So I finally finished the last of the "Main line" Silent Hill games I had left: Silent Hill 4: The Room. For the record, I've played:
- Silent Hill: Back when it was released, on a single sitting at a friend's house, as I didn't had a PSX. I got there to help him find a map as he didn't speak much english and proceeded to complete it, figuring out all the puzzles except the piano one. I realy wish I was as sharp as I was back then. I also wish my back didn't hurt.
- Silent Hill 2: A year or so after its release as the PC port was a notably piece of crap. It still is, to be honest. I loved it so much. Easily the best of the series despite being barely part of the series.
- Silent Hill 3: A few months ago. I actually enjoyed this one big time, it's closer to 1 than 2, with the whole Lynchian vibes and odd dialogues. It feels so much like Lost Highway.
- Silent HIll: Homecoming: I played this one when it was released, liked it because I have terrible taste. Looking back, we can say the music was great and the enemy design is golden.
- Silent Hill: Downpour: The most true to 1 sequel, except open world, with irritating controls and sad, depressing sidequests. Also seems to be a cross over with American Mcgee's Alice games.
So naturally, 4 was to come.
Honestly, 4 is... not a bad game. It's rotoundly okay, I guess it hasn't aged all that well but when it was released I was deep into the college experience so anything that was not multiplayer that couldn't be played four beers deep was not the most interesting thing, and I lost track of it after a year or so and kinda forgot about it... so I don't know if it was acceptable back then. I tried it, but the PC port was so bad, the game controlled so awfully and the stupid ghosts got into my nerves so I quit it for like two decades until this year, when I'm working at home and realizing that my job, and mostly any job, can be done in half the time I'm forced to sit on my ass on an office sipping coffee and eating nuts, so I've been going through a few games I've had left on my admittedly ancient gaming laptop.
However, the biggest sin of this game is not the hillariously aged controls (not tank controls, but toddler in skates in ice controls) or the fact that's barely related to Silent Hill in so many ways (Henry? He's a regular smuck who has nothing to do in Silent Hill. It's not even set in Silent Hill at any point. The game does mention Silent Hill and Walter had a out of character mention in SH2. Why are there ghosts, anyway? We haven't seen ghosts since the ghost children in 1. Also how come the game goes through otherworld and regular world from door to door). It is pacing. The game's pacing is atrocious. It feels longer than it actually is, the second half of the game goes Halo and forces you to retrace your steps through places you've already run through, and the gimmicks of the game only serve to make the game even less dynamic: the unkillable ghosts will harrass you at several times in the game, the levels aren't easy to navigate or anything. Enemies are a strange bunch (what do the leeches do?? just get in the way??). Puzzles are slow to solve, there is a lot of guesswork involved in several (the water prison seems to be the worst). This all helps to make the game the least interesting journey of the entire series so far (haven't played Origins or Shattered Memories).
There is, however, a lot to like if you want to like it. Combat is a lot more satisfying than in previous entries, and the levels are pretty inventive. The plot is interesting: revolves about Henry Townsend, creep extraoirdinaire, who gets unnaturally locked inside his appartment for some reason. Naturally, this devolves into trying to stop a supernatural serial killer ghost, Walter Sullivan, from unleashing the apocalypse. Characters are deceptively interesting if you look into it. The art direction is pretty good, despite the enemies being such a mixed bag:
Giant penises. You don't really know what they are until the second time you visit the Water Prison, where you will find out that those things you've been hitting to pass the time are giant, monstrous penises. Named "Greedy Worms".
"Gumhead", monkey like enemies. I meant the act like monkeys, they ussually try to beat you with golf clubs. There is a metaphor there, i'm sure.
Hummers. Giant mosquito bats that serve as your main way to fill up your swearing quota of the day.
Burping machines.
Dogs. New behaviour to the series, they won't attack you unless you attack them, because they are the goodiest boys.
The fuck is this.
Probably worth writing a dissertation about, the Twin Victims are the creepiest thing in the game, bar none. They represent a pair of kids Walter killed for his ritual to go through and will stand there pointing at you, probably because they know you've been snooping into Eileen's appartment, before, erm, moving towards you to beat you senseless. They are incredibly uncomfortable to watch, both when idle and in motion.
