Here's my thing with _Silent Hill 2_ storytelling: I sorta feel like the reason everything manifested with a filter of James' psyche was due to the events of the OG _Silent Hill_ leaving Alessa's Otherworld less stable, since her reincarnation(Heather) was now living a happy life with Harry. To put it simply, I feel like the reason James and Henry experienced what they did was more due to the Japanese view of places being possessed(Think _Ju-On_ as an example), and thus takes away from the intended story of Alessa. However, I will say this--and let me preface by saying it's nothing more than a personal fan theory--I think the reason Travis experiences the Otherworld how he does is due to Alessa herself, trying to send him the most convoluted Reason You Suck Speech ever by forcing out his inner trauma, finding that he went through the same hell she's experiencing, and making him suffer for it because he's sending her back to it thinking he did a good thing("Let me burn"). In other words, Alessa felt so much rage at this stranger for ruining her death that she created this Otherworld as his personal hell(Note the events of the Bad Ending and how easy the gameplay seems to make getting it), thus explaining how the barrier between worlds can be crossed so easily since it was created in a spur of the moment. But that's just a fan-theory from a guy who personally feels like he knows next to nothing about the series lore, so take it for what you will. Love your videos, have a lovely day.
@Ben Sprague The fact that you(presumably a big fan of the series) were so easily able to find decently-sized holes in my theory is exactly why I said that it was made by a guy(me, who’s relatively new to the series) who personally feels like he knows pretty much nothing about the series lore.
@Ben Sprague It's cool, I actually appreciate it when someone points out potential holes in my theories--It lets me find my mistakes and learn from them. Plus, if you think about it, either of our theories could be true, but with _Silent Hill_ being _Silent Hill,_ I doubt we'll ever know the truth of Alessa's actions in _Origins._ Hell, in all likelihood, her intentions might change based on Travis' actions(Being a violent killer proves him a monster, while refusing to kill proves him a hero), thus marking the different endings as different fates that Alessa could give him based on what aspect of her savior is proven true.
@Ben Sprague Yeah, my theory was mainly meant to be about the apparent presence of two Otherworlds(One as a hell for the entire cult, the other as the "personal hells" in _SH2/Origins_ ), so I primarily focused on Alessa's rage being so powerful in the moment that the "Personal hell" Otherworld didn't form properly, thus allowing relative ease of access in _Origins_ compared to later in the timeline. Though, looking back on it, that seems to have gotten lost in the writing, so take it as you will.
I always thought that Travis was much more like Alessa, but way less powerful. She can conjure the otherworld with her mind. Travis needs to use a mirror to simply throw himself in it. Because Travis' mother references the otherworld and his ability to travel there.
Silent Hill Origins is actually my first SH game, and I liked it to the point it got me into the franchise. Of course after I played the other games I realised it wasn't that good in comparison (with Silent Hill 2 possibly being my favorite game of all time), but its still fun. I think that Origins is to Silent Hill what Dark Souls II is to Dark Souls, or what Fallout 4 is to Fallout: the weakest game in the franchise, but still a good, enjoyable game on its own.
I don't think so, dark souls 2 was still coded by the ones behind dark souls. origins was more like someone's fanfic by people who have no clue what the original game portrayed
Same, SH Origins is also the first SH game I played (just started playing them this year since I now have a better phone that can download emulator apps) but it's a bit...tiring to play. A bit boring as well. I still enjoyed it, but not as much as I enjoyed playing SH 1 in my phone.
the thing I miss in the sequels is that specific gonzo schizo vibe of the original, where doubting the sanity of the protagonist (and everyone in the town) was as much a part of the experience as finding out what the real story was (or was it)? That moment when you're playing it and think 'wait, wtf is going on?'
This is the only game outside of the trilogy that I actually like. I thought the gameplay was fun and Travis was an adorable character. It actually feels like a Silent Hill game aside from Travis being a total badass and beating monsters up with his bare hands lol. I didn’t have a lot of the issues with it that you mentioned but it’s been close to ten years since I’ve played it so I’m probably just remembering the best bits of the game. I also played on Normal whereas you play on Hard correct?
Well, even though I did bring up a lot of issues, I also liked it. I even recommend SH fans play it. It's not the perfect SH experience, but it gets really close and I commend it for that.
I feel exactly the same. Played it on my PSP back in 2007 and I really did like it back then. Hard to say if it holds up, but in my book it's a good game.
I'll never forget the first time I played this game, when I picked up a fully-functioning AK-47 towards the end of the game, saved all of its ammo, and killed the final boss in around 30 seconds with it. Probably the hardest I've ever laughed towards a video game. Best SH game. 12 billion/10. But seriously, it's not the worst SH game. The PSP version was also the first version I played, and it ran pretty smoothly for a portable title. I just kind of wish they stripped back the inventory system a bit; the tension is killed a lot when Travis can carry twelve televisions, plus a shotgun and a pistol with hundreds of rounds for each weapon.
They did have to make an SH game out of an RE4 clone in like a year all while they were probably still learning about those Quiet Lump video games. pretty good attempt considering imo
That's the nice thing about games its fantasy it doesn't has to follow real life logic if you look at games thats way every game sucks and its fake piece of shit me personally i ignore real life logic its ruins games games are supposed to be fake Its called fantasy
player unkown I think the issue is more of just the sheer amount of items he can hold and not just the fact that there’s infinite inventory. Like in other silent hill games you get less weapons but they don’t break so you’re not carrying 13 of some huge cumbersome objects for melee. Also I don’t really agree about how you say oh it’s fantasy so it doesn’t matter, because if your fantasy has no grounding in reality well then why can’t anything happen. It doesn’t make sense that someone can carry 11 first aid kits, a shotgun, a steel pipe, and ammo all at the same time but it makes even less sense to carry 3 guns, 11 IV stands, a few TVs and ammo and healing items all at the same time cause other games in the series don’t have just that sheer amount of items.
@@playerunkown8699 I don't think their problem was 'it's unrealistic', it was that killing a boss easily with an AK-47 and being able to carry whatever you want made the game too easy and the monsters unthreatening. Compare to the earlier games where you spend most of your time running from the enemies, or the bits where you have to put down all your items for a while, terrified because if something attacks you there's literally no way to defend yourself.
Legitimately one of the main reasons I actually like this game is because Silent Hill was one of the few bonding experiences between my dad and myself, and my dad was a truck driver when this game came out. I remember I had a PSP that I would let him play on to play Origins, and eventually I modded the PSP for him so he could get a bunch of PS1 games including the first game to take with him on his trips. Sadly it got lost in a flood he was caught in a few years later when he was driving, but the memories are nice.
I really liked this game when it came out for the PSP. I was a big fan of the Silent Hill series and was curious if another game developer could recreate the SH atmosphere. Although there were some issues (cramped controls, story, etc.) It overall felt as a good attempt at a Silent Hill game. The gameplay was very enjoyable, especially for a portable survival game, and some of places (sanatorium, theater) were quite creepy. Although I never replayed it, I would like to do so some day in order to see if it still holds up. Thanks for the review and the retrospective, Avalanche Reviews, I really enjoy them!
That boiler theory crumbles when you look at how much corruption and coverups are going on in the first game. It's clear that they would make up a story for the ritual. . and they also say that god is being nurtured by her pain.
Oh no! Someone thinks Alessa was burned on purpose? Like that Harry Mason fellow explicitly said in the note he left for his daughter in SH3. What do they know?
