Team Silent's Divisive Swan Song | Silent Hill 4 Review

[@BoulderPunch]

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[@Clairevalintine]

"I did not kill her, it's not true... I did not kill her, I did not... Oh hi, Henry!" -Walter Sullivan, Silent Hill 4: The Room (2004)

[@rickynguyen5108]

It's like Walter was in his own little world in his head before Henry came into his view.

[@jagpro91]

"Hahaha, what a story Henry."

[@Ledriel]

I hate that I know this reference even though I've never seen it xD

[@necrosadotor]

u should it's great@@Ledriel

[@kittyjeany]

​@@Ledrielyou absolutely should. Its so bad, its unironically amazing entertainment

[@silentd.5806]

I always felt Henry was able to use the tunnels because he was inside of Walter’s “mother” since he lived in the room. So in essence, he’s like a brother in Walters mind, or connected to him like an umbilical cord

[@izzyalistair]

Yeah that's how I interpreted it as well

[@johngleue]

He meets others that have used the tunnels though while in Walter's world.

[@silentd.5806]

@James Sunderlandtl;dr, I played the game and disagree with your theory :)

[@dvdemon4208]

Dude I totaly thought tht too before thts why Walter isn't as intimidating to him for a while he's just creepy til second hailf which people say because he gets in the way of the 21 sacraments but it's because him and Eileen's the last of the sacraments.

[@nickl9317]

That’s pretty interesting and also super gross They do mention that Walter thought Room 302 was his mother. The fact you can climb in and out of her through a hole is a bit on the nose and freudian af but it’s actually an interesting theory. Probably just something they came up with to get you out of the locked room but hey, I’m all for psychosexual horrible stuff in my psych horror games

[@AvalancheReviews]

If SH3's level of detail and lighting combined with the Room's amazing 3d models and textures, we'd have a damn marvel.

[@derealized797]

I've been playing through the SH games again, and right now I'm playing 2. I was always unsure about 4, i think because expectations got in the way. I did get the first silent hill game right when it came out so i was just used to things being a certain way. There's a few i missed. Which I'm also going to give a shot now, Origins and shattered memories. Homecoming not so much.

[@BoulderPunch]

Too bad Konami farmed the series out west afterwards.

[@VergilHiltsLT]

Try the PS2 version! It looks miles better than this. No joke, they ported this off on PC and Xbox, thus the game's lighting was completely screwed. Everything looks so washed-out and flat on PC, yuck.

[@rohambahraee]

Look who's here, Love you Jared. Have you moved to Japan?

[@INFILTR8US]

is this supposed to be a complete sentence

[@artcrime2999]

The pointing rabbit detail is actually a continuation of another spooky event. Before she is attacked; when Braintree is being electrocuted, little Walter points out the window to Eileens room. In the "real world" you see adult Walter in Braintrees room doing the pointing. After Eileen is attacked the bunny then points to you, as in to say you are the next victim.,

[@Impalingthorn]

I always felt like this game got way more shit than it deserved. It had stock sound effects, but it also had great sound effects in other places such as the ghosts or anytime one is crawling through a wall. It had an escort mission, but it's about the least intrusive one because Eileen can actually beat some ass. You do not visit the actual town center of Silent Hill, you do however take portals to places all around Silent Hill itself and the town's cult plays a massive part in the story. "Experimental" is a key word here, the game did not wanna take the Silent Hill 3 route of pumping out the same style game and either repeating the plot of 2 or 1, something EVERY game past 4 tried and failed to do. When the chips were down, they took a risk. Some of it paid off, some of it didn't.

[@slaviclad9705]

Finally someone paid attention to the story instead of whining about unkillable ghost and limited inventory

[@kg7241]

This game actually scared me a lot more than the other 3 and that’s something I didn’t think I’d ever say because I love the other 3

[@Induna123]

The jaguar and monkey huffing sounds were a bit weird to use as too the burping but the rest of it was great.

[@YeTheGOATNoCap]

The burping monsters was peak game design.

[@Scorpio_Rising_1]

I think Henry is more of an introvert and socially awkward than a blank slate for the player. In a odd way he’s one of the most interesting main characters in the franchise.

[@zlodrim9284]

True, there's a lot of small details that add characterization to him scattered throughout the apartment, but he's not remotely as interesting as the previous 3 protagonists and it's understandable why fans didn't take to him initially.

[@idlehour]

I think hes on some heavy lithium

[@2013HORSEMEATSCANDAL]

his ass is 100% autistic

[@casedistorted]

Honestly the scariest thing about Silent Hill 4 was the intro demo sequence that was so brilliantly edited together. That sequence alone scared me so bad I couldn’t play the game. I would fall asleep with the game on the main menu and that sequence would play over and over in my dreams and give me nightmares. Jesus lll

[@acehood9953]

I would never be able to sleep with that cutscenes on repeat.

[@Evilatem]

Honestly, the only bad thing about this game is the inability to kill/stop the ghosts from following you everywhere. I enjoyed the Henry's apartment in Silent Hill 4 as it's similar to Fatal Frame 3's daytime sections where the house slowing becomes "haunted" overtime when you return from the dreamscape. I like the way it plays with idea that the "safe place" is no longer a place of comfort and safety to the player.

[@serenseitcean2051]

They are similar with Dream concept

[@dorpth]

Except nothing spooky really happened inside the house of Fatal Frame 3. Every once in a while you got a ghost quickly disappear, but that was it. I was expecting things to eventually go crazy and the house to eventually become a dangerous place, but it never happened. To me, all it did was break up the feeling of being trapped like the first two games did well.

[@daftcruz]

You can stop 5 of the ghosts with the Sword of Obedience. I also disagree about this, if you could kill the ghosts it would eliminate the tension and a lot of the rooms would be completely empty.

