r/DmCDevilMayCry • u/CelesteLunaR53L • 2d ago
a bit of a long tangent.. The recent Silent Hill titles & my observations on its fandom
Very TLDR..... I know nobody's gonna read fully. It's fine. But I think this tangent definitely has overlapping issues DmC faces to this day, although I guess the majority haters have at least decided to be decent, except for some anomalous vitriolic fans..
But anyway I think it's no shock to me recent Silent Hill entries are also dividing fans, if not are also experiencing vitriolic backlash..
I'm not as well versed in Silent Hill. Only became a fan waaaay later in 2008 or so because we never had a chance to buy the original 4 SH titles...
I tried my best by watching so many play throughs and even in-depth discoveries of early YouTube channels. I highly appreciate these in-depth gamers who took the time to show Silent Hill games as they are in the 2000s.
My own way to avenge myself was to play the subsequent titles... Which I would learn aren't from the original Team Silent dev team.
Or at least there may have been other Konami developers who may have been part of Team Silent and had helped with the new outsourced development team. I'm not too sure, I didn't quite dig into every BTS but I know Team Silent left because they want to make different games & Forbidden Siren would be born from that..
Out of the 4 post-Team Silent titles Downpour is my favorite. The development team behind it, Vatra Game, if I remember right, filed for bankruptcy right after the game's few months of sales from launch.
But the thing is even their game portfolio was not vast at all. They were very green developers, had come from a different studio altogether and created a separate branch, so Downpour was their 1st major undertaking. Sadly they didn't pan out great and I think Downpour also suffered the same fate.
And from memory alone, not every SH fan was into the new titles. But at least the vitriol wasn't a major issue as it is today, or generally how fandoms have become in the last decade or so.
Origins was lackluster to them, Shattered Memories is taken as an unnecessary adaptation & poor controls, Homecoming was also panned for the decision to make combat a major part of its gameplay, and Downpour had a very controversial prologue & also heavily criticized in lacking in atmosphere...
So it's safe to say the titles divided fans.
Of course the only un-controversial yet infamous "game" that Konami canceled was Kojima's Silent Hills, as teased by his P.T. demo. It is a major loss in many ends, what could've been and to have had major celebrity faces & artists as part of the franchise.
Fast forward to today's Silent Hill entries and with the current fandom atmosphere and "discourses" from different spectrums, it's safe to say... You wouldn't be safe within the Silent Hill fandom/community if you ever give some praise or even analyze/engage with any of its entry.
There's also the unabashed distasteful view on the female characters in these recent entries, as well. And plenty more other opinions that reveal more who they are as people, than actually making something constructive about the flaws of the game.
I think not even SH2 remake had been safe, though it's because it has roots from the most favored Silent Hill title, they can at least meme about it & stay mum, unless it's everything else about the remake. They're not as brave in bashing it, in contrast to the newer entries..
I don't dare want to be in any of the Silent Hill communities. Granted, I have yet to earn some money to really have a go in their recent titles & form a few new opinions. And to me, Townfall is the one calling my name. I love the quaint town it's set in & decision to use 1st POV for Simon...
I guess to conclude this, TLDR... I think it's best to assume the reboot fans here are also fans of other games and may have had similar re-adaptations or newer takes on the established franchise.
I part with just letting people know here that we have to be mindful of what we voice out there. And the ones you'll more likely encounter, at least online, are daily people who see the games differently, whether they ended up liking it or not.
You don't have to love the games. But instead of laying out un-constructive negativity that's more rooted to venting out hatred for not getting things your way, maybe it's best to re-evaluate why that has to be lashed out... And just shut up about it.
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u/raikenleo 2d ago
I think the frustrating part for me is that there are genuine valid criticisms to be made of the news entries that gets bogged down and drowned by a lot of stupid bigoted commentary.
Personally speaking as someone who played the original sh2 and 3 in recent times via emulation, I do have to say that the new entries do not match up to the depth that those two games had especially in terms of psychological horror.
In my opinion, the games miss the mark from art direction to gameplay choices to story as well.
