I really think you brushed passed the best part of the game. Honestly the creepiest part of the game is the inside of the apartment itself. It's so quiet, and you hardly expect much to happen, but later on when shit randomly starts happening, and the tone inside gets darker, you start to really dread crawling inside the hole to go back to your apartment. The upside of putting the player back inside the bedroom everytime they go back, is that they need to work up the courage everytime to walk into the living room.

Rant/somewhat conjecture: Well, a good reason as to why the locations look so outlandish is because they're locations that are filtered through distorted perceptions of past memories of Walter. He views the apartment as his mother, which is why everything is covered in viscera and you hear the occasional heart beat throughout the building (as if in a womb). The spiral prison is no different. The actual prison is different, but you're not traversing through the real location but rather a fictional version that manifests and represents emotions/memories of the place. And one of the bigger themes of the game is vouyerism, with Henry possessing vouyeristic tendencies (i.e. spying on Eileen), so I assume that's why they tried to make his voice sound awkward (even if it didn't stick the landing). As for Walter dying and coming back as a ghost to kill the remaining sacraments in dream-like worlds, I felr that criticism was a bit odd. You may as well make the same complaint about Nightmare on Elm Street. As other commenters have stated, the team was trying to be experimental, rather than rehash what the first three games already brought to the table. I think it would have been detrimental to have the game take place in the same location that we've already been through. It adds to the mystery regarding the power of the town and how far it can reach. I will concede that it does damage to the theory that Silent Hill acts like a purgatory for wrong-doers (like in Silent Hill 2), but the same could be said for the first and third game. I honestly think the purpose of Silent Hill changes with each game, now that I think of it. Before this post gets too long (longer than it already is) I'll just say this: Silent Hill 4 feels very dreamy and Lynchian (to an extent). Characters act oddly to certain situations (like Henry reacting to the door being chained), odd voice acting that seems so unnatural but dreamy at the same time, locations having impossible layouts, and the game putting a greater emphasis on dreams/dream worlds. I guess it's a Silent Hill entry that won't appeal to someone who's used to concepts and stories being forthwith with storytelling. It's one of those games that feels like much more is going on beneath the surface and leads to everyone coming to different conclusions (almost like how Mulholland Drive's story is told almost in a similar way. You get the skeleton of the story, but you have to come to your own conclusions regarding the symbolism, imagery, and everything you didn't notice the first time). I'd Silent Hill 4 a perfect game? Absolutely not. I have my own issues with things that could have been better/better written, but it's an entry that's absolutely underrated and misunderstood. And to think a non-Team Silent team wrote this and it wasn't absolute horse shit like the later entries? That's just impressive. And 4 still is the more disturbing/horrifying entry. But that's my rant. Lol.

The reason Henry acts the way he does isn't just because he's an introvert, it's because he's dreaming for most of the game, but he's not actually getting any sleep. He remarks that he never gets hungry and he never gets thirsty, and even though he sleeps he doesn't actually feel rested. He's essentially sleep deprived when he's in the room and he's dreaming when he's not, and when you dream the rational part of your brain is turned off, causing you to not react normally to things that would typically be shocking. And when you're sleep deprived the same thing happens, your brain just isn't able to process information as well and you view the world similarly to when you're asleep. Also the game isn't really about Henry, he's just a surrogate for the player, the game's really about Walter, same as how Silent Hill 1 wasn't really about Harry, it's actually about Alessa. While Harry is admittedly a more fleshed out character than Henry, he really doesn't have much going on either during SH1, again largely because he's a surrogate for the player. I still don't care much for Henry as a character, but it's not like zero thought was put into the way he acts.

Ok but there's one very basic and very important thing SH4 does extremely well as a survival horror game: it's scary as fuck.

James's father is not the only connection to SH lore in The Room. Walter Sullivan's murders are mentioned in a newspaper slip in SH2, found in a dumpster at the Apartment Complex (and by the game show host in the elevator). This is why there is a "Twin Monster" enemy. The main character - Henry, isn't experiencing their own inner/personal nightmare (like SH 2), but instead living in someone else's nightmare. Also, I think Henry was intentionally made to having difficulty exprecing emotion, as his character is a loner and socially anxious, who prefers to watch from affar.