[@liplepeoberty5815]

@@daftcruzI gotta be honest even though I know you can stop them with swords, the game doesn’t introduce this mechanic well imo. When I beat them down they woke up quickly, I tried to use swords near them in that split second but didn’t work, turns out that’s just how it meant to be. SH4 would be much better if these details were fixed and polished. I also don’t understand why the default option of every interactive objects (use the key, collecting recovery items) in the game is “No”.

[@MartyEliBowerMusic]

This is still a really good silent hill game despite being a departure from the first 3

[@Elijah_Markin]

It's the best of the four, in my opinion. The most original, for sure.

[@demon_hawkeye5269]

Frankly being a departure was a good thing, people need to remember that SH2 basically did the same thing with being a completely different approach story wise and only keeping the base concepts of the original.

[@izzyalistair]

This used to be my favorite silent Hill, and it still ranks quite highly for me. Imo it's definitely the creepiest

[@shawklan27]

The room where you see the girlfriends face engulf the entire place and the fact that the room you think you're safe in slowly turns more and more organic just distrubs me to no end!

[@izzyalistair]

@@shawklan27 there's some room hauntings that actually made me scream out loud, SH4 was great at making you not trust a safe place

[@themanwhosoldtheworld3284]

@@izzyalistair The portrait haunting, no doubt.

[@Problemdarklight]

This game is underrated

[@gRinchY-op5vr]

So glad you addressed the madness that was the circumcision wiki debacle, I've only seen a couple channels touch on it until now 😂

[@rayegincho]

i like the game. it definitely feels like a different game compared to the first three, but i never hated it. after SH ended up the way it did, i started appreciating what it had to offer a lot more though.

[@RedSpade37]

Sorry for the later comment, but I had a similar experience: SH4 was actually my first SH game, and I thought it was amazing! So then I went back and played the first three and I was like, "Well, maybe it wasn't as good as I thought" But going back and replaying it, and then comparing it to "Latter-Day Silent Hill" I certainly think it's great once again.

[@AndyKazama2]

The most effective part of the game for me was the ghosts. Spooky Japanese ghost is why I love games like Fatal Frame

[@TheGhostButterfly]

The Room is my second favourite after SH2, I love it because it is different. I remember after playing SH3 all those years ago and wanting something a little different and they delivered for the most part. I know this will be hard for people to understand, but there is no "Team Silent" People tend to think Team Silent was one collective team with one vision, but in reality each game had actually had very few of the same members working on each of them, Akira being the exception. thegamingmuse has a wonderful video explaining this romanticized idea of a singular team which I highly recommend giving a watch :)

[@jessesainthimmel]

One of my most vivid memories of playing silent hill games was a pet store in the building world in this game with a bunch of cages that had no animals but there was a cacophony of barking dogs and cats. It was very bizarre. SH4 is full of things that aren't outright scary but are "off' and stick in your mind for a long time

[@Abel_Unstable]

One of my friends said "Henry represents us as a gamer. An introvert guy, a very awkward dude who always being a creep and love peeking at neigbours apartment."

[@artcrime2999]

Only Henry can see the holes because he is the receiver of wisdom, he has to be informed of Walters backstory and understand the ritual and all the exposition that goes with it

[@matthewwelles8422]

You're my favorite game review/commentary channel I've found in the last year. Ive really thought about all the ones I watch and I just prefer everybody do their videos like yours. Your voice, your tone, the way you go about detailing the story in addition to on screen. Informative, entertaining, exciting and relaxing, you nail it everytime man

[@BoulderPunch]

Thanks!

[@vasilykovalenko697]

Agree 100%

[@Artesian_mirage]

@@BoulderPunch "...Your voice, your tone, the way you go about detailing the story in addition to on screen... just your hair and clothes are different."

[@Ryu_Kage.]

​@@Artesian_miragemy names Maria

[@Camelotsmoon]

15:57 not gonna lie, the first time I played that I totally expected a jump scare there.. it still always gets me everytime lol.

[@mediawez]

I believe you might be wrong about there not being fog in areas of the game, it seems to be more prominent on the PS2 version than the PC. Not as important or noticeable as in other games but it's there. Great video regardless and had even some information I wasn't aware of, even though Silent Hill 4 used to be my favorite for a long time, and my introduction to the series.

[@VergilHiltsLT]

Yes! The PS2 version is way better-looking, even the characters' hair textures were botched on PC. It's also more colourful, has better textures and audio, while PC is compressed. I've only been playing this game since 2007 to know this.

[@Elijah_Markin]

​@@VergilHiltsLT "The PS2 version is way better-looking," Or so you think, sony fan boy :) No, they're pretty much the same. The PC version's simply a lot glitchier + it supports much higher resolutions (including wide-screen in the new GOG release).

[@VergilHiltsLT]

@@Elijah_Markin How am I a fanboy for posting facts? PC and Xbox are ports from the PS2 original, that is a fact. Hence they're worse. Not my problem if you have boomer eyesight. Do you want me to make a comparison video? PC is literally using inferior assets, has worse lighting all around, downgraded audio, worse shadows (hard instead of soft), glitchy depth of field, missing self-shadows, washed out colours and bad contrast. Even the noise effect has been downgraded. The inside of Room 302 looks awful on PC due to lack of shadows and shading on surfaces. The impression is that there's no light source. I know this because I played the PC version for years, how does that make me a Sony fanboy exactly? :) 1:20 the lamp is supposed to glow and there should be way more fog, on PC it's just a texture without any effects. Looks terrible. 2:16 broken depth of field results in ghosting effect on Henry (double vision). 6:04 room looks completely dull and lifeless. Blurry textures, lamps don't cast light, and surface shading is non-existent. You can also get widescreen on PS2 with a patch, or PCSX2. PC is no exception here, lol. You said it yourself, PC version is glitchier and even removed some hauntings from the game. It is lackluster in every aspect.

