weapon you find. The gauge for charged attack vary depending on the weapon. Charged attacks is the norm for when doing combat since you're given i-frames during the attack animation. You also have the option to dodge in combat, but I never did it too much. If you want to have a more solid time with this game, then use the Rusty Axe once you find it. It's charged attack is absurd and it eliminates the need of having other weapons in your inventory. It's just that good and it gets rid one of the biggest problems people have with the game.
One of the biggest things against Silent Hill 4 is the 2nd half of the game where you have to escort Eileen through your world revisits. Eileen, herself, doesn't particularly have the greatest AI in the world. There are times where she'll either get stuck at corners and you have to wait for her. Genuinely, the only hindrance Eileen does is make you slow down for her. Henry easily outruns her and you'll be waiting for her to catch up. She can't access the next room unless she's within a certain proximity of Henry, so you have to wait on her. The only time this can be annoying is if you're traveling through a room with hummers which only happens a handful of times. One slight thing I want to add here is that she can help in combat if you give her one of her weapons. Although, there's a risk of her taking damage or getting in the way. Anyways, the escorting itself isn't as bad as people make it out to be. It's like an overblown exaggeration similarly to Ashley in the original Resident Evil 4.
Presentation is one of Silent Hill's strongest suites and I think 4's overall tone is good. The titulary room, Room 302, is an interesting concept. It acts as a safe haven while also imploring that there's something else more menacing going on as you collect red notes. Speaking of the red notes, the story in Silent Hill 4 is really good and interesting. You won't understand the overall narrative at first, but as you collect more memos it's quite interesting. The characters featured within the game aren't really all that interesting outside of one person. That one person being Walter Sullivan. The entire game centers around him as you explore his manifestations, learn his background, and understand his motives to why he's performing the 21 Sacraments. Walter is potentially the best antagonist within the Silent Hill games. The worlds that you do get to explore are fine. I didn't find any of them to stand out personally on a visual level excluding Room 302. However, I do find the Water Prison to be the most interesting in terms of aesthetic and lore. It's also the first time you encounter the Twin Victim. Speaking of enemies, Silent Hill 4 doesn't have a memorable enemy lineup except for the Twin Victim. The most memorable thing about the enemies are the stock sound effects that play you fight and kill them. An interesting thing that Silent Hill 4 does take from is Japanese horror with the introduction of ghosts. The ghosts aren't exactly all that threatening, but rather impose themselves as annoying enemies. Although, they didn't feel that annoying. The only annoying ghosts are the victim ghosts.
I want to talk about the soundtrack here for a moment. It's interesting because Silent Hill 4's soundtrack is good. Not as memorable as the first 3, but still good with its own selection of memorable songs. I'm really huge on Tender Sugar, Room of Angel, Nightmarish Waltz, and Pulsating Ambience. I think the only reason I really wanted a short paragraph here is to mention the official soundtrack that you can listen to on music services. It's quite interesting that Silent Hill 4's official soundtrack is comprised of both music heard in-game, but also music that's just not even featured within the game itself. I don't know why, but it kind of intrigues me. Anyways, just know that Silent Hill 4 has a good soundtrack but isn't as strong as Silent Hill 1-3.
Although, my thoughts are quite scattered on Silent Hill 4. I find the game itself to be interesting conceptually. In fact, it somewhat feels generic in a way, yet also maintains that feeling of being a Silent Hill game. I'm somewhat relieved to have finished this game because now I don't have to doubt whether the game is bad or not. It's good just not as good as what came before. I do implore that any doubters of this game do give it a chance because there is something here.
Fuck those ghosts
I often find myself on the positive end of divisive media's reception. I think this is because I try to see the best in things and always attempt to meet art on its own terms, not mine. Provided the divisiveness is not borne of a reprehensible moral or political idea, then I'm usually happy to go along with whatever experimental, abrasive, confusing idea a piece of art is willing to put forward. It's with this mindset that I found myself diving headfirst into Silent Hill 4: The Room with open arms. Beloved and derided, I was hopeful that I'd once again find myself siding with the game's fans. Disappointingly, I merely liked and respected The Room while not totally loving it, and before the midpoint I actually somewhat disliked it.
