Game Debate #176: Silent Hill 2

[Reed Rothchild | 9,548]

[Gloves | 11,794]

I mean come on, it's Silent Hill 2.

[Brickman | 3,994]

10. The best horror game ever made. 

[DefaultGen | 5,413]

I'm a bigger fan of Silent Hill 1, maybe because I played that as a kid and played SH2 long after people had hyped it to the moon. I mean like, half of this game is running around checking which doors are unlocked. I think perhaps games in other horror genres like Darkwood or TLOU are better overall at combining a fun game with the atmosphere and story. 7/10

[Sumez | 2,967]

I was absolutely mind blown by the first Silent Hill game on PS1, that a video game, and a game looking so crude at that, could be so unnerving and scary. All the things it did to upset me and keep me at my seat was completely unheard of. 

So when SH2 came out I was actually quite let down. There was only one point in the game where I felt it was kinda scary, the rest of it felt like the calmer bits of SH1, you know, before things go crazy as they do in nearly every area of that game. 

So yeah, sorry to admit I completely missed the subtext and nuances in the story - I simply didn't expect that kind of storytelling in a video game at the time. I absolutely love the game for doing that though, and I think it lifted the Silent Hill franchise to something much more respectable than "just" a scary video game.

7/10

Edited October 24, 2023 by Sumez

[koifish | 556]

I don't know if I have the constitution to play a silent hill game. Never have been good with anything involving psychological horror; I have a terribly vivid imagination and a great ability to avoid sleeping when sufficiently prodded. The first one at least has been on my list.

I don't know if I should post this or not, but this is the main thing I know about Silent Hill 2. It might contain spoilers.

Spoiler

https://yewtu.be/watch?v=GUDcSeUvkOw

No vote in the poll, because I don't have an opinion on the next game and don't want to affect the results. I'm surprised something like Eternal Darkness isn't on the list however.

Edited October 24, 2023 by koifish

[Webhead123 | 679]

SH2 is the only game in the series I've actually played at all and even then, I've only played it for about an hour and that was almost 20 years ago. So, while my brief and distant memory of it was of being fairly impressed with the creepy atmosphere and Pyramid Head is still one of the cooler-looking horror monsters in recent history, I'm hard pressed to give a meaningful rating to the game. Let's just say 7/10 because why not?

[Sumez | 2,967]

 

[Bearcat-Doug | 5,105]

I've somehow never played any of these games, but they seem interesting.

[RH | 4,918]

All I know is Silent Hill is to Konami as Resident Evil is to CAPCOM.

I have no clue what these games are about.  Seriously, what was the original story/premise.  I’m rather familiar with the setup of RE1-2.  How do these differ.

[TDIRunner | 2,744]

I never got into the Silent Hill franchise even though it seems like it would have been a no-brainer considering I loved the earlier Resident Evil games.  I would love to try them out someday, but I don't know if I will ever get around to any of them.  

[Reed Rothchild | 9,548]

34 minutes ago, RH said:

All I know is Silent Hill is to Konami as Resident Evil is to CAPCOM.

I have no clue what these games are about.  Seriously, what was the original story/premise.  I’m rather familiar with the setup of RE1-2.  How do these differ.

If memory serves, in their review of the original game, EGM called Silent Hill the "Jacob's Ladder to Resident Evil's Night of the Living Dead"

[DefaultGen | 5,413]

31 minutes ago, Reed Rothchild said:

If memory serves, in their review of the original game, EGM called Silent Hill the "Jacob's Ladder to Resident Evil's Night of the Living Dead"

Surely an analogy that served their audience of 13 year olds well.

[Webhead123 | 679]

1 hour ago, DefaultGen said:

Surely an analogy that served their audience of 13 year olds well.

True. I wouldn't become a fan of those films until I was 16. 

[JamesRobot | 5,806]

I love horror movies but have a very hard time getting into horror video games.  I am totally interested in most of them but execution always seems to alienate me somehow.  Doom is amazing, of course.  I don't really like the Resident Evils but I'll watch the movies all day long.  Couldn't finish Dead Space, though Dead Space 2 was brilliant and I saw it through to the end.  Silent Hills always seemed interesting but never sat down with it.  Allan Wake was alright since it was short enough and I am very interested in the sequel.  Seriously enjoyed Control.  Probably the best of the genre in my eyes and the game that I've spent the most hours with in a single playthrough (except for maybe the Battle Kids).  Put 70 something hours into that game over the summer.  But for the most part, I am not very good at the survival aspect of most survival horror games.  

[Sumez | 2,967]

7 hours ago, RH said:

All I know is Silent Hill is to Konami as Resident Evil is to CAPCOM.

I have no clue what these games are about.  Seriously, what was the original story/premise.  I’m rather familiar with the setup of RE1-2.  How do these differ.

I was under the same impression, but coming from the opposite perspective. I didn't really understand the RE games because I expected them to be like Silent Hill. 

On paper they play very similarly. Tank controls, switching camera angles, limited ammo, etc. 

But I think they have a massive difference in focus. Silent Hill is about he experience first and foremost. It's about telling a story and scaring the shit out of the player, and it's very effective at that. 

Resident Evil meanwhile, is hardly scary at all. It's a gameplay centric game, where the limited resources drive the way you approach it, and it's what creates the unnerving and stressful atmosphere, rather than sounds and visuals.

The gameplay takes kinda backseat in SH and serves as more of a vessel for the spoopy story. Its also why I could never justify anything like a 10/10 for them, but I really do enjoy them. 

[CMR | 520]

I never really liked the Silent Hill games.  I always preferred the sci-fi horror of RE and Parasite Eve.

[Gloves | 11,794]

Just now, CMR said:

I never really liked the Silent Hill games.  I always preferred the sci-fi horror of RE and Parasite Eve.

Lol this guy thinks Silent Hill isn't a sci-fi horror game.

 

[CMR | 520]

Just now, Gloves said:

Lol this guy thinks Silent Hill isn't a sci-fi horror game.

 

LOL If that was the main storyline instead, I would definitely be a Silent Hill fan.