The day is April 1st, 2024. April Fools' Day! What are some silly pranks I can play on people on such a momentous occasion as this?
I've got a good one! I'll finally play the sequel to that game I hate, and see if it's actually any good.

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I've made it clear enough how much I hate Breath of the Wild, how much it quite literally pains me to play it. Obviously, I wouldn't be looking forward to Tears of the Kingdom either. Especially with just how much they tried to hype it up, like good lord this shit ended at least four Nintendo Directs. Despite all that, I decided to make a fool of myself today and give it a try, thanks to my brother being a BOTW fan in my stead, and purchasing this game back when it released. Be surprised when you hear this: I still don't like it.

I went into TOTK with no intentions of ever finishing it, and certainly no intentions of putting too much time into it. I gave it two hours, finished two shrines, and fucked around with whatever new mechanics they gave me. Shockingly though, I can at the very least admit that I didn't hate the new ideas. I enjoyed fusing items together a decent amount. It's definitely more Zelda than I felt with its prequel.

Unfortunately, there's still the entire rest of the game. The large, open world that has me running in circles for lord knows how long because I can't figure out a way to reach that spot I pinpointed on my map. The open world that I will be begrudgingly slogging through because my stamina doesn't allow me to speed up for any longer than three seconds. The very same open world that ends up giving me a headache if I spend too long in it. I didn't like it then, and I still don't like it now, fun new gimmicks or otherwise.

But hey, that's more than I could say for Breath of the Wild. Given that I had even the slightest amount of fun ever, I can still call it better than the first. It even took a little longer to give me a headache this time around. Maybe next time we can get an actual Zelda game.

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why did i do this?

Banjo and Kazooie are a hilarious duo, with one being an easy-going bear who's okay with the cartoon hell he exists in, and the other a very cynical bird who makes people hate her almost as fast as she'll hate them.

The two are a hilarious duo in a creatively worked out collect-a-thon that still feels good to play in the modern day. With each puzzle being creatively planned, yet challenging and each world having a fun theme within a witches castle, it's no wonder Banjo-Kazooie still manages to be a classic game that just feels fun

Didn't think I'd be writing that, but Silent Hill 4 is my favorite SH since the 2nd one.

What won me over is how unique and lightly experimental it is compared to the previous ones. The concept of Henry locked in an ever-changing apartment fascinates me. It messes with your sense of safety, because if the protagonist isn't safe in his own house, anything else can happen. This makes SH4 one of the most disturbing and intriguing out of the 4, even if it's not the scariest.

I also prefer the focus on melee combat instead of puzzle solving. It does take away the dreadful sense of exploration that the others have, but it makes up for being its own consistent thing. And with it, comes a touch up in the combat sytem. I mean, it's still not perfect and, quite frankly, dated, but it's the best one. Even the camera works a little better. Pack that up with great visuals and some disgusting enemy designs and you have a very creepy challenge ahead of you.

The story is also great!

Definitely not better than 2 and might not be as horrifying as 1, but I love how the mystery slowly unfolds. The pacing feels just right, characters are memorable, there's an eerie sound to the voice acting, the main villain is good and the pay off felt satisfying, in most of the 4 endings you can get. The tone set by your interactions inside the room and the frightening things happening outside of it helps a lot in building up tension and curiosity.

The only thing I did not enjoy so much was Henry, but you get used to him.

And I won't even take too much time talking about how The Room handles sound. I've said it before in past reviews and I'll just say it again: Akira Yamaoka is a god! If it wasn't for him, I don't think Silent Hill would've been as memorable as it is and this is not different in this game. Again, the best one since 2.

I do have to point out a few things that I definitely agree in relation to this game's negative criticism. And that's the 2nd half of it.

I was not happy when I figured out that a lot of things changed when Eileen comes into play. As I played, I figured out that it isn't horrible to deal with her, but depending on the type of player you are, she can ruin your journey, because she is an unquestionable nuisance. Protecting her can be challenging even on easy, especially when you enter rooms filled with ghosts. I don't understand why the devs turned the game into a giant escort mission.

The 2nd half aso brings hauntings into Henry's room. And while I did find the concept very engaging, it got old soon and some of them can be very frustating if you do not correctly manage your items.

There's also the fact that the inventory just sucks. It is unapologetically bad. Some items are useless, the way it handles ammo and guns makes no sense, you can't discard items and it encourages mindless backtracking, which can totally break immersion. And the level design just doesn't help, since it's mostly linear, with some rooms FILLED with enemies. And this is coming from someone who actually prefers linear games.

I really don't understand why the devs made such weird decisions about how the final half of the game would roll. But while it could have ruined the experience for me, it just didn't. I could not dislike Silent Hill 4. In fact, it became my 2nd favorite out of the ones that I played.

If you have a chance, play Silent Hill 4. Especially if you're a horror fan. This is a very unique game, with a wicked mystery and some very off-putting imagery that, while definitely not perfect, shines in its strange design.

The Room but without Tommy Wiseau.

