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