The oddball of the classic Silent Hill games, I find that to be a good thing in many ways. In fact, on a single playthrough basis I probably like this game more than the obvious pick for best game in the series, Silent Hill 2, but I am aware I can't really rate this higher in good conscience.
4 sets itself apart by having a greater emphasis on melee combat, more self contained levels that revolve less around puzzles and more around getting through them efficiently, and inventory management. Additionally, the game's paradigm shifts halfway through, with your safe zone of the titular room 302 becoming hostile and being tasked with a game long escort quest. I find the escort quest to be a little unfairly maligned, because in sharp contrast to Maria in 2, Eileen actually cannot die. Eileen's condition purely effects your shots at the endings where she survives, and she's actually surprisingly resilient, able to take a couple dozen hits without detriment to your shot at the Escape ending. That said, you do often need to wait for her which can bog down the speed at which you get through the game, especially in comparison to how quickly you can blitz the first half of the game.
Where the game really succeeds is having excellent tension. The levels are dark, dingy, loaded with creepy sounds (with some exceptions like the infamous belching Patient monsters) and the apartment hauntings do an excellent job of flipping the experience on the player, making your safe haven into a place you dread returning to. While I do find the camera angles to be awkward at times, general movement is also a lot smoother than the previous games. I'd say my biggest criticism is that the game has easily the worst replay value of any game in the series. The unlockables are amazingly lame, none of the endings contribute to unlocking anything, and the more rigid progression of the game makes certain passages very sloggy to replay. It's an excellent seasonal game though, and I highly recommend it to anyone who is open minded with horror games. There isn't really another game out there quite like this one.
4 sets itself apart by having a greater emphasis on melee combat, more self contained levels that revolve less around puzzles and more around getting through them efficiently, and inventory management. Additionally, the game's paradigm shifts halfway through, with your safe zone of the titular room 302 becoming hostile and being tasked with a game long escort quest. I find the escort quest to be a little unfairly maligned, because in sharp contrast to Maria in 2, Eileen actually cannot die. Eileen's condition purely effects your shots at the endings where she survives, and she's actually surprisingly resilient, able to take a couple dozen hits without detriment to your shot at the Escape ending. That said, you do often need to wait for her which can bog down the speed at which you get through the game, especially in comparison to how quickly you can blitz the first half of the game.
Where the game really succeeds is having excellent tension. The levels are dark, dingy, loaded with creepy sounds (with some exceptions like the infamous belching Patient monsters) and the apartment hauntings do an excellent job of flipping the experience on the player, making your safe haven into a place you dread returning to. While I do find the camera angles to be awkward at times, general movement is also a lot smoother than the previous games. I'd say my biggest criticism is that the game has easily the worst replay value of any game in the series. The unlockables are amazingly lame, none of the endings contribute to unlocking anything, and the more rigid progression of the game makes certain passages very sloggy to replay. It's an excellent seasonal game though, and I highly recommend it to anyone who is open minded with horror games. There isn't really another game out there quite like this one.