Silent Hill (1999)

Unlike the more action-oriented Resident Evil, Silent Hill focuses on psychological horror, crafting a deeply unsettling atmosphere through eerie fog, disturbing imagery, and an unsettling sound design by Akira Yamaoka, and this was a very original approach at the time. The game excels at blending tense exploration with cryptic puzzles and grotesque enemies, its grainy visuals, partly due to hardware limitations (e.g. limited draw distance replaced by the fog), actually enhance the fear factor, giving the game a dreamlike, nightmarish quality.

Though the combat and controls can feel clunky by modern standards, the storytelling, atmosphere, and emotional depth were revolutionary for its time. Silent Hill is a horror classic that helped redefine the genre, a chilling masterpiece that still haunts players decades later, and a must-play for the PlayStation platform. I remember having a really hard time going through the puzzles since I didn't knew english when I was younger, so I replayed it decades later, and they are still not a walk in the park haha.

What truly sets the game apart is its narrative ambition, rather than relying solely on jump scares, it dives into themes of guilt, grief, and fractured identity, gradually revealing the tragic story of the MC and his search for his adopted daughter in a town that feels alive with malevolent intent. The shifting reality between the fog-covered streets and the rusted, blood-stained “Otherworld” remains one of the most iconic mechanics in horror gaming, constantly keeping players on edge and unsure of what is real.

Even today, the game’s minimalist UI, oppressive soundscape, and deliberate pacing create a sense of vulnerability that many modern horror titles struggle to replicate. Its influence can be seen across the genre, inspiring countless psychological horror experiences in the years that followed. More than just a product of its era, this title endures because of how deeply it tries to dive into the your mind, proving that true horror often comes from what we don’t fully understand.

I consider myself a connaisseur of the Horror Genre and I have played many, many titles that fall into that category. For some reason, however, I've never played one of the "great series" of that group. So after spending two days with the game that started it all, I can safely say that I've finally been initiated into the Silent Hill story. Here's my humble take on one of the PS1 greats -

The Good

• Story:

  The story behind this game was a slow burn of teased-out details. You're just a regular guy who crashed his car in the fog and lost his kid. No sweat, right? Honestly, things were pretty straightforward. Good guys, bad guys, didn't really matter the disposition of the characters you met. They all felt downright suspicious. Except for maybe Cybil. She hands you a gun like two minutes after meeting you. If that doesn't say trust, I don't what does. Overall, the story was never confusing and stayed on topic throughout the entire game. The only part that was a little lackluster was the very ending.

• Atmosphere:

  I read somewhere that Konami added fog to hide the limitations of the game's graphics. Well, I say good for them to think up such a clever way to hide those limits and add plenty of ambiance. The way the radio crackles when enemies are near is downright annoying, but also provides a great way to add dread. The radio says there are enemies nearby, out there, lurking in the fog where you can't see them... Good stuff. I also appreciated the "day and night" cycle and how the landscape around you changed depending on which reality you inhabited. A fresh way to re-use set pieces.

• Gameplay:

  For an old PS1 game, the controls were pretty tight. I noticed that when I ran, I had more control over Harry when using the D-pad than I did with the analog sticks. Combat wasn't terrible either, but maybe that's because I just played Rule of Rose? Haha. In all seriousness, I didn't have to hunt for a hitbox to score some damage on a mob. And later in the game, there's a melee weapon that makes you feel like you're a superhero come to lay waste. Lastly, despite fixed camera syndrome of the late 90s, the devs at Konami did a fantastic job of positioning the camera in useful places. Maybe even the best fixed camera game I've seen in a long time.

The Bad

• Honestly, I can't complain about this game. It was a solid title with a lot to offer when placed in the proper context of the PS1 era. I thoroughly enjoyed the game, even if the puzzles were a tad boring towards the end. My only complaint is maybe the voice acting. The voice actors did a good job delivering their lines. The problem was in how the lines were stitched together. The pause between each line was a little much, but all could be easily overlooked.

The Ugly

• I got nothing. Maybe they could remaster and re-release the title? The price point for old copies is a little high these days.

Conclusion

• Go play it. If you're a fan of horror and you don't mind the rough pixelated hands of the PS1 era (Seriously, how can those cinderblocks pick anything up?), this game is worth the hours it takes to complete the story.

(skip to the Introduction for the actual start of my review)

Me: wandering through the fog until I suddenly stumble upon a game "Resident Evil?!"

The game turns around and faces me

Me: "No... you're not."

Game: "Do I look like your horror game?"

Me: "Yes.... my survival horror. I can't believe it... you could be her twin. Your graphics, your voice acting... just your camera and item management are different-"

Game: "My name... is Silent Hill. I don't look like a Capcom title, do I?"