The Room's core concept was immediately intriguing to me. Trapped in an apartment in the middle of a bustling city, invisible to the outside world, themes of social isolation, anxiety, and resultant voyeuristic tendencies are expressed wonderfully. There's enough variation to what can be seen and heard, the sound mixing is eerily up-front and non-naturalistic in that classic Silent Hill style, and the room's function as both the only save point and an unlimited health source encourages repeated returns from the nightmare realms, which is an annoying gameplay quirk but one which undeniably bolsters the theme of anxiety, wanting nothing more than to return to the familiar at all times. The idea of being a prisoner within one's own home is made literal then taken to new extremes, and I have no serious complaints with the execution.
The nightmare realms themselves on the other hand... Look, I like to think I've demonstrated, in the example of the overly-incentivised trips back to the titular Room, that if something seems a bit shit I'm not just going to write it off. Especially with something as subtle as Silent Hill, I'm going to take a step back and think "ok, why is it doing this? What's the meaning being produced here?" However, after a frustrating opening subway section where unkillable "ghosts" jankily flew around while occasionally getting in my way, and where men emerged from walls to knock me down an escalator at seemingly random intervals, I found myself in a forest. It's night, but the forest is well-lit. The area is broken up into large square clearings, most of which have nothing to find. The forest is populated with zombie-like dogs, who also appeared as enemies in the subway, and at this stage I'm really starting to notice the stock big-cat-snarl sound effect they produce each time they attack. It's at the point where I'm running door-to-door through a well-lit forest as dogs that sound like cougars nip at my heels that a voice sounds in my head: "this is shit". NO! It's abrasive, it's subversive! "It's not abrasive. It's not subversive. It's just shit".
Unfortunately, while the core concept of The Room is beautifully realised and totally original, the places where standard Silent Hill gameplay occurs are shockingly undercooked, especially at first. Things do improve with later areas, and all areas benefit greatly from their revisits after the midgame switch-up - suddenly, a couple of significant mechanical changes transform the game into a genuinely compelling and challenging survival-horror experience - but the lack of polish in game-design and atmosphere is pervasive, rearing its head even in the game's best areas.
While I've praised the thematic elements as expressed through The Room's titular concept, I'm less convinced of the interaction between them and the core story, which once again explores the cult of Silent Hill. Silent Hill 3 simultaneously explored the personal psychological horror of its teenage protagonist and the cult horror of the first game, and successfully synthesised them by aligning the cult's goals with the protagonist's fear of burgeoning fertility. The connection between the protagonist and antagonist of Silent Hill 4 seem more superficial to me. There's definitely something there, but it's not really landing as it should.
Overall I liked Silent Hill 4: The Room. It succeeds in treading new ground for the series, all while fucking up in areas prior games had totally nailed. The second half has it fucking up a whole lot less, and took the game from like a 5/10 to a 7/10, but the damage done in those early areas keep Silent Hill 4 well outside the realm of quality the first three titles achieved.
The Room's core concept was immediately intriguing to me. Trapped in an apartment in the middle of a bustling city, invisible to the outside world, themes of social isolation, anxiety, and resultant voyeuristic tendencies are expressed wonderfully. There's enough variation to what can be seen and heard, the sound mixing is eerily up-front and non-naturalistic in that classic Silent Hill style, and the room's function as both the only save point and an unlimited health source encourages repeated returns from the nightmare realms, which is an annoying gameplay quirk but one which undeniably bolsters the theme of anxiety, wanting nothing more than to return to the familiar at all times. The idea of being a prisoner within one's own home is made literal then taken to new extremes, and I have no serious complaints with the execution.