The Room is a thoughtful exploration of depression, isolation and voyeurism. I would disagree with placing it totally outside of the canon, in terms of its exploration of a character's psyche it is squarely in the lineage of Silent Hill 2, which also deviates from the cultic narratives of 1/3. Henry is a flat character, but that is consistent with his implicit psychological disorder. Its mechanics deviate a lot more from the formula, this is true, but I think they make sense thematically even if they are less enjoyable than in the other games (namely the escort mission as a mechanical implementation of Henry's attempt to connect to another human being). There is also interesting mirroring going on between the protagonist/antagonist. Maybe it's just me, but I also find the grungier vibe of the game to be considerably more scary than Silent Hill 1-3. Gotta disagree with this vid, The Room is a unique gem not to be missed. Debates about what qualifies as a proper sequel to an established franchise are usually sterile, and regardless of what the fans want creators get bored of making the same thing.

2:30 Avalance: "I mean sure, technically the guy grabbing everyone's coffee in the office was a contributing member of Team Silent, but I doubt very much that his involvement made or broke the series." You severely underestimate the role that coffee plays in any long term creative project. I think that if you were to talk to the members of Team Silent they would tell you that the guy who kept bringing them coffee deserves a medal.

The story of this game is incredibly underrated. I feel like it is especially poignant right now with so many people literally trapped in their own apartments.

Room will forever be my fav of the series, even with all its flaws. As someone who struggles with agoraphobia, I found the story oddly relatable

When I played all these games as a kid, SH4 was the one that scared me the most. Being stalked by unkillable ghosts made me dread leaving the apartment, but returning to the apartment after a level was even scarier, usually, thanks to the hauntings.

I'm one of the people who liked the room,i really enjoyed the strangeness of it i think

Each to their own. I really like 4. The storyline and general atmosphere is so dark. The room itself with you looking through your keyhole, out of the window etc and eventually dealing with haunting is a cool touch. And the ghosts and twins are some of the creepiest enemies in the series.

I seriously love Silent Hill 4. The soundtrack was amazing and the locations were downright creepy. The enemy designs are also some of my favourite out of the entire series. Even the sound effects used to scare me with this game. Definitely an underrated gem.

Playing this game honestly gave me a type of anxiety that other Silent Hill games couldn't. The story is honestly fucking terrifying and the twist towards the end is just fantastic and has been a irrational fear of mine. ********SPOILER********** Finding out that Walter was dead the whole time in a secret room tucked away in your apartment just scared the fuck out of me. Like it still haunts me. That and the hauntings that happen throughout the game is one of the scariest and most unique video game mechanics I've ever seen in a game. The anxiety I got from seeing one of the demons crawling through the wall was like having sleep paralysis. Overall, this game just creates a fear that just doesn't happen in other games. It's the type of fear you get when you look at an unnerving photo or piece of art. It's like extreme paranoia. It's perfect in my opinion, and it leaves a HELL of an impression, moreso than any other game in the franchise could do.

For you, as it seems, a good SH must be the same as the previous 3 ones, the plot must give answers to everything, AND canonical.... for myself, i like to think of SH as a black hole that attracts all suffering minds to "him"...

If you're confused about the locations and constructions of these environments, then you should know that these environments are actually in Walter's head/memory/dream. That's why some things look so weird. Also the cult is not actually involved with Walter anymore by the time this game takes place. Walter is trying to be reunited with his mother, but is actually performing a ritual to summon the cult's demon god without knowing it. In fact I wasn't confused by the story and notes at all. I had a pretty good idea what those notes meant even before I came to the end.

Hmm, well I always liked Henry's quiet character, it's one of the reasons I prefer this to the "blondes have more fun" shenanigans of SH3. I think it makes sense that he's so introverted, as though it's symbolic of him being trapped inside his apartment, literally and perhaps figuratively. He lives alone after all - It just seems very fitting to me. It's no SH2, but The Room is a decent game, if a little depressing (and annoying as fuck when you have to take Eileen with you while being pursued by Walter through the second half of the game). I do think it's the scariest of the lot, too. The creature design in SH4 is genuinely horrifying, the entire game I was tortured with anxiety - which is obviously not for everybody lol.

There's one major positive to this game thought I feel you missed out on. It introduced quit possibly the best musical piece in the series, Room of Angels. Whether it's with vocals or just the instrumental, it's honesty an amazingly powerful song. As to whether it fits this exact game, I can't say, but it came with this game and for that I can thank the game for it.

Out of the Silent Hill games I played, I found 4 to be the scariest. I think the way the game subverted your safe hub into something really dreadful and scary to return to later made the game extremely horrifying to play in the later chapters. It's one of the horror games that became scarier the longer you played it to me, which wasn't the case for Silent Hill 2 and 3.

i am pretty sure that the places you visit seem so much bigger and more intimidating because you are experiencing them the way Walter did when he was a kid. that "prison" was huge and isolated because that is how he saw it. that massive "killing room" that was taken straight out of a horror movie. the orphanage was one small building with a playground in the middle of a giant forest. the apartment buildings were all scary looking and had crazy stuff happening. to a kid all of this would make sense but Henry is only seeing in his nightmares the exaggerations that a child's imagination can produce, especially one that was traumatized and brainwashed. just as the saying goes how the world is so much bigger and scarier when you are a kid.

