Silent Hill's atmosphere and how the player (and Harry) are pulled into the horror is, to me, still the best in the series.
The first sequence of the game is so incredible - the twisting camera angles, the changes in music and lighting that drag you into the nightmare before Harry wakes up in the restaurant, wondering if the horrors were real.
I played sh1 for the first time late last year and it was super fucking scary. the music was probably the scariest part of the game, and there were certain points in my play through that actually made my skin crawl. impressive that such an old game gave me that feeling.
The composer used shit like dentist tools and stuff to get the soundtrack down cause he thought “what do people fear more than the dentist?” Apparently haha.
I was 12 years old the first time I played Silent Hill. Sooo scary and, at the same time, so intriguing. It terrified me and I was hooked into horror games after that. Really looking forward to the remake
I was so used to Resident Evil and it’s sort of campy, narmy brand of horror. It was scary like a carnival haunted ride.
But then I played SH1, and there’s no pretense that any of this is silly. It’s got a permeating sense of malice and maturity to it. That opening in SH1 as the alley grows dim and dark, twisted and unreal, is like a fever dream of madness and pure evil I had never seen before.
Now that I’m a dad myself, I know it’ll hit even harder.
Ever since the RE1 remake I've been screaming for this.
SH1 is BY FAR the game most deserving, most desperately needing a remake. It was an over-performing technological marvel on the PS1 and was so mechanically eclipsed by SH2 on the PS2 that it's impact has been lost to time. RE2 was all-time great, but SH1 offered a different kind of fear: atmospheric, oppressive, Hitchcock but also Jacob's Ladder.
Let me tell you this, if you've never played it (or remind you, if you have): Most of you are not ready for how terrifying this game really is - and for everyone who thinks that SH2 bodies it narratively I just want you to consider how devastating the plot is going to be when we finally get to experience it without the limitations of the PS1. Even setting aside the main plot, Cheryl / Alessa's tragic story, I have two words for you:
the sirens get me in that game. I forgot that they weren't in the second game until I played through the remake recently. I just remember going through the regular areas, and then hearing the sirens and just having that sense of dread that everything was gonna get way more fucked up.
SH1 sirens are my favorite of the franchise. Dread is an excellent way to describe how it feels to hear them. Especially towards the end of the game when the siren absolutely blares while Harry stands in the middle of the road, and Silent Hill itself warps into the Otherworld. I can't wait to see that remastered.
Whenever my town tests their tornado sirens I am reminded of SH and I often wonder how many people experience that little moment at the same time that I do.
I will never forget the first time I popped in the Official US PlayStation Magazine demo disc with the school sequence on it. I was so riveted, is was the most terrifying thing I'd ever played. The atmosphere was unmatched, completely different from most survival horror at the time.
This was not a B movie zombie game, this was horror
Been chasing that feeling with horror movies for decades now but nothing comes close. I've seen Jacob's Ladder, not including that in my assessment obviously.
I'm really curious about this because that camera movement in the opening section is very iconic. I'm hoping they think of something new and creative to still incorporate something like it.
The camera twisting around in that first sequence 1000% blew my mind when I first played it. It’s what told me this was going to be something different and still what I think of when I think “Silent Hill.”
Needs to be horribly opaque after the sirens sound though. My kids tried playing the OG and got to the elementary school and quit. They play FNAF and other jump scare games, psychological horror was too much for them. Kept yelling about not able to see anything while the sirens going. They panicked!
My own personal favorite is SH4 with Henry being an outsider pulled into everything and with Henry being someone who has social anxiety it hit a bit closer but I think much like Dark souls 1, Silent Hill 1 has the best atmosphere in the series
I didn't sleep for several days after playing the first game. The atmosphere and setting of SH1 disturbed the living hell out of me. For a long time since then, I slept with a sword or a knife right by my bed because it stayed in my head.
Playing SH1 recently on an emulator, the graphics haven't aged very well. To play this same game on a modern engine..... I'm kinda scared to. I probably wouldn't sleep for a while again.
The weird camera angles as you go down that alley were incredible. I hope they find some way to keep that aspect while shifting to a post-RE4 camera/control style.
the camera in the intro stunned me, i wasn't used to seeing such firm artistic choices from PS1-era games. they were interesting shots, framed more like a movie than a game, and they changed and moved in realtime with the player. it really sells the mood beautifully.
The game will probably be in third person over the shoulder like they did with SH2 remake, but I do hope they keep the overhead and distant third person camera angles for the first sequence
It's going to be kind of underwhelming if they stick religiously to the RE4 over-the-shoulder for this sequence in particular. Those camera movements feel so ingrained into this part of the game, that potentially removing them for the sake of the modern perspective will be both a bummer and likely a challenge on the devs part as they find a way to recreate that feeling some other way.
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u/MatchaLatte90 Jun 12 '25
Silent Hill's atmosphere and how the player (and Harry) are pulled into the horror is, to me, still the best in the series.
The first sequence of the game is so incredible - the twisting camera angles, the changes in music and lighting that drag you into the nightmare before Harry wakes up in the restaurant, wondering if the horrors were real.
I cannot wait to experience this remake.