Man I can't remember the last time I felt this conflicted about a video game that I liked
There is a visceral coming-of-age story here about identity, defiance and actualization, the locales are some of the most lovingly crafted I've seen in the genre both in terms of feeling lived-in as well as absolutely grotesque when necessary, the gameplay feels simultaneously more intuitive as well as demanding what with the enemy variety and lack of resources, and Heather's demeanor is a constant treat that perfectly fits the story's themes
At the same time, a literal half the game is spent meandering around with almost zero motivation until the plot shows up and shovels itself into your face with no subtlety, the enhanced action focus punishes you for engaging with enemies by making later boss fights absolutely insufferable, all characters being connected to Heather in one way or another takes away from that signature uncomfortable feeling of finding another human in Silent Hill, and a good chunk of the game being a repeat dungeon from SH2 just exhausts me despite its Otherworld being spectacular
But, but, but then, so much of this plays in thematically with what they're going for!! It's turbulent, things feel overwhelming, everyone expects shit of you that you couldn't care less about, I don't wanna give birth to God I wanna listen to Blink-182!!! Every major opposition ends up getting actively mocked by the main character to the point that this often feels like an RE game in terms of tone, and as jarring as it can be after going through SH1&2, it makes perfect sense. Heather killing God with her own hands, cracking a quip like she always did, and then following it with a bout of such intense, sincere grief is an incredible way to tie together a character in a game that had a very limited time to tell its story. Acceptance of suffering as a fact of life followed up by a ditzy joke about blondes is the essence of Silent Hill 3 and I cannot think of a better way for it to end
I'm gonna be thinking about this one for a while. I hope subsequent playthroughs don't turn it into one of those games I'd rather reminisce about than actually replay
There is a visceral coming-of-age story here about identity, defiance and actualization, the locales are some of the most lovingly crafted I've seen in the genre both in terms of feeling lived-in as well as absolutely grotesque when necessary, the gameplay feels simultaneously more intuitive as well as demanding what with the enemy variety and lack of resources, and Heather's demeanor is a constant treat that perfectly fits the story's themes
At the same time, a literal half the game is spent meandering around with almost zero motivation until the plot shows up and shovels itself into your face with no subtlety, the enhanced action focus punishes you for engaging with enemies by making later boss fights absolutely insufferable, all characters being connected to Heather in one way or another takes away from that signature uncomfortable feeling of finding another human in Silent Hill, and a good chunk of the game being a repeat dungeon from SH2 just exhausts me despite its Otherworld being spectacular
But, but, but then, so much of this plays in thematically with what they're going for!! It's turbulent, things feel overwhelming, everyone expects shit of you that you couldn't care less about, I don't wanna give birth to God I wanna listen to Blink-182!!! Every major opposition ends up getting actively mocked by the main character to the point that this often feels like an RE game in terms of tone, and as jarring as it can be after going through SH1&2, it makes perfect sense. Heather killing God with her own hands, cracking a quip like she always did, and then following it with a bout of such intense, sincere grief is an incredible way to tie together a character in a game that had a very limited time to tell its story. Acceptance of suffering as a fact of life followed up by a ditzy joke about blondes is the essence of Silent Hill 3 and I cannot think of a better way for it to end
I'm gonna be thinking about this one for a while. I hope subsequent playthroughs don't turn it into one of those games I'd rather reminisce about than actually replay
2 Comments
the puzzles are perfectly manageable on Normal but the combat is so close to being engaging this time around that it annoys me how useless it is. just run past everything unless it's literally blocking the way through
pronounspronouns
9 months ago