18th September 2014, 6:23 PM
I'm pretty sure that massive tome you wrote qualifies you as more of an expert on SH2 than the creators were. I myself still consider it the best in the series, at first because it was the first I played, and then later because I started seeing those connecting threads.
Those sequels... I liked SH3. While I won't say it measures up to the sheer volume of threads SH2 had (oftentimes the symbolism had less to do with Heather's character and more to do with "all women deal with these fears" stuff. That's got it's place, but it did detract from the notion that the game was entirely about Heather herself. SH4 I think gets more flak than it deserves. I actually enjoyed it. The trick with that one is that the main character is supposed to be bland, both to allow one to project themselves on him, and I think it matches the theme of the game, that room. For me, the whole overarching message there was one of "hey, don't be a shut-in" to put it in the most patronizing way possible. Henry felt like he'd more or less ALREADY locked himself in that room and sealed himself away from human contact of his own choosing, only ever seeing anything through a single hole (the shutter of his camera). From the same "observer" note, he doesn't actually take part or influence the world outside his room so much as he is forced to watch Joseph's own "other world", studying his personality. SH4, to me at least, was pretty good and I actually liked it a bit better than 3, though again 2 puts those elements together better.
Origins is where the missteps started. I'd rank Origins roughly with the first game, in that both were "pretty good" but not even CLOSE to approaching what the others in the series accomplished, especially 2. Frankly, Silent Hill 1 is a bit overrated in my opinion. Don't misunderstand, I'm not saying it's bad, but well, what the hell is the symbolism behind a skinless pterodactyl? Her kid liked dinosaurs? There's not exactly much to it, and most "picking apart" of the first game tends to only accomplish "filling in" story elements from later games. Origins makes the mistake of starting the series obsession with The Order, as though that's the most important part of the game. SH2 had almost no references to that Order and was the best in the series! Let the whole "order" business die! Having played 2 first, I can safely say the town as a concept worked better when there was basically ZERO explanation for why any of that was even happening.
Shattered Memories got my hopes up. I enjoyed it for the unique takes on things. I'd say it's a pretty solid reimagining, and frankly a vast improvement on the story of the first game. SH5... sucked... at this point the complaints about that game are cliches themselves, but it's true. Shoving Pyramid Head in there served basically NO purpose, and the "shocking secrets" thing was about as forced as a later-era Shyamalan movie, raising far more plot holes than it ever filled in. Downpour... wasn't that bad though. I certainly felt very unsettled by that opening. In fact, I think the "big reveal" of that story kinda RUINED that. I think the notion of playing as a cold blooded killer, rather than someone I could feel a whole lot of empathy for, had a lot of promise. They did kinda ruin it by making his murder "understandable" though. What sort of reveal is that? There were a few corny elements, like roving cop cars filled with nurses. There had to be a better way to do something like that. All in all though, a better attempt than Homecoming. Then you've got the comics, with one particularly notorious series going so far as pretending a little ghost girl cursing up a storm counts as "disturbing". Oh, and let's not forget those movies... The best Silent Hill movie is still Jacob's Ladder, which until now has been the only story that rivaled SH2 (as it should be, really).
So, I'd say the SH series had pretty much hit a low point. It could certainly have gotten WORSE, mind you (like say if they went the Resident Evil 5/Dead Space 3 route and favored the new "co-op" element over any semblance or definition of "horror", but it had certainly lost respect in the gaming community (though... maybe that isn't saying much since there's a huge portion of the gaming community, right now, trying to get some woman to kill herself for some reason, so what the hell do I care what they think). P.T. is certainly putting things back on track, and it's as scared as I've ever been in a Silent Hill game. As to those other elements, there are strong hints of a really terrible back story behind the P.T. preview. Some don't quite put it together, but most videos show that slow dawning of players realizing that the main character may just have snapped terribly and isn't just some innocent person in a ghost house (the biggest clue? This is Silent Hill we're talking about).