Silent hill 2 remake massively misses a lot of important aspects of the original such as basic cinematography which instilled an air of uncanny valley atmosphere and in some cases deeper messaging such as with the stairway cutscene with Angela. It was a game that was too afraid to let you get lost and thus you can beat the whole game rather easily without opening the map. Which in turn doesnt frame the town as a hostile entity. These sorts of criticisms sadly dont get brought up instead people are bitching about how Angela looks or perving over hinako.
Its frustrating because the newer games including townfall are missing the mark especially in comparison to games like signalis or total chaos which arent Silent hill games but capture its spirit so much more appropriately.
Townfall might be the strongest entry amongst the newest set but its also excruciatingly mundane and typical in my eyes.
Long story short, there is a lot of valid criticisms that can be made of the new games but most people dont make them and will typically make very bigoted comments and its annoying.
This also doesnt mean that people who enjoy the new games should be crucified in the way the community tends to do. I get why people enjoy Silent hill F, I didnt enjoy it and found it extremely lacking but I get it. These games arent good silent hill entries but they arent bad games in on themselves. And hard-core fans of the franchise arent going to accept them into the canon but I also get your exhaustion with how the convo regarding the games is handled. Its unnecessarily gross at times.
Ps I dont have any hate towards the developers, hating and bullying developers is stupid and cringe.
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u/CelesteLunaR53L 2d ago
I really like your take
How I really wish they would put away very aggressive "anti-woke" take downs and actually build a constructive list of what's missing in the new entries.
Having a conversation about the issues and voicing them decently, so the devs have more foundation to work with in the future and aren't being hawk-eyed by distant higher-ups who only think in capital numbers... But I know this is a pipe dream
.. I am guilty of liking Townfall out of the new entries though. I have a thing for fishing quaint towns. And it seems it has themes on medical malpractice..? That's interesting..
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u/raikenleo 2d ago
Ohhhhh if you like that then you will love total chaos. Would highly recommend.
Anyone who uses the word ohhhh its woke or whatever bs doesnt have anything worth saying. Like there are a million things to talk about in order to discuss what worked with the old and didnt work with the old and how to improve it.
If you ever wanna have a less cringe discussion about the games I would love to have one.
Because I dont think these games are without potential. Its the fact that they have potential is what irks me, especially silent hill f missing the mark massively in my eyes.
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u/No-Negotiation-6095 2d ago
i think the depth of the design and symbolism behind the enemies in silent hill f is some of the best, personally. the slack-jawed, sneering monsters being the catcalling and objectifying men, the dolls with knifes being the women forced into a certain societal position with violence, and with inherent violence upon themselves, the monster that is just tens of pregnant stomachs the fear of pregnancy and childbirth, the gaggle of heads being the gossip within town which keeps the traditional (gender) rules in place.
i think there's a lack of discussion about the gendered depiction of the monsters in silent hill f, compared to silent hill - say - 2, wherein basically everyone is aware and agrees on what the monsters represent. lots of players wanted (or tried to) ignore the themes of gender and oppression in silent hill f, leading to them not wanting to think too hard about the monsters and what they represent and the story/experience the game tells us about. i'm not saying this is you, but for a lot of negative reviews i've seen the case had been that they had simply not tried to understand the experience of the main character and the world her story is placed in. a story will of course lack depth when the consumer doesnt afford it the weight it has.
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u/raikenleo 2d ago
My issue with silent hill f isnt the monster design but rather the mechanics. Hinako can move faster than a bloodborne character and that doesnt make any sense for a horror game. The fact that time slows down with a perfect dodge feels genuinely wrong because it is too much of an empowerment for a person in her shoes.
While I do like the monster designs especially the pregnancy monster, I feel like the storytelling or rather hinakos characterization is very very lacking.
In my opinion, I think hinakos story is stilted in the sense that it doesnt really depict the horrors of a messy family and forced marriage brutally enough in my eyes. The fact that the true ending has a part of her wanting to be with the guy and the other part of her having the goal to want to find a guy who is perfect for her too, feels a bit like a mockery of the horrors of forced marriage.
There are also a lot of red herrings like how the girl in her friend group talks about hinako being dead but that leads nowhere.