[@Elijah_Markin]

@@VergilHiltsLT the glitches have been fixed in the later patches. Nope, I've never had any vision problems. But I've always had my own (my own) opinion on things, I don't just repeat after the crowd like you SH/Sony fanboys do. The fact is that the fully-patched PC version looks better because of high-resolution/wide-screen support. Maybe it does miss some minor shadows here and there but the difference is almost unnoticeable, unless you're a frustrated fanboy and are specifically looking for imperfections :) Higher resolutions are far more important for modern screens, and consoles suck in this department. As usual :) Cope and hope, fanboy ;)

[@VergilHiltsLT]

@@Elijah_Markin Lol, they haven't been fixed, the things I listed are still there, on top of many others. You can't fix the inferior lighting which affects the entire look of the game. That's not just a minor detail when your game looks like it was rinsed with bleach. I don't repeat anything, I'm stating facts and support them with evidence. I've played the PC version for a full decade, thus know everything by hand. And there's more where that came from, a full-on comparison video is coming soon. :) Again, I played the PC version for almost 10 years, only to figure how poor it looks compared to the PS2 original, same goes for Xbox, but it's your own loss. Enjoy your compressed audio and FMVs. Higher resolutions can be achieved with OSSC and PCSX2 emulator, which supports up to 8K. But what's the point of having such high resolutions when your game is blurry, has ugly 17-year-old textures and washed out, with low quality assets that look like rat piss (PC version)? You can enjoy the lack of details and effects further emphasised by super duper resolutions, lol. I like how you refer to me as a SH fanboy when you're playing the same game. Truly braindead mental gymnastics right here. Oh, and I only have a custom built Ryzen 7 3700X, GTX 1080 Ti and 32 GB of DDR4 RAM, I guess that makes me a PC fanboy too, amirite? :) Keep being delusional, I suggest sobering up from that cheap cologne.

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

I played this myself earlier in the year and frankly I've never played a more interesting terrible game. The whole idea of moving between levels and the apartment and how the game screws with that formula is extremely interesting on top of the whole story actually being pretty dark and twisted. It's just very difficult to recommend to people because of the sheer unplayability of it all. Compared to SH1 / 2 / 3 which I feel really anyone could intuitively feel out - The Room is just a lot more obtuse and frustrating.

[@clayr6724]

Agreed. I just replayed the PC version and the camera in the game is trying to kill you constantly. Add to that the escort mission and tight spaces, it’s a rough time. I also replayed SH2 and 3 recently and they don’t really suffer from these problems. SH4 is a very interesting bad game.

[@slaviclad9705]

Its not a bad game, its just different yes the game can give a bad first impression,but its not that bad i think the core gameplay is pretty much the same as the others before it, just dont play it on hard mode the first time because you will struggle and hate it because of the difficulty, easy and even normal mode are way less harder than hard mode i dont agree with you the game is perfectly playable sorry the game doesnt have a baby beginner mode like sh 2 and 3

[@OrdinaryTea]

Yall really be on druzgs if yall think this is the hardest silent hill game. Its literally the easiest silent hill game and also the fastest to get a 10.2 star rank which ive done 5 times. Speedrunning this is, is like a peace of cake. The levels arent hard and they are very SMALL while sh 2 and 3 have big open areas and annoying to walk a whole mile. The zombies arent that annoying or hard unless your that type of person that wants to kill everything you see. Free health for the first round of the game? Sh 2 and 3 dont have this while 4 does and also proves my point on why its easier. I can even state more facts why its easier. You get just enough of health drinks as bullet ammos and op weapons such as the axe or despair tho the axe is easier. Second the Saint medaillon legit makes your playthrough easier. And lets not forget no more annoying have to check the main screen to check on your health unlike in sh2 or to reload which is a waste of time. Now the camera angles ARENT EVEN THAT ANNOYING. Either yall dumxb or never compared sh2 to sh4 angles. Sh2 has alot of shixtty angles like the hospital chase room and there are way more. And i know for sure yall are the ones to say "but that whats makes sh2 even more unsettling". Like bixtch no, its annoying. Sh4 doesnt have this. And lets be real the escort mission in sh4 may be annoying but its legit not that hard to save eileen unless your going for a speedrun hard mode WHICH is still easy to do (did it 2 times). The story in sh4 is also more interesting and the atmosphere is wat more scarier. If yall still think sh4 is the worst of the series or hard then yall really dont know what true horror is like

[@OrdinaryTea]

@@clayr6724 girl tight spaces where? Hello sh2 is literally the game of tight spaces. Not yall know being stuzpid 😭🤡

[@clayr6724]

@@OrdinaryTea You either are trolling or haven’t played SH4 recently. I just went thru 2, 3, and 4. SH4 by far is the outlier. The story is interesting but the gameplay mechanics are ass. SH2 and 3 kept things simple. SH4 introduces the worst concepts: escort mission, limited inventory, bad camera (which is impressive because the camera in 2 and 3 was much better). Again, I just went through these games. I can tell you the differences. Plus I’ve played each of the SH games many times. No one said the game is “hard,” it isn’t hard. It’s frustrating due to bad game design decisions. In other words, it makes you want to bow out and stop playing. Again, it’s an interesting but bad game. There is a reason it isn’t well liked.

[@OSW]

9:30 these sounds (jaguar/aagh!) You added them in right? They can't have those hilarious sounds in the game! PS great job with these reviews, they're long and really frequent too!

[@BoulderPunch]

I wish!

[@randallorndorff]

@James Sunderland That scream was fairly known even then from being in movies. It was wild to hear it watching my buddly play this game.

[@ElliFong]

I remember playing this as a kid and that jaguar roar did took me off guard lol

[@pentexsucks43]

Reminds me of twisted metal 3 lol, I couldn't take it seriously

[@_yikesforever]

So happy you liked this one! It's actually my favourite one after a lot of thinking about the lore. It could've definitely been done better and more clearly but DAMN it's so fun to figure out and the soundtrack is SO GOOD

[@zlodrim9284]

The Room is one of the most unsettling horror games I've played, the grotesqueness of the design of the creatures you see and face, the whole "your own home is just as hostile as the levels you visit" aspect of the game was really interesting and super innovative at the time, and while some of the things can be a pain in the ass, the game makes it worth your while and it is disappointing that only Kojima with his P.T. really played more with that idea to great effect. And for all the SH film ideas and the past two film adaptions, I think The Room is the easiest and the most ripe title to at least loosely adapt on the big screen.

