I last played Silent Hill in 2010 on a friend's PS3. I played the whole thing in one sitting, and not just because I wasn't sure when I'd get a chance to play it again otherwise (it turns out I could have very easily played it at home via emulator), but because it is a wholly engrossing horror experience.
As the initial entry, this is Silent Hill at its most rudimentary and that goes a long way. The world itself works on its on illogical level, some puzzles making total sense and others requiring logic leaps. Its very "video game" if you stop to think about these puzzles existing in the normal world, but Silent Hill is of course not the normal world. It is reality twisted until the skin rips, wrung until blood seeps from the wounds. The combat is simple, but still puts you on the edge of your seat. Things lurking around each corner that you'd rather ignore but at many moments must confront with what weapons and ammo you have. Each terrifying moment compounded by Yamaoka's pulsing and maddening score.
It is an agonizing (complimentary) ~8 hours, short and bloody. The limitations of the PS1 create an atmosphere unlike any horror game, the mystery of Silent Hill pulling you in as the town grows darker. It's a truly terrifying game even over 20 years later. Can't recommend it enough.
As the initial entry, this is Silent Hill at its most rudimentary and that goes a long way. The world itself works on its on illogical level, some puzzles making total sense and others requiring logic leaps. Its very "video game" if you stop to think about these puzzles existing in the normal world, but Silent Hill is of course not the normal world. It is reality twisted until the skin rips, wrung until blood seeps from the wounds. The combat is simple, but still puts you on the edge of your seat. Things lurking around each corner that you'd rather ignore but at many moments must confront with what weapons and ammo you have. Each terrifying moment compounded by Yamaoka's pulsing and maddening score.
It is an agonizing (complimentary) ~8 hours, short and bloody. The limitations of the PS1 create an atmosphere unlike any horror game, the mystery of Silent Hill pulling you in as the town grows darker. It's a truly terrifying game even over 20 years later. Can't recommend it enough.