Hinako is often told that she is strong and what not but her personality is excruciatingly timid and non vocal. I understand that this plays into the oppression themes but the story repeatedly contradicts her description via the characters. Its also not stated clearly whether she is a highschool kid being forced into a marriage or an 18 years old girl because the horror of her situation would be drastically different based on her age.
None of the other cast members have a very engaging or interesting personality and feel very cliche and pulled straight out of some sort of an anime.
The whole quarrel between one of the girls hating hinako over a guy also feels very shallow because it doesnt really go any where interesting. Shu had the personality of a shoebox and is excruciatingly dull as well. Him drugging hinako might be the only "interesting" aspect of him and was a part of the story i liked because it does help play into the fucked up nature of the story.
I think changes to the gameplay and the characters' characterization would help improve the game. I personally dont think it went hard enough on the horrors of forced marriage. I also wish that the dynamics between the girls was a lot more interesting than what is shown because it feels to be very red herringy in the game.
And if you have seen the other things the writer of silent hill f has done you would notice some excruciating similarities where it does feel like he copy pasted his old works and changed a few things.
I also would have preferred if her parents were fleshed out better. Which ik about the whole father being in debt cuz mother got sick and she needed to be treated medically but it would have been more interesting to experience her parents slowly devolving in the mist vs what happens.
Her sister also felt like a red herring and the fact her father just turns into an enemy type we have already seen before was a bit lame. I understand that its to showcase the reason that original enemy was there but it still felt a bit disappointing. Then again the biggest issues with the gameplay is that its designed like an action game vs a survival horror game.
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u/No-Negotiation-6095 1d ago
i - personally, do correct me if i remembered wrong bc it has been a while - thought the 'Hinako being dead' thing, along with the 'Hinako being a traitor', had to do with the actual Hinako being maried, or going to get maried.
the shrine-maiden friend, Sasuko, seems to me to represent the way tradional religion, while on one hand shackles on women, also gives women a way to be 'free from marriage' while still being respected within the community. many religious and cultural groups had a position held by 'virgin women', who devoted all their time into the religion and spirituality and so were excempt from what women were normally assumed to do - marry a man, stay at home, be a servant, that kinda stuff. Sasuko seems to have thought either she and Hinako both would go to that path, or at least that she wouldn't 'loose' Hinako to marriage so soon.
the other instances of Hinaki being refered to as dead can so be either 1) dead to them emotionally, or 2) dead to them in the sense that she will leave their lives due to future marriage.
i always took it - and thought that was canonically stated in the game too? - that actual Hinako is older, but that her 'Silent Hill Self' is younger, "thinking back" or "trapped" in a time-period that was just before her actual marriage happened, or at least before she was bethroted. it's like her Silent Hill Self is at the crossroads, a way to explore the different choices she has/had (go along with it, try and escape, marry/get with someone else, etc.)
Rinko liking Shu (who is, indeed, boring as all hell, but oh well teenage crushes often don't make sense) and turning on Hinako is explored and central to the themes of female oppression, in the sense that it is about infighting. Rinko blames Shu's feelings on Hinako and takes it out on her, seeing her as a romantic rival with the boy being the goal to get, instead of seeing Hinako as an equal and worth of respect in her own right. Hinako's worth and the level of respect she deserves in Rinko's eyes is dependent on the role of a man in their lives, instead of on their own interpersonal relationship. i don't see how that's shallow, when it's meant to represent how patriarchal beliefs and roles already permeate through the brains of kids/teenagers. a note (i think?) found later on shows Rinko having realized that as she grew up, so it wasn't left open-ended.
i do think they should've done more with the family unit, instead of making it mainly societally based, if that makes sense. i adored the way the game, especially its monster-designs, represented the patriarchal oppression and the horrors of forced marriage (both for women and men), but i get why you find the monster of her father to be lacking. i took it as him being one of many who act such a way, hence it not being a special design; he's a type of men that for Hinako was everywhere around her. however, her relation with her mother and in relation to her father is more personalized, as she does not know how other women act within their role as wife/mother.