Introduction

After its release, Resident Evil 1, a survival horror game released on the PlayStation 1, quickly became one of the highest selling PlayStation games of all time. Seeing its success, the pachinko company Konami wanted to capitalize on the success of the game in some way. So just 6 months after the release of the new hit Resident Evil, Silent Hill 1 began development.

There are numerous ways Silent Hill 1 could have turned out. Team Silent, the developers who created Silent Hill 1, could have played it safe. They could have just looked at the spooky mansion, monsters, and atmosphere of Resident Evil and made a tame variation. They could have just made a Resident Evil clone, but with werewolves, mummies, or vampires (actually that does sound pretty cool). But if they did, I don’t think Silent Hill would have been nearly as memorable as it is. If it hypothetically went that route, I think people would occasionally bring up the games as something that scratches that Resident Evil itch, but never quite as well as the actual games. But Team Silent didn’t make a generic Resident Evil clone. They took a risk, and in turn, were able to create an incredibly memorable and visceral experience that survival horror fans still haven’t forgotten. On February 24, 1999, Silent Hill 1 was released. Note: I’ll be abbreviating Silent Hill 1 to SH1 for brevity.

World and Map

SH1 is a survival horror game that seems similar to Resident Evil 1, at least, on a surface level. The games both have tank controls, ammo conservation, and limited health items. But other than that, SH1 offers quite a different experience. It doesn’t take place in a single building with interconnected claustrophobic hallways, but rather an entire town (with buildings that have claustrophobic hallways). SH1 takes place in 1983 in a foggy, seemingly deserted American town. The developers couldn’t render large sections of town at once, so they used fog to mask the partial rendering. It’s a classic example of how limitations can breed innovation. The dense fog not only adds to fear of the monsters, but has also now become a signature design aspect of the series.

Going back to the gameplay design, instead of the town being one interconnected map, it acts more or less as a hubworld for locations. While not every building in Silent Hill is accessible, the open hubworld allows the town to feel much more enormous, extensive, and explorable. In terms of specific locations, I feel that the game is able to make each location feel distinct and memorable. Midwich Elementary School, Alchemilla Hospital, the Town Center, Lakeside Amusement Park , Nowhere: the game is able to make each of these locations memorable and distinct from each other.

Progressing through these locations is similar to the Resident Evil games. You search through the building, collecting health items or weapons, and solving puzzles. But one unique thing Silent Hill does is that partway through exploring certain locations, the Otherworld will take over, distorting the locations into more nightmarish versions of themselves. It’s almost like remixing the levels before you can complete them.

Weapons

Normally I wouldn’t talk about weapons in a survival horror game, but I just wanted to briefly talk about them in this game. Of course you have your classic weapons such as a knife, handgun, and shotgun, but you also have access to a lot of other items as well. You have the lead pipe, the axe, the hunting rifle, and my favorite, the emergency hammer. The emergency hammer has no right to be as satisfying to use as it is. It’s a melee weapon with a decent amount of startup, but once it lands, it’ll do a lot of damage, even knocking some enemies onto the ground. I know I’m overhyping this random survival horror weapon, but it was kind of fun to use. In addition to these, there’s also secret weapons, with them being the chainsaw, rock drill, hyper blaster, katana, but they have certain conditions in order to unlock them.

Inventory

Unlike Resident Evil, SH1 has no inventory limits. While I do like the item management in the Resident Evil games, I didn’t mind the absence of it here.

Enemies

You have a variety of enemies in SH1, and I think the majority of them are great. You have your starter enemies with the skinless dogs (Groaners) and the skinless pterodactyls (Air Screamers). While not particularly difficult (you can usually run past them easily), their designs are still simple and effective. You have the Grey Children, childlike enemies that won’t hesitate to stab your ankles. Then there’s the Larval Stalker, which are shadow children. They actually don’t harm you, but they appear out of nowhere and make an abrupt squeaking sound that made me jump quite a few times. I’m sure most people have seen the iconic Silent Hill 2 nurse design, but SH1 had nurse enemies first. The Puppet Nurses are nurse corpses that are being controlled by parasites. Like the Grey Children, they wield a knife, except this time, they’ll actually make a mad dash towards you. There are some other enemies, but the last one I’d like to mention is the Rompers. I hate the Rompers (in a good way). They function similarly to the dogs, and they have an appearance similar to naked human adults. But unlike the dogs, they’re really fast. They are, in my opinion, my pick for the scariest enemy in the game.

You are notified of the location of the enemies by the radio, depending on how close you are. You can even adjust the volume of the radio if you want to, which for a PlayStation 1 game is a surprising but welcome customization option.