I've mentioned Henry being creepy, and I kinda think the game tried very hard to make it clear that Henry has issues, but he also feels like this guy who doesn't give a shit. First, look at him:
Fun fact: i kinda looked like this in the 00s, mostly around the late years. Same haircut, same "i don't know what's going on" face. I didn't know what was going on, so I can relate to Henry. I was also a weird, socially awkward guy who didn't react to things properly, had terrible memory, and was probably not socially adjusted either and could come accross as creepy or uncomfortable to be around. Nowadays not much has changed (though my girlfriend insist people like me. I disagree) but in short, Henry is me, with the added bonus that I do know Henry is a creep, proven by how he has a hole in the wall directly towards Eileen's bedroom, and you can direct him to watch into her private life. The game knows his vouyeristic tendences, for we're greeted with this thing later in the game:
This thing will follow you with her eyes as you move, in a (probably futile) attempt to make you understand you're a sick pervert for peeking into Eileen's room. I mean Henry is a sick pervert. A well meaning sick pervert, but a fucked up guy nonetheless. He probably suffers from anxiety, though his lack of surprise to absolutely anything can also be a sign of schizophrenia. Considering that the giant worms end up looking like fucking dicks when I finally saw their heads, I think this game has a sexual element that's not really noted. I might be wrong though (I was, after all, wrong about 2), but Henry is a late 20s guy with issues: sex is probably one of those. Other than that, he reacts strangely to everything, though it's probably also bad writing. Find a woman beaten to a sliver of life in her final seconds? Ask her if she's okay. Finding a rotten corpse hidden in your house? Oh, I thought it was something bad. Did I just dissapear in front of your eyes? Sis I just went into this hole you don't see, but okay no big deal. Did the injured girl you're trying to protect just decide to go and face a supernatual serial killer ghost by herself, presumably by singing to him like Demi Lovato? Fine, I'll go and check out this hell condo and see if I can find something cool.
In short, Henry is a weirdo. He's also not related to Silent Hill by any means, nor does he have any particulary thing he regrets or anyone to save. He just found a hole in his apartment. This is intentional, as the devs stated they wanted to put a regular person in Silent Hill (sorta). So they put in the weirdest one they found. Figures.
BTW Eileen is also pretty plain as a character, but she's really cute.
She's also disturbingly maternal. She gets beaten nearly to death at some point in the game, yet all she can muster is "did you find your mum" to this obviously creepy kid. Not "Call an ambulance I'm dying". Maybe she also suffers from the same mental illness as Henry. Or maybe this is some commentary on the US healthcare system, I don't know, this game is so fucking weird. She also, after freaking out, attaches herself to Henry, also treating him in the same motherly way. This is likely intentional, considering her role in Walter's ritual (she represents the mother), but it's a bit weird. She's also a 00s girl, so she's perky, upbeat, dresses funny, and gets sexy for the sake of a party:
Then the game laughs at you for expecting eye candy and fanservice in a Silent Hill game, and gets roughed up.
Eileen can join you in fights, which is cool, armed with, uhm, a bag, a horse crop, a chain or a nightstick. I think the devs at this point were taking the piss.
I mean look at Walter. Much like a lot of the game, he seems like he belongs in a 90s videoclip directed by Dean Karr or Floria Sigismondi.
He's the goddamn Perfect Drug. Just give him a keyboard and let him sing Worlock, or something similar. The whole opening, the ghosts introductions, it all feels like stripped out of the movie Fallen, Seven, Strange Days or the Marilyn Manson's Sweet Dreams version videoclip, Nine Inch Nails' Closer. It's utterly late 90s, that industrial music culture is permeating these cutscenes and it's so strange and awesome. Do you guys know other games with this aesthetic? I'd love to play them.
There are more characters, but i'm up to 1739 words at this point. We can point and laugh at all of them, for they are incredibly shallow.
