Facebook – Top 100 FAVORITE Video Games: 98

98: Silent Hill (PS1)
Developer: Konami
Year: 1999

Survival horror has for years been dominated by one major franchise: Resident Evil. The series really started the trend (stand down, Alone in the Dark advocates! I understand that game was the “first” in the genre, but it didn’t bring about any kind of long-standing fan-following. At least, that is to say, along the same lines as the RE series). But this little game popped into existence and sort of under the radar. When the “fog” was lifted (pun intended), the genre got a shift from “Survival” to “Psychological” horror.

The key difference, here, is that rather than have shit jump out at you to cause shit to jump out OF you, the game relies more on playing with, messing with, and utterly destroying your mind to cause its scares. While monsters will creep from the fog, chase you, and massacre you if you let them, most times the setting, eeriness of your surroundings, and ambient clanging and screeching sounds will do all the work of causing you to drop a deuce in your drawers.

By today’s standards, the game lacks almost everything, however, and it is in no way instantly timeless. The visuals, voice acting, the gameplay, everything. But what makes this game great isn’t any of this; its story and immersion, and this game has the story and has plenty of hold to keep you interested in the events and characters.

The story is simple enough: father loses daughter in creepy town, fights monsters, uncovers secret cult business. Only, in this story, the cult is right and a demon IS coming. This shouldn’t be a surprise, of course, as there are MONSTERS running around, but still…

The best part of it all, though, isn’t the plot. Its simply Harry Mason, the game’s protagonist, and he’s what makes the game special. He isn’t a cop, he isn’t an ex-soldier. He’s never even held a firearm in his life before this game. He’s just a dad, scared and alone and hunting for his little girl against terrible odds. Because of this, he can’t swing a pipe wrench very well and forget about his aim… it sucks. He can’t run for very long, either, because – get this – he’s just a normal guy. So, when an inside-out baby with knives for hands peeks in through the din and fog, noises clashing together against screeches, he isn’t going to dispatch these things with any real efficiency, if at all. And that’s why he’s relatable.

All in all, the first in the series offers up a convoluted, Stephen King-style story with a great cast of characters and enough chills and spills to make it worthwhile. It doesn’t stand up to its sequel in terms of quality (then again, what game can?) but it does offer some fun battles and inspired scenarios. Games have often stolen from this series time and again, and there is no better sign of respect than imitation. And, let’s face it, this game has that bloody siren sound effect that still creeps me out, AND it was the first game to use it.

Classic Moment:
This game offers up one great rooftop battle against a giant moth that is otherworldly and amazing. The soundtrack, here, is what really sets it apart from the other boss fights, simply one long, prolonged industrial noise track, consisting – quite literally – of shredding sound effects and steel plates slamming into each other. This is, of course, no different than any of the other “songs” in the game, but the sounds directly correlate with the monster’s proximity to Harry and what is happening to/with it during the battle. Swooping at you brings about a harsh, shrill tone, while taking damage from your shotgun produces louder slamming sounds. This is done so well that, even when things are “off-beat” they sound natural and enhance the boss battle ten-fold. Well done.

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Added September 29, 2016
This game, too, would fall from the list, today.
I do love Harry Mason, though. He’ll likely always be near the top of a “Best Protagonist” list for me.
I’m soured about “Silent Hills” getting cancelled reading though…