Bosses

In addition to the enemies, the game has some solid bosses as well. First, there’s the Split Head. It’s a simple boss, but it has a second phase where you need to shoot in its mouth to defeat it fully. However, you have to be careful as its biting attack is an instant-kill if it hits you. There’s the Twinfeeler, a caterpillar-like boss that is pretty simple, burrowing underground and popping out to shoot acid at you. Except once you defeat it, it’ll come back later as the third boss, the moth-like Floatstinger. There’s the optional boss, Parasite Cybil, which is probably my favorite. The fight itself is pretty simple, but the scenario is what’s terrifying. You’re fighting against a parasite-controlled version of a character that has been your ally since the beginning of the game. Cybil has felt like the one sane person stuck in this nightmare with you, which is why it’s all the more tragic if you have to fight her (more on this in the story section). Since the fight takes place on a merry-go-round, if you keep running away from Cybil and around the merry-go-round, eventually she’ll take a break from trying to attack you, casually sitting on one of the horses, waiting for you to confront her. It’s a small detail, but one that I’ve always really liked. Lastly, there’s the final boss. I don’t have too much to say about it gameplay wise, but I do like how you can change the boss fight (similar to Cybil) by using a special item. I’ll talk more about this in the story section.

Camera

The camera in SH1 is one I have somewhat mixed feelings on. As of the time I’m writing this review, it’s been a fair amount of time since I beat the game, so I just want to acknowledge that my opinions in this section might not be as accurate as opposed to if I just immediately finished the game. With that being said, I think the game’s camera has a big range from being very good to sometimes frustrating. SH1’s camera is sometimes fixed, and in other situations (such as exploring the outdoor sections of the town) the camera is free. At times, the camera can have a very cinematic feeling to it. The most memorable fixed camera angle for myself (and likely many others) is the shot at the beginning of the game in the alleyway. It appears like a simple from-above shot, but as you keep walking the camera angle keeps distorting, foreshadowing how your perception of reality is beginning to waver in this dreamlike experience. But there are times when I don’t consider the camera angle to be great. The main example that comes to mind are some of the classrooms in the elementary school. You enter a classroom, you hear the enemies from your radio, but the camera is put in front of you, facing towards you. In survival horror games, it is often ideal to try to maneuver around enemies instead of using ammo on them. But in this scenario, in the cramped classroom, I couldn’t see where the enemies were at, so I often just relented to using handgun ammo on them. To be fair, there is a button you can press to shift the camera around a little, but I can’t remember if I used it or if it was helpful. Conclusion, I could be right but I’m probably not.

Puzzles

I’ve spoken before about how I’ve never been great at video game puzzles, so I won’t talk much about SH1’s puzzles. That being said, I still have PTSD from the piano puzzle.

Difficulty

SH1 was the second survival horror game I’ve beaten, with the first being Silent Hill 2. I heard from the fandom that 2 was considered easier than 1, but I thought that playing 2 would at least have prepared me for the challenges of 1. I was wrong. The gameplay is very similar between the games, but the enemies in SH1 are generally much more aggressive. In addition, I found some of the bosses in this game to be somewhat harder as well. Lastly, SH1 is less philanthropic with its ammo, as I really struggled to maintain my supply in the last quarter of the game. You need to be smart, or at least smarter than you needed to be in Silent Hill 2.

Story, Themes, Endings

SH1 has a great story in my opinion. Unlike Resident Evil, the story goes for a more religious and psychological kind of horror. The premise of the game is that your character, Harry Mason, is driving to go on a vacation with his daughter Cheryl, when suddenly a figure appears in the middle of the road, causing Harry to swerve and crash the car. When he recovers, he notices Cheryl is missing. To make matters worse, he awakes in a dreamlike, abandoned version of the vacation town. Horror games are already scary when you have to protect just yourself, but knowing that your daughter is in danger really makes you a lot more scared of what could happen to her.

There is a great amount of things to be said as well. The game contains themes of religion, child abuse, and the family bond. I especially like how this game kickstarted the whole idea of the town of Silent Hill bringing aspects of your psyche into physical manifestation.

Lastly, SH1 has 4 endings (excluding the UFO Ending). There are certain discoveries in the town that will affect what ending you receive. For example, if you explore the resort side of town, you do a little side quest with the character Kaufmann, which gives you an item for the final boss. And if you get the mysterious liquid from the hospital, you can not only avoid the Cybil boss fight, but save her. Both of these affect your story ending. And I’m going to be honest, when I played SH1, I got the worst ending. That’s not an opinion, I mean I got the objectively worst ending. I try not to care about what ending I get in video games, but after looking at what the best ending was online, I feel like it was the superior experience. My reasoning is that if you don’t get the best ending, you miss out on several story beats and explanations. And it’s just a lot more narratively satisfying. So while for most games I would encourage players to not focus on what ending they would get, for SH1 I would actively recommend people to try to get the best ending.