People like avalanche reviews are the reason I got back into video games. It felt like I was seeing an old friend again the moment I booted up my ps3 to play SH1. Despite that, reviews like this, are kind of the reason I worry about how the recently teased silent hill game will be received. Just hope we can all find something to like. Stay safe out there sir.
this was my first silent hill game although I already owned a ps1 back in 2003 I never knew or even heard about silent hill 1 I only know resident evil and dino crisis as a horror game back then but part of me glad that I play the game in sequential mode
Other way around for me, never played re1 but sh1. I played dc1 and 2 but only after re2 iirc. I remember finding Onimusha in a Gamestop, noticed it was made by Capcom so bought it immediately, loved it and played a lot.
24:49 that's a damn good looking ps1 game amigo hahahaha. Great review as usual, I personally liked this SH, in fact, i consider it the best western SH there ever was (let's face it, Homecoming was shoddy, Shattered Memories was just a marathon simulator and Downpour.... yea)
The other world wasn’t created by Alessa. It’s highly suggested that silent hill had always had a sinister underlying supernatural element to it. I think it’s the second or first game that talks about native Americans holding beliefs about the power the land holds.
The otherworld , as Harry calls it, was a strict creation of Alessa's. The town's pre existing spiritual power allowed her inner suffering and pain to be manifest into the real world. Creating the otherworld as a result. That's official cannon confirmed by Toyama.
My major problem with Dead Space is that the resource management is mostly just eluded to with the limited inventory but not really utilised because you are more or less forced to fight everything you encounter. But other than that, it's an excellent game, and an excellent horror game at that. To me, the resource management is really what makes a horror title a _survival_ horror title, so I'm not sure I want to call it one. I have only played the first Dead Space, though.
A lot of people seem to like the Suffering...I suppose I ought to try it? I passed it up when it was released as it just didn't look that well done, but if the same people that watch Avalanche, whose taste matches up almost exactly with mine, like that game, I'm starting to wonder about my decision years ago.
@@AvalancheReviews hey man, that's all good for me. Last night I pretty much binged them all, you do really understand how to put on a proper review. Keep it up!
This was actually my introduction to the series, and I’m glad for it. It meant I was able to appreciate it for what it was with no preconceived notions or expectations, and while I’d previously avoided the other games because I’m a chicken, this one left me wanting more and finally got me to dive into the main series. For all its many, many faults, it was pretty fun beating up monsters with booze and IV stands
I understand the frustration with how the mirror transportation works, but technically a mirror is seen as an entry into another world, the other half of Alessa for example could be why mirrors do this, and it's not until the events of SH where Alessa is so powerful that the other world actively manifests in the real world.
I think my biggest problem is the effect it has on things gameplay and horror wise. In the other games, the other world was forced on you, but now it feels more like another puzzles that needs to be solved. It makes for really fun ways to solve puzzles, but it really messes with the silent hill formula I think.
As far as i know, Origins is a merge of both SH`s main (cult oriented) plot and the protagonist`s personal story. Same goes for Homecoming but in a much lesser level. Anyway, love your video essays. You can check RagnarRox ( and his take on The Butcher) and GrandGaming channels as well regarding SH`s stories. And since i enjoy and appreciate an artist`s work, i consider supporting you all via patreon.
Dude, the reviews you give I gotta say are the best I've come across. Well versed on the subject and I can tell you LOVE the genre like I do. much respect to the RE reviews but the Silent Hill ones definitely make me wanna revisit the world again. Cheers man.
Sidebar : one element I've rapidly come to appreciate about you Jared, is that you know plenty about resolutions, dithering, planar-mapping, alpha's and even more. It's really quite a bonus because I can't stand not knowing or getting around certain graphical issues ( that usually few others make note of, leading me to believe I'm in a sardonic version of Truman Show😵). It's great to tune for the insight/experiences/overviews but to have any graphical/performance issues identified is helpful enough, but you're good enough to provide solutions or compromises.
I’ve been enjoying this retrospective. Silent Hill is near and dear to my heart, and you have absolutely done it justice. I liked what you said about some people not entirely understanding the game lore. I know I had to play the original a few times to get it all right. That had more to do with being on edge while playing it, another thing I loved about the game. I wasn’t fully processing the story because I was getting ready for what came next.
This reminds me a lot of the good old TRSHE! I like how in-depth you tend to get when analyzing the actual gameplay, regardless of whether or not you enjoy the said gameplay, it's always a solid objective analysis.
Lol hearing your experience as you dive deeper into these games sound like Alyssa's pain pulling you in. They are your Sillent Hill! Good luck jumping further into the fog and keep up the great work, as always it's a great video!
While I didn't like origins, my friend LOVED it (it was his first SH) and it got him to play the older ones which he loved even more. Which hey it's like a gateway band for a genre that's new to you, the band may not be the best but it gets you to dig more and find the gold and that in itself is respectable as the game/band has to have some good qualities in order to get someone to go down the rabbit hole.
This actually was the first Silent Hill game I played that got me into the franchise along with the first movie. I tried Silent Hill 4 but got stuck and never finished it. Also bought Shattered Memories but also didn’t finish it. Never played the OG Silent Hill 1-3 but seen play throughs. Hyped for the Silent Hill 2 remake in a few days!
As far as the post Team Silent era goes, Origins isn't bad. Its biggest problem is that it tries to answer questions no one wanted answers to while copying Silent Hill 2. The mirror switching mechanic was the only interesting idea it had, but the execution brought it down along with everything else. Still, it's definitely not as bad as Homecoming or Book of Memories.
I'm glad to see this. I had the same issues, especially with the very presence of the otherworld and the "intentional burning" of Alessa. This game should have been a stand alone game, which is what it seemed like: a stand-alone game with Alessa and the flauros slapped in at the last second. The thing with the mirrors was cool.
@@AvalancheReviews I was very pleasantly surprised when I played it, and I think it utilizes the Wii remote better than most games I played on the system. I know motion controls carry a really negative connotation, but check that version out if you can!
So glad to see another upload from you. I agree 100% on the weapons, it sounds like a neat idea in theory, one that feels akin to what you would do in real life if you found monsters attacking you, but in practice is was one of the worst weapon mechanics I have ever experienced in games. I would also add that I feel the monsters and locations really fall below the series standard, the monsters were just all the same dirty brown colour and seemed so bland, As for the locations I cannot place my finger on what felt below standard, but to me they all just felt far more bland than before. I also felt that Travis was very uninteresting (at least Henry was memorable for being boring). I felt it was odd to have 2 different story lines running in parallel, I feel if they cut have removed the origin part of the story and had focused more on Travis's personal story it would have been miles better. The butcher also felt too much like a Pyramid Head rip off. Lastly I felt the music really started to step down at this point too, it felt like Akira had moved on to focusing more on the vocal tracks than the ambient based music in the game.
This game surprised me and my friend positively. We played through every Sh, and through every ending. We played this after Homecoming, which was a let down. But this was a good surprise, with some flaws. But for some reason I forgot 100% that you can change between real world, and the otherworld at will.
