This review contains spoilers
really wasn’t the worst thing ever i truly think it’s overhated but of course without its complaints
Main Complants :
Limited inventory space in a survival horror game is probably one of the dumbest things i’ve seen at least in the resident evil series they give you bags to upgrade inventory space but not here. Holy candles being the main source to stop possessions whether it’s eileen or your apartment is kinda stupid too considering how rare they are (might just been me not exploring enough idk). the enemy placements and variety are probably the weakest here in the franchise for example towards the end of the building part 2 there is 3 ghosts in that area just following you and eileen around which sucks because a boss is in that area and you need HEALS BECAUSE THE BOSS KINDA SUCKS!! and also eileen can’t get hit that much. Speaking of which ghosts are probably the worst enemies ever like yeah let’s put in an enemy that goes through walls do damage if you get near while usually blocking the way while only having grab attacks and the only way to “kill” them is an item you could find that i’ve remembered only 7 are throughout the whole game. Also bringing back The Order after Silent Hill 3 is kinda stupid considering what happened in the end of it but it’s not that bad just a bit stupid. Walter also isnt the best antagonist considering he was teased since sikent hill 2 his whole reasoning of just wanting to fulfill the 22 commandments is kinda weak but his relationship towards eileen and how they act with one another is good but that’s it. also weapons that have durability is also kinda dumb thankfully some don’t have durability but still something to notice.
Main Praises/Positives
The level design is actually sooo good and eerie like in the apartment world you literally walk on flesh and the walls look like skin and are pulsating almost like a heart which scared me a bit which also ties in with the atmosphere there’s no radio in this game unlike the other entries in the series so besides eileen speaking and enemies moving it’s silence which once again makes you nervous on what’s happening since most enemies don’t make noise unless you’re close to them. The OST in this game is amazing and probably one of my favorites in the series they barely play music in the game or any audio besides listed before but when they do it’s an amazing song that always matches the tone of the area/cutscene (which is what i hope for) very limited songs but still good nonetheless. “The room” being an allegory for social anxiety and how it affects people is a really unique way in showing the effects of it the front door is locked almost like you DONT want to go out despite desperately wanting to but when you are able to finally leave the room you get transported into a weird and uncomfortable world with almost everything trying to hurt you and your mc almost shows that given his lack of lines to show he’s truly anxious about the whole matter and doesn’t even know what to say while given a topic not that many forms of media expresses this much as silent hill 4 it does a wonderful job at it. The enemies are kinda bad but the designs themselves are also really good mainly the ghosts with the number showing their number of death and of course showing the way they died (as all ghosts do). That final boss is also really good you first give an umbilical cord to a “baby” to stop whatever the hell walter is doing to it then you are grabbing spears and stabbing the “baby” with it to finally be able to deal damage to walter then not only that you have to kill walter in time in order to save eileen or get the good ending.
Sound Design is a mixed thing which i didn’t know to put it for example the good was during the 2nd visit apartment world there is a woman crying the whole time until you go to the next floor and if you go back to that same floor she is crying again which was impressive given the crying actually sounded like CRYING not a stock voice crying. But also the bad is like literally one of the enemy types burp when you hit it??? not a huge thing but i’m still mixed on where to put it just really not the best or worst
Overall a good game that’s overhated a lot but of course i understand the hate with it but i still truly think the series should’ve ended after SH3 but saying that it still is a good game
Main Complants :
Limited inventory space in a survival horror game is probably one of the dumbest things i’ve seen at least in the resident evil series they give you bags to upgrade inventory space but not here. Holy candles being the main source to stop possessions whether it’s eileen or your apartment is kinda stupid too considering how rare they are (might just been me not exploring enough idk). the enemy placements and variety are probably the weakest here in the franchise for example towards the end of the building part 2 there is 3 ghosts in that area just following you and eileen around which sucks because a boss is in that area and you need HEALS BECAUSE THE BOSS KINDA SUCKS!! and also eileen can’t get hit that much. Speaking of which ghosts are probably the worst enemies ever like yeah let’s put in an enemy that goes through walls do damage if you get near while usually blocking the way while only having grab attacks and the only way to “kill” them is an item you could find that i’ve remembered only 7 are throughout the whole game. Also bringing back The Order after Silent Hill 3 is kinda stupid considering what happened in the end of it but it’s not that bad just a bit stupid. Walter also isnt the best antagonist considering he was teased since sikent hill 2 his whole reasoning of just wanting to fulfill the 22 commandments is kinda weak but his relationship towards eileen and how they act with one another is good but that’s it. also weapons that have durability is also kinda dumb thankfully some don’t have durability but still something to notice.
Main Praises/Positives
The level design is actually sooo good and eerie like in the apartment world you literally walk on flesh and the walls look like skin and are pulsating almost like a heart which scared me a bit which also ties in with the atmosphere there’s no radio in this game unlike the other entries in the series so besides eileen speaking and enemies moving it’s silence which once again makes you nervous on what’s happening since most enemies don’t make noise unless you’re close to them. The OST in this game is amazing and probably one of my favorites in the series they barely play music in the game or any audio besides listed before but when they do it’s an amazing song that always matches the tone of the area/cutscene (which is what i hope for) very limited songs but still good nonetheless. “The room” being an allegory for social anxiety and how it affects people is a really unique way in showing the effects of it the front door is locked almost like you DONT want to go out despite desperately wanting to but when you are able to finally leave the room you get transported into a weird and uncomfortable world with almost everything trying to hurt you and your mc almost shows that given his lack of lines to show he’s truly anxious about the whole matter and doesn’t even know what to say while given a topic not that many forms of media expresses this much as silent hill 4 it does a wonderful job at it. The enemies are kinda bad but the designs themselves are also really good mainly the ghosts with the number showing their number of death and of course showing the way they died (as all ghosts do). That final boss is also really good you first give an umbilical cord to a “baby” to stop whatever the hell walter is doing to it then you are grabbing spears and stabbing the “baby” with it to finally be able to deal damage to walter then not only that you have to kill walter in time in order to save eileen or get the good ending.
Sound Design is a mixed thing which i didn’t know to put it for example the good was during the 2nd visit apartment world there is a woman crying the whole time until you go to the next floor and if you go back to that same floor she is crying again which was impressive given the crying actually sounded like CRYING not a stock voice crying. But also the bad is like literally one of the enemy types burp when you hit it??? not a huge thing but i’m still mixed on where to put it just really not the best or worst
Overall a good game that’s overhated a lot but of course i understand the hate with it but i still truly think the series should’ve ended after SH3 but saying that it still is a good game