[@Chris-yx6uy]

I also like the foreshadowing of your apartment getting haunted when Henry is having his dream sequence at the very beginning in first person. Before I finished the game, I was like thank god this isn’t actually happening. I get to hide in my safe space. Boy was I wrong…

[@XRandomXShinigamiX]

Unbelievable how this game is still talked about.... and it's great! The game itself was not as popular as earlier titles, but to me it was enough to give me the creeps the 2 times I played thru and halfway 3rd run so many years ago. I still remember how awful some parts of the game were, ESPECIALLY the escorting of Eileen, not knowing where the hell to go, or just the general wackiness of the 'Otherside' compared to the more sinister aspects of previous 'Otherworlds'. I kinda had a crush on Walter ngl, but damn was he messed up in the head 🙁😅 thanks for this trip back in time to the glorh days of this IP!

[@Dark_Ronius]

I stand by my opinion that this is one of the best, and deserves its place in the quad of Team Silent games. It doesn't mean I want to play it very often as it's such a slog, I've only finished it once (well actually I never finished it because Eileen had taken too much damage to defeat the final boss quick enough, but never had the motivation to go through it again)

[@noonbob]

Queen Cynthia making it in the intro, a very correct choice. Love your reviews!

[@masterzombie161]

This game still haunts me to this day. I lived in apartments for most of my life, so I definitely related to this game more than the others.

[@bumperjumper]

Despite the fact that I really love SH4 I’m surprised at how similar our videos are! I went through what it did extremely well and how sh4 achieved true horror

[@DemonKingCozar]

I really felt it when Henry said "You're tearing me apart, Lisa." I'm not sure who Lisa is. Maybe they mistranslated Eileen?

[@totallynotabot6003]

It was a cheeky reference to Lisa Garland. Only true fans will understand.

[@DemonKingCozar]

@totallynotabot6003 OH man did that tear me up

[@andrewc.2952]

Why has this series not been revamped and re-released??! I left my SH4 disk behind when moving and have never gotten over it.

[@crizmeow8394]

Because Konami sucks ass and I think they dont take advantage of so many of their properties out of either sheer stupidity or resentment towards sh fans

[@lizzay6037]

Yay I been waiting for this, I use to watch people speed run this game with so much frustration 😂

[@RiiLove]

Henry always felt the most relateable to me. 4 will always be my fav of the series

[@chinaski6593]

Great video! I remember paying this back in the day and having nightmares with those fucking twins monsters... PS: Oh how i miss the Two Best Friends...

[@ghouldash9761]

I actually enjoyed this game. This was the one game that scared me the most out of the first four Silent Hill games.

[@nandoxus]

The room setting is what made me love this game back when it came out

[@st.anselmsfire3547]

*Zombie pops through wall* "Oh, hi, Mark!"

[@maxbradleystrange9481]

Get really excited every time you upload. Pumped for RE6 video hopefully soon.

[@BoulderPunch]

Working on the script now.

[@nimazsheik5152]

Say what you want about the voice acting in Silent Hill games, but I love it. That dreamy, surreal tone is just flat out amazing and I wish more horror games went for it.

[@Astoratatouille]

I absolutely love this game, and i honestly think it's on par with the first three games (it has its flaws ngl, but it's a great experience) I always loved how tedious the game was, and much i was fuckind DRAINED after finishing it, but damn was it fun

[@Astoratatouille]

Oh and btw the fucking intro of the game ? Absolutely gold

[@TheGhostButterfly]

That's exactly how I felt after my first playthrough! And that's why its so memorable to me. I think the game would've been more tedious if Eileen took damage, but she doesn't so it's fine with me. Sure, it affects the ending you get, but I personally prefer the "bad" endings, they're more endearing to me :)

[@VannTheDawn]

There’s a reason why 4 is my favorite game in the franchise. I was 11 when it came out. I was blown away by the graphics and thought it was scarier than 3, especially during the first person segments. I was surprised when years later I saw videos on YT saying that the story and gameplay were divisive, and from what I gathered, they didn’t understand the story. They didn’t know that the devs connected SH 4’s story with one of the most important cutscenes in Silent Hill 1. When Dahlia said, “there’s no reason to wait, herein lies the mother’s womb, with the power to create life. I could have done it all myself.” Meaning, the 21 Sacraments was the original plan to birth the cult’s god. When Dahlia discovered the power that Alessa possessed, she chose to do a separate ritual with Alessa as the catalyst to bring about, the cult’s god, all the while, leaving Walter to finish the 21 Sacraments, should Alessa fail.

[@Neco42]

Nicely done man. Silent Hill will always be my favourite IP… the feeling of dreamlike mystery with horror, like you say, distinctly feeling Japanese… I truly hope we can see a return to form one day… before it gets too old and forgotten about.

[@vksasdgaming9472]

I say Silent Hill does not feel distinctly Japanese horror-story. It is very American story of Lovecraftian styling and as that setting and style is seen with fresh eyes it becomes very strong example. Just like best cinematic Western was made by Italian director in Spain and only Americans employed were starring actors. Silent Hill (four first) benefits from that same incident. It would be great to see Silent Hill having a dignified finish, but seeing how badly Konami is managed it is very unlikely.

[@Neco42]

@@vksasdgaming9472 I meant the themes. The way the horror is told and feels to me, is Japanese. The story is about Americans sure. I agree Konami have really not gotten themselves in a favourable position this past decade… but they can’t just hang onto the IP forever and let it completely disappear… I would love to see a return to form but I suppose we just have to wait…

[@beansfebreeze]

I'm losing my mind because I got an ad during this that started with "what is circumcision" and this just so happens to be the SH game that had that dude blowing up the Wiki with his circumcision theory

[@DonnyKirkMusic]

yeah, google might actually place that ad due to you watching a vid about SH4, in general, because it comes up, most likely, as a related search when searching SH4.