I'd say this is my favourite non-team silent game, I think Travis has a bit more of a spin on the Silent Hill 2 Twist than Alex did (plus it wasn't done to death yet....)and the game feels alot more proper survival horror than homecoming,I honestly think they should have ditched the "Prequel" aspect, kept the town in it's old look due to that being when Travis was there as a child (With the ending/late-game revealing the town looking more modern after the twists.) and focusing more on Travis, maybe have a mechanic with poisonous gas monsters that poison you RE-style since his mom tried to gas him as a kid in the car for instance, have weapons that last alot longer but a limited inventory (With the ability to drop items on the spot resi--outbreak style) so you only have a few long lasting weapons at any time that you have to decide to keep or drop instead of carrying a bunch of weapons that break after defeating only 2-3 monsters. It's not exactly great, but it's not Homecoming levels of trainwreck. as for Tan Controls...well we know Sony at some point demanded that all games use "Proper" analog stick controls, it happened to Tomb Raider the Angel of Darkness, a game that came out after Silent Hill 3 and Silent hill 4 that came out later didn't have tank controls as an option so I think it might have been a demand by Sony at the time. Plus for a PSP game, it runs and looks really good and it actually has gameplay instead of feeling like a tech demo like alot of modern pretty games. I liked the chain shadow dudes, they scared the crap out of me on PS2 since they're actually hard to see with your flashlight off, you know, that thing you do by default once you hear radio static, I wish they showed more to make sneaking around enemies harder.
There are elements in the game that suggest that Travis is or is on the verge of becoming a serial killer, which is actually an interesting idea to take a main character. Unfortunately, nothing is done with this outside of a token bad ending and the Butcher because they're downplayed in favor of the prequel aspect. And the Butcher really just looks and acts like a Pyramid Head reject.
I have always loved Origins. Maybe it was because I was/am a PSP fanboy, but for straight up gameplay I think it's a blast (especially after the first playthrough).
My first game on PS2 when I was 7 years old. Gave me nightmares on the same night I played it, And its still my favorite Silent Hill Game to this day (I'm 16 now)
Wow, I didn't even know this had a PS2 release. Also, I simply love the way PSP games look. They're almost like what-if the Dreamcast's life didn't get cut short.... actually, with a single analog, D-pad, four face and two shoulder buttons, it basically had the Dreamcast's control set-up, too. Huh...
I don't know if anyone has ever mentioned this Jared, but, I can't shake the feeling that you sound quite similar to Steve Bloom, particularly as Spike Speagel in Cowboy Beebop, and yes - that is 100% a compliment! Your voice sounds awesome.
17:45 Lol you know you can put out your flashlight? right? The monsters attack you because they see the light! Also 18:42 unequip your fire weapon before you make your final blow on the ground! Thats how you save munition!
Jared, there's a game called "Them & Us". It is a survival horror game and you can even choose camera angles (Fixed like classic RE games or over the shoulder). It's still in early access but you should definitely play it or at least check it's steam page out.
I always loved origins, in fact I love both climax games, and I feel they control better than 4, I mean 1, 2 and 3 are still better but Origins was pretty good to me, and idk the story’s a bit messy but Travis is probably my second favourite protag after Heather. But I applaud the attempt and how much fun I had. Even if it isn’t amazing I still had a ton of fun, it’s like re5 & 6 still good but not as good.
I’m replaying this at the moment on Vita. I heard all the criticisms of it fudging with the lore and characters, but as a casual fan of SH I’m actually enjoying the puzzles, story and especially the atmosphere. There are some genuinely scary moments here. As you mentioned, the camera is a real pain. But I think it stems from the lack of a 2nd analog stick just as much as it does from the forced fixed camera switching. That’s probably my main complaint. I don’t even mind the combat, it’s serviceable.
When I first got this game it surprised me how well it looked on the PSP. Although the gameplay was lackluster. Later I bought it for the PS2 and was amazed about how much the little PSP could excell. Still a worthy piece of my collection, both copies.
Damn Jared uploaded this early. Hope you made it last night and just uploaded it this morning....But I know you stayed up haha. Thanks for the Reviews man.
@@nathanielhaven3453 It's less glitchy but, in my opinion, poorly written and designed. The regenerating health, the firearms that frequently disappear from your inventory, the simplistic monster designs, the extensive SH2 cribbing, the fog that allows you to see to far into the distance, the useless door peak mechanic... My complaints are minor on their own, but as a whole, I just found the game poor. I'd even take what Homecoming was trying to do over Downpour.
Never played this game before but 23:54 holy shit is that seriously how they animated the main character of a horror game witnessing an atrocity like what he's witnessing? He looks like he's watching 2 birds fight or something. He looks more confused than scared. Not surprised the horror feeling didn't resonate with the players if this is what the whole game is like.
When saying that after SH4, all the next games followed the basic "plot" of SH2 (The troublesome or criminal past of the protagonist, SH town serving as a kind of psychiatrist and the player walkthrough representing a kind of purging ritual); you failed to mention SH Shattered Memories.
I really like your retrospective video bro. You speak like a gamer not like a fan boy o hater. Glad that i found you channel. Keep those videos on fire teammate. Hello from greeting from Guadalajara!
This was my first introduction to silent hill, the first I played. I played on a regular console however and not the psp. It got me interested in the franchise as a whole. There are better silent hill games, but this will have a soft spot in my heart.
Honestly of the post-Team Silent games, this one and Homecoming are tied for my worst of the series slot. And a big part of that is how poorly the game treats the SH1 story and characters. Like Lisa who's 16/17 in Origins but is a nursing student working at a hospital, attempts to seduce Travis and is sleeping with Kaufman (making him a pedophile) and is implied to have already gotten her hooked on drugs. Or as you already mentioned with Alessa and misunderstanding of the ritual, they gave her an angry, vengeful side despite the character before that point being depicting her as a tragic, noble figure that just wanted her mother's love and was willing to sacrifice herself to protect the rest of the world from the demon god within her. If was just the story of Travis without any of the SH1 ties, it would easily be better than Homecoming in my eyes but it's mishandling of SH1 just annoys the hell out of me.
I hate Lisa looks like an old woman, she's supposed to be a young woman, I wish they'd given her one last scene in which she explains herself to Travis, like he offers her to leave town with him so she'll escape the mess she's in and she refuses saying she's already doomed or something, you know add some depth to her character instead of doing nothing with her, reducing her role to a forced cameo. And yes they turned Alessa into a cliche Hollywood style creepy child wannabe. In SH1 I felt bad for Alessa, in SH0 I just feel like cringing everytime she's on screen, she tries way to hard to be creepy.
But wouldn't you be angry if you had been abused and just burned? Let's remember the "noble" Alessa you are picturing is 7 years more mature, having had time to think about what she actually wanted to accomplish (and is perhaps even an additional 7 years old if we count the incorporation of Cheryl's memories). And you shouldn't throw around the word pedophile if you don't know what it means. 16-17 isn't even illegal in most places outside of certain U.S. states. She wouldn't even be "underage", which is the word you would be looking to use (certainly not a prepubescent child). Moving past that, 7 years is a long time to expect that her personality should still be the same as it will be in SH1 (where she is in fact only an incarnation via Alessa anyway). This depiction of her in Origins is the more accurate portrayal of her youthful personality. It is only after she experiences 7 hellish years caring for Alessa and getting deeper into drugs that she would be the person you think of her as.
This game actually reminded me why I love SH1 and the series in general. I see Origins as an extension of SH1, but without the plot. It has very similar gameplay, graphics, and atmosphere to the first SH game. When I finished Origins, I actually felt I accomplished something good in my life, so there’s that. The specific Otherworld swapping mechanics is something new to the series and it absolutely had to be included in at least one Silent Hill game. From a game design perspective, this actually makes total sense. The weakest aspect of this game is its plot and, by extension, its characters. It was trying to explain (not even that, it only showed) things that didn’t need any explanation. It doesn’t expand the Silent Hill lore in any significant way. If I discard the plot, Origins is actually one of the best experiences I had with a Silent Hill game.