The nightmare realms themselves on the other hand... Look, I like to think I've demonstrated, in the example of the overly-incentivised trips back to the titular Room, that if something seems a bit shit I'm not just going to write it off. Especially with something as subtle as Silent Hill, I'm going to take a step back and think "ok, why is it doing this? What's the meaning being produced here?" However, after a frustrating opening subway section where unkillable "ghosts" jankily flew around while occasionally getting in my way, and where men emerged from walls to knock me down an escalator at seemingly random intervals, I found myself in a forest. It's night, but the forest is well-lit. The area is broken up into large square clearings, most of which have nothing to find. The forest is populated with zombie-like dogs, who also appeared as enemies in the subway, and at this stage I'm really starting to notice the stock big-cat-snarl sound effect they produce each time they attack. It's at the point where I'm running door-to-door through a well-lit forest as dogs that sound like cougars nip at my heels that a voice sounds in my head: "this is shit". NO! It's abrasive, it's subversive! "It's not abrasive. It's not subversive. It's just shit".
Unfortunately, while the core concept of The Room is beautifully realised and totally original, the places where standard Silent Hill gameplay occurs are shockingly undercooked, especially at first. Things do improve with later areas, and all areas benefit greatly from their revisits after the midgame switch-up - suddenly, a couple of significant mechanical changes transform the game into a genuinely compelling and challenging survival-horror experience - but the lack of polish in game-design and atmosphere is pervasive, rearing its head even in the game's best areas.
While I've praised the thematic elements as expressed through The Room's titular concept, I'm less convinced of the interaction between them and the core story, which once again explores the cult of Silent Hill. Silent Hill 3 simultaneously explored the personal psychological horror of its teenage protagonist and the cult horror of the first game, and successfully synthesised them by aligning the cult's goals with the protagonist's fear of burgeoning fertility. The connection between the protagonist and antagonist of Silent Hill 4 seem more superficial to me. There's definitely something there, but it's not really landing as it should.
Overall I liked Silent Hill 4: The Room. It succeeds in treading new ground for the series, all while fucking up in areas prior games had totally nailed. The second half has it fucking up a whole lot less, and took the game from like a 5/10 to a 7/10, but the damage done in those early areas keep Silent Hill 4 well outside the realm of quality the first three titles achieved.
This review contains spoilers
A lot of great ideas, with rough execution. The structure of the game being contingent on visiting your apartment to heal and deposit items meant that the first half was largely a breeze, whereas the second half was both extremely compelling and irritating at the same time. Definitely didn't enjoy revisiting every level over again with Eileen following slowly behind me. Still, I had a good time for the most part, and there were plenty of great scares.
The game's strongest aspect, and the thing that tied the whole experience together in the end, was the story of Walter Sullivan. I found myself completely enthralled with how he was mysteriously established as a cold-blooded killer, and especially how they managed to apply his story, as you later piece together, to the cold loneliness and isolation you feel when trapped in your own apartment as Henry. This was conveyed best in the portion where you're exploring the nightmarish version of Henry's apartment building, and you learn about Walter's past, all set to a haunting and soul-crushing, yet eerily comforting piece by Akira Yamaoka. It spoke to my favourite kind of horror - existentialism. The fear of becoming something you despise, the fear of being isolated, the fear of being forgotten - all embodied in a truly sick individual... that I both feared and pitied.
It's not as good as their previous entries, but it's still far better than almost anything that came after it. Team Silent had such a strong grasp on creating horror, and I fear we'll never experience anything close to their efforts ever again.
Fuck Konami, btw.
The game's strongest aspect, and the thing that tied the whole experience together in the end, was the story of Walter Sullivan. I found myself completely enthralled with how he was mysteriously established as a cold-blooded killer, and especially how they managed to apply his story, as you later piece together, to the cold loneliness and isolation you feel when trapped in your own apartment as Henry. This was conveyed best in the portion where you're exploring the nightmarish version of Henry's apartment building, and you learn about Walter's past, all set to a haunting and soul-crushing, yet eerily comforting piece by Akira Yamaoka. It spoke to my favourite kind of horror - existentialism. The fear of becoming something you despise, the fear of being isolated, the fear of being forgotten - all embodied in a truly sick individual... that I both feared and pitied.