The dogs are blind. They home in on you if you run but can usually just walk right past them. Ghosts were really the only thing I run from in this game.

What do you expect? It's Silent Hill. Not everything is supposed to be spoon fed to you. You have to piece a lot of the story together yourself. It actually makes you think. It's subtle and vague. That's how the lore of Silent Hill has always been.

Room was the scariest SH for me and underrated af.

Walter Sulivan was mentioned in SH2. Maybe SH4 didn't start as silent hill game but it was changed into a silent hill game early in development in my opinion. as for core members, the director of SH2 was involved in SH4. The cult of silent hill recruited Walter from childhood and during this time the events of SH1 and SH 3 didn't happen yet.

One thing you have to give this game credit for is it didn't try to follow the same story as James Sunderland, Henry is just some guy pulled into the story just like Harry was.

Altough i do get the "it wasnt really Team Silent cuz not all original members were involved" (at least the big names) thing, i have to disagree. Where do you draw the line? Team Silent was originally led by Toyama, who left after 1, and took some members with him, so why are 2 and 3 considered TS made? Sato worked on 1 and 2, but didnt even touch 3, why does it count then? Again, where is the line drawn? Are we assuming 1-3 are that good just thanks to Sato, Owaku and Ito? As amazing as they are i think thats a bit of an unfair mindset to have towards the rest of the Team as a whole. Still, good vídeo overal m8, i just think you were a bit more biased overall on this one compared to prev ones.

The developers made those statements, but they also clarified what they meant in follow-up interviews. The project started out as a spin-off of Silent Hill that would have taken place in the same universe as Silent Hill, but feature different concepts and lore. Shortly into the development and writing process however, they realized the story they were creating was very much intertwined with Silent Hill's lore, and so they decided to make it part of the main canon of works, tying it to SH2 as well as the history of Silent Hill.

Compared to all the pretenders that came after, SH4 is still a jewel in the crown of psychological horror. It stands the test of time. Nobody cares about Downpour or Shattered Memories. This was the last True Game in the Silent Hill series. The backlash is testament to that. Still, I appreciate your critique. Honesty is a rare thing in our cruel, twisted world.

The ammount of opinions and disinformation presented here as facts is simply staggering. So much for that Tomm Hulett stuff, eh?

I absolutely loved this game when it released. It nailed the "haunting" feeling while playing SH quite perfectly. I always had the feeling I was being watched while I played The Room. It caught quite a bit of flack but I've personally always loved how this game felt like the perfect "side quest" for Silent Hill... Great video, as per usual! I would LOVE to see Alan Wake & or the Max Payne series get retrospectives on this channel.

> Tiny UI elements break the immersion. > Not being able to pause time and space while bringing up a fullscreen UI element to "think about your killing implements" when you choose items is a step back. I'm not convinced you care about immersion per se, what you seem to want is for these games all to just retain the same elements every single time, probably while making little improvements or refinements. I noticed similar arguments while watching the 7 hour RE retrospective supercut. Complaining that all the games after RE4 were too similar to RE4 and how it felt like you kept playing RE4 clones, while at the same time wanting all the games to be like RE1. You seem to really want a series to always be very similar to wherever it started, and I just can't get down with that, that to me is how a series becomes dull and dies. I hold no sacred cows for any genre or any series because the best games in those series always take me by surprise. The first Resident Evil took me by surprise because it was different than anything I'd played, and RE4 was the same. Then RE2 remake seemed to blend the two so well that it felt like an entirely new thing once more, while RE7 made more "proper" Resident Evil horror (rather than action) combat feel really good, rather than just a thing I put up with. The best games in any series never seem to give me what I want, they give me what I need, and based on how they always seem to surprise me, all I know I need is something new, even if it sometimes isn't as good. A refinement here or there (original RE2 for example) can also be fantastic, but beyond that, I love when developers try new things.

I've never heard of anyone who struggled as hard with grasping the basics of this game as you did.