My issue with this is that, silent hill physically manifested the persons inner darkness, so Travis traveling between our world and the ‘other world’ doesn’t fit in with the lore. Travis experiences would be plenty dark enough for silent hill post-Alessa’s power affecting the town’s power. Disregarding that though, the note in sh1 about manifestation of delusions says that it’s more common in adolescent girls, but never says men can’t be prone to poltergeist as well. Perhaps this would’ve been a better way to explain how he could do most things he does in the game, if they had handled it better. And as only James can see pyramid head in sh2, and even valtiel(?) apparently has a different form to anyone other than heather, it’s not a stretch to say that the butcher is one of them, albeit in a different form, one more personal to Travis.
I've always told myself that Travis, unique amongst the protagonists in the series, is NOT at conflict with his dark side. He's comfortable playing a decent dude most of the time but he has this brutish, violent streak but he's not in an existential crisis over it. THAT lets him go between light and dark worlds.
Oh yeah i think silent hill definitely had a power to it already. It even says in the book of memories that the town's power was influenced by the thoughts of the prisoners and from the plague. I think alessa just made it more powerful, to the point that it "called" to the darkness in peoples hearts. Thats how james, angela, and eddie showed up. I think travis, alessa, and claudia were the only ones able to control it.
And i think their power is similar to 'shining'. Film theorists does a good video on what it means to have the gift of shining, but basically only people that have been hurt seem to have the gift. which if you take the only people able to influence the towns power, all of them were abused at some point too.
I think those lines are to save processing power by essentially only rendering half of the vertical resolution, a similar trick was done in PS1 3D games so they would run faster.
I know this is late, but a small detail. Travis has power over the otherworld because it's hinted that he also has some sort of psychic power. That's why his mother tried to kill him as she saw his poowers as demonic. Also linking to this is the butcher creature. That's supposed to be Travis other personality. According to one of the endings, he is a serial killer. Hell, the canon ending doesn't actually deny it and, since his mother was right about his powers, he may have split personality and still be a killer in the real world.
Keep up the great work man! Love the videos (however sad this one might be) also can't wait to see your homecoming retrospective, that game has always been so divisive.
Really enjoying your retrospective videos. By any chance after when you’re done with the Silent Hill games could you maybe do ones for Dino Crisis, Fatal Frame or Alone In The Dark too? Would love to hear your perspective on those games. Cheers mate
This is the first SH that I have played (PSP) and I really loved this game!! (along with Shattered Memories and the Arcade one) I wish I have played the classics as well...😢😭
This was the first silent hill I played on my PSP and it has helped me through dark times as well. I played this game over 20 times back around 2008, next to manhunt 2. Despite there being similarities to previous silent hill games, like silent hill 2. I love origins, and it will always hold a special place in my heart. Thanks for the review. the psp version was superior tho
I think this game is the most Silent Hill-ish game made by western developers, I still think of it as an spin off though, because it has too many plot holes. But as an stand alone game is pretty fun, I did all the side content because I was so into it haha. Amazing video as usual x3 can't wait to see the abomination that Homecoming is xD
I think SH2 is the gold standard for silent hill games because of what it ADDED to the lore. It took the foundations of the first game and went the difficult route of building on it rather than doing the same thing over again in a different skin. Personally I find the cult aspect to be the least interesting part of the lore, and that's really the only thing missing in 2 aside from Alessa. Cults aren't all that original, but what was done in 2 was. if you play these games like me, and you read every note and book and look at every picture, you'll find plenty of lore from the first game, so its definitely there, but James's story resonates with so many people because of how deep and well told it is, and how it relates to being human, which is what makes it so compelling. Not to mention Akira Yamaoka's best score. I highly recommend Reinstall Paul's silent hill 2 series where he shows all of the occult connections in the game and just how amazingly detailed and well crafted the different aspects of the story are. It touches many on a level that cant even really be consciously described.
I always loved Origins. I totally missed that clue in my playthrough of SH1 that explains the location of the fire and it not being intentional. But then, you said yourself it was easily missed. I actually really like Travis Grady; he's like a cross between Kurt Russell from Big Trouble in Little China and Robert DeNiro from Taxi Driver! And I definitely here you about the whole disturbed protagonist with a dark past. Harry Mason didn't have a dark past or anything. When is someone going to go to Silent Hill with a clear mind and a bunch of guns and just go Punisher on The Order's ass?
![[LIVE] : ONE ลุมพินี 87 วันนี้!! คู่เอก "ก้องชัย vs โชคปรีชา"](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YN6e7HVnekw/mqdefault.jpg)
Here's my thing with _Silent Hill 2_ storytelling: I sorta feel like the reason everything manifested with a filter of James' psyche was due to the events of the OG _Silent Hill_ leaving Alessa's Otherworld less stable, since her reincarnation(Heather) was now living a happy life with Harry. To put it simply, I feel like the reason James and Henry experienced what they did was more due to the Japanese view of places being possessed(Think _Ju-On_ as an example), and thus takes away from the intended story of Alessa.
However, I will say this--and let me preface by saying it's nothing more than a personal fan theory--I think the reason Travis experiences the Otherworld how he does is due to Alessa herself, trying to send him the most convoluted Reason You Suck Speech ever by forcing out his inner trauma, finding that he went through the same hell she's experiencing, and making him suffer for it because he's sending her back to it thinking he did a good thing("Let me burn"). In other words, Alessa felt so much rage at this stranger for ruining her death that she created this Otherworld as his personal hell(Note the events of the Bad Ending and how easy the gameplay seems to make getting it), thus explaining how the barrier between worlds can be crossed so easily since it was created in a spur of the moment.
But that's just a fan-theory from a guy who personally feels like he knows next to nothing about the series lore, so take it for what you will. Love your videos, have a lovely day.
Hey, you have a lovely day as well!
@Ben Sprague The fact that you(presumably a big fan of the series) were so easily able to find decently-sized holes in my theory is exactly why I said that it was made by a guy(me, who’s relatively new to the series) who personally feels like he knows pretty much nothing about the series lore.
@Ben Sprague It's cool, I actually appreciate it when someone points out potential holes in my theories--It lets me find my mistakes and learn from them. Plus, if you think about it, either of our theories could be true, but with _Silent Hill_ being _Silent Hill,_ I doubt we'll ever know the truth of Alessa's actions in _Origins._ Hell, in all likelihood, her intentions might change based on Travis' actions(Being a violent killer proves him a monster, while refusing to kill proves him a hero), thus marking the different endings as different fates that Alessa could give him based on what aspect of her savior is proven true.
@Ben Sprague Yeah, my theory was mainly meant to be about the apparent presence of two Otherworlds(One as a hell for the entire cult, the other as the "personal hells" in _SH2/Origins_ ), so I primarily focused on Alessa's rage being so powerful in the moment that the "Personal hell" Otherworld didn't form properly, thus allowing relative ease of access in _Origins_ compared to later in the timeline.
Though, looking back on it, that seems to have gotten lost in the writing, so take it as you will.
I always thought that Travis was much more like Alessa, but way less powerful. She can conjure the otherworld with her mind. Travis needs to use a mirror to simply throw himself in it. Because Travis' mother references the otherworld and his ability to travel there.
Silent Hill Origins is actually my first SH game, and I liked it to the point it got me into the franchise. Of course after I played the other games I realised it wasn't that good in comparison (with Silent Hill 2 possibly being my favorite game of all time), but its still fun.
I think that Origins is to Silent Hill what Dark Souls II is to Dark Souls, or what Fallout 4 is to Fallout: the weakest game in the franchise, but still a good, enjoyable game on its own.