It's not as good as their previous entries, but it's still far better than almost anything that came after it. Team Silent had such a strong grasp on creating horror, and I fear we'll never experience anything close to their efforts ever again.
Fuck Konami, btw.
This review contains spoilers
This is a STRANGE one. A different type of survival horror that tried to innovate with its almost invincible ghost enemies, items that can negatively affect you through the whole playthrough, and a safe room and AI partner that can become haunted as the game progresses, harming you in the process.
The problem with this game isn't so much that it's so different from SH1-3, but rather that these additions don't add that much to justify what is lost. There's a bigger focus on combat but there's only one real boss and two firearms that are almost functionally the same. The process of defeating ghosts is cool in theory, but you need to knock them down like 3 times before the game lets you stab them with the sword and you may think that you're not doing it fast enough, and the only ghost that really feels like it behaves different from the others is Richard's.
Room hauntings don't really amount to much more than proximity damage from visibly haunted areas save for one, and they're very easy to avoid. Why not have the ghost that comes out of the wall ACTUALLY come out and chase you if you stay too long? I didn't clear a single haunting on my playthrough because I didn't even get that I was supposed to use the candles IN the room, thinking they had some connection to the ghosts and that killing them with candles made hauntings disappear. I think this is because you also stop thinking of Room 302 as a proper place in the game's second half. More puzzles could've been solved by doing things in the real world, the bar's codes are a great idea, but it's as far as they go with it, and more things to do in the room would also force you to interact with the hauntings more.
The shabby doll is another great idea, but only this and the key in the Forest World have negative effects on you. How about an item that did something positive but makes Eileen more possessed or makes enemies target her at the same time?
Speaking of, let's talk about Eileen. She's great and has the best voice acting in the game! One of the big complaints is about the game turning into "an escort mission", but I never felt like I was escorting Eileen, she felt more like my ally. Again, enemies don't target her, she doesn't have a health bar to take care of, she's actually pretty good at fighting and you can find some strong weapons for her, so she took very little damage. Saved me a couple of times from ghosts too! Her pathfinding is good and she doesn't really need to be that close to the door to follow you between rooms. Really, the only problem is that she attacks enemies that you may want to avoid, like ghosts, but she'll stop if you unequip her weapon, though you do need to be close to her to do so which is actually annoying.
So, again, hard to fuck up and get her possessed unless you play like an asshole and leave her alone all the time. What did you think was gonna happen??? I think more things could've been done to make her more likely to get possessed, like forcing her to run all the time in spite of her complaints, choosing not to give her weapons, or maybe even how often you spy on her? I know this would be frustrating, but it's these sort of interesting readings of player behavior that make SH2's multiple endings cool.
But the story is great, right? Well, you get the feeling that the presentation isn't all there as soon as you get introduced to the premise with just a still image and some text. Just a little introductory section that had Henry go from the real-life subway to the building, interacting with neighbors, to Room 302 before discovering that he's trapped would do so much for this game, something like SH3, show us just a little of the protagonist's daily life and the real places that get corrupted. But the writing isn't quite to the standards of SH2-3 either, even 1. It seems to me that the devs first thought of the concept of being trapped in your own apartment from the inside, which is very compelling, then a serial killer antagonist that has transcended death and tried connecting the two. The result is this bizarre plot point of a grown-ass man that thinks an apartment room is his mom. Or only his inner child does and he thinks making his inner child happy is the only way he'll be at peace? I guess it sounds fine if you interpret it that way... I get the whole womb symbolism, but I don't think it quite works when the character thinks of it so literally.
