Silent Hill Thoughts
The Team Silent Silent Hill games are extremely important pieces of media for me and recently I've played through the extremely divisive Silent Hill 4 for the first time and have replayed Silent Hill 2 and Silent Hill 3 back to back during late September and October. I chronicled my quick thoughts on them on my Backloggd account and wanted to present them here as well as one single document.
I might revisit these games in full in the future and write up maybe a more coherent, more carefully planned-out, more intelligently written essay because I find that what I did write just does not accurately portray how much these games mean to me and how special, unique, and exceptionally inspirational they are. But, regardless, here are my thoughts on the Playstation 2 Silent Hill games after recent playthroughs. (I would have done SH1 as well, but I want to replay that game in full and I only have it downloaded on my PS3 back in America).
Silent Hill 2 (2001):
When people are unironically arguing with Masahiro Ito and shutting him down on twitter because he debunked their little head-cannon theories about James looking at the player in the beginning of the game then I think the fanbase has a problem (most fanbases, for that matter, are overstuffed with entitlement, toxicity, and vitriolic hatred for any forms of discussion or differing opinions). But it seems to me that most of the people that go online to spew their nonsense head-cannon about this game (there are some excellent retrospectives and analyses of this game, no doubt) have never actually experienced any sort of story like this in any other medium. Video games aren't typically known for their deep, subtle, surrealistic story-telling (of course there are exceptions) so when a game like this comes around the average narcissistic, up-their-own-ass, pseudo-intellectual is going to use it to prop up their own lacking personality and intellect.
This is a game that has been said by its developers to be heavily inspired by specific novels and films - and I think the worst part of the fanbase of this game has rarely read a novel or haven't watched or understood too many surrealistic films. It's like asking David Lynch what tiny little details in his movies mean and then getting angry and devaluing him as the creator of his work when he doesn't know what you're talking about or that it doesn't matter or simply says that the movie alone should do the talking. If you could compare Silent Hill 2 to Twin Peaks (it's probably most inline with Lost Highway out of any of Lynch's work) then some Silent Hill 2 fans are the equivalent of that horrible four-hour long TWIN PEAKS EXPLAINED video. Twin Peaks isn't that complicated, it can speak for itself and the surrealistic elements of it should be left to establish mood, atmosphere, mystery and intrigue. And the same can be said, even more so, for Silent Hill 2.
Not everything needs to be explained or need to be spoon-fed to the viewer. And if you do have a theory about some asinine detail and want to discuss that further, then please be open to the fact that your interpretation is flexible, debatable, and not "canon". Not everything needs to have meaning and it makes for a far more interesting and impactful piece of art to have these sometimes unexplainable or strange elements to be left alone in order to build up suspense, tone, or atmosphere - and people need to just let that be. Enjoy it for what it is and stop trying to peel the curtain back to some secret meaning only your clearly more intelligent self has been made aware of. Just spare us.
With that rant out of my system, I can actually talk about the game proper.
Silent Hill 2 is a disturbing, psychological-horror game with many subtle and not-so-subtle visual representations of trauma, regret, guilt, self-inflicted punishment, lust, moral decay, inner turmoil, suicide and basically any other negative element associated with the terrible, corruptive, depressing reality of existing as a human being. It is told in the best way a video game could tell a story like this, through deep immersion, outstanding world design, an unmatched dirge-like atmosphere heavier than I think any game before or after it, unforgettably disturbing and uncanny creature designs, well-crafted elements of surrealism, and of course its writing and character performances. With that said, this is not the deepest story, the most complex story, or a story where every single visual element or aspect of the world's designs is meant to represent something. But it is a resoundingly poignant and impactful story that utilizes a better use of symbolism than most other games and will most likely stick with any player that makes it through James' story for the remainder of their life - however short that may be.
Like I said, it's not the deepest of stories but is one of the most depressing stories I have ever played through in a video game - possibly due to how real-to-life the emotions and experiences of SH2's characters feel and how intelligently these stories are told. The complicated nature of James' feelings towards his wife and how he represses his decision, his manifestation of Maria (who suffers from her own issues of self-worth and dependency) and the enemies to punish him, Eddie's reaction to a life-time of self-loathing and bullying creating a moral numbing that violently shoves a mirror up to James' face, and Angela. Angela's story in this game, I believe, to be the most devastatingly accurate portrayal of the effects of sexual abuse and trauma in any game and one of the most impactful I've experienced in any medium for that matter. I can't help but make another allusion to Twin Peaks, but I have only ever seen such a gut-wrenching, uncomfortable, and heartbreaking portrayal of a story like Angela's in the character of Laura Palmer (specifically in Twin Peaks Fire Walk With Me). The scene towards the end of the game with James and Angela on the staircase (you know it if you've played it) is just plain and simple one of my favorite scenes in anything...and I absolutely dread to see how Bloober Team colossally bastardizes that scene.
