Silent Hill Review
Played on PC
Developed by Konami, Team Silent
Released 31st January 1999
Before Silent Hill, survival horrors would brim with B-List movie elements to either balance out or amplify the horror within those games, most noticeably, with Resident Evil. In fact, Konami set up 'Team Silent' in order to create a game that would garner sales and success, especially in the US, rather than be considered a masterpiece as the team intended. Yet, due to their endless creative liberties, the team decided to focus on the player's experience and fear of the unknown, rather than the charts. What resulted was an insanely influential game in the subgenre of survival horror and a title that would find itself on many 'Top 100' lists.
Story
The story of Silent Hill is phenomenal in almost all of its disturbing glory. The game follows Harry Mason as he searches for his lost daughter Cheryl in the abandoned ghost town of Silent Hill. While the premise alone sounds mediocre at best, it's how the game manages to expand its world and hidden narratives that make this a truly superior way to experience a survival horror game. The pacing is finely crafted so as to not feel too slow or too fast, albeit sometimes it does lean towards one of the two. The depth offered when interacting with random items or exploring optional locations is also very pleasant. While I was playing the game, it managed to spoon-feed my various ideas and theories for my understanding of the daunting Silent Hill. The ideas ranged from a drug circle, forming this nightmare-ish world, to some sort of terrorist attack, and although the game also suggested some form of a religious cult and sorcery, I was semi-disappointed when they went with that route.
Gameplay
The gameplay of Silent Hill is as great and as frustrating as you would expect in a PS1 game. The player perspective is set in a third-person view, while you scrap up as much ammo, health and significant items to progress through the foggy hell that awaits you. A classic of survival horror, you're first equipped with a pistol and maybe a weak melee. However, as the game progresses you'll unlock the powerful shotgun and then a third or even fourth weapon that is immensely powerful, which you'll reserve for bosses. Though Silent Hill offers a little more depth. The game would occasionally shift back and forth between what is theorised to be multiple dimensions. One is a regular, fog-stricken and deserted town that has creatures abound, and another is pitch black and swarming with terrifying enemies. These contrasting worlds added to the dread-inducing aesthetic of horror that the game was going for. Instead of jumpscare-heavy moments appearing every 5 seconds, the game keeps you seated in painful anticipation for jumpscares to unveil themselves. However, once you realise no jumpscares will appear, the gameplay itself does the job via rushing enemies or contorted sounds that send shivers down your spine, throwing you into a state of alertness, only for you to repeat the cycle. This form of terror is magnificent and made me love the game even more. Now, where there is success, there is often an element of failure, and it's safe to say that Silent Hill's flaws are predominantly because of the well-known fact that video games don't age well. To list a few faults; the camera angles are exhausting to deal with, especially with the odd walking/running mechanic, and the dialogue is monotonous. The puzzles within the game also suffer in my opinion, not only when trying to solve them, but when trying to find a reasonable explanation behind them too. You're often given a riddle and a stack of items to use and interact with, which can be quite overwhelming and lure you into searching for a guide.
Bossfights
The presentation of the bossfights is the only part of the game that left me with a sour taste in my mouth. This is mostly due to the gameplay and aesthetic of them all. Starting with the cons, the gameplay is nothing special; it's not enticing or dramatic or even pissed-myself-frightening like the rest of the game. It is mostly comprised of bullet sponges and rapid attacks that are infuriating alongside your sluggish controls. In terms of design, they do manage to look somewhat great in concept art, but with the low-poly look of the game, they mostly just blend into the background by not having a bold enough design. The soundtracks, however, are what save this section of the game. The disturbing factor ramps up to 11 with the boss fight themes, from the Incubus' almost satanic screeching to the shuffling of the creep crawler Wormsign, these are the most reliable sources of nightmare fuel.
Characters
The characters in this game are average at best. While I found no emotional attachment to any of the characters thanks to the monotonous voice acting and the occasional exposition rant, I did comprehend more of the psychological aspect Konami was going for with this game. Each character has some form of mental damage due to the current events of the game and that is presented not only clearly, but incredibly well. Examples range from Lisa Garland's distressed psyche to Cybil Bennett's over-alertness, nearing paranoia. Characters like Dahlia Gillespie and Michael Kauffman also added some more flavouring to the story and its stage of theorising.
Atmosphere
The atmosphere of this game is supreme. With such a chilling yet memorable and mesmerising soundtrack, perfectly crafted sound engineering and pretty good visual design, this game delivers only the best atmospheric orgasms. I wish I could elaborate on the dark beauty behind the soundtrack but it's something you'd have to experience yourself. This game is so atmospherically tense that I would give it a 10/10 if it weren't for some of its faults. An example of this is the enemies within the game, but they only offer a small fault for me. From the Air Screamer to the Romper, these enemies are horrifying in each of their ways and I love them, but thanks to their somewhat bland design, I valued them as flawed. The dull design can be applied to the majority of the game. In contrast, the bleak design is simultaneously the Magnus opus, as it emulates the world of Silent Hill extraordinarily well and gives it its truly unsettling feel. One thing will stay for certain though, that ringing bell you hear when a petrifying enemy is close will not leave me alone at night.
Story- 8/10
Gameplay- 8/10
Bossfights- 5/10
Characters- 6/10
Atmosphere- 9/10
Great
An atmospherically rich, survival horror that deserves its years of praise.
