Silent Hill 4: The Room

The chills and suspense that is a trademark of Silent Hill is still there, but the new aspects can provide an interesting twist to people bored with the old Silent Hill format.

A damned scary game, and it's one of the better survival horror titles out there because of that. It's good to see its designers taking risks and experimenting with the formula. This time, however, it's kind of a misfire. It's by no means a failure, but it's not a success, either.

The gameplay however is a little slow and involves far too much back tracking for its own good and things often get tedious.

The most deliciously dark Silent Hill yet but the compulsive storytelling can't compensate for the fiddly controls, fractured structure and frustrating combat. [PSM2]

Even with the fluid game control and the improved graphics Silent Hill 4: The Room is still just another Silent Hill game. Sure the controls make the game more accessible to non-survival horror gamers since it is more intuitive.

It's a shame some of the effort wasn't pushed in the direction of the second half of the game.

The inescapable truth for Konami is that it has not just failed to better itself, but has gone backwards to the extent that it's no longer our favourite horror series ("Project Zero 2" ["Fatal Frame 2"] claims that throne for now). [JPN Import]

While it all works well and survival/horror fans won’t be at all disappointed if they go out and get this game, Silent Hill feels an awful lot like previous Silent Hill games.

If you're new to this series, The Room is a great place to start, and if you're a fan, at least find comfort knowing that Konami has employed the same successful formula without taking any damaging steps that could've ruined it.

A great concept and great technical achievement marred by a poor execution. It’s just not as creepy, scary, or thought provoking as previous entries in the series and the game-play itself is boring even when measured against the fact that the horror genre itself is really based on creepy atmosphere and scares and tight game-play execution tends to be an afterthought.

Clumsy combat and woeful repetition will try your patience. [Oct 2004, p.118]

One of the most disturbing games of the year. In a good way.

It's starting to look really long in the fang and could use an extended rest at some abandoned sanitarium. Otherwise, the only thing that's going to be scary about these games is the frightening pace Konami churns them out and just how far they've fallen from the original.

Silent Hill 4 is by far the most atmospheric of the titles to date, and if played under the right conditions will creep out even the most hardened survival horror fan. But being made to traipse over the same levels a second time seems a little lazy and really saps a lot of enjoyment out of the experience. [Sept 2004, p.113]

Look at it one way, and it's a choking journey with unprecedented attention to unease and psychological horror, a game framed with unparalleled sophistication. From another angle, it's just a clunky PSone throwback, with all the design wit of a dodo. [Aug 2004, p.92]

You may love it, or you may be turned away by iffy gameplay, but you’re nearly guaranteed to be creeped out.

Ultimately, The Room comes across as a game afraid of its own potential; not only afraid, in fact, but petrified. For what it achieves the game pays a heavy cost in bad calls, misjudgements and, above all, an uncharacteristically blunt edge.

When you begin to fear the tedium of yet another awkward, uncoordinated fight sequence more than the unspeakable evils themselves you know something’s not quite right.

Silent Hill 4's biggest failing is its shortage of true terror.

It suffers and revels in both gaming and horror-story clichés, but still succeeds in creating a sense of wonder and unease.