The story is mainly told through notes, but they can be strange too. Sometimes the authors just write their screams of horror or just things they have no reason to write about unless they wanted a video game player to read them, to the point where some of them straight up go "This is how you solve the puzzle on the other floor!" And that breaks my immersion because I'm supposed to be reading the last words of some kid that can't leave his cell. Previous games were a lot better at giving hints to the players through notes while still making them feel like something a person would realistically write, nightmare world or not. Other things like what exactly are the connections between Walter and some of his victims are left to external reading as well, though they make sense once you do the homework.
And the big elephant in The Room is Henry himself. People latch on to the fact that you can peep on Eileen (through a hole Joseph made) as something to characterize him, but it seems to me more as something they put to criticize players instead through the giant Eileen head that follows you. Even the other residents of the building don't know anything about Henry, which is ironically probably the most work done to characterize him, but not even the artist has a painting for him, despite Henry himself knowing all of these people, which makes me think the devs didn't think of him as a character at all. You'd think that having been to Silent Hill as a kid, or being the last sacrament would give him a secret connection with Walter but it really is just that he's the guy living in the apartment and it's even implied that the Silent Hill memories and things he has in the room aren't even his! Make Eileen a friend or an ex-girlfriend to make him real motivated, have him meet Walter once in his life, or just tell me what the guy's job is, give me SOMEthing!
I'm very harsh on it because I think these specific complaints aren't brought up that much, but this IS a good game. The camera angles are better and more dynamic than 2-3 and almost as good as 1's. The absurd level of detail from 2-3 isn't in the first few worlds, partly without the darkness around the environment, and they make the grave mistake of bringing back SH1/3 imagery without Alessa, but it gets more detailed and original in the Building, Apartment and Hospital Worlds. The second part of the game is pretty fun if you try to figure out how the special items and mechanics work on your own, and now, the level design makes sense, though I will always wonder why they didn't just have specific layouts for the first half. You don't need to make new worlds, just level design and enemies that aren't so boring without Eileen and the haunted room and make it less formulaic.
The OST obviously bangs and there's a lot of great atmosphere. Eileen stopping after seeing the sketchbook and the gun room only having model guns (I went back to Room 302 to empty my inventory to get them without examining them like a FOOL and also had the ghost harassing me) are some creative scares. As iffy as the story can be at times, it is very intriguing when you're playing it and Walter is the best human antagonist the series has had, as well as the first stalker enemy.
In the end, though, even Team Silent's swansong couldn't make fighting humans not look awkward as hell...
The problem with this game isn't so much that it's so different from SH1-3, but rather that these additions don't add that much to justify what is lost. There's a bigger focus on combat but there's only one real boss and two firearms that are almost functionally the same. The process of defeating ghosts is cool in theory, but you need to knock them down like 3 times before the game lets you stab them with the sword and you may think that you're not doing it fast enough, and the only ghost that really feels like it behaves different from the others is Richard's.
Room hauntings don't really amount to much more than proximity damage from visibly haunted areas save for one, and they're very easy to avoid. Why not have the ghost that comes out of the wall ACTUALLY come out and chase you if you stay too long? I didn't clear a single haunting on my playthrough because I didn't even get that I was supposed to use the candles IN the room, thinking they had some connection to the ghosts and that killing them with candles made hauntings disappear. I think this is because you also stop thinking of Room 302 as a proper place in the game's second half. More puzzles could've been solved by doing things in the real world, the bar's codes are a great idea, but it's as far as they go with it, and more things to do in the room would also force you to interact with the hauntings more.
The shabby doll is another great idea, but only this and the key in the Forest World have negative effects on you. How about an item that did something positive but makes Eileen more possessed or makes enemies target her at the same time?
Speaking of, let's talk about Eileen. She's great and has the best voice acting in the game! One of the big complaints is about the game turning into "an escort mission", but I never felt like I was escorting Eileen, she felt more like my ally. Again, enemies don't target her, she doesn't have a health bar to take care of, she's actually pretty good at fighting and you can find some strong weapons for her, so she took very little damage. Saved me a couple of times from ghosts too! Her pathfinding is good and she doesn't really need to be that close to the door to follow you between rooms. Really, the only problem is that she attacks enemies that you may want to avoid, like ghosts, but she'll stop if you unequip her weapon, though you do need to be close to her to do so which is actually annoying.
