All things Silent Hill

[KSubzero1000]

It's a tough call - The HD collection is indeed terrible enough that it should be avoided if possible, but I feel like Silent Hill 2 is definitely a game that should be experienced by fans of the genre. Silent Hill 3 is really good as well, but it is thematically related to the first one, which is not included in the HD collection... SH2 is a mostly standalone title, but I really wouldn't recommend playing SH3 without having played the original beforehand.

On the other hand, much of the enjoyment I got from Silent Hill comes from the themes, plot, characters, atmosphere and soundtrack. Reading about the games afterwards, watching thematic analyses on YouTube, listening to CaR... I think that's where the true strength of the series lies. The gameplay itself is... well, it's complete garbage, in my opinion. So I guess my question would be: How do you feel about Let's Plays? Part of me thinks that watching a good (non-commentary) Silent Hill 2 Let's Play in the same way you would watch an experimental movie would allow you to focus on the game's strengths without having to deal with the subpar mechanics or the deplorable tech issues of the shoddy HD collection. To be fair, you would be losing out on the puzzles, some of which are quite clever.

Just a thought. Might be sacrilegious to you, but it seems to me like the best compromise in your situation.

[kintaris]

Thanks, that's a good idea. I've been frustrated by gameplay in other games and watched the rest online (Catherine for one), so the idea of watching a whole playthrough wouldn't faze me. I suppose it would still be possible to appreciate the artistry of the puzzles that way too, even though I'm not getting that personal eureka moment.

So in that vein, I suppose I might as well start with a Let's Play of the original game and work through from there.

[KSubzero1000]

I've taken the liberty of looking up fitting walkthroughs of the first three games without spoilery thumbnails. These seem halfway decent at first glance. Enjoy!

[kintaris]

Amazing, thank you!

[ratsoalbion]

Also, if you're interested to hear what went wrong with the HD versions from the horse's mouth, check out this spoiler-free interview podcast: https://caneandrinse.com/tomm-hulett-interview/

[kintaris]

Also, if you're interested to hear what went wrong with the HD versions from the horse's mouth, check out this spoiler-free interview podcast: https://caneandrinse.com/tomm-hulett-interview/

Excellent, I will give that a listen. Thanks both.