[@flipkiller8521]

I feel like Silent Hill 4 was Team Silent's effort to combine the formula of the first 3 Silent Hill games. With Silent Hill 1's focus on the Occult and an Everyman with no personal issues of his own as the protagonist who gets dragged along because of unknowing affiliations (Heather/Chery being Alessa and the room being Walter's mother), Silent Hill 2's symbolism, it's focus on navigating the disturbing world of a tormented person and the villain's theme of being a deeply broken and wronged individual seeking solace and Silent Hill 3's themes of femininity and motherhood (via Cynthia and Eileen's scenarios and Walter's motivation in general). Plus I don't think Henry's a flat blank slate for the player. It's mentioned that he's a insomniac who's had several sleepless nights because of nightmares. Lethargy and delayed speech patterns are symptoms of insomnia which can be clearly seen in Henry's body language and speech patterns.

[@dantetamessolorio9216]

Henry and Walter could never have a more strong/developed " relationship/bond " cause Walter Sullivan didn't care about him until he decided Henry was the last victim.

[@hussainqureshi9933]

Seeing someone post a video going over Silent Hill 4, one of my favorite horror games and an underrated entry into the Silent Hill franchise with an in-depth video? It feels like Christmas, already!

[@magnenoalex2]

love silent hill 1-4 and Downpour.

[@gordonchen9510]

While many people consider this the black sheep of the Team Silent quadrilogy, I applaud them trying something new as I consider Silent Hill 3 the epitome of the gameplay style of the first 3 games, and I feel that if they didn't try something new, it would just be a weak shadow of 3, as it incorporated pretty much everything they could possibly add in to that style of gameplay. Take Silent Hill origins for instance. They stuck with the original gameplay and aesthetics and the only thing new they could add was throwing TVs and random objects. Whereas Silent Hill 4 went down a different route while still retaining the same atmosphere.

[@DMCdantenero112]

21:04 Yes DSP, why don't the creators of 2 completely different IPs just sue Silent Hill for using a classic Japanese horror cliche...

[@dylgotbyl]

Silent bill 4 is one of those childhood nostalgia games that I stayed up late playing with a babysitter that will always have a special place in my heart even if it is not the best in the series

[@LaCazaLP]

16:03 THANK YOU! For years now it was bugging me...is the Rabbit pointing at me...or is he flipping me off lmfao. Now i finally can see. He is indeed pointing at me.

[@memosrt]

I replay this game more than the other Silent Hills.

[@joekaz5198]

"You're tearing me apart Eileen!"

[@newwavex8665]

The prison in Sh4 was an actual prison design developed by an eccentric Victorian. Unfortunately his name escapes me rn

[@forgived1450]

I have never finished silent hill 4 and this video just pushed me to play it again.. Any chance you will cover silent hill the shattered memories? I thought that game was flawed but a unique take on the existing story, and the atmosphere and sound design was one of the best after silent hill 2 for me..

[@SoftBoiledArt]

SM is solid psychological horror, pretty formulaic if you're familiar with the genre but well done. I'd put it above 4 and 3 without even doubting.

[@vagabondjp]

Great vid! SH4 is a game that you need to play more than once with a more open mind to really see the changes they were trying if you are a og fan of the series

[@Scorpio_Rising_1]

Super underrated game, super underrated Silent Hill game. For me it’s my 3rd favorite, I liked it better than the 3rd one and liked almost as much as the 2nd one. The first one will always reign supreme for me tho

[@residentevil4life]

this game is very triggering for me. I played this a few years ago and was beyond pissed when i got the worst ending after spending so many days playing. Found the game overall to be hard with how easy weapons broke, constantly had low health, and then i wasted items that became essential in the end like the candles. I think the worse of all was dealing with Eileen and having her treated like a punching bag having ghosts, monsters, and Walter after us while I myself was low on literally everything only to discover i would get punished in the end. Definitely is on my list of games to redeem myself.

[@slaviclad9705]

First off only the golf clubs are breakable and nothing force you to pick them up, second dont play on hard mode

[@Kaylakaze]

Eileen is my favorite Silent Hill character. She's so hot. 4 is my second favorite Silent Hill game. I think I would have liked 3 much more if they'd not forced it to follow the cult thing.

[@slaviclad9705]

I agree eileen is so pretty and doesnt deserve the hate she gets i like to think that she and henry end up together in the good ending since bring her flowers

[@eldridgecharles1313]

SH 4 is my favorite in the franchise. It's just the nostalgia talking,as this was the first SH game I ever beat. I believe it has a lot of unique concepts that it doesn't explore properly. I also understand Henry's "deadpan" personality, might be intriguing in the sense that I always felt the fact he doesn't really seem phased by what he's seeing, means he might have seen some weird sh*t before, but that's just wishful thinking. No disrespect to the VA, but he doesn't have any emotion in his lines. Eileen is the best acted, honestly. Anyways, like I said before, lots of potential, but not fully fleshed out in the game.

[@teriosshadow17]

I think Henry does show plenty of emotion through his body language and facial expressions alone(Like while discovering Cynthia dying, trying to help Richard as much as he could, his reaction thinking Eileen died and final face off with Walter where he looks pretty pissed off) Sure, his VA could have been bit better. Not sure if it was the intentional(like with Angela in SH2) or not. Regardless, i love Silent HIll 4, its very underrated game and its the game that introduced me to the Silent Hill series and convinced me to buy older games. Would the game been better if Eileen was the main protagonist instead of Henry? Hard to say really, i mean sure Eileen is more range of emotion and has ties with the game's baddie but does every protagonist need to be directly tied to the bad guy?