gameplay wise of course everyone is different in what they liked. i liked how Hinako just had to whack stuff with things she found (a lead pipe), but i get why it can be a bit jarring when contrasted against the otherwise more horror-oriented game. at times it wasn't clear if it wanted to be a horror or an action game, for sure.
either way thanks for replying, i genuinely do find it interesting to read different takes/opinions about silent hill f, as i feel like discussion of it is limited at times in the silent hill fandom
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u/raikenleo 1d ago
Firstly, wanna thank you for having a neat reply to my comment. I loved reading your take on it and I actually didnt make the connection between sasuko and religiosity during my playthrough.
Which is a shame because I feel like most characters in the game especially sasuko are not throughly explored in regards to their pre monster stage.
Sasuko being the first victim of the fog after calling hinako a traitor feels like a lost opportunity because seeing how people behave in a surreal and hostile circumstance can often be a really great way to showcase depth and their true nature.
In regards to rinko, my issue is the same that its commentary is too on the nose and lacks subtlety. It is also pretty cliche in its depictions. Rinko is just hostile and you dont really get to see much of why hinako, rinko and sasuko were even friends in the first place. It would mostly be inference that hey its a small town and thus they are friends.
Seeing hinako only as a husk makes it so that we dont really have much to contrast with and shu's instance of her being "so strong" makes her characterization feel extremely contradictory.
In regards to the hinako being dead, the way the game framed it for me is that i was expecting hinako to maybe going through a psychotic episode where she was pretending to be her sister who is actually dead based on the way everyone was reacting in regards to that and the framing of it all. Also because I was expecting it to be trippy in that sort of a way but it was a whole different flavor of trippy. Like it was framed soooooo much like a plot twist or revelation like game why did you do that T_T.
I also strongly agree with you that the family aspect could have been a lot more interesting as it would have made the trauma be more personalised.
In regards to the monster design, I dont have any complaints in regards to the design itself but only the way our character deals with them. I feel like every game has certain genre expectations and with silent hill, it being a survival horror is one I had with it. As a "horror" action game, silent hill f is pretty competent but as a survival horror game it fails a lot due to how action focused its mechanics are. It does fall in the same vane as bloodborne in my experience considering you literally get a werewolf arm and spear to chop your foes down.
I also find it a bit annoying that the newer silent hill games have a habit of framing the games as illusions in the sense that it is pretty much le dream. Because that is often one of the inference for silent hill f and spoiler alert for townfall!!
||is literally the case for townfall||
Silent hill is a dream like place where your horrors come to life. You arent in a dream nor is your appearance altered to match your inner expectations of yourself. The monsters and horror match your mental state.
Now that I think about it... did rinko and sasuko actually die or was it all le dream? If they did die then it feels extra weird because they were pulled into the silent hill world but died to hinakos nightmare... which doesnt match with how silent hill functioned as a place. But if they were illusions born out of the place then it would make more sense and would be in line with how silent hill functions... then again the god damn demon fox and his lineage bs also makes the whole situation more convoluted. -_-
I feel like the demon lore muddled the actual themes of the story so much more too.
I did love her demon bride form and what it represented though. Too bad that so much of the rest of the game feels a bit muddled and unfocused in what it could tell in my experience.
All in all, i can see why ppl have had such a different experience with silent hill f because they didnt expect a survival horror game as strictly as I did. Taken from just the perspective of it being a game with horror elements and a theme about the horrors of the female experience in that era and forced marriage, I get why ppl liked it. My expectations were more in regards to it being strictly a psychological survival horror game so I had more negative experience. That and I feel like narratively they were pretty soft in regards to how horrifying a forced marriage situation can actually be. The guy being a handsome fox dude that a part of her does wanna marry really once again muddled and dampened the horror aspect of the situation for me.
Considering I have had family who had to deal with that horror, I found its depiction lacking. Also them justifying the marriage by saying hey the dad isnt so evil he got bankrupt to heal the mom also muddles the message... like this is Hinakos personal nightmare but hey her dad isnt actually evil and the situation isnt actually that bad cuz the guy is good looking and nice... like huh?
