Dalin
23.5K posts
@TrapeziusJones
Photographer | NASM-CPT | 6x Nominated Podcast Co-host | Product of hip hop and the Triforce | Page 197 slaps
Pattern recognition is the highest form of intelligence.
What is a great TV show that never became popular?
Wrapped up Silent Hill F! 🎮 Had a great time. I was very curious to see a new team's take on the franchise and I really enjoyed what Neobards did here over the course of my 10'ish hour playthrough. I found the visual representation of 1960s rural Japan on point. From the quaint town of Ebisugaoka and its winding streets and alleyways to its rice fields and the otherworldly Dark Shrine, there is immaculate detail everywhere you look. Materials rendering is excellent, the lighting sets the mood in every area and is sometimes stunningly well done, and character models are well animated and high quality. Playing on PS5 Pro on an OLED, I was constantly stopping and staring. They really made Unreal Engine 5 sing. Unfortunately that was hampered at times by the game stuttering every so often and some shimmering artifacts across things like grass and some vegetation. Annoying but it didn't overly detract from my experience. The picture was sharp overall and performance felt smooth on my VRR set. I should also mention the fantastic soundtrack and audio design! Everything from ambient sounds to the growls and howls of monster were creepy as hell. Kensuke Inage and of course Akira Yamaoka did an amazing job with the OST creating something incredibly eerie that fuses Japanese sounds and ambience to really convey feelings of agony and fear. Just proper dreadful. The plot was heavier than I expected going in, slowly dishing out a web of themes and events between Hinako and her family and friends. Character performances were pretty well done - especially in Japanese - and the English dub was also quite good. I found myself taking a liking to Hinako and her rebellion against what society 'expects' of a person. It all felt suitably 'Silent Hill' and I was pretty taken aback by the ending. Good stuff. One of my biggest questions going in was of course the combat. I wasn't sure how a purely melee Silent Hill would feel and I was pleasantly surprised. There's a nice crunchiness to landing hits on enemies, especially with a nice whack from a sledgehammer or axe. I'm generally not a big fan of weapon degradation in games but it mostly felt fair here and I would usually find replacements or repair toolkits to get my bats and steel pipes into tip top shape. The interplay between the Focus and Stamina systems was actually quite fun and I eventually adapted and started engaging in a back and forth dance with enemies, dodging and weaving, going in for attacks, focusing to watch for counters and knowing when to run. It took a little getting used to but once I found my rhythm with its systems, I was having a good time. An addition/change to combat about two-thirds of the way through was completely unexpected and a welcome change of pace and something I never saw coming! I loved exploring the town and otherworld and learning more about its history and the history of main cast. I would have preferred less backtracking but the team did a good job keeping things fresh when that did happen. There wasn't really anything as scary as someone like Pyramid Head, but the enemy designs were generally fairly creepy and I loved the red spider lily motif everywhere which created a sort of haunting beauty that ate its way through the environments. Overall had an awesome time and found the journey well worth it. I know there are multiple endings and no hate from me but I'm not about playing a game multiple times just to get the full story so if I missed anything...hey that's on the dev lol. I'm happy to see Silent Hill back on top again and I can't wait to see what Konami plans to do next. #SilentHillF #PS5 #PS5Pro