Cynthia, a feisty latina who offers to sleep with Henry if he helps her. Doesn't work, turns into Sadako from Ringu.
Good riddance.
Frank Sunderland, James' dad.The janitor of the building, maybe? He sweeps a lot and keeps a goddamn umbilical cord.
Andrew De Salvo. He's probably a child abuser. Gets a minute of screen time before turning into the hardest boss.
Jasper Gein, (look! a serial killer reference) which honestly I forgot was there but an I love that shirt. He likes chocolate milk.
Well I've rambled long enough. I know this game is controversial amongst fans, though I also know people believe this to be the last true Silent Hill game. What do you all think?
- Silent Hill: Back when it was released, on a single sitting at a friend's house, as I didn't had a PSX. I got there to help him find a map as he didn't speak much english and proceeded to complete it, figuring out all the puzzles except the piano one. I realy wish I was as sharp as I was back then. I also wish my back didn't hurt.
- Silent Hill 2: A year or so after its release as the PC port was a notably piece of crap. It still is, to be honest. I loved it so much. Easily the best of the series despite being barely part of the series.
- Silent Hill 3: A few months ago. I actually enjoyed this one big time, it's closer to 1 than 2, with the whole Lynchian vibes and odd dialogues. It feels so much like Lost Highway.
- Silent HIll: Homecoming: I played this one when it was released, liked it because I have terrible taste. Looking back, we can say the music was great and the enemy design is golden.
- Silent Hill: Downpour: The most true to 1 sequel, except open world, with irritating controls and sad, depressing sidequests. Also seems to be a cross over with American Mcgee's Alice games.
So naturally, 4 was to come.
Honestly, 4 is... not a bad game. It's rotoundly okay, I guess it hasn't aged all that well but when it was released I was deep into the college experience so anything that was not multiplayer that couldn't be played four beers deep was not the most interesting thing, and I lost track of it after a year or so and kinda forgot about it... so I don't know if it was acceptable back then. I tried it, but the PC port was so bad, the game controlled so awfully and the stupid ghosts got into my nerves so I quit it for like two decades until this year, when I'm working at home and realizing that my job, and mostly any job, can be done in half the time I'm forced to sit on my ass on an office sipping coffee and eating nuts, so I've been going through a few games I've had left on my admittedly ancient gaming laptop.
However, the biggest sin of this game is not the hillariously aged controls (not tank controls, but toddler in skates in ice controls) or the fact that's barely related to Silent Hill in so many ways (Henry? He's a regular smuck who has nothing to do in Silent Hill. It's not even set in Silent Hill at any point. The game does mention Silent Hill and Walter had a out of character mention in SH2. Why are there ghosts, anyway? We haven't seen ghosts since the ghost children in 1. Also how come the game goes through otherworld and regular world from door to door). It is pacing. The game's pacing is atrocious. It feels longer than it actually is, the second half of the game goes Halo and forces you to retrace your steps through places you've already run through, and the gimmicks of the game only serve to make the game even less dynamic: the unkillable ghosts will harrass you at several times in the game, the levels aren't easy to navigate or anything. Enemies are a strange bunch (what do the leeches do?? just get in the way??). Puzzles are slow to solve, there is a lot of guesswork involved in several (the water prison seems to be the worst). This all helps to make the game the least interesting journey of the entire series so far (haven't played Origins or Shattered Memories).
There is, however, a lot to like if you want to like it. Combat is a lot more satisfying than in previous entries, and the levels are pretty inventive. The plot is interesting: revolves about Henry Townsend, creep extraoirdinaire, who gets unnaturally locked inside his appartment for some reason. Naturally, this devolves into trying to stop a supernatural serial killer ghost, Walter Sullivan, from unleashing the apocalypse. Characters are deceptively interesting if you look into it. The art direction is pretty good, despite the enemies being such a mixed bag:
Probably worth writing a dissertation about, the Twin Victims are the creepiest thing in the game, bar none. They represent a pair of kids Walter killed for his ritual to go through and will stand there pointing at you, probably because they know you've been snooping into Eileen's appartment, before, erm, moving towards you to beat you senseless. They are incredibly uncomfortable to watch, both when idle and in motion.