[@louisvictor3473]

28:00 It is less western developers not getting the IPs, and more like Japanese execs being voluntarily mentally handicapped (thanks in good part to their incredibly toxic and nonsensical work culture, a massive problem on its own) and not understand why their IPs sold in the west, what captivated the public it did, and that their IPs in fact developed a niche for itself. Well, that last one can be combined or replaced by mere unfiltered greed - they don't want to sell their niche market, they want to expand, but unlike Jurassic Park's scientists they didn't stop at not wondering if they should, they didn't even know if they could but go for it anyway. That is the entire reason they made RE more and more action all the way back to RE 2, and that is why 5 and 6 had coop. Same reason why SH Homecoming is more actiony and has a main character with a typical US action hero backstory, the military service (or appearance of it)/training and mannerisms. In their head "action" = big audience, big sales, big money, also "the west" = the US. Capcom at least knew how to capitalize on console generation changes, the times, and how to make a decent game not just cram-in aesthetics of old hits + the game elements versions of buzzwords. At least with RE at first (4 and arguably 5), not with DMC or anything else afaik. They chose studios in the west that they think will deliver on their "action and buzzwords", which they for sure also demand and enforce anyway. They're entirely willing to sacrifice and burn their early player base in the name of hypothetical bigger numbers at the drop of a hat, but have no farking clue how to achieve those bigger numbers.

[@ElliFong]

Not gonna lie this is the most stressful Silent Hill I ever played, in a very fitting way. Especial when the room that are suppose to be you only safe haven haunted with ghosts and preventing healing, thus you need to save on healing items in the early game

[@andrewstrom8157]

This is my favorite game in the series, which is an unpopular opinion I know. I just like the story and atmosphere so much the gameplay being a bit rough doesn't bother me that much. Also, I much prefer this escort mission to Resident Evil 4. Yes, this is annoying in Silent Hill 4, but all I wanted to do is shoot Ashley for as many times as she died doing absolutely nothing.

[@Elijah_Markin]

It cracks me up every time how SH fanboys always complain about "The Room's" escort levels but never criticize escorting Maria in SH2, which is, objectively, way worse because, unlike Eileen, she can't even fight the monsters. But hey, as a fanboy, you aren't supposed to criticize SH2, right? It's against the club's rules. Fanboys never have their own opinions...

[@slaviclad9705]

@@Elijah_Markin i dont like silent hill fanboys, i find them really elitist, to most of them every sh after 3 is iredeemable garbage yes the western games aren't masterpieces like the first 4, but that doesn't mean they are bad(except homecoming) they have been influenced by those arrogant pricks from twin perfect channel they told the fanboys that tom hulett was the one who ruined sh and encourage them to harass him

[@Elijah_Markin]

​@@slaviclad9705 SH fans are sentimental crybabies. Truth is SH 1-3 are mediocre run-of-the-mill Resident Evil clones with a bit of Japanese surrealism sprinkled in. SH fanboys love to mystify the franchise but there's really nothing special or unique about it except for the fog. SH4 was the only truly interesting and unusual game in the series.

[@slaviclad9705]

@@Elijah_Markin i wouldn't say they are mediocre sh 2 is one of the best game i've played, the problem is that the fans are impossible to please im almost certain that they would have shit on kojima's silent hill if it had released, honestly i dont care that much that they hate the western silent hill games, but it annoys me that they still hate 4

[@Elijah_Markin]

@@slaviclad9705 Silent Hill 2 is the best game to fall asleep to. I honestly can't think of a game that is more boring than SH 1-3.

[@bryjammac]

Great work! Currently replaying the first four as I found your channel randomly. On sh2 now, looking forward to this one.

[@SageofSorrow]

I always felt SH3 had the worst enemy designs. Masahiro Ito got a little too into his own bag by the time of SH3 and just started drawing whatever he can think of that was weird looking. The Closer has and always will look stupid. The Numb Bodies aren’t scary neither are the Mandrians. SH4 though having inconsistent creature designs still has a gallery superior to SH3. The ghosts(especially Richard Braintree’s ghost, Cynthia’s ghost, and Steve Garland’s ghost)The Twin Victims, Walter Sullivan, and the Patients(minus the burping) are better than anything SH3 offered(aside from the missionaries and Nurses). You also can’t walk away from the enemies in SH4 like in Silent Hill 3. The Nurses and the Missionaries were the only intimidating enemies in SH3. I remember a review of SH3(which was positive) back in 2003 that said the only negative thing about it was the creature design and that the terrific sound design, dread and build up to the encounters with them is ruined when you see it’s “just another spider...cricket........sock looking thing”. I rarely agree with reviews but I had to cosign. So yes the ghosts were annoying, but id much rather be annoyed by enemies than disinterested in them tbh

[@D-Nova]

I have this love-hate-relationship with SH4. It was my first SH game, but my favorite will always be SH2. Overall, I think SH4 gets a bit too much hate. It is a perfectly playable game and probably the easiest old-school SH to get the 10 Star ranking on.

[@Ryu_Kage.]

This is better than the old one

[@ParUhDroyd]

Ha ha ha what a great story Mark! But seriously I actually just played SH4 for the first time before watching this and I liked it quite a bit, for me it kind of ties with the first game in the series. The twin monsters pointing at you is very unsettling and probably my favorite creepy part of the game. I feel it’s because of like the way they pointed and stood there until you approached them the first time. I wonder if their existence was symbolic of bullies Walter dealt with.

[@VergilHiltsLT]

Hey, nice video! This is my favorite Silent Hill game, along with the first three. Next time though I suggest playing the PS2 original version. PC and Xbox are ports and are noticeably uglier/duller than the PC version. I mean inferior in both visuals and audio. PC also has 15 FPS in-game cutscenes and a broken depth of field effect, unless you patch it out. But the game's beautiful lighting has been ruined on PC, all surfaces are flat, and the Room itself has really low-res textures. So, I hope you experience the game again on PS2! Either that or try out PCSX2, but I personally use OSSC to scale the video signal on PS2.