Visuals

The game at a first glance definitely looks similar to Resident Evil, but it has a much more dreamlike atmosphere. Landscapes are bathed in a desaturated violet. Snow falls gently down from the gray sky. The in-game character models look good, but the FMV character models look fantastic as well. Cybil and Lisa’s FMV models specifically look really good. This came out only a year after Resident Evil 2 (sorry for the constant Resident Evil comparisons), but you can really see the improvements in liveliness and realism. The game’s visuals have aged great in my opinion.

Music and Sound Design

SH1 has a great soundtrack, created by the legend Akira Yamaoka. For music, I’d just like to talk about a few tracks and what I like about them. The main theme “Silent Hill”, makes you feel like you are listening to your grandmother tell an old but really dark folktale. It’s a very memorable theme for a very memorable game. The theme “Meeting Cybil” has this very light, dreamlike feeling. You’re starting to realize how strange your characters' situation in the town is, but you still only have a small piece of the picture. “Code Blue” is one of the many tracks that incorporate a very factory-like beat, making you feel like you’re eating a piece of rusty metal. “Alessa’s Gift” is one of my favorite tracks from the game. To me, the track embodies the feeling of being kind to others despite having endured so much pain. It plays at the end of the game when Alessa gives Harry a new child. Alessa has lived a life full of pain and sadness, but in her final moments, she still chooses to do an act of kindness. This track and story moment really stuck with me. The last music track I’d like to talk about is “Silent Hill Otherside”. This track plays during the credits, which interestingly feature blooper footage of all the game’s characters. In a game filled with such horror and suffering, it was insanely surreal to see all of the character’s joking around with each other playfully, almost as if suggesting the entire game was just some movie or tv show.

I won’t go too much into sound design, but I’ll just say that the radio and monster sounds really add a lot to the suspense of the game. I’ll also always have the sounds of Harry’s footsteps on metal permanently ingrained in my memory.

Horror

Is the game scary? Yes, definitely. Silent Hill games have a tendency to “get into your head”, especially after playing them for long periods of time. As much as I love the Resident Evil games (last comparison I promise), Silent Hill games are much more consistently able to keep my anxiety and fear high.

Would I Recommend?

I’m going to be honest, if you haven’t played many survival horror games, I wouldn’t recommend playing SH1 yet. I mentioned this in my Resident Evil Remake review, but horror is easily eroded by frustration and anger. Unfortunately, my lack of experience and skill with the survival horror genre led to me getting somewhat frustrated at times while playing this. That being said, while I do think it is challenging and maybe hasn’t aged as well as other survival horror games, SH1 is a great survival horror game that I would recommend playing. I think the story is interesting, the characters are enjoyable, the atmosphere is fantastic, the music is great, and that it's very scary. If you’re an experienced fan of survival horror games, I would confidently recommend playing SH1. Shoot for the best ending though!

Edit: I’ve found a spoiler-free guide for getting the best ending (along with how to get certain memos): Link

Silent Hill es un videojuego que ya siento es un clásico para mí, a pesar de habérmelo pasado por primera vez hace unos cuantos días. La atmósfera, los personajes, la historia, la música, la trama, todo ha quedado grabado en mi memoria como una grandiosa experiencia.

Nunca he sido muy afín a las cosas de terror ya que siempre me daban, y dan (en menor cantidad), miedo y nerviosismo insufribles a la hora de estar solo (imagínense que ni siquiera me atrevía a jugar al Resident Evil 5 o al Alan Wake en mi Xbox 360 hace años). Sin embargo, e irónicamente, siempre tuve curiosidad por este tipo de obras; ¿qué las hace tan buenas y renombradas? ¿Por qué a la gente le gusta ser asustada, incluso aterrorizada? Y entonces mi curiosidad llegó a su límite cuando mi hermana jugó a Silent Hill 2 y parecía encantada con él, al igual que con la siguiente entrega. Me di cuenta que habían obras de terror que buscaban no solo atemorizar al espectador, sino explorar los lugares más recónditos y obscuros de la mente humana. Y ante esa realización decidí que me introduciría a las obras de terror mediante la saga de Silent Hill; tras investigar, quise empezar por el primer videojuego, más que nada porque me gusta empezar por orden de salida las sagas. Y no me arrepiento para nada.

