Playing this for the first time I was shocked by how well it holds up. I used to take 5th generation 3D games for granted after hearing so many people say that they "hadn't figured it out yet" or "feel dated". I mean, talking to most people their interest in older video games caps out with whatever generation they started playing with when they were kids, and going beyond that is just not worth the annoyance. I bring this up because it kind of was my perspective as well for a long time. I grew up on PS2 and PS3. Why play anything older? I was convinced that it would bring nothing but tedium because obviously the later generations had "figured it out".

I credit this game a decent amount for changing my perspective. Convention doesn't necessarily mean perfection, and any gameplay traits that died out due to some kind of natural selection aren't inherently inferior.

Specifically I want to mention the camera and controls here. They're actually fantastic. Right from the start you're running down a tight alleyway as your perspective swoops and swerves in a way that I haven't really seen in modern games. Since you have tank controls, this doesn't even affect your movement. You can control your character independent of the camera, so the camera is free to do a lot more. The game exploits this heavily and it contributes a lot to how atmospheric the whole experience is.

So right from the start, a supposedly dated and inferior control scheme actually provides an advantage that modern games lack. For me, realizing this was mind blowing. I know for a lot of people this isn't anything new, but it genuinely shook the foundations of my views on one of my favorite hobbies. I kinda have a deeper connection to this game for that reason alone.

Beyond that personal revelation, this really is just a fantastic game. It's moody, it's tense, it has an interesting world, and it looks fantastic. I genuinely love it, and I don't think I have anything else to say that hasn't already been said by people that are much better at describing why it does all those things so well. The biggest mark against it is the weird emotionless voice acting and cutscene direction but everything else works so well that it hardly drags things down.

Anyways, I would highly recommend this to anyone that can appreciate a good horror experience, even if it's out of your personal comfort zone for "retro games".

-do u guys think dasha actually has played any of the sh games?? or like did online ceramics just cut her a check ?? much to think about idk fuck dasha or whatever I just think she’s aesthetic and vibes you know ?
-also speaking of the online ceramics drop I thought there was a bunch of pretty cute stuff but literally what the fuck do I look like spending that much
-unlike 3 and shattered memories I don’t find this to be all that smart and complex. the peak of the story here in terms of like writing/dialogue is nurse garland saying that all the young ppl disappeared from the town like I think that fits really well for where and what silent hill means geographically. I come from a similar rust belt town and my hs was tiny asf and malls weren’t populated with teens or even younger ppl and on Halloween kids progressively as time passed stopped going door to door. towns like that are receding from view and less people are staying there than previous generations, so what happens when all is left of a town is bureaucratic and oppressive organizations and groups of ppl. think that little exchange between garland and harry works even better considering that 3 serves as a sort of direct follow up to this and everyone Heather comes in contact w is even older than her father. the mall is the first place u visit in game but unlike any other sh game ur not meeting anyone of a like mind to u or even in ur same demographic. being a teenager in towns like that is sad and rlly awful and depressing and specifically 3 nails that vibe and that exchange in this game makes it all the better.
-in the same way shattered memories heightens and expands on 3 I feel like this does too. making it mean more in a grand sense, fleshing out this world and these 2 characters connections to each other.
-sometimes I remember there was supposed to be a silent hill gta style game and my head hurts
-lighting in this game fucking owns, especially the lens flare hitting the camera whenever harry with the light on faces the camera
-I think it’s really funny how genuinely jaw dropping gorgeous and breathtaking those fmvs are and then it cuts to the goofy looking actual graphics, fucking pixelated Minecraft ass looking trees and rusty floors, I love it.
-lisa is genuinely such a cool sad character, nurse bendy ahh. I think it’s rlly impressive that the voice actress was able to do all the lines in an hour and basically wasn’t paid anything esp when considering the fact that her voice work is the only noteworthy acting here
-yamaoka asleep at the mfn wheel, someone wake him up. jokes aside I like the score here it’s good and all the stuff in the final chapters is rlly great but it’s rlly subtle here and I think it being mostly absent in this first sh does kinda detract from the atmosphere at play here and doesn’t make it as eerie as future entries where he would lean further into haunting trip hop and dreampop lullabies where characters are coaxed farther and farther into silent hill by the beautiful music. instead harry is kind of just running around while industrial beats play and it does work, fits the geographical setting rlly well. this is seemingly the only sh that leans full into the whole rust belt dead town whereas future installments are a town on the verge of death but not quite dead yet. the music lulling the characters into a final rest, this one is so like hopeless and bleak and it does make sense that the music reflects that and mostly stays in the background only being present at all for when ur supposed to feel tense and unnerved.
-idk why this isn’t the one being rebooted and instead 2 is. I mean I do get it, 2 is the only truly iconic game in the series, at least in a widespread and mainstream way but damn this one rlly did need the remake. the story here is so vague and abstract which I like enough but it’s kind of presented as these loosely connected vignettes tying everything together and then the ending just happens. characters just show up whenever is convenient and there’s not that much flavor text as there would be later down the line. it does just seem like creating this very real world and environment and atmosphere came first and then everything else after. it’s like genuinely very difficult to play and truly get absorbed into and I do think a remake could smooth lots of things over and make it into a better experience and also ppl wouldn’t be that mad in comp lol.
-so many striking visuals though, the flying demon guy busting in through the window, the ghost version of alessa running through the halls, lisa having blood run down her face and harry shutting her out, the glowing white version of alessa at the final boss battle (a literal ray of light in Harry’s final moments as he begins to accept and understand the version of the truth he’s told) the spiral staircase and all of the dutch angles at the beginning of the game. rlly great stuff and the cutscene direction and environments are so stellar and got as much as they could out of the ugly ahh ps1.
-I also just rlly love the ending(s) and think they enhance what I already love about 3 and shattered memories. that bond that someone has with their absent parent, how ur able to create and craft this legend of who they were and contort the facts to best suit urself and ur needs to kinda deal w the very real experiences of being an orphan or having absent parent(s). like that’s by far my fave thing about shattered memories is cheryl kind of reliving and reshaping the events of this game, it’s all a lie but it’s a lie she needs to tell herself. and can it rlly be a lie to her if she never actually got to know him or what happened in silent hill. the actual in game story here is similarly fractured and fragmented and it’s ultimately up to u to contort and twist it to best suit ur needs to give urself the closure and satisfaction u need. no matter who harry was and no matter what actually happened in silent hill he still tried for heather and I think that’s genuinely really beautiful.