So, again, hard to fuck up and get her possessed unless you play like an asshole and leave her alone all the time. What did you think was gonna happen??? I think more things could've been done to make her more likely to get possessed, like forcing her to run all the time in spite of her complaints, choosing not to give her weapons, or maybe even how often you spy on her? I know this would be frustrating, but it's these sort of interesting readings of player behavior that make SH2's multiple endings cool.
But the story is great, right? Well, you get the feeling that the presentation isn't all there as soon as you get introduced to the premise with just a still image and some text. Just a little introductory section that had Henry go from the real-life subway to the building, interacting with neighbors, to Room 302 before discovering that he's trapped would do so much for this game, something like SH3, show us just a little of the protagonist's daily life and the real places that get corrupted. But the writing isn't quite to the standards of SH2-3 either, even 1. It seems to me that the devs first thought of the concept of being trapped in your own apartment from the inside, which is very compelling, then a serial killer antagonist that has transcended death and tried connecting the two. The result is this bizarre plot point of a grown-ass man that thinks an apartment room is his mom. Or only his inner child does and he thinks making his inner child happy is the only way he'll be at peace? I guess it sounds fine if you interpret it that way... I get the whole womb symbolism, but I don't think it quite works when the character thinks of it so literally.
The story is mainly told through notes, but they can be strange too. Sometimes the authors just write their screams of horror or just things they have no reason to write about unless they wanted a video game player to read them, to the point where some of them straight up go "This is how you solve the puzzle on the other floor!" And that breaks my immersion because I'm supposed to be reading the last words of some kid that can't leave his cell. Previous games were a lot better at giving hints to the players through notes while still making them feel like something a person would realistically write, nightmare world or not. Other things like what exactly are the connections between Walter and some of his victims are left to external reading as well, though they make sense once you do the homework.
And the big elephant in The Room is Henry himself. People latch on to the fact that you can peep on Eileen (through a hole Joseph made) as something to characterize him, but it seems to me more as something they put to criticize players instead through the giant Eileen head that follows you. Even the other residents of the building don't know anything about Henry, which is ironically probably the most work done to characterize him, but not even the artist has a painting for him, despite Henry himself knowing all of these people, which makes me think the devs didn't think of him as a character at all. You'd think that having been to Silent Hill as a kid, or being the last sacrament would give him a secret connection with Walter but it really is just that he's the guy living in the apartment and it's even implied that the Silent Hill memories and things he has in the room aren't even his! Make Eileen a friend or an ex-girlfriend to make him real motivated, have him meet Walter once in his life, or just tell me what the guy's job is, give me SOMEthing!
I'm very harsh on it because I think these specific complaints aren't brought up that much, but this IS a good game. The camera angles are better and more dynamic than 2-3 and almost as good as 1's. The absurd level of detail from 2-3 isn't in the first few worlds, partly without the darkness around the environment, and they make the grave mistake of bringing back SH1/3 imagery without Alessa, but it gets more detailed and original in the Building, Apartment and Hospital Worlds. The second part of the game is pretty fun if you try to figure out how the special items and mechanics work on your own, and now, the level design makes sense, though I will always wonder why they didn't just have specific layouts for the first half. You don't need to make new worlds, just level design and enemies that aren't so boring without Eileen and the haunted room and make it less formulaic.
The OST obviously bangs and there's a lot of great atmosphere. Eileen stopping after seeing the sketchbook and the gun room only having model guns (I went back to Room 302 to empty my inventory to get them without examining them like a FOOL and also had the ghost harassing me) are some creative scares. As iffy as the story can be at times, it is very intriguing when you're playing it and Walter is the best human antagonist the series has had, as well as the first stalker enemy.
