Silent Hill is one of the most well-known horror franchises in gaming. I tried playing the first game years ago, but stopped at some point. I remember not liking the tank controls, but liking the atmosphere. Out of nowhere, I was in a mood to complete it. I started a new file and finished it from beginning to end. I believe it is a good game that can be hard to play today.

Despite releasing in 1999, Silent Hill is still genuinely scary. The fog may have been used because of hardware limitations of the PS1, but it added to the creepiness. Even with the in game map, it can still be hard to know where to go and that makes it even scarier. You might need a guide and I used one for some of the puzzles and locations.

The only thing that is not scary is the English voice acting. It is terrible and clashes with the tone of the game and story. Almost every character’s performances were terrible and Harry Mason, the character you play as, has the worst delivery out of everyone. When something messed up happens in the story, the tone is ruined by the delivery. It takes me out of the immersion.

The game is survival horror, so limited ammo, healing, and save points. Make sure to conserve your ammo and health for the bosses, the mediocre bosses. The bosses are nothing special and can be beaten quickly.

One aspect of Silent Hill that is a point of contention is the tank controls. Some people think the tank controls add to the stressfulness of a survival horror while others think tank controls ruin games. I do think Silent Hill is still a playable game, but I will never be a fan of tank controls of any game. It is unnatural and awkward to control. Good luck controlling Harry Mason when going up stairs. Since this is a Konami title, that is par for the course.

Silent Hill excels at the atmosphere and story, but the awful English performances and tank controls might make this a hard game to recommend.

Reviewed on May 28, 2023


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