man what a weird game. The visuals retrospectively hold up as a style that i find pretty cool with all the dithering. Although none of the character models hold up and any non fmv cutscenes look pretty bad, but thats to be expected with a game this old. The controls took a good amount of time to get used to for me. never played a game with tank controls before. made any physical combat extremely awkward but i got used to it. story wise....frankly... ????????????????. i didnt get it at all LMAO. but i mightve not been paying attention.... Also didnt find it scary really. The enemies especially were enver a scare, either very easy to take out or just franlky an annoyance. However the sound design REALLY does so much of the heavy lifting. It is genuinely incredible and can manage to really do some spooks.
TLDR: Never in my life have i played a game where the sound design was the best part of the game

Damn what an experience. Creepy! First off, this game clearly ripped off dead by daylight in several areas. Bahaha nahhh could you imagine? Jokes that aren’t funny aside, going into this game completely blind, other than midwich elementary school (dbd map), was really cool and fun. The controls were difficult to adapt to at first and the combat was pretty simple, but after getting passed that, I was able to fully enjoy this game’s true strong suit: the atmosphere. The music and visuals hit just right at so many key moments, and when it comes to the story, I became invested way more than I expected to. As a player that likes to explore every inch of a world, I enjoyed how Silent Hill rewards an observant player. I regret that my observation skills failed me when it came to getting the game’s worst ending possible. Agh! I’d hop right into a new playful to try and secure the best ending if I wasn’t looking forward to playing Silent Hill 2 so much. But yeah what a spooky spine chilling game with a couple of interesting cooky characters.

Silent Hill holds up really well! It's absolutely insane just how well optimized it is and the team silent really made the most of the hardware limitations they had to work with.

This game is still scary and the exploration is fun and rewarding. The puzzles are really great and super rewarding to solve (I know some people complain about the piano puzzle but I love it).

Weakest part for me is probably the first sewer area since it messes with the established rules of the game a bit, but the area is super short and linear so it's over very quick.

Some of the gameplay can be a little janky, but I never had any significant issues. I don't have an issue adjusting to tank controls, but if you do then you might have some trouble getting into the game.

In short, Harry is the best dad in videogames and must be protected at all costs!

I finally got to beat Silent Hill, a game practically known for being the hallmark of the psychological horror genre, and while it might not maneuver the best (the game features really frustrating and clunky tank controls coupled with a static camera that can also have weird static camera angles) it still retains its identity intact, and shows off why it's one of the best of the genre.