Silent Hill es un videojuego que salió en la PlayStation 1 en 1999, y a pesar de ello, supera con creces a una innumerable cantidad de videojuegos tanto modernos como antiguos, pues hace algo que pocos saben hacer bien; no ve los límites de la plataforma como un problema que sortear, sino como oportunidad que explorar; no se deja reprimir por la baja potencia de la consola, sino que prospera en ella. Esto es lo primero que he de destacar, pues mucho de lo que hace a este videojuego tan memorable no sería ni remotamente igual de no haber sido por estas condiciones; los gráficos de baja fidelidad y los modelos tétricos no hacen más que sumar al ambiente extraño y tenso que envuelve a la ciudad de Silent Hill, mas los elementos que más resaltan son, obviamente, la niebla, la oscuridad y la música, los cuales se ejecutan y exhiben de tal manera que no puedo hacer más que admirar a los desarrolladores por su increíble trabajo en este aspecto; precisamente uno de estos elementos que tanto admiro no existiría de no ser por las limitaciones gráficas de la PlayStation 1, la niebla; ¿ven a lo que me refiero?

Analizando el cómo funciona el terror en el videojuego, lo que más rescato es como este te fuerza a enfrentar tus mayores temores para avanzar, ¿cuáles temores? Bueno, pues los de la imaginación, por supuesto; Silent Hill subsiste principalmente gracias a tu imaginación y, por ende, a tus miedos; ¿qué hay más allá de la niebla? ¿Qué hay tras la oscuridad? ¿Hay alguien más en este edificio? ¿Qué ocurre con esta ciudad? En mi caso, vivencié momentos en los que derechamente no quería entrar a ciertos lugares puesto que me aterrorizaba saber qué había allí, y, sin embargo, acabé adentrándome igual, pues había que saber dónde estaba Cheryl. Este videojuego logró algo muy, muy importante para mí; me hizo superar mis miedos y nervios frente a situaciones más que tensas. Para que se hagan una idea, cuando recién empecé a jugar yo ni me quería atrever a entrar a los callejones ni veredas de la ciudad pues me daban muchos nervios los monstruos, pero al terminar el juego y empezar el modo Next Fear me di cuenta que ya me sentía más tranquilo al jugar; eso es crecer y madurar, y eso no lo provoca cualquier obra.

La música es otra cosa de la que hablar; es perfecta. En verdad siento mucha admiración y respeto por Akira Yamaoka, quien en un muy corto período de tiempo se ha transformado en uno de mis compositores y músicos favoritos. La música evoca exctamente la situación en la que se encuentre Harry. De hecho, he de destacar otro apartado sonoro, y es el del diseño; este videojuego es meticuloso con el uso del sonido y entiende a la perfección cuándo usarlo y cuándo no; hay ciertos momentos en Silent Hill que solo hay silencio, nada más, y lo único que oyes son tus pasos, y a pesar de no haber nada a la vista sabes que puede haber algo, y eso es lo más aterrorizante. Es increíble, para mí, experimentar como un buen uso del sonido puede desembocar en sentir máxima tensión a partir de solo silencio y ambiente.

Los personajes y la historia son más que destacables, en especial para la época, pues Silent Hill fue un videojuego ejemplar al demostar que los videojuegos podían ser profundos y complejos respecto a su narrativa. No quiero arruinarles nada, pero sepan que la historia y los personajes de Silent Hill son más que abstractos (respecto a los personajes, unos más que otros, Kaufmann no es para nada cercano a la profundidad de un personaje como Alessa, por ejemplo) y que nada está claro en sí mismo; otra vez, el jugador es quien ha de completar el raro y confuso rompecabezas que es Silent Hill. De hecho, desde el mismo inicio el videojuego ya plantea una afirmación más bien figurativa; the fear of blood tends to create fear for the flesh ('el temor a la sangre tiende a devenir miedo por la carne'). Ante tal frase uno como jugador no puede hacer nada salvo preguntarse cuál será el significado que subyace. Para mí, puede significar que si se le tiene miedo al dolor, al sufrimiento, entonces se le tendrá miedo también al afecto, al cariño, o puede ser otra cosa totalmente distinta.

La actuación de voz tiende a ser un apartado bien criticado del videojuego, pero yo creo que no hace más que sumar a la tétrica atmósfera en la que se desenvuelven los hechos en Silent Hill. Además, si ya saben de lo que va la saga en general entonces sabrán que los personajes no son precisamente normales, y, en consecuencia, tampoco lo son sus acciones (esto incluye el habla, por supuesto).

Algo que también me encanta de este videojuego es el uso de la cámara fija; siento como si un director de cine se hubiese encargado de diseñar sus usos porque en verdad hay momentos en los que de no ser por su uso inteligente no funcionarían para nada.