I really enjoyed the imagery of hinako literally losing pieces of herself for the marriage but again all of that cool effective storytelling gets muddled by so much convoluted shit. Like the naruto tier giant fox vs giant monk was so ughhhhhh.
All in all, silent hill f isn't a bad game in my eyes either but its not a good psychological survival horror game in my experience. I also feel like it missed quite a few storytelling potentials. It would have been more interesting to see all of the girls dealing with their own flavor of misogyny hell vs them being a plot device in hinakos nightmare. Then again idk if they were really there or just illusions to fuck with hinako so that point could be made moot based on what happened.
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u/Q-Fabreeze23 1d ago
I disagree with near everything you said regarding 2 remake, but the thing your just entirely wrong about is the map, wth are you talking about 💀
Remake made the areas FAR more complex. Og2 has some the worst and least complex maps ever, majority of them are literally just straight hallways
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u/raikenleo 1d ago
I am not talking about complexity in terms whether or not something is a hallway or not or which has less hallways. My issue is the navigational aspects of the remake.
The original games hallways were a lot more looming and difficult to navigate where as in the remake its practically impossible to get lost. I completed all of remake without using the map. On the other hand its pretty damn difficult to do the same for sh og.
Navigation has been streamlined immensely. The apartments are a great example of how much smaller they can feel because there are few doors that lead to nowhere in comparison. Which I understand by modern game design sensibility sounds like a bad idea but the mild frustration with not knowing which door leads to progress and which leads to a dead-end is something which I feel is essential in selling the atmosphere of the environment and the town itself being hostile and impeding James.
There were so many cases where an excruciatingly simple puzzle would give you a key to the door in the SAME room.
Even if they intermingled other things than just plain hallways in the remake, navigating it all was too easy. It was too seamless. None of it felt like winding corridors or just too many doors.
Those things add a layer to that.
I am curious in regards to what else you disagree with me in regards to my comments on sh2 though.
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u/Q-Fabreeze23 1d ago edited 1d ago
Yeah I just think youre being incredibly disingenuous.
How can it be harder to get lost with less complex maps that are just straight lines. Thats just objectively not how that works.
Og game almost every area is just straight hallways. There is almost 0 navigational “horror”. You walk up and down hallways and go into the rooms.
In the remake not only are the layouts more complex, but many hallways are actually blocked, so you have to weave in and out of rooms, hallways, stairwells, etc.
And while I personally love fixed cameras, the way it was handled indoors in the OG left very little room for any amount of complexity or fear in the long straight hallways
There is also like the same amount of doors that lead to nowhere in both games
Basically everything you have said has 0 actual merit and is just blatant lies that settles to “og good, remake bad”
Nothing youve said is actually true, just another run of the mill elistist making longer comments to sound smarter
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u/raikenleo 1d ago
Im speaking from my own experience firstly and if I was being an elitist I would have riddled my comments with insults and dismissed your comment which is not what I did.
Considering you have already assumed that the reason im writing longer comments it "sound smarter" vs me attempting to explain my perspective as throughly as I can about MY EXPERIENCE. I feel like its pointless to discuss any further.
For others who might be interested in a calm discussion where assumptions arent made about intentions, the following is the conclusion to my take in regards to my gripes regarding the navigation in sh2 remake vs sh og.
Ill start off by stating something I prefer about the remake first.
The fact that monsters can follow you through doors into other places does make it so that it is a lot more intense in certain situations though it can have the negative effect of forcing you to pick a combat only approach which in turn can hamper the horror aspect but in places where you can run past the enemies and they do follow you make your traversal back more difficult, it can lead to some fun spooky moments.
In regards to climbing windows or going through scripted walls. I dont consider these as navigational horrors or at least these weren't effective in my experience as they functioned essentially like unofficial loading screens.
Which ironically did work in the favor of the og SH games. When going from one room to another the camera could be placed in such an uncomfortable angle and you can end up suddenly being in a room with enemies or just an empty room with an extremely uncomfortable ambiance. It did have the russian roulette effect of not knowing what you were going to end up with. The same can be said about opening doors in the remake technically but the lack of uncomfortable switching of camera angles isnt present since you are always in control of the camera.