I don't think so, dark souls 2 was still coded by the ones behind dark souls. origins was more like someone's fanfic by people who have no clue what the original game portrayed
Aaron Page you don’t get to say “I don’t think so” to someone’s opinion, fuck off.
Same, SH Origins is also the first SH game I played (just started playing them this year since I now have a better phone that can download emulator apps) but it's a bit...tiring to play. A bit boring as well. I still enjoyed it, but not as much as I enjoyed playing SH 1 in my phone.
blackwolfrules56 then why did you say *this* to *his* opinion?? Pretty hypocritical, dude.
Dark Souls 2 was best in my opinion.
the thing I miss in the sequels is that specific gonzo schizo vibe of the original, where doubting the sanity of the protagonist (and everyone in the town) was as much a part of the experience as finding out what the real story was (or was it)? That moment when you're playing it and think 'wait, wtf is going on?'
Can't believe you didn't even mention the soundtrack in this review. I'll never forget the opening road walk while "O.R.T." plays.
Genuinely one of my favorite openings to a game ever.
This is the only game outside of the trilogy that I actually like. I thought the gameplay was fun and Travis was an adorable character. It actually feels like a Silent Hill game aside from Travis being a total badass and beating monsters up with his bare hands lol. I didn’t have a lot of the issues with it that you mentioned but it’s been close to ten years since I’ve played it so I’m probably just remembering the best bits of the game. I also played on Normal whereas you play on Hard correct?
Well, even though I did bring up a lot of issues, I also liked it. I even recommend SH fans play it. It's not the perfect SH experience, but it gets really close and I commend it for that.
Avalanche Reviews
Indeed you did! Great video as always 💙
I feel exactly the same. Played it on my PSP back in 2007 and I really did like it back then. Hard to say if it holds up, but in my book it's a good game.
How do you feel about SH4?
Tsuta
Precisely! 😉
It's nice to see the Avalanche Reviews treatment on the Silent Hill Series. Good stuff
Thank you!
6:23 That's the Halo of the Sun, not the Seal of Metatron.
I'll never forget the first time I played this game, when I picked up a fully-functioning AK-47 towards the end of the game, saved all of its ammo, and killed the final boss in around 30 seconds with it. Probably the hardest I've ever laughed towards a video game. Best SH game. 12 billion/10.
But seriously, it's not the worst SH game. The PSP version was also the first version I played, and it ran pretty smoothly for a portable title. I just kind of wish they stripped back the inventory system a bit; the tension is killed a lot when Travis can carry twelve televisions, plus a shotgun and a pistol with hundreds of rounds for each weapon.
They did have to make an SH game out of an RE4 clone in like a year all while they were probably still learning about those Quiet Lump video games. pretty good attempt considering imo
That's the nice thing about games its fantasy it doesn't has to follow real life logic if you look at games thats way every game sucks and its fake piece of shit me personally i ignore real life logic its ruins games games are supposed to be fake
Its called fantasy
player unkown I think the issue is more of just the sheer amount of items he can hold and not just the fact that there’s infinite inventory. Like in other silent hill games you get less weapons but they don’t break so you’re not carrying 13 of some huge cumbersome objects for melee. Also I don’t really agree about how you say oh it’s fantasy so it doesn’t matter, because if your fantasy has no grounding in reality well then why can’t anything happen. It doesn’t make sense that someone can carry 11 first aid kits, a shotgun, a steel pipe, and ammo all at the same time but it makes even less sense to carry 3 guns, 11 IV stands, a few TVs and ammo and healing items all at the same time cause other games in the series don’t have just that sheer amount of items.
@@playerunkown8699 I don't think their problem was 'it's unrealistic', it was that killing a boss easily with an AK-47 and being able to carry whatever you want made the game too easy and the monsters unthreatening. Compare to the earlier games where you spend most of your time running from the enemies, or the bits where you have to put down all your items for a while, terrified because if something attacks you there's literally no way to defend yourself.
@@theccarbiter you cant put a shotgun and a rifel in your pants every game is unrealistic
Only downpour has a more sense intertory
Legitimately one of the main reasons I actually like this game is because Silent Hill was one of the few bonding experiences between my dad and myself, and my dad was a truck driver when this game came out. I remember I had a PSP that I would let him play on to play Origins, and eventually I modded the PSP for him so he could get a bunch of PS1 games including the first game to take with him on his trips. Sadly it got lost in a flood he was caught in a few years later when he was driving, but the memories are nice.
I really liked this game when it came out for the PSP. I was a big fan of the Silent Hill series and was curious if another game developer could recreate the SH atmosphere. Although there were some issues (cramped controls, story, etc.) It overall felt as a good attempt at a Silent Hill game. The gameplay was very enjoyable, especially for a portable survival game, and some of places (sanatorium, theater) were quite creepy. Although I never replayed it, I would like to do so some day in order to see if it still holds up. Thanks for the review and the retrospective, Avalanche Reviews, I really enjoy them!
24:50
I didn't know the PS1 had a hidden HD output capability?
Ha! Yeah I'm dumb as hell
That boiler theory crumbles when you look at how much corruption and coverups are going on in the first game.
It's clear that they would make up a story for the ritual. . and they also say that god is being nurtured by her pain.
Yep, especially considering that they were leeching off of her powers.
Never clicked on a video so fast before. Thanks so much for this amazing retrospective!
It's my pleasure!!
Ahh, my first and favorite SH
It would be cool to see an ironed out and improved version on the Playstation Store but i doubt that will happen
Oh no! Someone thinks Alessa was burned on purpose? Like that Harry Mason fellow explicitly said in the note he left for his daughter in SH3. What do they know?
The fact that you are more correct than Avalance, who says the thirs game is sacrosanct, is so funny. I agree with you
People like avalanche reviews are the reason I got back into video games. It felt like I was seeing an old friend again the moment I booted up my ps3 to play SH1. Despite that, reviews like this, are kind of the reason I worry about how the recently teased silent hill game will be received. Just hope we can all find something to like. Stay safe out there sir.
this was my first silent hill game although I already owned a ps1 back in 2003 I never knew or even heard about silent hill 1 I only know resident evil and dino crisis as a horror game back then but part of me glad that I play the game in sequential mode
Other way around for me, never played re1 but sh1. I played dc1 and 2 but only after re2 iirc. I remember finding Onimusha in a Gamestop, noticed it was made by Capcom so bought it immediately, loved it and played a lot.
24:49 that's a damn good looking ps1 game amigo hahahaha. Great review as usual, I personally liked this SH, in fact, i consider it the best western SH there ever was (let's face it, Homecoming was shoddy, Shattered Memories was just a marathon simulator and Downpour.... yea)
Dahlia canonically burned Alessa on purpose. This was a fact before Origins came around. The boiler room theory is literally a joke at this point dude
The other world wasn’t created by Alessa. It’s highly suggested that silent hill had always had a sinister underlying supernatural element to it. I think it’s the second or first game that talks about native Americans holding beliefs about the power the land holds.
The otherworld , as Harry calls it, was a strict creation of Alessa's. The town's pre existing spiritual power allowed her inner suffering and pain to be manifest into the real world. Creating the otherworld as a result. That's official cannon confirmed by Toyama.
Will you be reviewing the "Dead Space" and "The Suffering" series some day?
Please? I've been asking for dead space for agessss
My major problem with Dead Space is that the resource management is mostly just eluded to with the limited inventory but not really utilised because you are more or less forced to fight everything you encounter. But other than that, it's an excellent game, and an excellent horror game at that. To me, the resource management is really what makes a horror title a _survival_ horror title, so I'm not sure I want to call it one. I have only played the first Dead Space, though.