What you’re referring to it’s not the orphanage around minute 9, it’s the water prison, a disused water treatment facility shaped like a giant concrete cylinder. This facility is actually mentioned in SH3, in a document by Joseph. What you have to remind yourself is that Henry is visiting Walter’s nightmare world and more than likely the look of the facility in Walter’s nightmare world is exaggerated in comparison to its real counterpart, especially because he was locked in there as a child several times and there’s trauma involved with it in his subconscious. Just like there’s no saying the prison in SH2 is actually like that since that part of the game is literally James descending and getting deeper into his own psyche. Also, Henry is supposed to be a big introvert & socially awkward, so his traits explain his reactions, although bad voice acting & direction is also involved as to why he’s so bland but there’s clear intent from the Production team to show you that’s he’s an introvert & socially awkward. This is no dig but I feel like you didn’t understood big chunks of the game & understandably so, the story while great is a little bit more complicated than previous games but after everything dissected it does not contradict the prior 3 games and actually adds more lore to them. Another thing, the ritual plan was put into motion, as in brainwashing little Walter before the events of SH1, so I don’t understand your comment of the cult being weakened after Harry & Heather dealing with them, that comment of yours would make sense if the ritual plan started after SH3, but it didn’t. Regardless of the cult getting weaker, Walter continued the plan due to his personal goal of reuniting with his mother and not because he had any links left to the cult or by the cult’s demand. Also, this is no dig to your work. I like your videos and they’re very well put together and you generally have a great script and good understanding of Silent Hill lore and games but I feel like you misunderstood big chunks of this game and this is one of those games that can only be fully appreciated in its right context. Give it a few more tries in the future, might be a fun one to revisit and maybe produce a part 2 to this video. Keep up the good work!

for me, Silent Hill 4 is still part of the official Silent Hill Family; it might be the black sheep but it still feels more like a silent hill unlike Homecoming and Downpour

I know "Silent Hill 4" did not start as a Silent Hill game, but I think it ended up as one very nicely. SH 1 and 3 were the start and conclusion to the main story, and SH 2 was one individual's experience in the town, but SH 4 was the town reaching beyond its own boundaries to infect other places, like a spreading infection. After SH 4, all the games were a rehash of SH 2.

This game traumatised me the most of all the SH games when I was younger, thanks to the ghost/victim enemies of the game. I can still remember the vivid nightmares this game caused. Coming from a guy who loves the horror genre and has played practically every horror game released to consoles. 😂

I hated parts of this game too, but I can't help but feel like you commented on a lot of things without fully understanding it, at least not as deeply as the prior games. So much of the game's world is built on Walter Sullivan's traumatic experiences throughout his life- the orphanage, the prison, etc. His obsession with finding his mother also runs throughout the game, too, hence the weird umbilical cords in each of the areas. It's really clear on a first play through, but maybe I'm remembering things through rose tinted glasses. I'm also surprised that you didn't discuss the ghosts. That was one of the biggest changes in this game compared to other Silent Hills but it goes unmentioned.

Though few of your criticisms are right. But you kept bashing the game for it's problems in an extremely long 41 minute review. You missed out on positives. 1- First one is ghosts they can't be killed they look quite terrifying, creppy music starts when you are near them and they also deplete your health. 2-Environments may have weak lightning but are quite well designed for horror game. Few areas within each world are quite scary such as basement in subway, few hospital rooms, apartment underworld version. 3-Hauntings in 2nd half is one amazing addition. Apartment which you consider safe in 1st half becomes a threat in 2nd half. It doesn't replenish health and a new haunting awaits you every time you revisit it for inventory management. Many hauntings are quite scary. 4-Ghosts of victims who died in front of Henry specially Cynthia's ghost is fucking nightmare. 5-Monsters such as Twin victims, monster which comes out of wall my favorite. Other monsters are stupid and have funny sounds. Lastly game has flaws because it had a very rushed development cycle of around 1 year so this did not give team sufficient time to optimise stuff.

Your description of the "dream worlds" being too fantastical is very reductionist to me, as is the idea of reducing them to "dreams". What makes the otherworld in 1, 2, and 3 any different? I'm sure that the Orphanage doesn't really look like that, just like Toluca Prison obviously looks nothing like what we explore in SH2. Just because people are seemingly teleported into them makes it different? Every environment in 4 barring the Forest is on a level of surreal beyond the areas in other games, it's more like it's Otherworld for the entire game. Also, saying that it has "nothing to do with the series elements" when it's a psychological horror game primarily focused on the psychology of a serial killer and a man who never leaves his apartment with the backdrop of an occult ritual to manifest a terrible god? Quite frankly I do not think you gave this game's story as much focus and effort to explore as you did for 1-3, especially 3. Most of what you said about it's inconsistencies and "lack of explanation" is wrong, you just missed it.