Por último, los controles de tipo tanque no me incomodan tanto, solo se necesita práctica para acostumbrarse.

En fin; Silent Hill es un videojuego con una historia más que rica, una atmósfera inmaculada y mecánicas minusciosamente ejecutadas; estas dan a lugar a una experiencia única, que no puede dar ningún otro videojuego, pues este es un producto de su época y circunstancias. Definitivamente se ha convertido en uno de mis títulos favoritos, y estoy ansioso por sacar los finales restantes que me quedan.

Ever since I glimpsed the face of the first zombie in Resident Evil as a preschooler, I've been traumatized by basically the entire genre that is horror. While I have beat a handful of horror games in my lifetime, I've never found the courage to go back and visit the ones that my fears originally stemmed from. I still haven't conquered Resident Evil but now I can say I've conquered its rival Silent Hill.

It is hard to fathom how this game was completed when it first released. The foggy open-world, vague puzzles, limited health and ammunition while struggling to survive in the tight hallways that were rife with horrors, only to have to respawn at a save location across town, led to a punishing experience. Truly nightmarish conditions.

So I saved scummed, hehe.

So what's the story? I’m not sure. It begins with the main menu movie which starts by showing what happens prior to Harry finding himself in Silent Hill with his daughter missing. Since I have seen the 2006 film adaptation which follows many of the same plot lines, this helped me understand what transpired in the game. But the story is purposefully vague so I will be doing some post-game research. There are 5 different endings. I succeeded in getting the Good+ ending.

The combination of being older, wiser, and hardier, along with a guide holding my hand every step of the way, made this otherwise terrifying experience quite bearable. I'm proud of myself for finally being brave enough to finish one of the most influential horror games of all time. This certainly isn't the correct way to experience the game but it was the only way I was going to get through it.

There are many interesting details and easter eggs but my favorite one is the way the developers used fog and darkness to hide real-time rendering pop-ins. A creative solution to the console's limitations has become integral to the franchise's identity. I just find that so cool.

A notable complaint from fans is the quality of the voice acting. While it isn't great (the script isn't doing any favors either), I never found it as awful as others claim it to be due to how eccentric the denizens of Silent Hill are.

I definitely recommend it to those interested in the horror genre. It is a classic that should arguably be on every "must play" list. Also consider watching the 2006 movie as it is one of the better video game adaptations out there.

Wow I feel like the beginning of this game seemed pretty standard for Silent Hill, as someone who played through 2, 4, and a little of 3 prior. But once I finished the hospital everything kicked onto overdrive and just became a big messy mash of running away from hordes of enemies and praying I find the path to the next area before I die.

Also I suspect I may have missed an area or something entirely, as the characters are now referencing stuff that I don't recall happening at all. But maybe that's just how it is. Hard to tell with this game. I think I'm nearing the end now. Will have some more solid thoughts to put down then, probably.

Finally got around to playing and finishing Silent Hill. For the most part, I absolutely enjoyed it. While the game wasn't too difficult on Normal, the atmosphere and the tension that you experience in most places was amazing. The graphics are sort of dated, but honestly its charming in its own right. After all there's a reason PS1 style horror game graphics have made some sort of a resurgence. I think the usage of the fog, whether for technical reasons or not, really made it tense when walking around. Like not knowing what's out there... awesome.

The controller scheme and camera controls were something to get used to, and I think if they did a remaster, these can be primarily focused on. The voice acting was actually very solid! I think all the actors had great performances. The cutscenes were still very nice to look at, considering this was in 1999! The story in itself is interesting and I'm curious to hopefully learn more because a lot even at the end is still mysterious about this town.

I'll also add that some boss fights could also be updated. I found some to be a bit annoying if you didn't have health, as some attacks were actually quite difficult to avoid. I think a remaster would benefit here as well, in just updating how some of the bosses work.

All in all, I would definitely recommend a playthrough at least once!

I keep doing this thing where I skip to the most acclaimed game in a series, love it, but then don't really wanna step backwards to the original(s). I mean I probably will eventually in those cases, but it doesn't feel as exciting once you've already played the peak of a series. So I just decided this time to start from #1 since it's scored pretty well itself over here on Grouvee.

Despite the very much dated controls and visuals (and camera!), the worst tank control combat I have experienced personally, I am "enjoying" myself a fair amount so far. I mean, "enjoying" is just a weird word for this kind of experience—but it's true, it's kinda fun to play through and certainly not lacking in surprises and oddities.