The gameplay itself, while most complain about it and feel it is woefully outdated, suits the atmosphere and main character of James fairly well. Not having much mobility when going up against enemies fits well with how an average individual would fare in this type of world. Although, the same exact thing could be said about SH1, so I understand people being a bit disappointed that there is not much of a change or evolution of the gameplay from 1 to 2. I don't have a problem with that at all, but it's understandable. Playing the game on normal or easy difficulty will make it so that you never really run out of resources, but the hard difficulty (the difficulty I picked on my first playthrough) is truly brutal and makes SH2 feel a good amount more tense, dreadful and punishing. The tank controls and the more cinematic, dynamic camera works as it does in all of the other first four SH games; meaning that I personally feel that it is integral in creating the distinct feel of playing these games and traversing through its many disturbing locales and crafting memorable pieces of scenery and perfectly executed scares.
And then there's Akira Yamaoka's score for the game. This isn't even an opinion at this point, but the score for this game is one of the best pieces of modern music period. And even though I personally prefer the score for Silent Hill 3, SH2 might as well have the best video game score of all time.
There's much more to be said here but I think I have to restrict myself a bit. I haven't really talked at all about the titular town itself and the different parts of it you explore. I could go on for a lot longer on how I deeply love the progression of this game and how seamlessly the atmosphere and dread and total abject isolation builds and builds until the events and revelations at the climax of the game. This is a game that starts out feeling strange, isolating and depressing and only gets worse and worse. One only needs to see the usage of the track "Betrayal" in the end-game to get a glimpse of the kind of emotional despondency this game drags you through.
And yet, for all its heavy layers of depression, self-hatred, and trauma this game couldn't be any more of a cathartic experience for me. Similar to SH3, this game presents a world and a cast of characters similar to how I have increasingly found myself viewing the world since my early teenage years. Human beings and their relationships, ambitions, desires, and selfishness has created and perpetuated an ugly, hate-filled, lonely world with little to escape to. To quote Thomas Ligotti, Team Silent's work has perfectly captured the "icy bleakness of things". But there is still hope to be found, realistically happy endings to be obtained under the right circumstances, and characters that willingly meet their end by their own informed hand, essentially coming to terms with their trauma. And the games themselves are such uplifting and inspirational pieces of media for me purely because of the fervent passion and creativity that can be felt from its creators while playing. Silent Hill 1-4 will no doubt inspire me in my own creative endeavors forevermore.
Silent Hill 2, while I love the other three original games and occasionally feel myself liking SH3 a bit more, deserves to be the poster child for said creativity and passion that was Team Silent, deserves the title of the best horror game ever made, and represents a game that will never ever come around again - no matter how hard a new version of this game might try.
Silent Hill 3 (2003):
This might as well be the peak of the survival horror genre. SH2 might be my, and lots of others, favorite in the Silent Hill series, but 3 manages to be far more intense, terrifying, and impressive in its presentation while also presenting a brilliant continuation and end to the story established in the first Silent Hill game. While I do really like Silent Hill 4, SH3 works beautifully as the end of the series - which, of course, it was not.
While the more psychological, cold, detached, and oppressively depressing nature of Silent Hill 2 and its characters resonates with me to an indescribable degree, Silent Hill 3 elicits a lot more empathy and intrigue from me as a player while also expertly portraying uniquely nightmarish realms with rich imagery and possible symbolic themes of birth anxiety, child abuse, lack of agency, identity crisis, religious-bred trauma, faith and devotion, and, shockingly, abortion. Not only is the game truly the scariest game among the first 3 Silent Hill games, but its themes, story, characters, and presentation (just simply watch the cutscenes and explain to me how those facial animations and levels of detail was possible in 2003) elevates it to one of the finest video games period.
Heather Mason is perhaps the most interesting and easily empathetic protagonist in these games and I'd wager the best portrayal of a teenage girl in any video game that came before or after. Experiencing the world and the tragedy she suffers and the role that is unfairly thrust upon her and the nightmares that follows is not only narratively engaging, but makes for a series of unforgettable and absolutely horrifying environments and enemy designs that directly reflects Heather's struggle and the nature of her birth/existence. While the beginning of the game can be a bit slow and you spend far less time in the town of Silent Hill in comparison to the first two games, it all adds to slowly building at the story proper while also hinting at, in clever and evocative ways, the true nature of what is going on with Heather - something that becomes more apparent and horrific on subsequent playthroughs.
