This review contains spoilers
For personal reference more than anything else.
First time playing through this after a couple of attempts over the last couple of years with the furthest one in being about halfway through the game four years ago. Played on Easy and got the Good+ ending.
Originally I wasn't going to bother with this game as I tried it again quite recently and still wasn't really into it but changed my mind after how good Silent Hill 2 was and realising that (for me at least) its just better to play on the easier difficulties with these games as I then find my issues with them diminished. After playing I honestly can't really tell if I made the right choice by fully playing this or not.
I really couldn't get that interested in this game, the story was just told in a way where it feels like most of it happens in the later half and even then it just feels like its told kind of weirdly (as stupid as that may sound). If it wasn't for the fact that I'd seen the film based on this game not only before but recently I would've struggled even more than I already was in following it. None of the characters were particularly interesting and I felt that the voice acting in the game basically destroyed any last hope of me caring about the characters or the story. I didn't really give a shit whether Harry found Cheryl or not because it didn't even sound like he cared himself.
The locations in the game were sort of cool and I actually quite liked the hospital, sewer and Nowhere sections. I wasn't really a fan of having to do the school two times in a row though and exploring the town was a pain in the arse because of the constant roadblocks and the annoying enemies.
Speaking of which, I think that over half of the types of enemies in this game can just be described as annoying. The pterodactyls, the dogs, the mole people, the ghost children (in the final area) and even the bosses. I think most of it comes down to having to deal with them using tank controls and the fact that the majority of them have some kind of grab. But a couple of them fly and are difficult to see (even with holding down L2 (the look button or whatever its called)).
The puzzles in this game were absolutely not for me, I struggle too much when given a puzzle and being told "here, solve it," and not understanding what I'm supposed to be doing in the first place. I got to what was essentially the first puzzle of the game (the bird story and piano keys in the school) and I literally had no idea what I was even being asked of, so I ended up using a guide and I'm really glad I did. The guide was consulted a fair bit, especially towards the end of the game as I was just constantly confused. I don't consider this to be a fault of the game, just another reason why I personally couldn't quite get on with it. I did like the Alice in Wonderland tablets puzzle and the make the shapes from the pictures on the doors bit.
Some scattered thoughts:
• I really liked how the game looked and I think its so cool how the developers managed to work with the limitations at the time in such creative ways.
• Despite being a horror game I didn't really feel all that scared or anything outside of a couple of moments here and there, that's not a big problem for me but I do think that the game is kind of banking on the player feeling at least a little on edge due to its atmosphere.
• The music wasn't really for me but I think there were a couple of songs I thought were decent.
• I didn't really enjoy the combat most of the time but I loved using the hammer.
I think the game was alright and there were some interesting things in it but I don't exactly think I had a particularly good time with it and I don't think I'm going to want to come back to it.
First time playing through this after a couple of attempts over the last couple of years with the furthest one in being about halfway through the game four years ago. Played on Easy and got the Good+ ending.
Originally I wasn't going to bother with this game as I tried it again quite recently and still wasn't really into it but changed my mind after how good Silent Hill 2 was and realising that (for me at least) its just better to play on the easier difficulties with these games as I then find my issues with them diminished. After playing I honestly can't really tell if I made the right choice by fully playing this or not.
I really couldn't get that interested in this game, the story was just told in a way where it feels like most of it happens in the later half and even then it just feels like its told kind of weirdly (as stupid as that may sound). If it wasn't for the fact that I'd seen the film based on this game not only before but recently I would've struggled even more than I already was in following it. None of the characters were particularly interesting and I felt that the voice acting in the game basically destroyed any last hope of me caring about the characters or the story. I didn't really give a shit whether Harry found Cheryl or not because it didn't even sound like he cared himself.
The locations in the game were sort of cool and I actually quite liked the hospital, sewer and Nowhere sections. I wasn't really a fan of having to do the school two times in a row though and exploring the town was a pain in the arse because of the constant roadblocks and the annoying enemies.
Speaking of which, I think that over half of the types of enemies in this game can just be described as annoying. The pterodactyls, the dogs, the mole people, the ghost children (in the final area) and even the bosses. I think most of it comes down to having to deal with them using tank controls and the fact that the majority of them have some kind of grab. But a couple of them fly and are difficult to see (even with holding down L2 (the look button or whatever its called)).
The puzzles in this game were absolutely not for me, I struggle too much when given a puzzle and being told "here, solve it," and not understanding what I'm supposed to be doing in the first place. I got to what was essentially the first puzzle of the game (the bird story and piano keys in the school) and I literally had no idea what I was even being asked of, so I ended up using a guide and I'm really glad I did. The guide was consulted a fair bit, especially towards the end of the game as I was just constantly confused. I don't consider this to be a fault of the game, just another reason why I personally couldn't quite get on with it. I did like the Alice in Wonderland tablets puzzle and the make the shapes from the pictures on the doors bit.
Some scattered thoughts:
• I really liked how the game looked and I think its so cool how the developers managed to work with the limitations at the time in such creative ways.
• Despite being a horror game I didn't really feel all that scared or anything outside of a couple of moments here and there, that's not a big problem for me but I do think that the game is kind of banking on the player feeling at least a little on edge due to its atmosphere.
• The music wasn't really for me but I think there were a couple of songs I thought were decent.
• I didn't really enjoy the combat most of the time but I loved using the hammer.
I think the game was alright and there were some interesting things in it but I don't exactly think I had a particularly good time with it and I don't think I'm going to want to come back to it.