After clearing the Midwich Elementary School, I searched for a Midwich Optometrist so that I could see more than a few feet ahead of myself, but to no avail. I did find the Triforce, though, so I assume that will solve all my problems and not lead to any weird stuff whatsoever.

A great game. The atmosphere, created by Akira Yamaoka's brilliant score and the detailed surroundings (as well as the unintended eery nostalgia of PS1 graphics) is really engrossing. The foggy town of Silent Hill is one of my favourite game locations, and I found that the use of carefully placed clues and the annotated map really gave the setting a genuine sense of exploration (the otherworld, while clearly more disturbing, isn't as fun to explore, but it is necessary for the game)

Harry Mason's controls can be a bit clunky, but in some ways that worked in the game's favour, as he is intended to be an everyman, not a skilled combatant.

Silent Hill arrived during the early days of game voice acting so most of the performances are okay at best. A lot of the dialogue is really basic but it's good enough to make you care about the characters; it just means that some cutscenes with the in game models are a bit tedious, contrasting with the eerily beautiful CG scenes.

Most of the puzzles are difficult enough to be rewarding, but not too hard as to be overly frustrating. One exception being a key code in the Kaufman side quest, which is classed as a separate button press to the door, meaning I missed it entirely (and committed the sin of looking up a walkthrough)

Overall, definitely a worthwhile experience, and a game that is still effective years on. Pretty much everything is improved on in the next game.

I'm an old school gamer and purchased this game on a whim the first couple of weeks it was released. My mind was blown. I never experienced anything like this game from the narrative, the psychological thrills, the jarring camera angles, and disquieting images. I would have scored this 10 at the time because there was nothing like it at the time.

Now, I'm in my mid40s and returning to these older games for nostalgic reasons spurred on by recent Youtube videos regarding PT and some dude who hacked SH1. The videos got me interested. I spent many hours in that town completing the first three games, Homecoming, SH Novel Game Experience, as well as, 50% completing 4. Furthermore, subjecting myself to the terrible movies and read the book. So, I consider myself a SH fan but not an expert regarding lore. I really lost interest after 4 and not interested in non-Team Silent stuff. Especially after playing Homecoming several years ago and current YT videos confirming my biases. Anyway, I was thinking of purchasing an old PS2 and grab a copies of 1-4. I saw the prices..... I noped out real quick lamenting my lack of foresight in selling my SH gear. I entered that decrepit town after 12 years, or so and donning my emulator hat, Seriously, there is no way I'm dropping that kind of cash.

So, does SH1 hold up? Yes and No. The emulator experience allows for certain improvements, but it's like a dude in his mid 40s: old, creaky, sluggish, but.... OH MY GOD, the game still amps up the creep factor. Seriously, Konami was able to get a lot accomplished with limited capabilities. That siren was scary then and still makes my heart race a bit. Also, fun to actually complete the final boss with zero ammo. Who does that? Bonkers and proving once again that Hideo Kojima was and is an absolute nut.

5 stars for nostalgic reasons, 3 stars because the controls will always suck and the camera now is just too much to deal with, but the emulator helps with the visuals. So, 4 stars in total. If you have a PS1 copy don't lose it and understand the game is dated in many ways but Harry's experience in a hellish town is totally worth it.

Welcome to Silent Hill.

There's something I like a lot about games like this one with the fog, or the first Resident Evil with its fixed camera angles: being able to look you in the eye and say "yep we are totally doing this because of the aesthetic, and not because technical limitations, it's a perfectly valid mechanic and we could absolutely remove it without fear of the console exploding BUT WE WON'T"

And it works! While it is showing its age (oh god the voice acting), about two hours in I'm finding it genuinely fun to play, even if not as creepy as later entries.

Beat on Normal and got the bad+ ending because I did not notice the code on the receipt. I figured I could come back later. This was my first experience with the series. I have heard good things over the past 20 years so this game has been near the top of my wishlist. I got the digital version and played in PSP. The PSP lacks the 2 extra buttons on top so I had to change out of the default control scheme to play, with quick turn and side stepping bound to the analog stick and thus being a bit awkward to perform.

I started out trying to kill everything, using the handgun for flyers and knife for dogs; not the best way to kill them for sure and I did a lot of save scumming. I soon decided that it was better to run around like a madman to scout and see what was worth checking out, then load and beeline for the loot without taking damage. I was slow and methodical indoors and played it more like Resident Evil, killing everything. I used the pipe a lot but based on its description I thought it would break after some use and was like a limited power up over the knife. I kept trying to loot other things that looked like pipes. By the end I used the handgun as my default weapon, switched to hammer to kill solo enemies that were not too fast, used the shotgun a couple times to deal with multiple enemies close together and for bosses, and saved the hunting rifle for flyers and the final boss. I did have to check a walkthrough for some puzzle solutions because I can't be bothered to spend more than a few minutes on that sort of thing. The puzzle that gave me the most trouble was the piano in the school; I was trying to figure out the order based on the blood splatter since I figured it was done with a single bloody finger, and I thought hearing a musical note was good and click was bad. Ended with a 4 star rating.