In the end, though, even Team Silent's swansong couldn't make fighting humans not look awkward as hell...
SH 1, 2, and 3 are tough acts to follow, and I can see why the negatives of this game were so overblown next to the positives back on release. I think this game is a wonderful piece of deliberate design on the misery of self isolation, and a lot of the "bad" design helps the story along in a proto Ice Pick Lodge sort of way, but for every intentful and narrative piece of game design here, there's another that just kind of drags down the pacing. The Room is notably longer than any previous SH but it accomplishes that largely through combat rooms and backtracking. This backtracking feels especially disjointed with the lack of an overworld, which I feel like could have actually done a lot for the birthing metaphor at play here, if the physical space of the world was a challenge to get around (am I just begging for Pathologic SH? Mayyyyybe).
In spite of all of this, The Room is maybe the best piece of game storytelling the series ever pulled off, the inferential nature of the Henry and Walter characters proving wonderful as their stories progress and the holes grow more gaping and painful. Just wish they'd had more time
In spite of all of this, The Room is maybe the best piece of game storytelling the series ever pulled off, the inferential nature of the Henry and Walter characters proving wonderful as their stories progress and the holes grow more gaping and painful. Just wish they'd had more time
i can think of no other series where the source of horror is derived more exclusively from what is implied rather than what is actively shown or obscured. From the inscrutability of another's intentions, paired with our own readiness to read danger into their strange gesticulations and stilted cadence. The presence of almost pitifully freakish "monsters" writhing beyond playable boundaries in what could just as easily be orgasm as agony. The distressing gurgles, expulsions, and phallic exaggerations of beings driven by unadulterated libidinal energy. Silent Hill's insight: Hell is not just other people; it is caused by other people. It comes easier to see, then, for the miracle that it is, how consistently the journey through hell leads to the foundation of better things. To the possibilities of life, love, truth, and even beauty. Every Silent Hill game thus has aligned you with someone deeply personal to yourself worth fighting for: a missing daughter, a dead wife, an avenged father. Silent Hill 4 is a game about saving total strangers. The titular room, traveled between by you alone via umbilical-like tubeways (room=womb), beginning as your greatest healer and sole sanctuary, contrary the otherworld, turned worst oppressor (not even mentioning Sullivan's mother complex) is as mechanistically intuitive the series's Freudian metaphors come. That Townshend is the least impressionable of all previous protagonists is no mistake because he is a symbol of the monad, which proves false not because it is wrong but because it is impossible. Because even our isolation becomes haunted by others. Because every problem is interpersonal. Every experience interexperiential. And so even the girl next door becomes a reason to live.
Music: peak
Story: peak
Gameplay: trash
All of these things emalgamate in a game that I was frustrated with playing until the very end. If you have the willpower to see it through, you will be rewarded.
Story: peak
Gameplay: trash
All of these things emalgamate in a game that I was frustrated with playing until the very end. If you have the willpower to see it through, you will be rewarded.
It's like ordering a "duck entrée" but are served a "dick on tray" instead, and when you get up to leave you realise you can't open the door until your dinner guest Eileen is standing right next to you, but she's currently stuck on a chair on the other end of the room surrounded by three very angry chefs.
Not a huge SH fan but I enjoyed this game immensely. The environment is appropriately disturbing, and the grainy filter on the graphics is a great touch to make it feel like a lost media horror film. The first person segments in particular really ends up feeling quite disturbing
do NOT pick up the doll
genres: survival horror, mystery
genres: survival horror, mystery
this game is the most upsetting thing i’ve ever touched in my life and nothing else even comes close to the amount of stress and discomfort this shit put me through.
one might be hesitant to start this one as the first half is incredibly banal, yes it possesses an interesting and unique aesthetic and concept but in execution it’s boring, the combat and movement is jank, the puzzles are weird, and the overall vibe is not silent hill in the slightest. in fact, it’s too easy. far too easy. the apartment serves as a saferoom that is accessible almost everywhere and heals you fully, making the game a cakewalk and allowing you to hoard healing items since you’ll never end up using them.