[@VergilHiltsLT]

@@DonnyKirkMusic PCSX2 is an okay choice nowadays, especially for slower games like SH (due to input lag on Hardware renderers), however, you still won't get 100% accurate graphics even with the best settings. Whether you feel the resolution upgrade is worth the downgrade/absence of certain visual effects is up to you. Personally, I use OSSC with HD Retrovision component cables but Retrotink 5x would be preferable. It costs too much though. Motion adaptive deinterlacing with scan conversion to 480p + overall improved display quality, no input lag and true Dualshock 2 controls with correct sensitivity levels on the sticks and pressure sensitivity. Can't get those on PCSX2, difficult to set up even with a Dualshock 3 controller. Most importantly, guaranteed accurate graphics. My 720p Bravia LCD has wide colour range and other optional enhancements which improve the colours significantly. I've beaten SH 1-4 countless times on emulators, too. For 1 I'd highly recommend Duckstation, it allows for fixing the polygon jitter almost entirely. Meaning no more wobbly polygons, straight lines are straight, etc.

[@mozartcastellanosGK]

Henry is my favorite protagonist from SH to be honest.

[@Bean_Sprout_Official]

I always enjoy watching your reviews, they honestly have a lot of detail and effort put into them. Thank you for giving us quality content again and again. :)

[@Dark_Jaguar]

I actually "relate" a lot more to Henry than I do any of the other protagonists. He's a shut-in that only sees the world through his photography (okay I'm not a photographer), so he's literally locked into his apartment and can only see out through various "camera lenses" throughout his apartment, including one big one he has to crawl out of. For Walter, that exit serves as more of a birth canal, so it's serving duel representative purposes depending on the perspective of the character we're talking about. I think that's great economy of symbolism there. What he steadily learns through this hell is that he can't shut himself completely away from the world, it'll come for him, and that there's good in the world that he was missing out on. For my personal ranking, I'd actually put The Room in slot 3, just above the original but after SH 2 and 3. That escalator section is just annoying though... I have to add one more commentary. Walter's 21 sacrament thing is basically the plot of the movie "The Frighteners", where a serial killer is eventually executed, but starts to murder more people from beyond the grave. The main character can tell who the next target is by a number only he can see on their forehead. It's kind of strange that a major plot point in a serious Team Silent game is taken from an American paranormal comedy.

[@benvanasdale6273]

They need to do actual remasters of the team silent titles. They'd sell gangbusters... Konami has to know any money invested in a PROPER remaster would be recouped millions of times over. It's what we all want. Amazing video essay as always, Boulder Punch! Love your content

[@dorpth]

Really loved the first half of this game. Casual, yet still creepy atmospheric exploration and story telling. Then the last half dropped the ball. Blindly running through every area because those stupid ghosts. But even worse were all the unexplained mechanics started screwing you over. The whole room infestation/cleansing mechanic was never explained, yet it was hugely important. Same thing for being screwed if you took the doll, with zero indication of what would happen.

[@luiscuevas221]

You have a really good voice for narration keep it love your videos ❤

[@jake1988h]

Great review but one thing: one of the reasons why these locations look confusing is because Henry isn't actually going to these locations. He is going to the ''worlds''. Subway ''world'', forest ''world'', etc. That's why everything looks off. Besides that, I like your review. Keep up the good work.

[@gatisrimss]

So shanteii, we meet again. Best soundrack in silent hill series, i loved it

[@nikobowling1606]

I don't understand why people complained so much about the gameplay in this game. Basically since the first Silent Hill, the gameplay has always been like this, clunky. And it was done this way to make it seem more realistic, because you are controlling ordinary characters without any training and who have never faced bizarre creatures before. Unlike the protagonists of the Resident Evil franchise, where most of them are special agents like Leon and Chris. This combat mechanic in the gameplay becomes more apparent in Silent Hill 4, precisely because the developers wanted to increase the combat and action, not only to increase the difficulty and make the experience intentionally more stressful, taking away the player's total confidence, but also in response to many players at the time who were tired of the same old survival horror formula, just as with Resident Evil 4. I have played SH 4 several times, and after you play it more times, you understand how to get the hang of it. You understand what kind of weapons to use for the right monsters and where to attack at the right time. And the reason you revisit the old settings of the game, if you are paying close attention to the story, you will notice that it has to do with the purpose of the protagonist of the game. Henry was chosen to be the "receiver of wisdom" because he had the ability to be a good observer, since he was a shy and quiet guy, he used to observe things in a better way. Going through these ancient scenarios is Henry's preparation to officially become the receiver of wisdom. Because he was seeing things he hadn't seen before, being able to see things more clearer. About Eileen, I saw that many people found her annoying because of the fact that you have to protect her in the second half of the game, but this is simple to solve. Eileen was programmed to walk and run slowly not only because of what happens to her in the story, but so that you could explore the scenarios better without her presence, just run fast enough so she can't reach you and you can explore the next scenario without difficulty. Even her being attacked by the monsters has a purpose, because through this you will have different cutscenes in the story and you can make other endings easier. But that depends on how you want to play. This game is much more complex than it seems, the developers wanted to do something different and experimental, compared to the 3rd title of the franchise, where they felt forced to continue what happened to the 1st game because of the fans' requests (but still, Silent Hill 3 was an amazing game). Silent Hill 4 is the kind of game that the more you play, the better it gets, because as you replay it, you get new experiences. You get details that you missed in the first play through both the story and the gameplay.

[@slaviclad9705]

Yes !! Thank you! finally someone who understand this criminaly underrated game. People are so busy bitching and whinning about the so called flaws that they forget to pay attention to the story, its part of the story to revisit the levels because henry recieve a letter from joseph telling him to go down to the deepest part of walter subconscience and to do that you must go through the levels a second time and it pay off in the end since henry and eileen meet joseph and they learn how to stop walter and henry get the means to get out of his room

[@peterfairchild258]

Really been enjoying these videos. U are a great reviewer. Spot on ♥️ Keep up the fantastic work!

[@ashharkausar413]

Henry is leon in an alternate universe where he never became a cop and was depressed.