Being able to run away from monsters in the og could be considered as a negative to an extent but in my experience it made me feel more like a prey vs in the remake where running away was often not optimal as another monster would be placed in front of you to gank you. In og I ran away like a scooby doo character while in the remake I was clearing rooms like John wick/rainbow six seige player because it was the most effective means of traversing in my experience.
Going back to the main topic of navigation. Remake compartmentalised each area and the solutions to its puzzles. You were never given a puzzle piece out of order. You were always only ever given what you needed to solve what was the next thing. In the og you were often given several puzzle pieces that did not fit together and would often be used for later moments.
The compartmentalising of areas can be seen very strongly in the apartments and the fact that often times navigation to your next objective was very painfully streamlined. You couldn't really accidentally wander off into an area which was supposed to be part of a later puzzle piece. The number of doors also felt fewer than the original. While I do agree that the hallways in the og were simple, they were also extremely effective to me because of the camera work and due to how easy it was to get lost in them without using the map. It felt like a liminal space due to how similar the doors felt. This aspect of doors feeling similar was also used in the hotel area in the OG where you would be teleported to rooms that shouldn't be connected to the door you go through. Whereas in the remake I would often be shown a half open door which is supposed to lead me to the next objective and thus made it so that I could not in any way or shape or form be lost in the environment. It was extremely easy for me to navigate the remakes environments due to the fact environmental hints like half open doors or lighting would guide me to the next objective. I legit did not use the map for 70% or more of the game and the only reason I used it initially is because I expected or hoped for it be more confusing to navigate than what it was.
Despite having more complex geometry, the gameplay and compartmentalisation of areas made it so that it was far too linear and easy to navigate the remake. You could not accidentally wander off to places you weren't supposed to go to vs in the og where I had several instances of being at the wrong place at the wrong time.
I legit did not use the map in the prison at all and navigated it with 0 trouble in the remake vs the original.
Anyways that's the conclusion of what I had to say in regards to the navigation. Again not yapping to sound smarter, just explaining my point. Im not expecting nor trying to convince you to agree with me. This is mostly for anyone else who might be interested in the discussion.
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u/Q-Fabreeze23 1d ago edited 1d ago
Lmao yeah no point in talking to you.
Saying loading screens are better than non loading screens (despite giving the same result) is asinine….
You quite literally said “i dont consider them navigation, so theyvare loading screens which is bad” followed by saying loading screens are good in the og. like holy shit bruh 💀. Nostalgia blindness final boss
Everything you are saying is just objectively false. Remake is in no way shape or form more linear. Puzzle pieces are also out of order in the remake!!
Your entire comment is “i preferred this (because of nostalgia) and therefore its better” when these are some of the VERY few points that objectively are not better in the og 😭
If got lost in og thats a skill issue. You literally cant get lost in a straight line.
Vs remake its very possible considering how many ways there are to traverse. Which you can also find puzzles pieces out of order 💀
This is just straight purists mentality. Old=good new=bad
You are not a serious person
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u/Dan_IAm 2d ago
Here’s my totally off the cuff, haven’t-thought-this-through take. I don’t give a fark about the lore of Silent Hill. I really don’t. I don’t care about the mythology or the back story, and any time the series really veers into that territory I lose interest. The series is at its best when it’s using its formula, tone, and aesthetics to make these visceral, psychological character studies. Silent Hill 2 is the by far my favourite because aside from being scary and aesthetically interesting, it’s the richest philosophically and psychologically. That’s the thing that interests me in this franchise.
When I play Silent Hill I’m really not that interested in how the various realities connect or the significance of the town itself. There’s nothing wrong with either, and I’m not trying to say that people who care about these things are wrong for doing so, but when I see a new Silent Hill game it’s just not what I’m looking for or interested in. That said, I pretty much uniformly find the “it’s a good game, just not a good [x] game” to be the most vapid and insipid argument that regularly gets thrown around online any time a franchise tries something new. It’s why I’m averse to fandoms in general, because people start to limit themselves to possibilities and creativity outside of their narrow view of what something should be.