I just bought a used copy of the suffering almost finished with hard playthrough
Oh my god... The Suffering. That game is one i have not heard in forever.. But it's still amazing!
A lot of people seem to like the Suffering...I suppose I ought to try it? I passed it up when it was released as it just didn't look that well done, but if the same people that watch Avalanche, whose taste matches up almost exactly with mine, like that game, I'm starting to wonder about my decision years ago.
24:45 Man, that's the strongest PS1 I've ever seen!
Why am I discovering your Silent Hill series just now?? The RE ones were very well put together!
Better late then never, right?
@@AvalancheReviews hey man, that's all good for me. Last night I pretty much binged them all, you do really understand how to put on a proper review. Keep it up!
This was actually my introduction to the series, and I’m glad for it. It meant I was able to appreciate it for what it was with no preconceived notions or expectations, and while I’d previously avoided the other games because I’m a chicken, this one left me wanting more and finally got me to dive into the main series.
For all its many, many faults, it was pretty fun beating up monsters with booze and IV stands
I understand the frustration with how the mirror transportation works, but technically a mirror is seen as an entry into another world, the other half of Alessa for example could be why mirrors do this, and it's not until the events of SH where Alessa is so powerful that the other world actively manifests in the real world.
I think my biggest problem is the effect it has on things gameplay and horror wise. In the other games, the other world was forced on you, but now it feels more like another puzzles that needs to be solved. It makes for really fun ways to solve puzzles, but it really messes with the silent hill formula I think.
As far as i know, Origins is a merge of both SH`s main (cult oriented) plot and the protagonist`s personal story. Same goes for Homecoming but in a much lesser level. Anyway, love your video essays. You can check RagnarRox ( and his take on The Butcher) and GrandGaming channels as well regarding SH`s stories. And since i enjoy and appreciate an artist`s work, i consider supporting you all via patreon.
Thanks so much for that! I'm not familiar with grand gaming, but being mentioned with RagnarRox is a huge compliment.
Dude, the reviews you give I gotta say are the best I've come across. Well versed on the subject and I can tell you LOVE the genre like I do. much respect to the RE reviews but the Silent Hill ones definitely make me wanna revisit the world again. Cheers man.
Sidebar : one element I've rapidly come to appreciate about you Jared, is that you know plenty about resolutions, dithering, planar-mapping, alpha's and even more.
It's really quite a bonus because I can't stand not knowing or getting around certain graphical issues ( that usually few others make note of, leading me to believe I'm in a sardonic version of Truman Show😵). It's great to tune for the insight/experiences/overviews but to have any graphical/performance issues identified is helpful enough, but you're good enough to provide solutions or compromises.
20:00 interesting use of the other world. Reminds me of the Soul Reaver games, I wonder if you played those classics.
Yeah, it's a lot like that
Or even Metroid Prime 2
Truckin' through your SH retrospectives, and man, I really love the positive vibes you end each video with. Cheers!
What a blast from the past! Thanks for the reviews and retrospectives man, always enjoy watching them.
"There will be blood..." I said aloud before clicking play.
Ah yes the start of the fan fiction saga with the only good one being Silent Hill Shattered memories
I'm playing through that one right now and I'm inclined to agree.
I think Shattered memories should be it's own game
Originally shattered memories was a different game.
I thought Homecoming was atleast "ok"
@@mysouptoocold1656 SH:SM cannot possibly be it's own game given the fact that it's a sequel to part 1's bad ending..
Found your retrospectives a month ago. Love them to bits. I'm a weak weak baby baby and know I can never play these games so I'm loving the deep dive.
I’ve been enjoying this retrospective. Silent Hill is near and dear to my heart, and you have absolutely done it justice.
I liked what you said about some people not entirely understanding the game lore. I know I had to play the original a few times to get it all right. That had more to do with being on edge while playing it, another thing I loved about the game. I wasn’t fully processing the story because I was getting ready for what came next.
This reminds me a lot of the good old TRSHE!
I like how in-depth you tend to get when analyzing the actual gameplay, regardless of whether or not you enjoy the said gameplay, it's always a solid objective analysis.
Absolutely love your retrospectives, keep it up my man!!
Thank you very much!
Thank you for sacrificing yourself playing this game and reviewing it... so that I don't have to
I'm like the Jesus Christ of SH. HAAAA!
Lol hearing your experience as you dive deeper into these games sound like Alyssa's pain pulling you in. They are your Sillent Hill! Good luck jumping further into the fog and keep up the great work, as always it's a great video!
It's like you were born to do reviews lol, I've been watching along time and you are always so accurate and fair + you ha e that voice xD
Is Silent Hill: Homecoming going to be on the table?
I'm sure he will. Considering he did all the Resident Evil games (pretty sure at least lol)
remember talking about these games on stream… I personally like a lot of the post Team Silent stuff as well, so this will be a fun ride… XD
While I didn't like origins, my friend LOVED it (it was his first SH) and it got him to play the older ones which he loved even more. Which hey it's like a gateway band for a genre that's new to you, the band may not be the best but it gets you to dig more and find the gold and that in itself is respectable as the game/band has to have some good qualities in order to get someone to go down the rabbit hole.
This actually was the first Silent Hill game I played that got me into the franchise along with the first movie. I tried Silent Hill 4 but got stuck and never finished it. Also bought Shattered Memories but also didn’t finish it. Never played the OG Silent Hill 1-3 but seen play throughs. Hyped for the Silent Hill 2 remake in a few days!
As far as the post Team Silent era goes, Origins isn't bad. Its biggest problem is that it tries to answer questions no one wanted answers to while copying Silent Hill 2. The mirror switching mechanic was the only interesting idea it had, but the execution brought it down along with everything else. Still, it's definitely not as bad as Homecoming or Book of Memories.
Ironically i think this is the best SH game post Team Silent
Honestly, I might agree.
I'm glad to see this. I had the same issues, especially with the very presence of the otherworld and the "intentional burning" of Alessa.
This game should have been a stand alone game, which is what it seemed like: a stand-alone game with Alessa and the flauros slapped in at the last second.
The thing with the mirrors was cool.
Good way to start a day with Jared paying a video
Better than a cup of coffee..........well maybe I won't go that far.
10:40- yeah, echoes of Echo Night, lol
Nothing ruins horror more than emotional schlock.
Excellent video, as usual! I'm really looking forward to Shattered Memories!
Thanks! I never played SM. Looking forward to trying it out.
@@AvalancheReviews I was very pleasantly surprised when I played it, and I think it utilizes the Wii remote better than most games I played on the system. I know motion controls carry a really negative connotation, but check that version out if you can!
coming her after playing the game, i think its pretty good, the best western SH game imo
So glad to see another upload from you.
I agree 100% on the weapons, it sounds like a neat idea in theory, one that feels akin to what you would do in real life if you found monsters attacking you, but in practice is was one of the worst weapon mechanics I have ever experienced in games.
I would also add that I feel the monsters and locations really fall below the series standard, the monsters were just all the same dirty brown colour and seemed so bland, As for the locations I cannot place my finger on what felt below standard, but to me they all just felt far more bland than before.
I also felt that Travis was very uninteresting (at least Henry was memorable for being boring).
I felt it was odd to have 2 different story lines running in parallel, I feel if they cut have removed the origin part of the story and had focused more on Travis's personal story it would have been miles better.
The butcher also felt too much like a Pyramid Head rip off.
Lastly I felt the music really started to step down at this point too, it felt like Akira had moved on to focusing more on the vocal tracks than the ambient based music in the game.
