I first played this game six years ago and, ever since, I've found myself coming back year after year to see if my opinions on it would ever change. My last review was scathing, but this time I've got nothing but praise to give.

It's a game that's willing to take bold leaps and reinvent the series' identity. It's introspective on the true nature of humanity in a way the first game just isn't. It often gets criticised for not making sense but from the opening cutscene it's clear that Drangleic is more ethereal and abstract than Lordran - it's kinda dreamy, in a sense.

Is it the best game ever made? God no, but it's so full of passion and ambition that I wouldn't dare rate it any lower.

A divisive title, to say the least, but a really unique experience that I'm glad to have had.

Silent Hill 4's focus on the cult of Silent Hill, despite the story never explicitly taking you into the town, was captivating, and I much preferred this take on the cult over the prior games' depictions.

Gameplay can be a bit hit and miss but, overall, I'd say it's fine and it works. It was actually nice to see inventory management rear its head in a Silent Hill title, as it often helps to increase tension when exploring and makes you behave more cautiously when picking up, dropping off, and using items. The ghosts could get a bit annoying, especially in the second half of the game, but they're manageable and can usually be outrun.

For the story, I did really like what was there. The story is mostly told through notes, with a scant few cutscenes repeating some of this information outright for players who have maybe ignored the notes strewn across the many levels. As someone who read every note in the game, these cutscenes did feel a bit on the nose, and it made the game feel somewhat convictionless. Pick a method in which you want to tell your story and stick with it, I say.

The final "criticism" is that the game does reuse all of its levels for the second half. This is a big point of contention for Silent Hill fans, but I personally thought the pacing and the atmosphere was different enough in the second version of these levels that the reuse was permissible.

The game isn't perfect, and I can totally see why some condemn it as the "downfall" of Silent Hill, but I really enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone that's a fan of the genre.

Dead Space reminds me of a better RE4, it's a clunky action/horror game (although maybe less so than RE4) but the focus is much more on horror and dread rather than campy action sequences.

It's easy to see why horror fans loved Dead Space in 2008, but I think I personally expected more. The characters are very barebones, with most of your interactions being through video calls, and the plot is only slightly better. It would get a pass on this for great enemy design, audio design and its environments, but in the third act it attempts to be dramatic and climactic and these moments fall flat when the protagonist is mute and the "story" and its subsequent twists have to be explained to you by characters who aren't very well acted