Silent Hill series (1 Viewer)

Raining on Me

Raining on Me

Jesus Loves Winners
Joined
Feb 15, 2004
Messages
18,443
I've had a sudden desire to play through all these again and am now CURSING myself for flogging my copies years ago, and now cursing myself again for spending a small fortune trying to get them back. But for some reason I can't stop thinking about revisiting them - has there ever been a better horror game overall than what they collectively offered? Probably, but fucked if I know what.

I never got to play the PT demo that everyone raves about but was promptly deleted after Guillermo del Toro stole Hideo Kojima's Haribo mix or something (poor @COB started a thread years ago to zero response I see). It seems much sought after now.

Anyway, I kind of lost track entirely after 4 and never even played 4 properly so it'll be those ones I'll be clawing back for my PS2 given the HD Collection of 2 and 3 is notoriously horrific and there's currently no downloadable option. The later ones seem rather LESS than ESSENTIAL and I don't remember being keen but I'll probably no doubt indulge if we're going all in (though "Origins" goes for about £100 on ebay, I may just pass on that :gross:)

Also - new one possibly maybe who knows incoming in some form for PS5?

What does moopy think, a classic series and the very essence of horror or...well no, I won't hear any other alternative thanks.
 
Silent Hill 2 is the best horror game ever made. It’s perfect.

The remake for the Wii was an interesting take and very creepy in places, but everything that came after that (Origins, Downpour, Homecoming) were absolute shit and completely missed everything that made the original three (and parts of 4, maybe :eyes:) so brilliant.
 
The first three are truly sublime in their own ways

Silent Hill - even though 2's story is a lot more psychological and symbolic, they never bettered this in terms of story-meeting-gameplay, that whole utterly fucking terrifying cultish world, the GRIM HORROR of Alessa and Dahlia and the unrelenting dread of the alternate nightmare realm, the structure was perfect. I think exploring the foggy streets in this is one of the best gaming experiences I've ever had, especially with all the references dotted about.

Silent Hill 2 - an emotional, catastrophic ride. So many side stories, all with merit, and then James having to confront his own demons. It's so much calmer gameplay wise, with very little shock and blood as I recall, but instead it's like rifling through the minds of the mentally ill (or just people in general as it goes) and you're forever under this suppressive cloud. I think initially I was disappointed but I appreciate its brilliance now. Also Maria QoL obviously. And that fucking MUSIC :disco:

Silent Hill 3 - Honestly I feel this is the scariest of the lot even if it's not the best. It's never consistent in what it throws up, which means you never know what to expect. I feel this was made to counter SH2's prozac-fuelled comedown, because it flings NASTINESS after NASTINESS at you in ways that terrorize far more than mere jump scares (although it's got plenty of those). That end section and the mutating walls, I can't bear the thought of doing it again, the whole set up was designed to fuck the mind. A bit messy but still a masterclass.

Silent Hill 4 - again, I fell out of the loop from this point, but I remember it being creepy as fuck and quite original in what it was trying to do. It seems highly regarded as part (and end) of Silent Hill's peak and I'm annoyed I never finished it.
 
I've actually never finished any of these, though I did get quite far into 1 and 3 :shy:

Regarding a new game, I wouldn't expect it from Konami any time soon as they don't seem to be interested these days - pachinko machines make them far more money :( There was a rumour a while ago that Sony had bought the licence from them and were working on two new games (a brand new one AND a reboot of Kojima's Silent Hills concept), but if it's true there haven't been any more rumblings since.
 
For nostalgia reasons I would say Silent Hill is my favourite as it made the best out of the PSX's limitations (I think I've watched that intro about a million times) but I agree that SH2 refined all its good bits and added EVEN MORE. SH3 was a nice change of pace, a gaiden story in a way, nowhere near the other two but still enjoyable.

I actually enjoyed Shattered Memories and Origins but they're simply RETREADS of the first two. You can also tell they were made by a Western developer and not Konami.