How is SH4 not meant to be a SH game if back in SH2 there are mentions to Walter Sullivan and the murder of the twins? All true SH fans knows that. Also "There was a hole here, its gone now" in that cafeteria that looks so much like the second area of SH4? Change the title to "Silent Hill 4 The Room: SH RANTrospective". Because that's what this video is: 40 mins of ranting and nitpicking.

Also, if you actually did your research and paid attention to the games as you played them, you'd know there's a memo in Silent Hill 3 that SPECIFICALLY mentions the orphanage in the woods AND the tall cylindrical water prison tower that ARE BOTH IN SILENT HILL 4.

Man, I usually like your stuff but im gonna have to disagree with you on some things. 1. It was always meant to be a Silent Hill game, and it's been canonically referenced in 2 and 3. Team Silent literally couldn't work on it because it was made around the same time as 3, with less time and lower budget for Konami's profit. And they've spoken again and again that they wanted to make it something new and not repeat the same formula. Plus quotes everywhere about it: 'In a sense this is true because the game began life as simply Room 302. However, it was always at least a spin-off of Silent Hill and the most important thing was simply that it be different to the previous games. Certainly if Silent Hill had not existed we would not have gotten the idea for The Room, so in that sense they have always been together.' -Interview with Masashi Tsuboyama and Akira Yamaoka. 2. Walters actually a ghost, and everywhere Henry visits is a concoction of his psyche. Thats why its all called Walter's Otherworlds, its all his either warped childlike rememberance or manifested trauma linked to those places, especially something as traumatic as the Water Prison. There's kid Walter, there's Ghost Walter, then there's actually dead Walter sealed in your wall. And the rumored one that was arrested, but Joseph cleared that it was a possessed decoy that killed himself later. 3. The cult was pretty big, especially when Claudia and Vincent revived it, and there were sects. Some sects were even opposing eachother. 4. Henry is a socially anxious, possibly has something neurodivergent, and traumatized. He has no friends, no family that checks in on him when he disappears. He's kind of a mirror of Walter in that way, except he helps everyone he comes across despite it. The story isnt about him, as much as a vehicle we see Walter's story through. 5. Them making your apartment a safe healing haven only go there halfway through the game to stop being healed and get your ass haunted was an AMAZING move. Anyway, I didnt wanna be one of those ranting commentors but its hard when some stuff is factually wrong. You're not wrong about the shitty sides of the gameplay. But this story was bomb af and you shouldn't disregard it just because its not a copy of 1-3. This is some of the best the series has to offer.

There is a way to make it fit sense in Silent Hill canon. Walter’s 21 Sacraments was the original plan and Alyssa was the back up, the Cult planed this before Alyssa was born. It also means that even if the cult is dead Walter is still going through with the plan not because he cares for the cult but because he just wants to see his mother. PS. I didn’t think of this on my own, I watched another series talk about the entire Silent Hill series and they had this revelation.

You're tearing me apart Eileen! It's bullshet, I did not hit her. I did not. Oh hai Walter

Your complaints about this game being so different from the rest of the series is essentially why Konami keeps giving us the same recycled format of following Silent Hill 2 beat by beat. Silent Hill 4 was great and had the same tone as the rest of the games. I love that they were doing something different and yes the cult is in the game - Walter Sullivan was essentially a backup plan to Alessa birthing the god.

Aside from Silent Hill 2, this is my favorite Silent Hill game and one of the best horror games that a lot of people don’t talk about. I feel like the escort mechanics and replaying the levels twice that turned people off but I thought not only was it a terrifying game but entertaining and had me on the edge of my seat the entire game. Also this game might be the scariest SH overall except maybe SH3. If you’re a horror fan then you HAVE to check this game out. It’s on PS2 and the original Xbox.

Those two headed babies that point at you are the scariest enemies in any Silent Hill game, maybe the scariest in any horror game. They freak me the fuck out man.

I love your reviews but this one was totally biased. I get that if the game seems boring to you you are not gonna be that invested on it but mate you are not just playing the game you are reviewing it so please talk about all the game has to offer and not only the bad. You didn't mention the ghost and the sword mechanic, all the nasty stuff that happens to your apartment after the second half, how you need to take care of Eyleen or even commented on the gunplay or bosses. This was totally unprofessional and SH4 deserves another review, you think the game is bad and you wouldn't recommend playing I really don't mind I also find this game the worst of the bunch but only pointing out the bad is not fair to the game.

