Recent reviews by Killerman

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Re: stability issues
it got weird for me on unlimited frame rate, but switching the frame cap to 60 fixed it.
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Short review: Easy recommendation for psychological horror fans. For Silent Hill fans specifically, think more of SH1 than SH2. Game lives up to it's content warning. "Very good" / 10.

For some more detailed thoughts, see below

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~Context:
I'm playing with the action on Story and the puzzles on Hard or "Lost in the Fog." Personally, I think Story Action and Hard puzzles is the optimum experience. I'm also partway through my NG+ run, but got too excited to wait longer to review. Played on Linux.

~Combat:
Yes, it is much more action oriented than previous installments. I understand if that puts you off, it's not exactly a typical SH gameplay experience, but I think it works if you can stomach it. For story/thematic reasons I won't spoil, the messy and overwhelming nature of the combat felt very appropriate for Hinako's story . . . Okay, the perfect dodges are a bit much, but I stand by my statement. For what it's worth, despite some lack of polish, I found it very well balanced. There's little charms you can get that give you combat buffs and they're all shockingly useful.

~Sights and Sounds:
I think they're both very good. I have a couple quibbles with the graphics, namely some weird aliasing stuff that could just be my machine, the lack of a higher frame rate cap option (30 , 60, or unlimited), and a couple shader comp stutters. Audio is across the board fantastic though. I feel like this game also has a really good grasp on the incidental creepy stuff (i.e. the apartment whisper from SH2). I got a few great great spooks and head scratching moments that are gonna sit in my brain for a while.

~Story and NG+
I won't go into any depth to avoid spoilers, but Ryukishi freaked it. It is a pretty hands off experience though, a lot of the story gets delivered through journal updates and notes that you've got to spend some interpreting. The cutscenes augment the reading instead of the other way around, if that makes sense. This game really rewards you for being a little rat, scurrying around, scrounging for notes and incidental stuff.

If you've read enough of the reviews here, you've probably also caught on that there's a pseudo nier structure where content changes between the play throughs. This is true, but I think that comparison creates a bad expectation. My experience so far has been 70/30 subtle changes to things that are overtly different. Don't expect the nier level run to run variance. It's enough to keep it fresh for me, but YMMV. There's also at least one critical change I saw that I think is easy to miss, so keep your eyes peeled.

~Closing thoughts:
I like this game a lot and I think it's a welcome addition to the Silent Hill canon. I got a hard crash during my first time against the final boss which was pretty funny.

It's got it all, folks!

It's okay Michelle, I would be depressed for three years if I fumbled her too.

That's the hurt I'm looking for

Pretty well lives up the JSR legacy

Pros:
+movement system is fantastic
+soundtrack bangs
+Story is well executed
+Environment design is spot on
+Lots of fun secrets

Cons:
-unlocking additional characters without a guide is going to be very difficult
-there were a couple times I felt like the game didn't explain what I was supposed to be doing, or where I was supposed to be going

My therapist advised me to stop playing this game

If you like your horror short on scares and heavy on atmosphere, and are willing to forgive some technical problems, it's worth the few hours it takes. It's also free, so you've got nothing to lose other than bandwidth.

A telekinetic bear slapped me so I set him on fire.
10/10

In all honesty though, you really should play this game. It's got a wonderful, unique story and setting that you won't find anywhere else and it is absolutely filled to the brim with some of the most memorable characters and moments that I've seen. I got this game day one on the ps2 and it has stuck with me ever since and I'm sure that, if you're willing to forgive a few techincal quirks, it will stay with you just as long.