The subtle clues are well done, and the way this single hallway is laid out actually reminds me of one of my favorite elements of the Myst series. That is, you can put together stories just looking at random garbage on counter tops and the floor, by seeing photos and such. This sort of thing happened in all the "ages" of Myst, so that you could put together so very much just from room clutter (namely, picking up the fights between the brothers and slowly realizing neither one is trustworthy). As the hallway repeats, it also goes for very subtle changes, so you'll notice photos just a bit further apart from each other, or a slightly thicker collection of wine bottles in the corner. That said, this has Kojima behind it, with his own special brand of "in your face subtlety", because the man is insane. These are the "I watch a lot of American movies" moments made just a little more subtle, like a creaking noise being revealed to be a swinging lamp, or a coat rack set up in JUST the right spot so that you just KEEP confusing it for a person IN a coat until you focus on it. That sort of thing. Mood building, basically, and effectively done I'll admit. Then it just gets crazy and over the top. It builds up to it, so I think it earns it, but be prepared to see a few David Lynch moments.
As to the things you've said, this "teaser" really does make sure ALL of these things tie together. It remains to be seen just how well it ties together, but it's clear that the attempt was made. Just about every part of it ties right back to the basic "theme" of it, which seems to be "the quiet desperation of the drudgery of a normal life" (while simultaneously subtly mocking that same notion). Heck, they put all sorts of bizarre hidden elements. What I thought was just Satan talking to me turned out to be a Norwegian news report on alien invasions. Sound silly? A bit, but put together with comments like "don't trust the tap water" and "Our society is rotten to the core" you get the impression it's referencing the quiet dad who's been taken in by radio talk shows about horrible conspiracies and such, anything at all to make HIM into life's main character and give him an enemy to blame/fight.
So yeah, I'd say this teaser is VERY promising and the most excited I've been for a Silent Hill game in a good long time. I kinda really hope there's no combat in the final version too. It worked so well here (and in both Amnesia games), and frankly it's not really needed to make a good horror game or tell a good story.
If you have any friends with PS4s, get them to download this thing. Play it. Play it with them, in broad daylight, while making jokes. It won't help.
Those sequels... I liked SH3. While I won't say it measures up to the sheer volume of threads SH2 had (oftentimes the symbolism had less to do with Heather's character and more to do with "all women deal with these fears" stuff. That's got it's place, but it did detract from the notion that the game was entirely about Heather herself. SH4 I think gets more flak than it deserves. I actually enjoyed it. The trick with that one is that the main character is supposed to be bland, both to allow one to project themselves on him, and I think it matches the theme of the game, that room. For me, the whole overarching message there was one of "hey, don't be a shut-in" to put it in the most patronizing way possible. Henry felt like he'd more or less ALREADY locked himself in that room and sealed himself away from human contact of his own choosing, only ever seeing anything through a single hole (the shutter of his camera). From the same "observer" note, he doesn't actually take part or influence the world outside his room so much as he is forced to watch Joseph's own "other world", studying his personality. SH4, to me at least, was pretty good and I actually liked it a bit better than 3, though again 2 puts those elements together better.
Origins is where the missteps started. I'd rank Origins roughly with the first game, in that both were "pretty good" but not even CLOSE to approaching what the others in the series accomplished, especially 2. Frankly, Silent Hill 1 is a bit overrated in my opinion. Don't misunderstand, I'm not saying it's bad, but well, what the hell is the symbolism behind a skinless pterodactyl? Her kid liked dinosaurs? There's not exactly much to it, and most "picking apart" of the first game tends to only accomplish "filling in" story elements from later games. Origins makes the mistake of starting the series obsession with The Order, as though that's the most important part of the game. SH2 had almost no references to that Order and was the best in the series! Let the whole "order" business die! Having played 2 first, I can safely say the town as a concept worked better when there was basically ZERO explanation for why any of that was even happening.