This game surprised me and my friend positively. We played through every Sh, and through every ending. We played this after Homecoming, which was a let down. But this was a good surprise, with some flaws. But for some reason I forgot 100% that you can change between real world, and the otherworld at will.
The video hadn’t started and I already hit that like button.
Got so excited when I got the notification, love when you cover anything SH!
Glad to hear it man!
Y cómprate un agujero todo con puros plumas
I'd say this is my favourite non-team silent game, I think Travis has a bit more of a spin on the Silent Hill 2 Twist than Alex did (plus it wasn't done to death yet....)and the game feels alot more proper survival horror than homecoming,I honestly think they should have ditched the "Prequel" aspect, kept the town in it's old look due to that being when Travis was there as a child (With the ending/late-game revealing the town looking more modern after the twists.) and focusing more on Travis, maybe have a mechanic with poisonous gas monsters that poison you RE-style since his mom tried to gas him as a kid in the car for instance, have weapons that last alot longer but a limited inventory (With the ability to drop items on the spot resi--outbreak style) so you only have a few long lasting weapons at any time that you have to decide to keep or drop instead of carrying a bunch of weapons that break after defeating only 2-3 monsters.
It's not exactly great, but it's not Homecoming levels of trainwreck. as for Tan Controls...well we know Sony at some point demanded that all games use "Proper" analog stick controls, it happened to Tomb Raider the Angel of Darkness, a game that came out after Silent Hill 3 and Silent hill 4 that came out later didn't have tank controls as an option so I think it might have been a demand by Sony at the time.
Plus for a PSP game, it runs and looks really good and it actually has gameplay instead of feeling like a tech demo like alot of modern pretty games.
I liked the chain shadow dudes, they scared the crap out of me on PS2 since they're actually hard to see with your flashlight off, you know, that thing you do by default once you hear radio static, I wish they showed more to make sneaking around enemies harder.
There are elements in the game that suggest that Travis is or is on the verge of becoming a serial killer, which is actually an interesting idea to take a main character. Unfortunately, nothing is done with this outside of a token bad ending and the Butcher because they're downplayed in favor of the prequel aspect. And the Butcher really just looks and acts like a Pyramid Head reject.
I have always loved Origins. Maybe it was because I was/am a PSP fanboy, but for straight up gameplay I think it's a blast (especially after the first playthrough).
I like the static filter honestly. This in fact was my first SH game and currently I still haven't beat it. I do enjoy it though!
You and RagnarRox are my go to, game-based documentary and in-depth analysis channels. You guys do great shit, keep it up!
Those invisible belt monsters were pretty damn tough to fight
Waited all day to get home and watch this. Love your Silent Hill series.
Thanks! Hope it was worth the wait.
My first game on PS2 when I was 7 years old. Gave me nightmares on the same night I played it, And its still my favorite Silent Hill Game to this day (I'm 16 now)
Symbol that appeared when Alessa used her power to erase the fire blocking Travis's path wasn't Seal of Metatron,but Halo of The Sun,Order's symbol.
Wow, I didn't even know this had a PS2 release.
Also, I simply love the way PSP games look. They're almost like what-if the Dreamcast's life didn't get cut short.... actually, with a single analog, D-pad, four face and two shoulder buttons, it basically had the Dreamcast's control set-up, too.
Huh...
I don't know if anyone has ever mentioned this Jared, but, I can't shake the feeling that you sound quite similar to Steve Bloom, particularly as Spike Speagel in Cowboy Beebop, and yes - that is 100% a compliment! Your voice sounds awesome.
Been watching all your reviews over the course of a few months too! Hope you get more subs and views! Some brilliant content sir!
17:45 Lol you know you can put out your flashlight? right? The monsters attack you because they see the light! Also 18:42 unequip your fire weapon before you make your final blow on the ground! Thats how you save munition!
I had a really shitty day today. Couldn't focus on anything. Now it's all better. This upload is one hell of a well timed surprise!
Very glad to brighten your day up a bit!
Silent Hill is like some deranged Dr. Phil. Forcing any unfortunate visitor to relive their past traumas.
Jared, there's a game called "Them & Us". It is a survival horror game and you can even choose camera angles (Fixed like classic RE games or over the shoulder). It's still in early access but you should definitely play it or at least check it's steam page out.
I always loved origins, in fact I love both climax games, and I feel they control better than 4, I mean 1, 2 and 3 are still better but Origins was pretty good to me, and idk the story’s a bit messy but Travis is probably my second favourite protag after Heather.
But I applaud the attempt and how much fun I had. Even if it isn’t amazing I still had a ton of fun, it’s like re5 & 6 still good but not as good.
Dang! 51.1K subs!
cant wait to see your *verified* check you deserved it!
I’m replaying this at the moment on Vita. I heard all the criticisms of it fudging with the lore and characters, but as a casual fan of SH I’m actually enjoying the puzzles, story and especially the atmosphere. There are some genuinely scary moments here. As you mentioned, the camera is a real pain. But I think it stems from the lack of a 2nd analog stick just as much as it does from the forced fixed camera switching. That’s probably my main complaint. I don’t even mind the combat, it’s serviceable.
When I first got this game it surprised me how well it looked on the PSP. Although the gameplay was lackluster. Later I bought it for the PS2 and was amazed about how much the little PSP could excell. Still a worthy piece of my collection, both copies.
Damn Jared uploaded this early. Hope you made it last night and just uploaded it this morning....But I know you stayed up haha. Thanks for the Reviews man.
Well, I tend to get a lot of my work done real late at night, so you're not too far off. Very glad you liked it!!
The Suffering > Silent Hill: 0rigins
Anything aside from Downpour > Silent Hill: Origins
I don't know, I think there's a little glimmer of Silent Hill in Origins. That being said, The Suffering is fun as hell.
@@12ealDealOfficial I heard that downpour was actually pretty decent post-patch
@@nathanielhaven3453 They just needed to put better monsters and more monsters.
@@nathanielhaven3453 It's less glitchy but, in my opinion, poorly written and designed. The regenerating health, the firearms that frequently disappear from your inventory, the simplistic monster designs, the extensive SH2 cribbing, the fog that allows you to see to far into the distance, the useless door peak mechanic... My complaints are minor on their own, but as a whole, I just found the game poor. I'd even take what Homecoming was trying to do over Downpour.
1:55 I can see that in the back of the box. "It exists" - Avalanche Reviews.
Personally, my favourite of the non-team silent games.
Never played this game before but 23:54 holy shit is that seriously how they animated the main character of a horror game witnessing an atrocity like what he's witnessing? He looks like he's watching 2 birds fight or something. He looks more confused than scared. Not surprised the horror feeling didn't resonate with the players if this is what the whole game is like.
HAA! Well said
Apart from the silly final boss I though Silent Hill Origins was pretty terrifying.
When saying that after SH4, all the next games followed the basic "plot" of SH2 (The troublesome or criminal past of the protagonist, SH town serving as a kind of psychiatrist and the player walkthrough representing a kind of purging ritual); you failed to mention SH Shattered Memories.
I really like your retrospective video bro. You speak like a gamer not like a fan boy o hater.
Glad that i found you channel. Keep those videos on fire teammate.
Hello from greeting from Guadalajara!
This was my first introduction to silent hill, the first I played. I played on a regular console however and not the psp. It got me interested in the franchise as a whole. There are better silent hill games, but this will have a soft spot in my heart.
