It took me THIS long to actually finish Silent Hill 1. I did it, finally...
Although I'm happy to say that this incredible franchise's first game is indeed amazing, I'm also a bit sad to see how outdated it gets as the years go by.
I have to start saying that Silent Hill is probably one of the most unique games I've ever played. It's definitely not its sequel, but it's definitely one of the most remarkable games of its time. It may be outdated and rough around the edges but it's undeniably original, effective and essential.
Silent Hill 1 made me feel dreadful - but In a good way.
The main reason for this is atmosphere and sound. Few games actually got me this tense and unsure of my actions quite like this one.
The town is well-modeled and feels like an actual ghost town, environments are not pre-rendered and that might be the reason why it's all so strange and foreboding, characters are mysterious and creepy, enemy design is good, it's short with an INTENSE pacing, replayability is highly encouraged and the mood is just perfect.
Like I've said before, atmosphere and sound were key.
It's an astonishing work of sound design and ambience. Even if the game had no combat, SH's tone and oppressive music itself would've been enough to make you sweat.
The story also helps a lot. It's grotesque and often heavy. The mystery set from the start kept me interested until the end and although I feel like it could've been handled a lot better, I was craving to know more even after the credits rolled.
With all that said, I have to be honest: the game does not hold up. Sure, it is great, but it BEGS a well done remake.
Combat is downright painful, movement is stiff to a fault, puzzles can be very overcomplicated and enemy placement is just bad! Traversing SH's foggy envrionments should've been spooky, but the amount of enemies chasing and hurting Harry at ALL TIMES breaks the vibe. At least until you enter a place like the hospital or school. In fact, this is probably the main reason why I wasn't scared at all during these moments. Just upset.
The story's also something that felt a bit underdeveloped in my opinion. It starts off great, but fails to explain essential plot points and fill the blanks. It's something that I felt that could've been easily fixed, with a few more notes or cutscenes, but instead it becomes a puzzle of its own in the end.
As previously said, Silent Hill 1 is unique. What I've experienced here or in its sequence is something that I haven't experienced in other games.
It didn't age well and if you want the full story you'll probably need to Google it, but I'm pretty sure that you'll love it anyway. It's a fantastic survival horror game and one of the genre's most original.
Although I'm happy to say that this incredible franchise's first game is indeed amazing, I'm also a bit sad to see how outdated it gets as the years go by.
I have to start saying that Silent Hill is probably one of the most unique games I've ever played. It's definitely not its sequel, but it's definitely one of the most remarkable games of its time. It may be outdated and rough around the edges but it's undeniably original, effective and essential.
Silent Hill 1 made me feel dreadful - but In a good way.
The main reason for this is atmosphere and sound. Few games actually got me this tense and unsure of my actions quite like this one.
The town is well-modeled and feels like an actual ghost town, environments are not pre-rendered and that might be the reason why it's all so strange and foreboding, characters are mysterious and creepy, enemy design is good, it's short with an INTENSE pacing, replayability is highly encouraged and the mood is just perfect.
Like I've said before, atmosphere and sound were key.
It's an astonishing work of sound design and ambience. Even if the game had no combat, SH's tone and oppressive music itself would've been enough to make you sweat.
The story also helps a lot. It's grotesque and often heavy. The mystery set from the start kept me interested until the end and although I feel like it could've been handled a lot better, I was craving to know more even after the credits rolled.
With all that said, I have to be honest: the game does not hold up. Sure, it is great, but it BEGS a well done remake.
Combat is downright painful, movement is stiff to a fault, puzzles can be very overcomplicated and enemy placement is just bad! Traversing SH's foggy envrionments should've been spooky, but the amount of enemies chasing and hurting Harry at ALL TIMES breaks the vibe. At least until you enter a place like the hospital or school. In fact, this is probably the main reason why I wasn't scared at all during these moments. Just upset.
The story's also something that felt a bit underdeveloped in my opinion. It starts off great, but fails to explain essential plot points and fill the blanks. It's something that I felt that could've been easily fixed, with a few more notes or cutscenes, but instead it becomes a puzzle of its own in the end.
As previously said, Silent Hill 1 is unique. What I've experienced here or in its sequence is something that I haven't experienced in other games.
It didn't age well and if you want the full story you'll probably need to Google it, but I'm pretty sure that you'll love it anyway. It's a fantastic survival horror game and one of the genre's most original.
2 Comments
I don't remember now, but I usually play on games normal/standard difficulty. I can imageine the easy difficult kinda solving this problem I mentioned, but it could also take away the feeling of danger that's so important to its entire design philosophy.
SH1 and SH3 are GREAT games, but they have this weird focus on enemies jumping at you at all times. I didn't feel this with SH2 and SH4, and they happen to be my favorite out of the ones I played.
SH1 and SH3 are GREAT games, but they have this weird focus on enemies jumping at you at all times. I didn't feel this with SH2 and SH4, and they happen to be my favorite out of the ones I played.
Armakeen
4 months ago
For example in SH1, the grey childs in the school are absolutely obnoxious when you play on normal or hard. There are too many of them, they take longer to kill, and they just interrupt your exploration of the school way too often.
While on easy, they're barely an inconvenience!
Thay way, it's easier to focus on the atmosphere of the game and the exploration 👍