My first experience with Silent Hill, but unfortunately I didn't enjoy this much.
The game is largely a walking simulator, with you following a linear path through the level and interacting with objects to observe the story. I say "observe" because the story unfolds entirely in letters, pre-written phone texts, and cutscenes; none of the interactions help elevate the story like they do in some other walking simulators. This is made worse by the voice acting being hit-and-miss, meaning some moments that should have felt impactful just felt awkward instead.
The walking is occasionally broken up by sequences where you get chased by a monster. Said monster's beautifully unnerving visual design, the way it stumbles toward you, and the sounds it makes collectively form the best part of the game. But this is all let down by the chase sequences themselves: it's never difficult to escape so the tension just isn't there. That is until the final chase sequence, which sends you on a collectible hunt in a half-lit maze while the monster breathes down your neck. Here, the tension comes from the fact that getting caught will force you to restart the entire laborious process over again. It doesn't help that the monster sometimes seems to teleport to catch up to you, rather than cleverly stalking you through the maze.
Personally, I could actually look past these issues if I had enjoyed the story itself. That was sadly not the case. There are some heavy themes being dealt with, and while I think the writers might have been well-intentioned, the way these topics were handled wasn't great. It felt like the imagery associated with these topics was being used as a means to an end: the game is at its most horrifying when it shows someone preparing to self-harm, but that's because self-harm is horrifying in real life. I would find a moment like that far more meaningful and terrifying if they had let you inhabit the character's psyche for a time first, so that you could see all the small moments leading up to - and thus building a mounting sense of dread towards - such an act. Instead, the game throws it in your face almost right out the gate. It just felt cheap. This, coupled with some unconvincing character work, led to an ending that felt more undeserved than cathartic.
All in all this wasn't a great introduction to the series. Nevertheless, the previous entries must have become classics for a reason, so I will probably still check them out at some point.
The game is largely a walking simulator, with you following a linear path through the level and interacting with objects to observe the story. I say "observe" because the story unfolds entirely in letters, pre-written phone texts, and cutscenes; none of the interactions help elevate the story like they do in some other walking simulators. This is made worse by the voice acting being hit-and-miss, meaning some moments that should have felt impactful just felt awkward instead.
The walking is occasionally broken up by sequences where you get chased by a monster. Said monster's beautifully unnerving visual design, the way it stumbles toward you, and the sounds it makes collectively form the best part of the game. But this is all let down by the chase sequences themselves: it's never difficult to escape so the tension just isn't there. That is until the final chase sequence, which sends you on a collectible hunt in a half-lit maze while the monster breathes down your neck. Here, the tension comes from the fact that getting caught will force you to restart the entire laborious process over again. It doesn't help that the monster sometimes seems to teleport to catch up to you, rather than cleverly stalking you through the maze.
Personally, I could actually look past these issues if I had enjoyed the story itself. That was sadly not the case. There are some heavy themes being dealt with, and while I think the writers might have been well-intentioned, the way these topics were handled wasn't great. It felt like the imagery associated with these topics was being used as a means to an end: the game is at its most horrifying when it shows someone preparing to self-harm, but that's because self-harm is horrifying in real life. I would find a moment like that far more meaningful and terrifying if they had let you inhabit the character's psyche for a time first, so that you could see all the small moments leading up to - and thus building a mounting sense of dread towards - such an act. Instead, the game throws it in your face almost right out the gate. It just felt cheap. This, coupled with some unconvincing character work, led to an ending that felt more undeserved than cathartic.
All in all this wasn't a great introduction to the series. Nevertheless, the previous entries must have become classics for a reason, so I will probably still check them out at some point.