I've not played any of the rest, I'm sure they're perfectly serviceable but at this point what made the original so incredible has become so ubiquitous that there's probably other games that do it and do it better.
 
The soundtrack for SH2 was also fantastic as ROM has mentioned. “Promise” was my favourite track - as used in this amazing trailer for the game which I remember watching dozens of times a DAY before the game came out :D :disco:

 
In terms of other series that are similar IN STYLE I would recommend Forbidden Siren and Project Zero. They are not as good imo but they are very unique and more focused on Japanese lore so expect lots of QUITE MESSED-UP JAPANESE SCHOOLGIRL SEXUAL TORTURE storylines.

There's also Haunting Ground and the Clock Tower series but I think those are a slightly different genre, more akin to Alien: Isolation or Resi VII.

PS4 also has a decent number of "unsettling" games actually, if not downright horror.
 
jivafox said:
The soundtrack for SH2 was also fantastic as ROM has mentioned. “Promise” was my favourite track - as used in this amazing trailer for the game which I remember watching dozens of times a DAY before the game came out :D :disco:

Click to expand...


This is utter :disco: and I love how it's NOT a rewrite of the SH1 intro theme but at the same time IT IS.
 
God the SH1 intro theme still gives me goosebumps to this day. :disco:
 
That soundtrack to Silent Hill 2 is spectacular - so much variation going on, but all on the same theme really. The toned down piano based tracks are soul destroying.

I've just bought the Director's Cut because I realized I never played the Maria/Mary side story that goes with it.
 
Peekaboo said:
In terms of other series that are similar IN STYLE I would recommend Forbidden Siren and Project Zero. They are not as good imo but they are very unique and more focused on Japanese lore so expect lots of QUITE MESSED-UP JAPANESE SCHOOLGIRL SEXUAL TORTURE storylines.

There's also Haunting Ground and the Clock Tower series but I think those are a slightly different genre, more akin to Alien: Isolation or Resi VII.

PS4 also has a decent number of "unsettling" games actually, if not downright horror.
Click to expand...

Forbidden Siren and Project Zero were both ace, albeit not the same sort of beast as Silent Hill. Never played Clock Tower although I've been aware of it for years, but by christ it costs the EARTH now.
 
I'm playing Visage on PS4 at the moment which is scary as fuck in parts. And really hard in terms of figuring out what to do next (and also completely annoying with the lights going off constantly which takes you out of the horror somewhat).

It's a been out a couple of years on other platforms and is little more than a glorified point and click horror adventure but it seriously gets under the skin.
 
Raining On Me said:
Forbidden Siren and Project Zero were both ace, albeit not the same sort of beast as Silent Hill. Never played Clock Tower although I've been aware of it for years, but by christ it costs the EARTH now.
Click to expand...
I enjoyed the Clock Tower games on PSX but they're absolutely not worth the price of admission. If you want to get a feel for them you could emulate the English-patched SNES original quite easily, they're not a million miles away from that and retro-horror also has its charm :disco:
 
A bunch of remakes and new games got announced





 
This is all very random but will be interesting to see if they can pull this off. They’ve picked some good developers so here’s hoping.

Not sure about the new movie based on Silent Hill 2 though :gross:
 
I remember playing The Room back in 2005 or something, but I decided that was IT for survival horror for me. Always loved its concept. One of those games I preferred watching other people play lol
 
There's also this, which seems intriguing:

I think it's going to be more of a puzzle/found footage type of game.
 
I think I'm most looking forward to Silent Hill f, of the announced games. Interesting that it has an entirely different setting - is it a Silent Hill game if it doesn't take place in Silent Hill? - but the visuals of the invading flowers are so striking, and that final shot of the trailer was a fabulous bit of body horror so I'm definitely looking forward to seeing more.
 
So there’s a new free one that’s just come out - “Silent Hill: The Short Message” and it’s confirmed DOGSHIT. That other episodic one they put out last year was shite too.

It’s a shame as it’s obvious now that they just revived the franchise for a cash grab but we’ll see what some of the bigger games are like.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Back
Top Bottom