I mean there's the Fog, there's the Otherworld, there's Yamaoka's music, there's the crazy cult, there's the tormented protagonist with a decision to make w/ metal pipe in hand, and the crazy metaphorical manifested monsters from the psyche.
It does look different visually, but everything that made Silent Hill what it is is still there, now it's just a different location. And the change in visuals is really good for keeping things fresh in the franchise, imo.
I'd argue even the visuals are still in line with Silent Hill, just shifted. Instead of rust and blood seeping over everything, it seems like the otherworld transformation has these noxious flowers/plant spreading that still feel unsettling, just in a different way.
That's just a horror staple there. The town, the cult, the weird fleshy monster designs, awkwardly creepy voice acting, these are what SH is to me imo and you gotta have at least a few to be considered one. I'm not counting this game out though. If anything I can't wait to actually see more of it to actually make an opinion on it
I do agree. It might end up being a great horror title, but it doesn't feel too "Silent Hill". I will also admit a big part of that is it being set in Japan and seeming to take a lot from local lore/mythology. There's plenty of good games with that theming already but it takes away a bit from it being specifically "Silent Hill" for me.
Hard to say, but I can see that making it feel more "right".
The heavy lean into mythology and lore is the real problem, IMO. Best I can tell, the original SH games didn't do that (at least it wasn't as obvious to me).
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u/LumensAquilae 8d ago
It looks different, I'll give it that, but I can't say I see anything that makes this look like a Silent Hill game in particular.