Following the resurgence of the survival horror genre with Resident Evil, developers attempted to capitalize with their own horror games. The first Silent Hill was compared at the time to Resident Evil, as it shared the gameplay and basic combat system. However, the sequel for the Playstation 2 not only elevated the series to stand on its own, but also delivered one of the most atmospheric (and arguably disturbing) games around.
Silent Hill 2 is considered by fans as the best of the series and part of that is the atmosphere. A common factor in the franchise is how the designers don’t try to explain everything. In Resident Evil, we have a virus and the Umbrella Corporation to thank and by the end of the game we get the entire plot told to us. In Silent Hill however, chances are there will be more questions at the end of the game then at the beginning adding to the mystery of the game.
The world of Silent Hill 2 was mysterious and disturbing and the designers did their best to show that in every environment. Each building the player explored was run down, dank and looked like no one has lived there in years. There’s very little music in the game, with the main noises being the player’s radio that acts as an early warning system, footsteps and whatever unearthly noises the denizens make.
Silent Hill 2 loved to pull at the player’s nerves, with enemies appearing in otherwise safe areas to keeping the player in perpetual darkness in each building. The first time I exited a room and saw a monster staring at me from behind a gate, my heart starting to beat like a machine gun. One of the hallmarks of a good horror game in my opinion is making the player question their resolve at playing. And with unusual enemies, dark hallways and minimalistic music to distract, Silent Hill 2 did a great job at freaking out the player.
However the best part is that all that happened in what’s considered the “safe part of Silent Hill”. The crap really hits the fan when players are introduced to “the other Silent Hill.” For those not familiar with the series, the town of Silent Hill exists in two forms, the first being the normal world. The second is a nightmarish world that is built from the visitor’s nightmare and fears. For Silent Hill 2’s protagonist: James Sunderland its sexual repression and guilt over his wife’s death.
His fears manifest in the form of the enemies he encounters such as: the non-anatomically correct mannequin monsters and nurses without faces. But the most recognizable would be Pyramid Head, the guy in the screenshot above. Continuing the theme of messing and shocking the player, Pyramid Head was introduced in the cut scene from the screenshot above, in which he was raping one of mannequin monsters.
When I first played Silent Hill 2 I had no idea what the hell he was doing in that cut-scene. It was only afterwards when I talked to people online and looked at people’s impressions did I realize what was going on. I’ve always had a thick skin so the scene didn’t shock or offend me, but in all honestly, I’m surprised that we didn’t hear any outrage over this imagery in a video game. This is what made Silent Hill as a franchise stand out, that it was willing to go into some really dark territory to shock the player.
Pyramid Head did triple duty as a part of the story, boss fight and chaser of the player. Wielding a giant cleaver, he appeared throughout the game to torment James. He became such a prominent figure in the universe that he would also appear in the movie based off the game, for no continuity reason other than to look bad-ass.
Silent Hill 2’s gameplay also began to split from Resident Evil; most interesting would be the dual difficulty. At the start, players could select from combat and puzzle difficulty settings. Combat affected how hard enemies while puzzle determined if any hints were given and I believe it also modified the puzzles as well.
Silent Hill 2 also established a greater focus on close range combat compared to other horror titles. The main theme of the series was that the player was controlling regular joes, who didn’t bring a small arsenal with them. Guns and ammo were sparse requiring the player to go toe-to-toe with two by fours, knifes and other random armaments. Guns were preferably saved for the boss battles such as when Pyramid Head is lurching after you.
Silent Hill 2’s exploration was split between major buildings in the town, and the town itself. While players explored they could find additional clues, items and get a sense of how eerie the town is abandoned.
Sadly, the Silent Hill franchise has fallen on hard times, as each sequel failed to live up to #2. Such as: Shattered Memories, that removed combat and focus on exploration, while the latest (Silent Hill Downpour) boasted an increased focus on combat. The problem is that good horror is not focused on either extreme, which I’ll be returning to in a later entry. At least we’ll always have our memories of that magical summer were we were chased in the dark by a freak with a cleaver.
Up Next- A trip to the Emerald Isle