Mostly carried by its ambiance and sound design being able to convey a feeling of dread and getting you to actually jump in reaction to some moments in the game, they had really nailed it in the head with the psychological aspect of it, since the game doesn't ever really feature any scares that jump at you and are loud just because, it's always something you can remedy with somehow but that still can go from 0 to 100 in absolutely no time. It's pretty well made, they had a clear intention of the kind of horror they wanted to put their players in and they did a great job, but I personally think that's where all the wonders end and why this review has a kind of low score for the game that it is.

So, Silent Hill is a game that kind of abuses its maze-y and cryptic base to have some pretty nerve wracking and confusing aspects, mostly when it comes to "levels" such as Midwich High School which is practically a maze with a map, with everything looking pretty much the same and without having much directions of where to go unless you go look at the guide. The overworld exploration isn't all that much either, if you're not going around stepping into walls because of the control schemes, you are either running for your life avoiding monsters because of resource management, or you're running somewhere whilst opening the map constantly just to make sure you're going in the right direction to advance the story.

Lore is pretty confusing till the very end, and is probably a bunch of symbolism the average person won't get anyways, making it a bit convoluted and loosely put together, as the character have just a lil' bit of characterization or important moments, none of them really stick out until the very last parts of the game though, since apparently leaving everyone all alone in the mist in a city filled with monsters is a greater idea than just sticking together.

Ultimately, I understand why this game is so beloved, and I do see it, it's a fine game. I just don't think I liked the experience enough to go back and play it again, I think if there was a remastered version with stuff like good camera controls and movement/aiming options it'd make for how much of a "look at the guide" game it is, I guess. Got the Good+ ending though, that's pretty neat.

This is a review of the more technical aspects of a 10 Star run in Silent Hill and my experience with the scoring system. I managed full 10 star run of the original Silent Hill with no saves or continues.

You technically can use a continue, but I didn't want that. Once I finished the hospital, I was feeling real good about my accuracy. I use the glitch at the amusement park to save a minute or so. I used the rifle against Incubus to make absolutely sure I gain some accuracy back, since I fucked up against the worm with too many missed shotgun shots. All my runs seem to be around the 1h and 27m mark plus or minus 2 minutes.

The game's requirements for a 10 star run create this amazing atmosphere of heavy tension even after the initial playthrough, keeping that tension no matter how many times you've played it because any small error in routing could destroy your whole run. The fact that they managed that type of tension for ten of my playthroughs makes this game an absolute triumph. This game's in my top 10, no doubt. The gameplay's focus on spacing during gunplay makes it extremely satisfying to engage in combat. I wish modern games had a bit more of this. More focus on routing, more focus on spacing, more focus on memorization, and good strategies to fight bosses and enemies. And more tank controls. They're so good.

Sure, you can play badly and still do pretty well, but you still need a base level of competence and a path routed for enemy kills and item pickups. Not many games have requirements that test you to this level anymore. This felt as good as clearing an arcade game. If you have not played this game, go do it. I cannot begin to describe how good it is. Not a single one of my ten playthroughs was ever tiring, just unbelievably tense and fun. "Masterpiece" is a word that's been used so much, it's lost its meaning, but this game really is just that.

It'll always held the Title of "Horror Classic"
Everything was perfect. Soundtrack are amazing.Story is amazing. And this game is one of the kind that gets horror atmosphere right.
Definitely recommend who want to enjoy horror

Only issue I had was controls but once you gets used to it. You'll start to enjoy it more than ever

Irmão, que jogo sensacional! Um dos melhores jogos de terror que eu já joguei, de verdade. Tudo no jogo funciona muito bem no quesito de terror, com a exploração sendo bem recompensadoras e muito macabro várias vezes. Tem horas que tá tudo suave, quieto, e do nada começa uma música muito tensa e enfadonha, que me deixava sempre com o cu na mão sem saber se tinha algo perto de mim ou vindo até mim, o que me deixou extremamente paranóico e com medo. Sem contar em partes que tá tudo suave e do nada da um barulho de batida da porra, seja em uma janela, no chão, nas paredes. Isso sempre me assustava muito e me deixava preparado pra um possível combate, mas nunca tinha... O que é algo que funciona MUITO bem. O jogo te acostuma a não levar jumpscares, então quando tem SEMPRE te pega despreparado, além de uma ambientação bisonha. Uma cidade completamente vazia, seja com uma neblina bizarra ou uma escuridão cegante, onde tudo que você escuta são seus passos e o barulho das... coisas, que estão junto com você nesse mundo. A ambientação de SH1 é perfeita, eu fiquei muito paranóico jogando essa porra, seja com barulhos que no fim não eram nada de mais, até mesmo com as criaturas mais simples e fracas do jogo. Eu amei a experiência, sabia que o jogo era e é extremamente aclamado, mas não imaginava o quão bom ele realmente é! Muito animado pra jogar o resto dos jogos, mas sem dúvida SH1 vai estar no meu coração.