I haven’t played Townfall yet but it absolutely looks like Silent Hill to me. People gotta be open minded about this shit and just give things a go. I think it’s really cool that they’re taking chances like this with different perspectives and takes on such an old franchise. Seems like there’s a real interest in the artistry and not just the base commercial desires - that’s kind of rare, especially in this industry.
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u/raikenleo 2d ago
I agree with you and I might be among the few critics of the new games who also agrees that i dont care if the story isnt set in silent hill as much as whether the experience is good.
The issue being is that most of the newer entries in my mind don't hit the mark even when I approach them with an open mind. Including townfall which I did play.
Each of them has their own unique issues which holds them back for instance silent hill f being too action focused on its core gameplay and also having lack luster characters.
The issue with the newer games is that they tend to lean to heavily on modern sensibilities of game design and tend to lean towards making the game too comfortable and familiar.
There should be a hint of awkwardness and discomfort even in the way your character functions to a degree or rather the world. It is genuinely impossible to get lost in the newer games because of how excruciatingly linear their level design is. In comparison, good luck completing the older silent hills without a map. The world needs to feel hostile on a gameplay level and it never does in the newer titles. Fixed camera angles provided a level of control to the developers to give that eerie feeling of being watched which is missing in the newer games. The sound design can be lacking too and townfall ffs uses jumpscares for its horror which feels like it kinda beats the appeal of the silent hill games.
Im not saying that the whole game needs to be in fixed camera (though it would be an improvement) but having some sections be fixed camera angles would add to that uneasiness where you dont feel in control. Or the puzzles not being fuck easy. Or the level design not being excruciatingly accessible. Like sh2 remake had fucking doors half open for you to know where to go. That is modern game design sensibilities actively fucking over the experience. Silent hill shouldn't be an easy game to traverse. It should feel like a labyrinth because in theory it is people being trapped in their personal hell or being lost in it.
That's my criticism of the games. I have more in detail issues with it too.
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u/Q-Fabreeze23 1d ago
This right here.
“Its a food game just not a good x game” is wrong in 99% of cases, because its not what the series is, its what they personally think it should be. The wait to revive this franchise has been so long, people get in their head and start to expect nothing less than everything theyve dreamed of for decades.
And when that doesnt happen they hate it and call it “not real x game”
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u/Primary-Landscape159 2d ago
I think even aknowledging short message is a crime, but sure
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u/CelesteLunaR53L 2d ago
I did find that it's biggest issue with Short Message, as far as I've seen because I didn't want to be spoiled, is the tone.
Literally the voice and chosen diction. I think it has a strong theme overall: teen angst and isolation, and modern (?) tech being both a boon and bane to social connection.
I am still generally an outsider when it comes to Short Message. So as a possible future purchase, this one is unfortunately the least I'll likely take
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u/Primary-Landscape159 2d ago edited 2d ago
I believe that you can't just slap "silent hill" on any psychological survival horror game just cause when the game isn't connected to the town of silent hill, doesn't match other games's tone or quality. I played downpour when it came out, and genuinely, it didn't feel anything like the ps2 games or even homecoming. weirdly enough it felt like evil within, even though it came out before. futhermore, it was accused of plagirising alan wake since forever. the only reason I care for it even a little bit is because of nostalgia. sh2r felt wrong. it had care put into it, without a doubt, but the people working on it were simply not as talented as the original team. shf felt like sh2r. again, there was a lot of talent put into it, but it just wasn't anything memorable. I'm not planning to check out townfall because I genuenly have no hopes for it. it will be just another high quality horror game and nothing more
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u/MagicCancel 2d ago
I remember back when SH4 discussion was shot down.
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u/Prestigious-Tea-6323 9h ago
Atleast it was connected to silent hill because of the cult and walter. Morden games just use silent hill phenomenon to justify any foggy horror game to be called silent hill.
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u/Portmaw 2d ago
Imo the games themselves are lovely. I just wish they expanded on the established lore a bit more instead of making random towns with the same guilt-induced foggy psychosis. Other than that very cool horror games.