GASP! Silent Hill Games Are Not Good Horror Games

[DarkMemories]

...they are, however, fantastic mystery titles.

Before the flaming and fanrage begins, I'd just like to say that by no means am I saying that my opinion is fact. I am simply making a statement based on my observations after playing every game (bar the arcade one) in the series.

I came to this conclusion once I finished Shattered Memories; Nightmare sequences served little importance in the past, and this was never more apparent than in Shattered Memories where they serve as little more than frustrating chase sequences. They have never felt integral to the plot of any of the games (except perhaps 1 and Origins), and only serve to lengthen the time spent playing the game. The stories of Shattered Memories and 2 in particular could have served well without the Nightmare World. Hell, 2's is barely recognizable as such, and it's widely regarded as the best in the series.

It is not the horror aspect that draws me in, I realized; there is very little to be had IMO within the games anyway. It is the plot, the mystery of what's going on/what really happened/who am I/whodunnit? portion of the game that is truly memorable.

I have always argued that Silent Hill games (bar the first and really only the gray children specifically) aren't scary. Unnerving? A little. Creepy? Somewhat. Compelling? Absolutely.

So I leave my post with these final questions:

Are nightmare sequences necessary to the telling of a Silent Hill title's story?
Are Silent Hill games true horror games or do they make better mystery games?
What would you change for a future Silent Hill title?

[GuardhouseMusic]

Well it's obvious we don't have as solid an explanation for the nightmare sequences as we do, say, why mannequins look the way they do in SH2. Nonetheless I've always thought of the blood/rust nightmarish world as the "power" that the developers hint at involved with the town. It's an unexplainable supernatural phenomenon (not unlike Stephen King's The Shining vis a vis the overlook hotel) and it manifests itself in that particular way. Alessa used it, the 21 Sacraments realize this power, James's guilt interacts with it, etc. Separate from the cult, the natives, and of course, mostly independent of the games' protagonists (though these groups all utilize it in some way).

[Canas Renvall]

Are nightmare sequences necessary to the telling of a Silent Hill title's story?
Are Silent Hill games true horror games or do they make better mystery games?
What would you change for a future Silent Hill title?

1. In the SH1/3 storyline, they're absolutely necessary. The story of the game in the first place is the reason you go through the Otherworld. It's a manifestation of Alessa's suffering (if I remember correctly). You're going through her pain, her anguish, her struggle since she's been chosen to give birth to God (Samael). That's for SH1.

For SH3, it's simply a continuation of that. Claudia knows Heather is going to give birth to Samael, and it tortures her (Heather/Cheryl) to know that. It's a manifestation of that pain it causes her knowing she's being forced to do something horribly, morally wrong.

2. They are true horror games. They play on one's psyche. What's worse, an enemy you don't know is there, or one that you know is there but you can't see it?

However, you're also right in saying they're great interactive mystery stories.

3. Seeing as how Team Silent doesn't seem like they're coming back... have Climax Studios make another Shattered Memories type game. I really think it's the best in the series since SH3. They did an amazing job with it. They could consider it a canon reboot if they wanted. Wouldn't affect the story of the original series, but they could take it in their own direction.

[Cuz7ate9:(]

I liked the Silent Hill games for their mature story. But I will admit that the gun action was a bit crap. I guess people just got too used to Resident Evil.

[Enrico Marini]

Err.... Silent Hill is horror. It is psychological horror. Everything is designed to create a form of unease as well as visceral response.

I have always argued that Silent Hill games (bar the first and really only the gray children specifically) aren't scary.

Horror doesn't necessarily mean that it has to be scary. Horror is supposed to make you uneasy and unnearved. See things that you shouldn't or look disturbing. The manniquin isn't necessarily scary but it is freaky. Why? Because it has two female sex organs. (There was an artist who made a doll look like this before Silent Hill 2 was released). Using my first year visual arts studies I could easily come up with many reasons why this is unnearving. I feel Silent Hill oozes this in abundance. Even the music tracks add to this.

In my opinion Silent Hill is horror. More sophisticated than Resident Evil with its scare tactics.

