I would like to re-evaluate what I said about this game. I still haven't finished it, but it's actually pretty cool and I was able to get used to the mechanics. Completing every mission is very rewarding, there's constantly some progression in the plot, even though the actual story is far less interesting than in the older games, and there's so much variety in playstyles that you want to experiment and obtain new items and weapons. Even though it's probably my least favorite in the series so far, there's a lot to love about it.

You know? Despite how fucking egregious it is that the true ending of this game is hidden behind a collection run that is nearly impossible to get the first time without a walkthrough, I actually don't really mind the bad ending because seeing Kaileena die feels totally justified. You'd think that the empress of time of all people would know that if you could change your fate, then neither of them had to die in the first place, but apparently not because the only reason she ends up fighting the Prince is because she refuses to just fucking listen, like a child closing their ears and going "lalalala". Is a little communication really that difficult when he's clearly saying that he doesn't want to fight you? For fuck's sake.

The more these games improved in their combat and platforming, the weaker their stories became. Not that Two Thrones' story is bad, but it's a noticable downgrade and you can absolutely tell what kind of production hell it went through. The prince and Farah don't have the charisma that they used to, the vizier is incredibly underused as a villain, and having Kaileena narrate the story over the prince himself kind of disgusts me, considering how nice it was to see Yuri Lowenthal return after his shocking absence in Warrior Within. But I'll be damned if this isn't the single greatest platforming I've ever witnessed in a game! The jumping off ledges, sliding down walls and swinging off branches that defines this series has never been more acrobatic and non-stop fun as it is here, and I could play it all day for that reason alone.

If there was a way to somehow combine all these games' strengths into one, then we'd have quite possibly the greatest game to ever seize this industry. Yes, that quote is blatantly stolen from Yahtzee Croshaw, but it's true.

It's so friggin' awesome that it's bad for me. No, literally, this game is so much fun that I think it's best to stay away from it. I have a bad habit of getting easily addicted to video games, and when I get hooked to a game like this, where the experience is essentially spending hours grinding to 100% rather than telling a story with a clear ending, I basically sit there playing it all day long without knowing when to stop. I think it's best to put it aside for the time being, because I have a lot of stuff to do irl and I can't get myself distracted by something like this. Just know that I'm only complimenting it by doing so. If you don't suffer from this problem as much as I do, get your hands on a copy as soon as possible!

I got a new computer a few months ago and all my progress on my emulated games is gone. Not that I'm "that" bummed out by it, but what struck me while I was installing everything here again is that THIS is the game I wanted to play first. This one? Pretty weird considering that I don't even consider this the best Silent Hill game, and yet, it's the one I'm always looking most forward to replay because it absolutely could've been the best.

The way this game opens and how the story is set up is genuinely amazing. This is the first game in the series where the rusty and wet horror that Silent Hill is known for occurs in a place other than the titular town, and my god is it scary and fun at the same time. However, I'm going to have to be upfront here and admit that as I'm writing this review, I have only made it to its midpoint. I want to express the absurd amount of love I have for this game's first half while it's still fresh in my memory before moving the second half, which I'm only dreading to get into again. Once the characters actually make it to Silent Hill, the game becomes so lazily designed, poorly written and infuriatingly tedious that it hardly even feels like the same game anymore. I don't want to act like all of it is bad, but it keeps getting worse and worse the longer it goes on until it all spirals into one shitstorm of final boss fight. There is SO much to talk about here to make an entire video analysis just explaining why the climax simply doesn't work, but sadly I don't have the time to get into that now.

I still recommend playing this game for all that good stuff alone, but all that bad stuff waiting at the end of the tunnel always leaves a sour taste in my mouth. It really is one of the most conflicting pieces of fiction I've ever witnessed.