Unpopular opinion but SH4 is my favorite in the franchise. Definitely not the most polished or complete game in the series, and it sure made some odd choices, but I feel it is a game that was very ahead of its time in terms of story and atmosphere, which is why it has aged very well and gathered a sort of "cult following" (me included). PT is the most obvious example of how the room became very influential with time, many of its concepts were used and adapted on PT. Not only it has the best and most interesting story in the series with a amazing shift of protagonist (where the protagonist is actually the villain), but the best atmosphere of all. Its actually the only SH I felt genuinely scared while playing. It was not a pleasant or funny experience, but a rather oppressive one. There's not one bit of ludonarrative dissonance in this game Essay over I just love SH4 ok please leave me

In my opinion, SH4 has one of the weirdest, most Lynchian and alien narratives/atmospheres in a Silent Hill game, and it's worth playing for that reason alone. Obviously it's rough around the edges with burping monkeys and shit but after the Western SH releases just modeled themselves after the fan favorite Silent Hill tropes, I'm personally glad we have a weirdo entry like SH4, it's pretty crazy that something like this exists at all to me.

"What part of Silent Hill is supposed to house this huge towering orphanage? According to the lore of the game, this orphanage does exist in Silent Hill, but does it only exist in the dream world? Because otherwise I think we would have noticed the thing that spirals into the clouds. And if so, how the hell are they getting kids in there?" Okay, one, its name is "Water Prison World", so it's not an orphanage, it's a prison that the cult have likely repurposed to hold misbehaving kids from the actual orphanage (which we see in Forest World). I expect it's located somewhere in Toluca Lake, probably nearish the orphanage, and they likely get kids in there by boat. It's only five stories, it hardly "spirals into the clouds", but as for why we've never noticed it, I feel like it's the same reason you can't see much of anything else in Silent Hill: the lake is covered in a dense fog. According to the wiki, people outside the cult think the prison is a water treatment facility, which I guess explains why nobody thinks it's weird that it's there. Of course this raises the question of why there are two separate prisons in Toluca Lake, this one and the one we visit in Silent Hill 2, but I'm not going to get into that right now.

1:25 Konami wanted to make a spin-off. But then desided to scrap the project and make a Silent Hill game with a bit newer aspects. So it was susposed to be a Silent Hill game.

I can't imagine likening over two dozen talented programmers and artists to "the guy who gets everybody coffee" just because I don't like their game/want to downplay their relevance to the overall team that worked on the series.

I thought that the concrete tower in 4 was mentioned in 2 or 3 where a reporter talked about how the cult had a large circular building.

I think its pretty unfair to judge SH4 on the basis of "it was never meant to be a Silent Hill game" when really, that change was so early in development that its almost irrelevant (Mr. Konami didnt just arrived one day, saw a nearly finished game and said "yeah, can you make it a SH game now?"). Also, the game was always going to be linked to SH anyway even if it stayed as "Room 302" cuz it was always meant to be a sort of spin off of the series and born from a desire to try smth different with the SH formula.

The plot is still very honest J-horror to me, different from the crappy western Silent Hill games down the line. It has big problems sure, but the premise with the Room itself is so interesting to me.

The game is called Silent Hill 4. It was officially launched as Silent Hill 4. So what if it originally wasn't going to be part of the series? It doesn't make it any less of an entry, just like Nintendo officially released Super Mario Bros 2 despite the original game being nothing like a Mario game. Fact is fact. This game is SH4. Deal with it

This video title should have been "All the errors and things I didn't like about SH4"

I don't think the Orphanage actually looked like that in Silent Hill, it most likely was an interpretation of Walter's feelings about that horrible place.

Silent Hill 4 is an underrated scary game

Here is the obigatory silent hill 4 was always supposed to be silent hill 4, the rumor that it was supposed to be another game but got changed to one was based on an translation error, comment you where looking for.

Cynthia Velasquez is just a normal girl (woman) she's acting the way she is because she believes it's just a dream

The reason for the water prison thing is that everything you encounter is from the perspective and trauma of how Walter sees the world. The further you get the more you learn the significance of the areas you end up in to Walter. That is why the prison seems impossibly tall. To Walter, at the time he was there it probably was huge and scary. Where in reality the actual prison was probably just from the first floor to the roof. I think of the worlds as walking around memories in Walter's head. You are limited to what he remembers and experienced in that area.

this is not an impartial review

Say what you want man, but I think Walter Sullivan's backstory/motivations were realer than any of the characters in the past games. And is actually one of the most tragic stories to come out of this series (after james' of course). Most of it is told through old journals and newspapers though.. but I like that investigative aspect of the game too. You actually feel like you are peeking into the mind of this horrible serial killer everytime you explore the "nightmare world" and pick up information about his crimes and his past. You think you are about to go face to face with a monster but in the end, all you find is an extremely lonely and horribly abused man-child who just wants to be with his mom... It's actually an awesome and effective abstract storytelling, perfectly in line with the rest of the Silent Hills. But you really have to look at it as its own game, with its own world, without certain preconceptions of what it has to be, to really appreciate it.

