Whilst Silent Hill 2 is an eerie masterclass in precise unnerving, Silent Hill 4: The Room is an exercise in chaos and instability.

I have a strong feeling Hideo Kojima's now-mythical Silent Hills project would've taken inspiration very much from this title. Not only does the legendary PT owe a great deal to the first person segments in the titular room, but the way in which this game messes with the player would've greatly informed Kojima's incorporation of his games' usual self-awareness (allegedly, Silent Hills would make use of sending messages to the player outside of the game and was intended to 'curse' the Playstation console).
The same cursed quality can be found in the polarising, jagged roughness of The Room. The game feels unfinished, almost dangerous, making virtue of glitching (the 'Braintree' ghost), screen distortion and even stock sounds such as monkeys, tigers and, most uncanny of them all, burping.
The game also consciously tortures the player: the safe room that restores your health becomes cursed with horrific apparitions that can kill you; some enemies can't be killed, forcing you to run away or rush through an important segment; you can pick up certain items which cause bad or strange things to happen, such as moving through the same outdoor space over and over again until you drop the item.
All of these things are truly frustrating but arguably vital - the first Silent Hill is oppresive in atmosphere, whereas the fourth is oppressive in gameplay, giving sense that you have no control over the grim supernatural serial killer story (The Frighteners, anyone?).
I could very well be an apologist for such loathsome gameplay mechanics, but it just wouldn't be the same horror experience if it were any cleaner. Since when did horror have to be clean, anyway?

this game is... really interesting. there's so so much i love about it but also so much bad. but the bad feels almost... intentional? as in, the game is boring and tedious; but it almost feels like its supposed to be that way. it feels like its supposed to be frustrating to play. the controls are another thing - tank controls are absolutely amazing for the silent hill series and there's no option for them in this game. and despite this game coming out after silent hill 3, it doesnt look nearly as good from a graphical and animation standpoint. i want to finish this so bad but the entire second half becomes an escort mission through all the areas previously visited and... i just couldnt take it anymore. i may come back and finish this at some point and even bump up my rating if i feel it deserves it, but for now - i cant bring myself to play any more.

In every possible sense, this game pioneered the gameplay and themes of Death Stranding. With their environmental messages, quiet yet persistent protagonist, walking-simulator/goods-delivery gameplay, and tactile interfaces, they truly share the same DNA. There are superficial examples too, of course. Smoglings = BTs. Sergeant Smogglor = Higgs. Toys = people with DOOMS. Chet = Die Hardman. Monkey Burgers/Chocolate/Leaves = Smart Drugs/Optical Media/Action Figures. Think about it, man. Think about how you have to mash through dialogue every time you return to the terminal. Early on you're just running around like an asshole before you find a bike across a river. So you unlock the ability to repair bridges (seriously). Then after riding the bike for a bit it breaks. Then you unlock the ability to create a better bike, and eventually a four wheeled electric vehicle. There are windmills you can place to recharge your batteries at. You even use happiness points to build roads that make traveling across the vast landscape smoother. As you deliver items to the NPCs who already know you by reputation they slowly reveal more to you about their hopes and dreams, and shower you with appreciation. You probably think this is a fucking joke, don't you? That I'm making this all up for attention? Well you're wrong, kiddo. Somebody needs to hold Kojima accountable for this thievery. These are the same guys that made bit Generations and Art Style for fuck's sake, I will not see their works lost to time in favor of AAA kinogames!