In short this game has its moments and to this day can still hold a creepy atmosphere but the clunkiness and general very slow pace of progression make it, for me personally, a bit tedious to play.

The Good:
+ Graphics
+ Sound design
+ Game world
+ Puzzles

The Alright:
~ Story

The Bad:
- Progression
- Pacing
- Boss Fights
- Controls

First of all I have to preface this with, that I am not a retrogamer and did not grow up in the PS1 era but rather with the PS2/Original XBOX. So I'm looking at this as someone that is used to more modern gaming and does not have any nostalgic feeling towards this game.

The Good

Graphics: Despite or even because of its "retro" graphics this game presents a great creepy atmosphere, where, because of the lack of polygons, alot of the horrors are still left for your imagination. Also the use of the fog and the darkness, where only a small part of your nearest surroundings are shown at any given time, give a great sense of being lost, isolated and vulnerable. In contrast to most modern day horror titles this is also the main source of the tension and creepiness instead of playing a loud noise to make you jump scare every other minute. I prefer this form of horror by a mile.

Sound design: Already speaking of sounds, the sound design in this game is amazing. The radio starting to crackle when enemies are nearby makes you cautious and filling you with dread even before you can spot them, making every move even more tention filled to spot where the enemies actually are. Generally the sounds of the monsters and surroundings are great. The music also does a good job at raising tension and even stress sometimes.

Game World: There is a great variety of well designed and detailed locations, that all have a unique feel to them: Different parts of Silent Hill, a hospital, a school, etc. They really inspire you to explore these places for every nook and cranny.

Puzzles: I personally liked the Puzzles as they provided a nice challenge while also maintaining a wide variety, so to not make it stale over time.

The Alright:

Story: Actually before starting this game I knew nothing about the story and was hoping for an intricate mystery around Silent Hill. What I got was mostly "Where is my daughter?" and towards the ending some occult stuff, which was fine but not as much as I expected. The dialogue and the voice acting between the characters are also not that great. All in all, it was alright.

The Bad:

Progression: Generally the game does not do a good job at communicating what your current objective actually is. I found myself oftentimes in a state of confusion, what I'm supposed to be doing next. I actually had to look at a walkthrough a few times because I simply got stuck and became frustrated. An example for this is, when you are supposed to notice a small hole in the ground, where a key is hidden. I spent a good 20 minutes being stuck at that point before I just asked the internet for advice. Also in the end I feel like the character becomes a bit too powerful, so standard enemies just become cannon fodder, which takes away from the general horror at that point.

Pacing: I think the game is just too long and does not have a great progression story wise. In the first half it is, as already mentioned, basically just a guy asking "Where is my daughter?" over and over again while in the end it kinda devolves into a key collecting simulator, which at some point feels drawn out and you just want to finally come to an end.

Boss Fights: The controls are just way to clunky to engage in any interesting boss fights. It often boils down to just tanking hits with first aid kits, while trying to deal as much damage in the mean time. There is absolutely no sense in developing tactics to deal with bosses.

Controls: The general feel of the game is just super clunky and takes away alot of the fun for me. Especially the walking with only a d-pad available just feels very imprecise and annoying. Taking into consideration that alot of this game is actually nothing but walking, this can become pretty tedious after a while. Also a big negative for me is the camera. Why is the camera always pointed at you, when you enter a room, instead of showing the room ahead, where most of the time enemies spawn? I know that alot of this comes from the technical limitation of the PS1 controller only having a d-pad but in the end it still got noticebly in the way of my enjoyment for this game, so I still wanted to mention it.

Conclusion:
All in all, who would I recommend this to? If you are interested in the Silent Hill series as a whole I think this is still worthy of playing, as long as you are aware of the jankiness of this game. Else I can only really recommend it to retrogamers that love this kind of style and this era of gaming.

played this game twice and both times i got the bad ending.
watching the good ending and i say that it isn't canon !
the true canon is the post credit ending where the entire crew is making some Goofy Aah bloopers during the filming of the movie Silent Hill™ coming now to ps1.

side not, europe got the better box art, this black n' white american one is just trippy