SH4 is the second best SH, right after SH2. It's the most anxiety inducing, creepiest and uncomforting SH game there is. The main reason SH2 is better imo is due SH2 having a better story and characters.

Your videos are more often than not fantastic, but every once in a while you get on a little whining spree and let your biases cash checks your ass can't back up with logic. This one's a big no from me, dawg. Also seems weaselly to give the big heart to all the comments that explicitly agree with your take, rather than ones that are well-reasoned despite which side (if any) they come down on - it exposes a bit of vanity.

Idk I think the room is probably the scariest in the series

Love your reviews but I just wanna say that as a "spin off/not a SH in spirit" it is MUCH BETTER than any of the western Silent Hill games. Art style alone, it's a feast.

While I do love the story that Silent Hill 1 and 3 tell, the whole "evil cult trying to summon satan" concept generally doesn't really resonate with me, personally. I'm a fan of this series for games like Silent Hill 2 and 4, and also Shattered Memories is surprisingly excellent (though seriously flawed, but then it's a Wii game). I would say that Silent Hill 4 does a lot of things well, and a lot of things poorly, and I personally think that the good parts far outweigh the bad. The premise is enough to sell the game for me: locked in your room, able to observe the outside world without affecting it, and you can travel freely to and from various dream worlds where you and other people are being hunted by Freddy Krueger. Meanwhile your room can be haunted in various ways that you need to deal with, and puzzles include going back to the room to do something mundane like washing grime off a coin or getting a bottle of chocolate milk to bring back to the dream world. This concept is just massively appealing to me, and they execute on it pretty damn well I think. So at least in my opinion, problems like clunky gameplay, a nonexistent protagonist, most of the plot and lore being provided through contextless text dumps, and even the entire second half of the game being one big escort mission backtrack-fest, aren't problematic enough to ruin my enjoyment of the premise and story on display here. I know for a fact that a lot of people agree with me, and a lot of people disagree. No accounting for taste, I guess.

This sounds more like a "RANT" than a "Retrospective"...

You're too critical of every game not related to the story of 1 & 3.

I’d have to slightly disagree with you on this game. I really liked the story premise of the game, it had a sense of despair to it. Also, I really enjoyed the environments in this game

Yes SH4 was originally conceived as a different game. But almost all stuff you'll find about it's production is in referring to it as a Silent Hill game. So clearly the decision to make it an SH game happened extremely early in it's production life and it's not worth talking about it like it's not one

I'm not new to Silent Hill and I didn't grow tired of the first three games. I love this game. One of my favorite horror games ever

I love how these die hard SH fans throw shit at this game. It only shows how closed minded and limited they are to understand horror. This is my favorite Silent Hill game, and yes it has flaws, but I've never played a game that's perfect either. These morons always complaining about the story and gameplay not being like the previous ones. Developers eventually get bored of making the same thing, that's why there's always new things that need to be brought into the table. Why do we need another SH1 or another SH3? SH4 it's completely different and that's what makes it an amazing game. Also I'm tired of people complaining about gameplay in horror games. Survival horror games are supposed to be hard to play!! You are trying to survive!!! I play games to get a sense of fun and satisfaction after going through all the challenges, that's what makes it memorable. If you can't do anything else but bitch about it, the game is not bad, you just SUCK at it!

This game isn’t as bad as he’s saying.. the problem with so many reviewers these days is their blinding love for the originals which will make future gameplay changes or different narrative choices deal breakers for them

I never understood the idea that SH4 was not meant to be a SH game. this is blatantly false. evidence for this is both in the games themselves and behind the scenes footage/interviews of Team Silent. In SH2 you can find newspapers referring to Walter Sullivan(SH2 came out years before SH4). and watching the making of SH3 you can see renders of Walter Sullivan on the computers in the Team Silent Office. So yeah, Silent Hill 4 WAS always meant to be a Silent Hill game and was being made as far back as Silent Hill 2 - 3. Fake News.

For anyone watching this video to decide if SH4 is worth your time, I would look elsewhere. I happened to like the game, and it's fine if you don't, but a lot of the criticism here is pretty nitpicky and paints an incomplete picture of the game, imo. Check it out on your own and decide for yourself. It's not the kind of game I think you can get a feel for by listening to someone else talk about it. Watch a bit of a playthrough of it if you have to, seriously.