[@Samplelord]

Female ghosts with black long hair goes back further than a couple of horror movies. It is a staple in Japanese folklore for centuries, not some design for a movie. Not that hard to look up....

[@vksasdgaming9472]

Actually that stringy-haired ghost woman is visual trope borrowed from kabuki in which such design was used to specify malevolent ghost, onryo. Then Hideo Nakata borrowed such appearance in one very impressive horror-film.

[@Samplelord]

@@vksasdgaming9472 ...That is very true and Nakata's Ring is (in my opinion) the most effective film version of that trope. Kwaidan (1965) is also an early example of that visual design being used in cinema.

[@vksasdgaming9472]

@@Samplelord Kwaidan borrows heavily on kabuki-imagery so it is not unsurprising. I have seen it, but it is long time ago so my memory may be hazy.

[@Jaye_42]

Yes! The onryo/yurei yokai.

[@filipmartinez1162]

I rented this game from Blockbuster on Xbox and I never figured out how to get out of the apartment. I thought my copy was softlocked.

[@marshmallowworld]

I like your sense of humor. Thanks for covering this one!

[@ShockerTopper]

The ending makes me laugh, especially with Eileen's chuckle...like "Oh what a whacky and crazy night we had, huh? Life's just crazy.". It's not "HOLY FUCK, I was possessed! A ghost was after me, trying to kill me and split his conscious into two beings."

[@shrippie-4214]

I was pissed off and forced myself to finish it by the end, but I still like it you know sh2 and sh3 voice acting made me laugh too sometimes like when Angela threw that TV and that fighting game effect played on rescreen where it pulses

[@Shiftyspace]

Can’t help but think about Foreskin dude every time I hear something about Walter Sullivan and SH4

[@chrisbee1984]

same voice actor of Chris Redfiled from Resident Evil 1 as well

[@A_YouTube_Commenter]

You showed the Axe throw from Super Best Friends? Wow,I miss those guys.

[@Nick-mv5kg]

Boulder Punch vid whilst eating dinner >>>>

[@MegaMar14]

Ah the old axe throw, I miss best friends...

[@erainmartinez8175]

I love this game's soundtrack

[@jamesbrincefield9879]

Even when I’m detoxing from DSP detractor videos I can’t get away from him.

[@donoroko]

this is the best SH game minus outside apartment gameplay. The idea, the mystery, the way the story is told inderictly, the immersion that gives the outside world of the apartment even though you can't get out. Of course gampleay is crucial to a game, but have they tweaked that part a little, i think it would be my favourite. Today is still and probably ever be SH1, having played 2, 3 and 4 and the rest many years after release, except for homecoming. didn't play downpour, book of memories, shattered memories or origin though. maybe they're better idk

[@joshuaweston6531]

Origins is actually much better than it gets credit for, like ever! Homecoming also, while certainly a mixed bag overall, does have some of the series best boss encounters...facts!

[@shantanukale1468]

Finally! About time you got to review my favorite game of the SH franchise.

[@szeltovivarsydroxan9944]

Dude, if you really love that "video game character's room" concept, , especially in the horror genre, how have you not played Fatal Frame 3 yet? If you do plan on playing it, I won't say more because it would spoil it, but you really need to get into that series!

[@QMMarc]

This is a bit of a headcanon that I cooked up (And SH4 is actually my favorite. Cause of Nostalgia), I think Henry isn't just an introvert, sure there is the in-lore reason which is that he's supposed to ''Watch'' and ''Witness'' things, but I think this is a case of a rare socipathic main character. Not like, the common evil cliche of what one's supposed to be, but the one where he can't really connect and empathize with people. He's pretty closed off, and he does want to help people, but not out of empathy, but because that's just what's expected. I don't have all enough knowledge about sociopathy, but some of the stuff i've read and researched lightly kinda fits with him a lot, and that kinda makes him a bit more interesting in my books. That said, even without that, just having a very introverted normal character is a departure, but sadly, that's kinda boring since this is a story, it's like, we're there to be entertained I guess. Great video, and as much as it is my favorite, it's a very very flawed game, but that's probably why I like it so much, I often find more interesting to dig the good out of the bad than the bad out of the good if that makes sense.

[@vksasdgaming9472]

Your description fits better with high-functioning examples on autistic spectrum. Difficulty reading social cues, self-sufficient mentally and clear sense of right and wrong. Even stilted mannerisms talk about it.

[@QMMarc]

@@vksasdgaming9472 I guess, but i'm also adding in some of the violent stuff he has no real reaction to, like, he's not nauseus seeing Cynthia or anything like that. He only reacts in an ''This person is dying , I should try and comfort them'' instead of freaking out. Again, dunno that much about psychology, but i do always liked the idea of a functional non-evil sociopath. You know, for a change.

[@vksasdgaming9472]

@@QMMarc Many mental disorders (like sociopathy and autistic spectrum) have plenty of overlapping traits. His lack of reaction tells more of autistic spectrum as people on it are known to have morbid areas of interest or reactions. He does know what is expected without learning it, but has difficulty expressing it and handles it very matter-of-fact. Sociopaths are people too and completely capable of having ethical standards.

[@QMMarc]

@@vksasdgaming9472 Yep! That's some good info and viewpoints, thank you for sharing them!

[@vksasdgaming9472]

@@QMMarc Take my info with grain of salt as I am not an expert.

[@xn9333]

Well they impressively nailed that "horror/fear during daylight" feel that i remember they were talking about and some areas i wish people could do a examination of like the space out of reach filled with garbage with that light bleeding through at the beginning of the richard braintree area of the weird buildings as it is similar to heather in sh3 looking at the wheelchair basking in light beyond the glass as both are almost teasing the player of a safe haven and comfort beyond the players reach, and why was walter rummaging through Claudia's organs? When henry wakes up in the hospital, is walter seeking something to help him get this "god" since she birthed god at the end of sh2? Who knows

[@iannottingham4640]

Enjoyed your review series of SH games. You are my favourite customer.