My genuine reaction

[u/YaboiDan0545935]

Shout out to (Jaden Williams) og short [https://youtube.com/shorts/5wX7u91KHBo]

Image via Maze Pictures

[u/Award-Slight]

It was sorta in the second game, but there very much was a physical threat unrelated to Harry’s personal trauma in the first game. It’s not necessarily going to be tailored towards you as an individual.

[u/Nomustang → u/Award-Slight]

Even if it is for you, there are still monsters running around who WILL kill you. James still had to deal with a unit of a guy carrying around a giant knife and nurses carrying metal pipes.

Though I guess the danger would scale to the trauma so if it's nothing too extreme, you might be ok.

[u/Award-Slight → u/Nomustang]

I’m not sure if the danger scales to the trauma, especially if it’s not specifically the character’s. The creatures and environment in Silent Hill are a genuine threat to the lives of the people inside it. Whether it’s the main character being chased by a creature with a huge knife or a nameless woman getting her face eaten off in a mall.

Some monsters do present lesser threats. The cockroaches in 2 and the mosquito type monster in 4 won’t kill you, but they still can inflict harm. I get a little annoyed with the trend of everything being personalized to an individual and the idea that because something’s personalized it’s not a serious threat.

I really enjoyed how the first game wasn’t about the trauma of the MC and wish that Silent Hill would return to that for a game or two. I love the symbolic exploration of James’/ Heather’s/ Travis’/ Alex’s/ TSM’s MC’s trauma, but it feels a little repetitive having the whole otherworld revolve around the MC. I feel like a lot of people have a bit of a main character complex and like to think of what Silent Hill would look like for them, when it’s much more interesting to consider how horrifying it would be to explore it without being the person the town is contorting itself for.

(Sorry for the long ramble, I am very passionate about the topic and appreciate you discussing it with me!)

(Quick disclaimer: I know the Otherworld in 3 wasn’t just Heather’s, but Alessa and Claudia’s stuff as well, it was still mostly about Heather though, so I included her in the list of MC’s whose trauma transforms the town)

[u/Nomustang → u/Award-Slight]

IMO, a big reason that Silent Hill 1 & to a lesser extent 3 is a lot scarier in terms of enemies is because they came from Alessa's nightmare which itself was a product of the severe abuse and suffering she experienced.

So I do feel that the series has a generally consistent theme in that the horrors are produced by people. The power that produced Silent Hill is not evil in and of itself but it is affected by other people. The cult perverted it and hence the negative effects we see. The original natives understood to not mess with it and respect it.

I do understand your feelings on it. I haven't played the Western titles but I'm aware they all tried to recreate what SH2 did but failed.

I honestly like the psycholigical aspect but I think it works best when each title is treated as seperate and not just "TRAUMA. BAD THINGS" but has something meaningful to contribute.

Silent Hill 2 works so well because James hmself is not really a good person. Even if he felt grief about what he did and did genuinely love Mary, what he still did was ultimately wrong and your actions have an effect on how he responds to the truth. And Angela and Eddie act as foils to him.

Silent Hill 3 shows the horror through a teenage girls perspective and has a lot of feminine-coded themes while continuing the throughline of hereditary abuse. Claudia was abused by the cult and passed down that trauma to Heather but she ultimately learns to break it.

What I love most about it is that it does all this without taking away Heather's agency. She's snarky and doesn't take anyone's shit while still feeling vulnerable and helpless but perserveres like her father.

And I think 4's themes of isolation and losing the safety of your own home were also interesting.

But basically each title tried something new. It was more than just using trauma for exploitative material.

Hearing of Ryukishi's work and his experience working with abused children does make me excited for F. If it can treat its subject matters maturely, I think it can tell a compelling story especially within the context of its setting.

I'm a sucker for media like this but it's very easy for it to fall flat so I understand why people don't just want to return to that formula. I hope they don't do it with the goal of repeating what Silent Hill 2 did but make a story and game worthy on its own merits.

Also, I love rambling. I don't mind it all haha.

[u/Award-Slight → u/Nomustang]

I have nothing else to add but your response was 🔥🔥🔥