I feel like there's too much bias going into these Retrospectives nowadays. Still not too bad of a watch though.

team silent literally said the room was originally a silent hill game

This just in devil may cry is actually a resident evil game because thats what was intended when they started production.

I enjoy your videos, dude, but this has to be the worst Silent Hill 4 review I've seen. It seems like you let a lot of your personal bias against this game get in the way of properly criticizing it.

Silent Hill 4 has a magnificent, twisted, and unique story. I think you and I played a different game.

This game, while frustrating in a lot of ways, is the closest things to feeling like I’m stuck in a David Lynch movie.

I'm not saying this is a bad game, I just personally didn't care for the story and to be honest my favorite feature of this game by far is peering out the window of your apartment and watching the busy street in the distance and the back of the other apartment building across resembling the set of " Rear Window"

SH 1 = cult and tormented little girls dream world SH 2 = ppl have symbolic reasons bringing them to the town where they "face their demons" SH 3 = tries to clarify Cannon from the first game and doing it's best to expand and innovate SH 4 = a spin off story combining both the second and first games narrative nuances along with the it's competition RE game mechanics PT = all the nuances of SH 4 that ppl didn't pick up on with a division between game narrative and story narrative At one point in the video it's said that the rooms game mechanics can be found in future games... Innovation is messy

Without the bad choices of controls, menus, and other flaws that just feel silly... this is actually a very good game. It's just held back by these little things that slow it down or make it feel painfully awkward at times.

This game scared the shit outta me

In my opinion it was the scariest silent hill imo and the story was awesome

I know people who are extreme introverts who act and sound exactly like Henry. He’s more realistic than you think and added to the atmosphere.

Folks, don't skip SH4, it is a good title. Best to be played as a lofi game so no widescreen hacks and HD, grab a PS2 emulator and set it to native resolution and 4:3 and play like this. Seriously these games are the equivalent of watching a VHS tape, take them for what they are. Also best to be completed with the bad ending (21 sacraments). Let Eileen get wrecked and let your flat get haunted. Embrace the horror and the insanity. That's when the game shines. This is a true SH game as in you get a story of a personal trauma that fleshes out a minor character from the previous games while neatly tying it to SH lore. The antagonist is the focus of the story like in SH1. The protagonist is a bit of an everyman just like Harry in SH1 and although the game is set elsewhere for the major part you do get to explore the orphanage in the woods which is on the Toluca Lake so you get a new location in Silent Hill. Been steering away from this for years because of reviews like this but now decided to give it a go and completed it yesterday and this game is fantastic and definitely worth immersing yourself into. If you're on the fence but love analog horror you'll love this game it definitely should be considered SH canon.

I have this game for the PS2 and still haven't finished it and I really should finish, but goddamn it still is terrifying to me to still play it nowadays and I'm in my mid 30's.

9:00 You find it hard to suspend your disbelief cause there are wormholes that take you to a dreamworld even after Silent Hill 3 where Heather defeats a god by hitting it in the face with a katana or an iron pipe? Yeah I already don't like this video. It's too hard to take it seriously when you're saying stuff like this.

It's been quite awhile since I played it, but if I'm remembering correctly, if you treat SH4 like David Lynch's work - where you aren't really going to get any joy or closure if you try and interpret the story - it isn't really going to be a positive experience. SH4 to me is just like a fever dream, I enjoyed it that way.

Silent hill 4 is my favorite in the series and my favorite horror game. I wish that more people talked about this interesting and unique game. It’s fun to discuss it.

This game is actually my favourite of the series. Scared the crap out of me. It just oozes atmosphere

Am i the only one who really liked this game especially the way the game gets you to care about Eileen to the point where it shocks you when something happens to her. The thing that annoyed the fuck out of me is the ghosts that need tobe pinnend to the ground with a knife.

The Room is probably the scariest Silent Hill for me. While others have to go to Silent Hill, The Room brings that horror to the place that you think is the safest place you can get. Intro cutscene also terrifies, especially when that fking Twin Victim runs toward you.

Despite its faults, I consider SH4 to be the most tense and terrifying in the series. A big difference that I noticed between my own experience with the game and yours is that you seem to have fought monsters a lot more often than I did. In my own play-through, I reserved ammo early on specifically for Sniffer Dogs, and ran past the majority of slower enemies. Please don't misunderstand, this is absolutely not me bashing you, but it says a lot about how you approached the game with the fact that you attempted to attack the wheelchairs, and how much time you spent attacking the Wall Men. It absolutely has some jank here and there (especially in the lighting department), but I hope one day you revisit this title with a different mindset.