Shattered Memories got my hopes up. I enjoyed it for the unique takes on things. I'd say it's a pretty solid reimagining, and frankly a vast improvement on the story of the first game. SH5... sucked... at this point the complaints about that game are cliches themselves, but it's true. Shoving Pyramid Head in there served basically NO purpose, and the "shocking secrets" thing was about as forced as a later-era Shyamalan movie, raising far more plot holes than it ever filled in. Downpour... wasn't that bad though. I certainly felt very unsettled by that opening. In fact, I think the "big reveal" of that story kinda RUINED that. I think the notion of playing as a cold blooded killer, rather than someone I could feel a whole lot of empathy for, had a lot of promise. They did kinda ruin it by making his murder "understandable" though. What sort of reveal is that? There were a few corny elements, like roving cop cars filled with nurses. There had to be a better way to do something like that. All in all though, a better attempt than Homecoming. Then you've got the comics, with one particularly notorious series going so far as pretending a little ghost girl cursing up a storm counts as "disturbing". Oh, and let's not forget those movies... The best Silent Hill movie is still Jacob's Ladder, which until now has been the only story that rivaled SH2 (as it should be, really).
So, I'd say the SH series had pretty much hit a low point. It could certainly have gotten WORSE, mind you (like say if they went the Resident Evil 5/Dead Space 3 route and favored the new "co-op" element over any semblance or definition of "horror", but it had certainly lost respect in the gaming community (though... maybe that isn't saying much since there's a huge portion of the gaming community, right now, trying to get some woman to kill herself for some reason, so what the hell do I care what they think). P.T. is certainly putting things back on track, and it's as scared as I've ever been in a Silent Hill game. As to those other elements, there are strong hints of a really terrible back story behind the P.T. preview. Some don't quite put it together, but most videos show that slow dawning of players realizing that the main character may just have snapped terribly and isn't just some innocent person in a ghost house (the biggest clue? This is Silent Hill we're talking about).
The subtle clues are well done, and the way this single hallway is laid out actually reminds me of one of my favorite elements of the Myst series. That is, you can put together stories just looking at random garbage on counter tops and the floor, by seeing photos and such. This sort of thing happened in all the "ages" of Myst, so that you could put together so very much just from room clutter (namely, picking up the fights between the brothers and slowly realizing neither one is trustworthy). As the hallway repeats, it also goes for very subtle changes, so you'll notice photos just a bit further apart from each other, or a slightly thicker collection of wine bottles in the corner. That said, this has Kojima behind it, with his own special brand of "in your face subtlety", because the man is insane. These are the "I watch a lot of American movies" moments made just a little more subtle, like a creaking noise being revealed to be a swinging lamp, or a coat rack set up in JUST the right spot so that you just KEEP confusing it for a person IN a coat until you focus on it. That sort of thing. Mood building, basically, and effectively done I'll admit. Then it just gets crazy and over the top. It builds up to it, so I think it earns it, but be prepared to see a few David Lynch moments.
As to the things you've said, this "teaser" really does make sure ALL of these things tie together. It remains to be seen just how well it ties together, but it's clear that the attempt was made. Just about every part of it ties right back to the basic "theme" of it, which seems to be "the quiet desperation of the drudgery of a normal life" (while simultaneously subtly mocking that same notion). Heck, they put all sorts of bizarre hidden elements. What I thought was just Satan talking to me turned out to be a Norwegian news report on alien invasions. Sound silly? A bit, but put together with comments like "don't trust the tap water" and "Our society is rotten to the core" you get the impression it's referencing the quiet dad who's been taken in by radio talk shows about horrible conspiracies and such, anything at all to make HIM into life's main character and give him an enemy to blame/fight.
So yeah, I'd say this teaser is VERY promising and the most excited I've been for a Silent Hill game in a good long time. I kinda really hope there's no combat in the final version too. It worked so well here (and in both Amnesia games), and frankly it's not really needed to make a good horror game or tell a good story.
If you have any friends with PS4s, get them to download this thing. Play it. Play it with them, in broad daylight, while making jokes. It won't help.
"On two occasions, I have been asked [by members of Parliament], 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able to rightly apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question." ~ Charles Babbage (1791-1871)