The black sheep of the original four Team Silent games, but is that rightfully so? Well it for sure is understandable. Henry Townsend is the definition of a dull and one dimensional character. Pretty much in contrast to Heather who is arguably the most 4-dimensional character I have ever witnessed. However SH4 has the series most interesting villain. Tommy Wisea...I mean Walter Sullivan. He sure looks like Tommy though lol.

Anyway the story about Walter and the 21 sacraments is pretty damn intruiging. The enemy design is great. Enemy sounds are pretty damn odd though, especially those burping monsters. Combat is worse yet easier at the same time. Once you got the axe you become invinvible ruining much of the horror. Imagine how dangerous those Twin Victims (one of the best and most underappreciated monsters in the franchise) would be with Silent Hill 3 gameplay and combat mechanics. The handgun is kinda like a shotgun shooting through multiple enemies sometimes.

The level design is great but I miss the radio and flashlight. The escort mission isn't as bad as in RE4 but witout it and the backtracking is something I could do without but I don't really mind it. Akira Yamaokas score is a masterclass. Room of Angels anyone?

9/10 Ghosts haunting your apartment.

You know what? I don't hate it, but it is kinda stinky. If we really are of the belief that games are an art form, then games should be attempting to tackle tough subject matter when it's in an appropriate setting. Passive medium is just unable to create the same level of uncomfiness that the more active role a player takes in a video game ever could, in my personal opinion. However, the execution needs to be done well. I think this game falters a good portion of it's ideas, but there were bits that I found to be quite interesting buried underneath it all.

Had the game focused more on the 2nd half where the environmental storytelling in the apartment was front in center, I think it would have faired a lot better. They could have easily still made an entire Silent Hill mental unrest and anguish fun time run around scary monster game with the huge overflowing baggage of shit built into that part of the game without the bullying arc. I can't really talk about the latter half section without the use of a spoiler tag, but it was fairly unsettling way to convey neglect and the negative feelings surrounding it without hitting you in the face with a car. Had it been fleshed out a lot more and not rushed to oblivion, it would have been more effective. Part of it may have been uneasiness by seeing an environment like this in real life, maybe it hit a little close to home for me. But, it really seemed like they played around a lot more in this segment and it came across a lot better in my eyes. It is however, the shortest segment, which kind of sucks.

As others have pointed out, the bullying aspect of the game is quite too literal, too surface level, too on the nose. These are important themes to talk about, but it's done in such a ham-fisted way that it comes across as goofy at times, with some unstellar voice acting to add onto it. It has nothing really to do with how cringe the teenagers are in this game, because teenagers are indeed cringe. And if you say that you weren't cringe as a teenager, you're just lying, man. Just because kids today call each other Ohio as an insult, doesn't mean we weren't gallivanting around in our own emo tumblr phases worshiping Let's Play Youtubers who are still working and streaming this game as we speak. Social media and how it can affect someone with a need for validation is a very real issue that definitely still affects adults, but it's an issue that has been fumbled so many times in other media already, in the same traps that this game falls into. It's personally more than just receiving mean comments in a Xitter reply and could have been much more explored as to why It affects Anita specifically. Instead, they just used the most generic insults ever and skirt over the issue almost entirely to get to the better stuff, where you're meant to just jam Anita's isolated feelings into her trauma together like putting a hot dog into a sandwich bun. I have played cute indie games that were able to convey these messages about isolation and communication in a much better, more subtle way. It's obvious to see what they were going for and the ending is okay for what it is, but it's basically just a smiley face platitude. The game just can't get more than a box cake version of the "You Tried" cake from me.

It plays mostly fine, but chugs in some areas where the walls around you are morphing into scary game goop, which is unfortunate as I'm sure it would look neat had it worked properly. The monster is fairly cool, but the monster is also the bane of my existence. The last chase scene might as well have had Benny Hill music playing over it for the same effect, since it's so hard to navigate and the whole segment has to be redone if you die. It loses the scariness of it quite quickly and becomes a nuisance instead. While I was sighing in frustration, Anita was having a full on asthma attack the entire time until I muted the dialogue and lived in peace and tranquility for the rest of the section.

I feel like if this was a game I paid for, I would be a lot harsher for sure, but it is free and extremely short so it's not like it super wasted my time. Now please like this review, it would make me very sad if you did not do so.

not sure what i'd rate this. not sure if i'd even buy it.. i got it as a gift.

i did play it for 10 hours straight, but it does feel a little icky to play. so many things seem "ripped off" .. you discover an area & it sounds just like BOTW. the point redeem system looks just like ark's. some of the designs look pretty close to pokemon. there's barely a 'parody' here, they just threw a bunch of stuff from other games together, added guns, & it worked. it's a soulless pile of other stuff you know you like.

i don't believe this was 'ai generated' like a lot of people said.. if they were ai generated pokemon.. they'd probably look more original lol. if they didn't tag it with ai on steam & got away with it, that would be pretty disappointing.

it's garbage slop that's easy to digest, & sadly it's a little entertaining. the hype will probably die down in a week & it'll probably never leave early access. tons of glitches & a shovelware feel to it. but i did have fun with my friend. this isn't going to replace pokemon, botw, ark, lego fortnite, or anything else in any fan's mind. maybe it'll set a fire under game freak's butts (it won't) to try & create something better than the glitchy scarvi game we just got.