The combat is not too different from the first two games, but built upon just enough to make it feel like a bit of a newer experience. There are more weapons, a hard to master block and parry mechanic, multiple unlockables after you beat the game the first time, and much less ammo and health drops than in Silent Hill 2. Pair that with hard hitting, intimidating, and ruthless enemies and Silent Hill 3 becomes a much more tense, and sometimes more satisfying, game to play through. The decreased focus on puzzles is a bit of a disappointment to me, but traversing the increasingly menacing environments in search of key items and figuring out how exactly to use those items in order to progress is just as satisfying to me. On top of all that, you have the return of the "Otherworld" from Silent Hill 1 - which, without a doubt in my mind, makes for the scariest environments and scenarios in any of the SH games and maybe in any horror game in general. I deeply adore these areas. I love the red, rustic, squirming fleshy environments, the assaulting walls of demonic, screeching noises, and the ever-present sense of unease, disorientation, desperation, and fear. The mirror room alone is a highlight of the horror genre across all mediums.
I could go on and on. There is still so much to say about the characters, about the references to the abuse suffered by the antagonist Claudia and her sad and desperate indoctrination into the cult of the town and how that fuels and provides a bit of sympathy for her motives, about Douglas and his hinted at backstory and his evolved, father-figure like relationship with Heather that provides him a sort of purpose and redemption (which can end tragically depending on what ending you get on future playthroughs), about all of the connections to Silent Hill 1 and the expanded mythology and enhanced presentation of Alessa's hellish torment and projections, and about Vincent and how he might be my absolute favorite Silent Hill character and how just one line of dialogue from him recontextualizes every single enemy encounter we've had thus far - but, honestly, I am not doing this game any justice by rambling nonsensically about it. You just have to go play it. Emulate it, find the PC port, spend the money on a legit second hand copy, whatever - just find a way.
And, this basically goes without saying, the sound design and music by Akira Yamaoka is once again beyond genius. This game's OST in particular is, in my opinion, the absolute best in the series. Listen to that alone and maybe you'll come close to understanding the undying love for the Team Silent Silent Hill games and this game in particular. It is unmatched.
Silent Hill 4: The Room (2004):
This is in no way a bad game, a bad Silent Hill game, and definitely not a bad survival horror game. This game, in fact, I found to more successfully capture the feeling and atmosphere of an ever-evolving and worsening nightmare better than any other horror game I've played so far. The way the game is structured and the way that the room, your hub, itself changes throughout the game is a huge proponent of capturing said atmosphere. It just feels completely oppressive a lot of the time and the worlds you travel through feel incredibly empty, bleak, and (this goes without saying) deeply haunted.
In comparison to the first three games the enemy designs are fairly weak and they utilize the one extremely good design (twin victims) a bit too much. Most people don't like the ghosts as enemies and they can be extremely frustrating - but I think their presentation (the found footage intros to all of them) more than makes up for it, and they serve the overall story well. Characters you watch die in the first half of the game returning as ghosts (reflecting how they died) in the second half was genius and really effectively scary, in my opinion.
The environments as well, by nature of the structure of the game, repeat and feel very isolated and small. Some of them just become annoying to traverse through at times. There is no real part of Silent Hill proper that you go through, the forest and the Wish House being the closest thing, and it never feels as if it is connected to the titular town outside of some of the characters and references. And then there is the second half of the game where you revisit each of the areas with an NPC escort in tow. People seem to really hate this, but the second half of the game was where I felt a lot of the game, its story and themes, really came together. The escort is not bad at all, although I did get the "worst" ending so obviously I didn't do a great job at keeping them safe (but at the same time I really liked the bad ending, so it's fine by me).
I love the way the room and your expectations of it past the halfway point of the game is completely manipulated and subverted. I love how desperate the game starts to feel in terms of fighting for your and Eileen's survival while also trying to figure out what exactly is going on - all the while you still do not understand what is keeping you locked in your room.
Henry Townsend, the player character, is not a very interesting character at all and this story really isn't reflective of him and his psyche the way Silent Hill 2 and 3 are for their main characters. It is much more about the antagonist, Walter Sullivan. This too is a point of contention for most players and also something I felt worked in the game's favor. As it becomes more and more about Walter and his story the whole game gets recontextualizes with that in mind. And Walter, his ghost and his past child self, his absent parents, and all of his victims literally and figuratively haunt the entire game. You begin to understand his motives, why your room in particular is such a cursed place, and the arbitrary nature of why Henry in particular is targeted. He becomes, in my opinion, a far more sympathetic antagonist than what we've had in previous games to the point where I was satisfied with having him "win".
I understand why people dislike this game or find it hard to connect with in comparison to the first three Silent Hill games and I can't really say that I like it as much as those games either. But it was still a unique and impactful experience for me that presented a story, themes, and a set of aesthetics that, along with Silent Hill 1-3, represents an impossibly high standard for horror video games and video game storytelling in general.
And, of course, the OST by Akira Yamaoka is just as incredible as the other games. A perfect mixture of unsettling industrial soundscapes and deeply haunted and introspective melancholy.
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