Remember when I said I'd take my time with Silent Hil?
Well...
I was originally planning on dropping my thoughts on this iconic game after I got all endings (along the bonus ending in the Greatest Hits edition + Maria's side story ending), but after getting the 3 main endings I couldn't wait any longer.
First off, playing this right after the first game might have made this title less scary than in a vaccuum. Of course there were scary moments, but nothing quite reached the chilling moments of 1 (like both sewer levels, for example). This is not a flaw with the game of course, just the only thing I can possibly say as a criticism (which I'm not, to be clear). Everything else about this game?
Perfect. Perfect. Perfect.
I'm aware this game has been discussed to death, so I'm certainly not going to provide any insight that hasn't been said millions of times before. I'm just going to share my experience.
The combat has all the hallmarks of classic survival horror, such as the limited combat options, resources, and so on. There's an option to change from tank controls to directional controls, which I used out of curiousity and believe it or not, it makes some parts more finnicky since it clashes with the regularity of switching camera angles (I'll use tank controls for SH3, promise). I honestly feel like this is the best possible version of classic horror combat, even on my first playthrough I never felt like I didn't have the means to take out enemies giving me trouble.
The atmosphere of this game is legendary. Even when I first tried playing it many years ago, I was consumed by the opening and here it felt almost life-changing to take everything in. The ominous soundtrack when you start making your way through the park, the momentary background noises that add a layer of anxiety (seriously there are so many one-off creepy sounds that just make it all the more intense), the fact that even the radio chipping is enough to keep you on your toes, there is so much density in this game's atmosphere. Finally firsthand experiencing it in full feels like a privilege. The soundtrack not only has some impending doom-sounding pieces, but genuine bangers (seriously, did not expect the amount of trip hop to play and I couldn't be happier).
The story and its symbolism has also been discussed to death, so I'll be brief. James really does feel like a character that has nothing to lose and stopped caring about everything altogether, which is something that adds further to the tone and atmosphere. It makes for a big contrast to Harry from SH1, and having that play into whichever ending you want can make it bittersweet or immensely tragic. I personally like the Leave ending the most (between that, In Water, and Maria). But one thing that happened between all three endings was the full reading of Mary's letter. It's definitely the most I've cried to a game since MGSV, and it still got me the third time through. One of the best moments in any game.
I'll definitely get the rest of the endings within the coming week, but I'll take my time for real getting to SH3 (I hear it's the scariest of the classic trilogy). I haven't been fixated on a game like this in so long, the dreadful atmosphere is honestly comforting at this point, this'll easily become a new comfort game. I can't stress how much I love this game and want to see everything it has to offer.
10/10
Well...
I was originally planning on dropping my thoughts on this iconic game after I got all endings (along the bonus ending in the Greatest Hits edition + Maria's side story ending), but after getting the 3 main endings I couldn't wait any longer.
First off, playing this right after the first game might have made this title less scary than in a vaccuum. Of course there were scary moments, but nothing quite reached the chilling moments of 1 (like both sewer levels, for example). This is not a flaw with the game of course, just the only thing I can possibly say as a criticism (which I'm not, to be clear). Everything else about this game?
Perfect. Perfect. Perfect.
I'm aware this game has been discussed to death, so I'm certainly not going to provide any insight that hasn't been said millions of times before. I'm just going to share my experience.
The combat has all the hallmarks of classic survival horror, such as the limited combat options, resources, and so on. There's an option to change from tank controls to directional controls, which I used out of curiousity and believe it or not, it makes some parts more finnicky since it clashes with the regularity of switching camera angles (I'll use tank controls for SH3, promise). I honestly feel like this is the best possible version of classic horror combat, even on my first playthrough I never felt like I didn't have the means to take out enemies giving me trouble.
The atmosphere of this game is legendary. Even when I first tried playing it many years ago, I was consumed by the opening and here it felt almost life-changing to take everything in. The ominous soundtrack when you start making your way through the park, the momentary background noises that add a layer of anxiety (seriously there are so many one-off creepy sounds that just make it all the more intense), the fact that even the radio chipping is enough to keep you on your toes, there is so much density in this game's atmosphere. Finally firsthand experiencing it in full feels like a privilege. The soundtrack not only has some impending doom-sounding pieces, but genuine bangers (seriously, did not expect the amount of trip hop to play and I couldn't be happier).
The story and its symbolism has also been discussed to death, so I'll be brief. James really does feel like a character that has nothing to lose and stopped caring about everything altogether, which is something that adds further to the tone and atmosphere. It makes for a big contrast to Harry from SH1, and having that play into whichever ending you want can make it bittersweet or immensely tragic. I personally like the Leave ending the most (between that, In Water, and Maria). But one thing that happened between all three endings was the full reading of Mary's letter. It's definitely the most I've cried to a game since MGSV, and it still got me the third time through. One of the best moments in any game.
I'll definitely get the rest of the endings within the coming week, but I'll take my time for real getting to SH3 (I hear it's the scariest of the classic trilogy). I haven't been fixated on a game like this in so long, the dreadful atmosphere is honestly comforting at this point, this'll easily become a new comfort game. I can't stress how much I love this game and want to see everything it has to offer.
10/10