I've mentioned Henry being creepy, and I kinda think the game tried very hard to make it clear that Henry has issues, but he also feels like this guy who doesn't give a shit. First, look at him:
Fun fact: i kinda looked like this in the 00s, mostly around the late years. Same haircut, same "i don't know what's going on" face. I didn't know what was going on, so I can relate to Henry. I was also a weird, socially awkward guy who didn't react to things properly, had terrible memory, and was probably not socially adjusted either and could come accross as creepy or uncomfortable to be around. Nowadays not much has changed (though my girlfriend insist people like me. I disagree) but in short, Henry is me, with the added bonus that I do know Henry is a creep, proven by how he has a hole in the wall directly towards Eileen's bedroom, and you can direct him to watch into her private life. The game knows his vouyeristic tendences, for we're greeted with this thing later in the game:
This thing will follow you with her eyes as you move, in a (probably futile) attempt to make you understand you're a sick pervert for peeking into Eileen's room. I mean Henry is a sick pervert. A well meaning sick pervert, but a fucked up guy nonetheless. He probably suffers from anxiety, though his lack of surprise to absolutely anything can also be a sign of schizophrenia. Considering that the giant worms end up looking like fucking dicks when I finally saw their heads, I think this game has a sexual element that's not really noted. I might be wrong though (I was, after all, wrong about 2), but Henry is a late 20s guy with issues: sex is probably one of those. Other than that, he reacts strangely to everything, though it's probably also bad writing. Find a woman beaten to a sliver of life in her final seconds? Ask her if she's okay. Finding a rotten corpse hidden in your house? Oh, I thought it was something bad. Did I just dissapear in front of your eyes? Sis I just went into this hole you don't see, but okay no big deal. Did the injured girl you're trying to protect just decide to go and face a supernatual serial killer ghost by herself, presumably by singing to him like Demi Lovato? Fine, I'll go and check out this hell condo and see if I can find something cool.
In short, Henry is a weirdo. He's also not related to Silent Hill by any means, nor does he have any particulary thing he regrets or anyone to save. He just found a hole in his apartment. This is intentional, as the devs stated they wanted to put a regular person in Silent Hill (sorta). So they put in the weirdest one they found. Figures.
BTW Eileen is also pretty plain as a character, but she's really cute.
She's also disturbingly maternal. She gets beaten nearly to death at some point in the game, yet all she can muster is "did you find your mum" to this obviously creepy kid. Not "Call an ambulance I'm dying". Maybe she also suffers from the same mental illness as Henry. Or maybe this is some commentary on the US healthcare system, I don't know, this game is so fucking weird. She also, after freaking out, attaches herself to Henry, also treating him in the same motherly way. This is likely intentional, considering her role in Walter's ritual (she represents the mother), but it's a bit weird. She's also a 00s girl, so she's perky, upbeat, dresses funny, and gets sexy for the sake of a party:
Then the game laughs at you for expecting eye candy and fanservice in a Silent Hill game, and gets roughed up.
Eileen can join you in fights, which is cool, armed with, uhm, a bag, a horse crop, a chain or a nightstick. I think the devs at this point were taking the piss.
I mean look at Walter. Much like a lot of the game, he seems like he belongs in a 90s videoclip directed by Dean Karr or Floria Sigismondi.
He's the goddamn Perfect Drug. Just give him a keyboard and let him sing Worlock, or something similar. The whole opening, the ghosts introductions, it all feels like stripped out of the movie Fallen, Seven, Strange Days or the Marilyn Manson's Sweet Dreams version videoclip, Nine Inch Nails' Closer. It's utterly late 90s, that industrial music culture is permeating these cutscenes and it's so strange and awesome. Do you guys know other games with this aesthetic? I'd love to play them.
There are more characters, but i'm up to 1739 words at this point. We can point and laugh at all of them, for they are incredibly shallow.
Well I've rambled long enough. I know this game is controversial amongst fans, though I also know people believe this to be the last true Silent Hill game. What do you all think?
