Let’s be honest: horror games aren’t as hard or satisfying to beat as they were 20 years ago. I haven’t played a satisfying horror game since Dead Rising 1, which is on the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. Taking a trip down memory lane, there’s one horror game that stands out to me, which isn’t Resident Evil; they’re too widely known, so the horror experience drops greatly.
The game I’m talking about is Silent Hill.
The game I’m talking about is Silent Hill.
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(Imagine playing this at night by yourself) |
Silent Hill came out on the Sony Playstation in 1993. It is a third person shooter using an auto-aim system. Horror games in the 90s had an auto-aim system in place. Since the game had set camera positions and it was tilted over the character, adding aim into the game was extremely difficult.
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You are following Harry Mason as he is searching for his missing daughter, Cheryl , in a fog covered town known as Silent Hill. Venturing through a town called Silent is beyond me. The name sounds very inviting like a welcome home party, except the guests are nightmarish monsters that are trying to kill you. You go through many different parts of this hellish town like an elementary school, a hospital, and a church. Speaking of these places, you should get used to visiting them often because this game has a LOT of backtracking.
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Horror games back then were infamous for their extremely vague yet simplistic puzzles. Guides sure would’ve been helpful in figuring out these puzzles. This game also turns you into a detective. You have to pay attention to your environment because there might be a clue or something else you'd need to keep track of. Doing this will allow you to remember where things are. Whenever you encounter a cryptic puzzle that requires you to find an item, you can know where it is without searching aimlessly. |
(A very descriptive map of Silent Hill) |
The gameplay is quite simple. You have a shoot button, an interaction button, an open map button, and of course, a pause button. The controls are very simple to master; however, it's easy to get caught up in them. The game challenges your perception as well as resource management skills. You only get a limited amount of ammo per run. You get access to your basic weapons like a starting pistol to a laser cannon. A laser cannon is helpful in taking out those annoying enemies.
The enemies in this game are far from your typical zombies that you see in every horror game (I'm looking at you, Resident Evil). These monsters range from little children that like to shank people (I hate those little jerks) to monsters that only children would manifest in their nightmares.
The enemies in this game are far from your typical zombies that you see in every horror game (I'm looking at you, Resident Evil). These monsters range from little children that like to shank people (I hate those little jerks) to monsters that only children would manifest in their nightmares.
You have a shoot button, an interaction button, an open map button, and of course, a pause button. The controls are very simple to master; however, it's easy to get caught up in them. The game challenges your perception as well as resource management skills. You only get a limited amount of ammo per run. You get access to your basic weapons like a starting pistol to a laser cannon. A laser cannon is helpful in taking out those annoying enemies.
The enemies in this game are far from your typical zombies that you see in every horror game (I'm looking at you, Resident Evil). These monsters range from little children that like to shank people (I hate those little jerks) to monsters that only children would manifest in their nightmares.
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Overall, this game is pretty fun to play, especially for it being such a classic in the gaming world. This game truly captures the "turn your nightmares into reality" type of feeling. They do it through your environment and with the enemies especially. The level design is unique to each dungeon, so gameplay in each level is unexpected.
I personally love this game, one of my favorite horror games of all time. It's unique, as it brings out the best in the player not just for quick thinking movement but for solving puzzles, too. This game also has replay value, which is quite rare in horror games that aren't collecting all collectibles. There are five endings total, with two good endings, two bad endings, and one joke ending. If you are the type of person who likes to see all the endings, this game has that.
Unfortunately, this game is only playable on the PlayStation 1; however, you can play it on the PlayStation 4. It is extremely cheap with the low price of $5 (assuming you have PlayStation plus, of course). Don't worry, Xbox players: you can buy all of the Silent Hill games for the low price of $30, which is still pretty good for a game that's 7 hours long.
This game isn't widely known due to it being old and overshadowed by other horror games like Resident Evil or Five Nights at Freddy’s. I give this game a 9 out of 10.
I personally love this game, one of my favorite horror games of all time. It's unique, as it brings out the best in the player not just for quick thinking movement but for solving puzzles, too. This game also has replay value, which is quite rare in horror games that aren't collecting all collectibles. There are five endings total, with two good endings, two bad endings, and one joke ending. If you are the type of person who likes to see all the endings, this game has that.
Unfortunately, this game is only playable on the PlayStation 1; however, you can play it on the PlayStation 4. It is extremely cheap with the low price of $5 (assuming you have PlayStation plus, of course). Don't worry, Xbox players: you can buy all of the Silent Hill games for the low price of $30, which is still pretty good for a game that's 7 hours long.
This game isn't widely known due to it being old and overshadowed by other horror games like Resident Evil or Five Nights at Freddy’s. I give this game a 9 out of 10.
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