[IllGiveYouStars]

I've only recently started playing Silent Hill, at the moment I'm playing Silent Hill 2, which is the first I've played. I haven't finished it yet (however I think I'm close) but I have to agree that I don't find it scary. Creepy, definitely. When I put myself into James' perspective I do find it scary somewhat. It could be that I am more desensitized now having played games like Resident Evil and watching horror films from a young age. I am enjoying it however, and I will play the rest of the series, starting with Silent Hill 1.

[Karui]

Silent Hill has a quality to it that messes with you psychologically. It's a different kind of horror from RE. It's more abstract while RE is more tension.

[Guest]

IMO people just got used to RE. ;p

[Zombie Fred]

Silent Hill 1 is the only game to actually give me the creeps (other words, almost scare the shit out of me) and have my hair prick up at the back of my neck, while 2's fantastic art in the scenery almost works to the same level. I would call that horror to me, the graphics in the first bizarrely have some psychological effect that makes me uncomfortable when you explore the town.

This by definition is an excellent horror game.

[REmaster]

^ Everything he said. I've never been a HUGE fan of SH, but SH2 is one of my all time favorite games. Sure, many people think the series went down hill from there but even SH4 scared the shit out of me a few times when the apartment started to get alot of "visitors".

[Canas Renvall]

^ This, and I dunno why people think the series just slipped away. This is how I see it:

Most Mysterious: SH1 (seeing as how you have no clue what to expect if this is the first game you play)
Best Story: SH2
Overall Scariest: SH3
Most Disturbing: SH4

And hell, I liked Origins, Homecoming, and especially Shattered Memories too. So I suppose it's just a personal preference thing... like so many other things on this site.

[バンブーブレード]

I liked the Silent Hill games for their mature story. But I will admit that the gun action was a bit crap. I guess people just got too used to Resident Evil.

That's because in Silent Hill you aren't playing as a professionally trained gunman, you are playing as ordinary people.

^ This, and I dunno why people think the series just slipped away. This is how I see it:

Most Mysterious: SH1 (seeing as how you have no clue what to expect if this is the first game you play)
Best Story: SH2
Overall Scariest: SH3
Most Disturbing: SH4

And hell, I liked Origins, Homecoming, and especially Shattered Memories too. So I suppose it's just a personal preference thing... like so many other things on this site.

Totally agree. Although for me origins, homecoming and shattered memories really strayed from the core, shattered memories obviously, but none the less I love horror games. Games that fall short have never kept me from playing them, it's only helped me define what makes the good ones good.

Silent Hill has a quality to it that messes with you psychologically. It's a different kind of horror from RE. It's more abstract while RE is more tension.

Some one who gets it.

All right DarkMemories does that mean all the Resident Evil games before part 4 aren't true horror games either because they play out the same. You are in a city, it has monsters, mysteries to be solved, and you have to get out alive somehow. Is that not how both of these games work?

The 1st boss fight of part 2 illustrates why its a true survival horror perfectly. You are locked in a small room with a monster that can't be killed and is trying to kill you. All you can do is try to survive until he goes away. Survival because you have to survive. Horror because you're character is in danger of being killed. Survival and horror by the simplest definition.

Nightmare world..."you're killing me Smalls." The nightmare world is there to explain events that can't be found in the town. It also explains all the supernatural happenings. So, yes it is an important part of the game if not the most important part. It's not just part of the game to look more scary or up the difficulty, it's also there to show you the other side of the looking glass where all the crazy stuff is coming from. If the alternate world didnt exist there would be no need for the cultists to try to pull their "god" from that world and it would be a normal town. Not having it in the game would be like taking the zombies out of RE. Then it would also be just a mystery game.

I think you need to play the games again, you totally missed 90% of what is going on in the game. It has far more horror and defines survival horror better than other games in this genre. Not flaming ya, just sayin.

[Canas Renvall]

^ If we're gonna be totally honest, I'd go so far as to say SH defines survival horror better than RE.

But that would become a "who did it first" vs. "who did it best" debate, from past experience.