that all changes when you reach the second half of the game, and your “safe space” turns hostile, no longer healing you and randomly spawning disturbing anomalies throughout that you must track down and eliminate using limited resources that aren’t always easy to find. it’s not like you can avoid this place either since you still have to go back to save, swap out items, and collect lore dumps.
it doesn’t help that you must also watch over your neighbor and escort her throughout the entire second half of the game, doing everything in your power to prevent her from taking too much damage otherwise you receive the bad ending. that alone is enough to make this one of the hardest survival horrors of all time, but also the most tense and stressful.
this game is also just plain terrifying. with a legitimately scary antagonist and some of the creepiest and most disturbing set pieces and events in the franchise. the atmosphere and scares in conjunction with the gameplay makes for the most gut-wrenching, stressful, frustrating, sweat inducing gaming experience of all time.
one might be hesitant to start this one as the first half is incredibly banal, yes it possesses an interesting and unique aesthetic and concept but in execution it’s boring, the combat and movement is jank, the puzzles are weird, and the overall vibe is not silent hill in the slightest. in fact, it’s too easy. far too easy. the apartment serves as a saferoom that is accessible almost everywhere and heals you fully, making the game a cakewalk and allowing you to hoard healing items since you’ll never end up using them.
that all changes when you reach the second half of the game, and your “safe space” turns hostile, no longer healing you and randomly spawning disturbing anomalies throughout that you must track down and eliminate using limited resources that aren’t always easy to find. it’s not like you can avoid this place either since you still have to go back to save, swap out items, and collect lore dumps.
it doesn’t help that you must also watch over your neighbor and escort her throughout the entire second half of the game, doing everything in your power to prevent her from taking too much damage otherwise you receive the bad ending. that alone is enough to make this one of the hardest survival horrors of all time, but also the most tense and stressful.
this game is also just plain terrifying. with a legitimately scary antagonist and some of the creepiest and most disturbing set pieces and events in the franchise. the atmosphere and scares in conjunction with the gameplay makes for the most gut-wrenching, stressful, frustrating, sweat inducing gaming experience of all time.
Tem o melhor vilão da franquia e a pior gameplay até seu lançamento, uma movimentação BIZARRA e uma câmera de FUDIDO. Tem também o fator funny de que isso é de certa forma uma sequência do Silent Hill 2, provavelmente pela mesma razão do Silent Hill 3? Capaz... Eu curti, apesar de ter tipo UMA boss fight, uns """"puzzles"""" e a metade do jogo ser backtracking e escoltar um npc, é um jogo sólido.
creepy tall nurses burping all over the place
At first I didn't really think it seemed like a proper silent hill game, but i definetly grew to like it the more i played it. Truly underrated, i got the escape ending.
The gameplay is questionable (in the sense of differing from 2-3), but the story and the creepy atmosphere carries throughout the game. It starts slow, but once you get past the first subway section it gets better. I grew to like Henry and Eileen as each moment passing, though i feel the antagonist writing was eh. Overall I do believe this is a silent hill game that deserves more recognition.
The gameplay is questionable (in the sense of differing from 2-3), but the story and the creepy atmosphere carries throughout the game. It starts slow, but once you get past the first subway section it gets better. I grew to like Henry and Eileen as each moment passing, though i feel the antagonist writing was eh. Overall I do believe this is a silent hill game that deserves more recognition.
why did he not eat the chains on his wall, is he stupid??
História de silent hill sempre boa, mas o level design é tedioso as vezes.
How can you have some of the most interesting ideas with the worst gameplay possible???
Took me 3-4 MONTHS to complete this god damn game, I got demotivated to keep going like 5 times
Took me 3-4 MONTHS to complete this god damn game, I got demotivated to keep going like 5 times