A breathtaking entry into the early survival horror canon that took inspiration from David Lynch movies and the individual eccentricities of the misfit developers who had been cobbled together from various teams and tasked with creating something that only they would be able to.

What we got was easily the scariest of them all: a masterful aesthetic curation that brought into gaming something unique that simply did not exist before, in gaming or any other medium, really, and spawned a franchise that, unfortunately, never seemed to really understand again just what made this initial title so brilliant. Given the expansive nature of the horror canon, to have created something that actually stands uniquely within it must be such a honor for everyone involved. Team Silent was really, really onto something here.

This title is a real testament to the majesty of gathering creative people and giving them the freedom to take a leap of faith. It is a shame that, in the era of focus groups and even more intricately honed metrics for development success, we don't really get to see titles like this very often. I'm begging all the publishers out there to try something similar. Instead of firing that creatively difficult employee who wants to make things that don't seem to promote reactions from anyone but the weirdos, perhaps giving them the opportunity to work in a way where they can fully embrace their more unique nature is how you're going to create something that actually leaves a lasting impact. Though it may not be what it used to be... long live SILENT HILL.