I went into this game with low expectations and I was pleasantly surprised by what I found. It may have been done by a different team but I thought it was pretty decent (even if it is very short).
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| I played the PSP version of this |
To address the elephant in the room, I played the PSP port of this because, according to some cursory Googling, the PS2 version had some issues. Because of this choice the visuals were a step down from what I'd seen with the earlier games but it doesn't look bad, and the lo-fi visuals suit Silent Hill incredibly well anyway so it didn't detract from my experience. As far as I'm aware the game is basically the same on both platforms so I don't think I was missing out by playing the portable one.
The gameplay is pretty standard Silent Hill. It largely seems reminiscent of the first three games, minus the tank controls. The biggest change here is the emphasis on the two-worlds. While the other games would often have you enter the Other World for extended sequences, the flow of this game has you constantly crossing back and forth between it and "the Misty World" as you explore each environment. The puzzles are almost all designed around navigating two (nearly) identical spaces layered on top of one another and I found it engaging. It takes some of the mystique out of it when you're traversing each world so freely, but mechanically it makes for some enjoyable exploration.
There's weapon degradation which is a bit tedious as even the best weapons break after a few swings, but as a result I basically just punched everything because your fists are invulnerable. Running around punching nurses and puppets and weird flesh dogs colored the way I viewed Travis in a sort of fun way however so I didn't really mind the (IMO) unnecessary addition of weapons constantly breaking.
The story is mostly a direct prequel to the first game. I largely enjoyed this, but because it's showing events that we already kind of knew I can understand why some people may find this game a bit unnecessary. The plot also delves into some Silent Hill 2/4-style personal-baggage, so the end result is something that attempts to meld the two halves of the series. It's got cult developments and trauma from the protagonist's past in equal measure, but as a result I feel it's a bit disjointed and neither one feels like it gets the focus it probably needed.
The protagonist doesn't talk much, but I feel he has a decent amount of personality with what little we do get. Because the story ties into his past he feels less like a blank slate than Henry Townshend and overall I enjoyed that this game harkened back to the original's man-in-way-over-his-head feeling. There are bigger things going on than the story of Travis Grady but he has his own stuff he's pursuing instead and I liked the smaller scale of it all.
As you can see from my clear screen above, this was a short game. I completed it in two sittings so part of the reason this writeup may seem shorter than usual is because I feel there just isn't as much to discuss with this game. It's the weakest Silent Hill I've played but it's still an alright addition to the series. It's a bit frivolous so I wouldn't blame people for skipping it but I enjoyed it, anyway.
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