Honestly of the post-Team Silent games, this one and Homecoming are tied for my worst of the series slot. And a big part of that is how poorly the game treats the SH1 story and characters. Like Lisa who's 16/17 in Origins but is a nursing student working at a hospital, attempts to seduce Travis and is sleeping with Kaufman (making him a pedophile) and is implied to have already gotten her hooked on drugs. Or as you already mentioned with Alessa and misunderstanding of the ritual, they gave her an angry, vengeful side despite the character before that point being depicting her as a tragic, noble figure that just wanted her mother's love and was willing to sacrifice herself to protect the rest of the world from the demon god within her.
If was just the story of Travis without any of the SH1 ties, it would easily be better than Homecoming in my eyes but it's mishandling of SH1 just annoys the hell out of me.
For sure
I hate Lisa looks like an old woman, she's supposed to be a young woman, I wish they'd given her one last scene in which she explains herself to Travis, like he offers her to leave town with him so she'll escape the mess she's in and she refuses saying she's already doomed or something, you know add some depth to her character instead of doing nothing with her, reducing her role to a forced cameo.
And yes they turned Alessa into a cliche Hollywood style creepy child wannabe. In SH1 I felt bad for Alessa, in SH0 I just feel like cringing everytime she's on screen, she tries way to hard to be creepy.
But wouldn't you be angry if you had been abused and just burned? Let's remember the "noble" Alessa you are picturing is 7 years more mature, having had time to think about what she actually wanted to accomplish (and is perhaps even an additional 7 years old if we count the incorporation of Cheryl's memories).
And you shouldn't throw around the word pedophile if you don't know what it means. 16-17 isn't even illegal in most places outside of certain U.S. states. She wouldn't even be "underage", which is the word you would be looking to use (certainly not a prepubescent child). Moving past that, 7 years is a long time to expect that her personality should still be the same as it will be in SH1 (where she is in fact only an incarnation via Alessa anyway). This depiction of her in Origins is the more accurate portrayal of her youthful personality. It is only after she experiences 7 hellish years caring for Alessa and getting deeper into drugs that she would be the person you think of her as.
This game actually reminded me why I love SH1 and the series in general. I see Origins as an extension of SH1, but without the plot. It has very similar gameplay, graphics, and atmosphere to the first SH game. When I finished Origins, I actually felt I accomplished something good in my life, so there’s that.
The specific Otherworld swapping mechanics is something new to the series and it absolutely had to be included in at least one Silent Hill game. From a game design perspective, this actually makes total sense.
The weakest aspect of this game is its plot and, by extension, its characters. It was trying to explain (not even that, it only showed) things that didn’t need any explanation. It doesn’t expand the Silent Hill lore in any significant way.
If I discard the plot, Origins is actually one of the best experiences I had with a Silent Hill game.
23:57 - That's the same way I'd look if I saw someone get impaled with the blunt end of a cleaver....
My issue with this is that, silent hill physically manifested the persons inner darkness, so Travis traveling between our world and the ‘other world’ doesn’t fit in with the lore. Travis experiences would be plenty dark enough for silent hill post-Alessa’s power affecting the town’s power. Disregarding that though, the note in sh1 about manifestation of delusions says that it’s more common in adolescent girls, but never says men can’t be prone to poltergeist as well. Perhaps this would’ve been a better way to explain how he could do most things he does in the game, if they had handled it better.
And as only James can see pyramid head in sh2, and even valtiel(?) apparently has a different form to anyone other than heather, it’s not a stretch to say that the butcher is one of them, albeit in a different form, one more personal to Travis.
I've always told myself that Travis, unique amongst the protagonists in the series, is NOT at conflict with his dark side. He's comfortable playing a decent dude most of the time but he has this brutish, violent streak but he's not in an existential crisis over it. THAT lets him go between light and dark worlds.
Oh yeah i think silent hill definitely had a power to it already. It even says in the book of memories that the town's power was influenced by the thoughts of the prisoners and from the plague. I think alessa just made it more powerful, to the point that it "called" to the darkness in peoples hearts. Thats how james, angela, and eddie showed up. I think travis, alessa, and claudia were the only ones able to control it.
And i think their power is similar to 'shining'. Film theorists does a good video on what it means to have the gift of shining, but basically only people that have been hurt seem to have the gift. which if you take the only people able to influence the towns power, all of them were abused at some point too.
I think those lines are to save processing power by essentially only rendering half of the vertical resolution, a similar trick was done in PS1 3D games so they would run faster.
24:05 I feel so dumb! I saw him walk to the typewriter to save and then saw him pick it up instead. Then I thought, "Is there autosaving now?"
Travis is a fucking Chad. He's the only protag who will just straight up box silent hill monsters
Yay! Hope all is well bro, another thorough video as always.
Thanks man!! Glad to hear from ya again!
I know this is late, but a small detail. Travis has power over the otherworld because it's hinted that he also has some sort of psychic power. That's why his mother tried to kill him as she saw his poowers as demonic. Also linking to this is the butcher creature. That's supposed to be Travis other personality. According to one of the endings, he is a serial killer. Hell, the canon ending doesn't actually deny it and, since his mother was right about his powers, he may have split personality and still be a killer in the real world.
Keep up the great work man! Love the videos (however sad this one might be) also can't wait to see your homecoming retrospective, that game has always been so divisive.
I haven't played it in years. I'm actually interested to give it a spin.
I can’t wait till you do Shattered Memories. Personally Origins and Shattered Memories were the only ones I’ve enjoyed since the first 4
I really liked this game, but I agreed with all you points, Jared!
Really enjoying your retrospective videos. By any chance after when you’re done with the Silent Hill games could you maybe do ones for Dino Crisis, Fatal Frame or Alone In The Dark too?
Would love to hear your perspective on those games.
Cheers mate
This is the first SH that I have played (PSP) and I really loved this game!! (along with Shattered Memories and the Arcade one) I wish I have played the classics as well...😢😭
This was the first silent hill I played on my PSP and it has helped me through dark times as well. I played this game over 20 times back around 2008, next to manhunt 2.
Despite there being similarities to previous silent hill games, like silent hill 2. I love origins, and it will always hold a special place in my heart.
Thanks for the review. the psp version was superior tho
I think this game is the most Silent Hill-ish game made by western developers, I still think of it as an spin off though, because it has too many plot holes. But as an stand alone game is pretty fun, I did all the side content because I was so into it haha.
Amazing video as usual x3 can't wait to see the abomination that Homecoming is xD
I think SH2 is the gold standard for silent hill games because of what it ADDED to the lore. It took the foundations of the first game and went the difficult route of building on it rather than doing the same thing over again in a different skin. Personally I find the cult aspect to be the least interesting part of the lore, and that's really the only thing missing in 2 aside from Alessa. Cults aren't all that original, but what was done in 2 was. if you play these games like me, and you read every note and book and look at every picture, you'll find plenty of lore from the first game, so its definitely there, but James's story resonates with so many people because of how deep and well told it is, and how it relates to being human, which is what makes it so compelling. Not to mention Akira Yamaoka's best score. I highly recommend Reinstall Paul's silent hill 2 series where he shows all of the occult connections in the game and just how amazingly detailed and well crafted the different aspects of the story are. It touches many on a level that cant even really be consciously described.
I always loved Origins. I totally missed that clue in my playthrough of SH1 that explains the location of the fire and it not being intentional. But then, you said yourself it was easily missed. I actually really like Travis Grady; he's like a cross between Kurt Russell from Big Trouble in Little China and Robert DeNiro from Taxi Driver! And I definitely here you about the whole disturbed protagonist with a dark past. Harry Mason didn't have a dark past or anything. When is someone going to go to Silent Hill with a clear mind and a bunch of guns and just go Punisher on The Order's ass?