I am very impressed with this game. It takes the base gameplay of Resident Evil and improves upon it. The controls are a bit clunky but the only problem that I had was turning while moving in reverse; it feels wrong, that the turn buttons should turn you in the opposite direction that they do and I had to give up on using it. I really appreciated the ability to control the camera a bit and found that it enhanced the scare factor of the game; there were a few times where I was concerned that something bad would happen when the camera suddenly focused on something but that was just me having it outside the default angle. I loved not having to fool with a limited inventory.

By far the best aspect of the game is the atmosphere, presentation and story. I found the entire aesthetic of the dark world to be perfect and the audio is literally the best I have ever heard, even surpassing modern games. From every little door creak to metallic foot step, to the music that perfectly sets the tone of the game. I found one particular song like nails on a chalkboard and it made me want to get out of that room. The metal beats perfectly match the dark world aesthetic and a couple times I thought there was something hostile making those noises. It is like the distinction between sound effects and music are blurred and it seems quite possible that the character is hearing the music too.

Will play again on hard at some point but I am not going to put in the effort to 100% 10 star the game.

sigh... i tried to break myself away from overreliance on walkthrough so i explored the 3rd town section on my own... but it turns out i missed a vital side quest that is required for the true ending, and of course i passed a point of no return. i debated continuing but it sounds like a really important part of the story so i think i'm going to reload a save from... my most recent one was before fighting the moth boss i think, and redo that and the sewers (and the lighthouse which i already finished) so i can get the quest done.

on the plus side, i have bullets again. i started using the hammer to get through the sewers and realized its not horrible. i was conditioned from resident evil where the knife totally sucks, but melee isn't awful here. you take some hits but i've got more spare health drinks than spare bullets, so...

Been wanting to try this series for a while... Used to play Resident Evil games as a kid but otherwise no horror games at all, I'm really bad at any sort of action gameplay.

This game gives me SUCH anxiety - not from the horror, but just from constantly feeling like I am missing things, like I will run out of bullets, run out of health supplies, etc.

But I have to say it is sort of thrilling. I like how it feels similar to Resident Evil but yet has differences - the controls for one, but there's more "filler" rooms in this game (in the first dungeon at least) and the rooms are more open, so its less claustrophobic.

Also luckily, there seems to be tons of bullets and health? So I'm not running out yet. But it's still terrifying.

It's also sort of thrilling, I am quite enjoying it. The atmosphere is super creepy too. The graphics seem really good for the time? And the flashlight effect is well done.

Just finished the first dungeon, looking forward to the rest even if it stresses me out lol

I've really enjoyed Silent Hill as a series so far. 2 is incredible, 3 is great, and Homecoming, while it was a downgrade from previous entries was still fairly solid, especially towards the end when the story picked up. And now we come the game that started it all.

Now the first thing thats very noticeable is the graphics, this is from 1999 so honestly they didn't bother me because it's not remastered so what are you gonna do? There were however one or two instances where the graphics got in the way of my progress though, so be warned. The voice acting though is truly bad, in a hilarious way. Also, the combat is extremely janky, with those loveable old tank controls, but that is still forgivable for me because I think it was intended that way. You're some random Joe searching for his daughter, not a martial artist (cough, cough "Homecoming" cough.) Your not supposed to be proficient at combat. However, the puzzles are really what drove me from loving the game wholeheartedly. It could be just that I don't do many puzzles in other games but I could not for the life of me figure out some of them and especially the last maybe half hour when you are given like 5 of them in a row, my enjoyment was brought to a standstill.

Fortunately, the Silent Hill games have never been about any of those things, except maybe puzzles. They've been about atmosphere, story, characters and symbolism. And the first entry is great at all of those things. The atmosphere is always creepy with the fog being so strong that you can't see more than a couple of yards ahead of you and when you go inside buildings or especially in the Otherworld you get this real chilling vibe with the enemies and locations. The story also has some good twists and writing to keep you interested with characters usually having more depth than they first appear.

-Cons: -janky controls -graphics can sometimes get in the way of gameplay -very difficult puzzles

-Pros: -dark creepy atmosphere -great sound design -intriguiing story and characters

Overall, I think if you can get over a couple of short comings like those dang puzzles then you'll probably really like or even love this classic in survival horror.