Silent Hill • Retro Analysis. 

I disagree that the radio would be pointless outside of its "balancing" usage. I think it helps induce a pavlovian response in players, tying a universal familiar sound cue to a negative outcome. Even after I'm done playing Silent Hill the sound of radio static gives me dread and I'm sure I'm not the only person to experience that.

This is an amazingly satisfying video! Im adding it to my favorites. Id love to see a SH2 or 3 video. Keep up the awesome work!

Honestly, I've been spamming comments on your vids, but I have been waiting for a very long time for someone to be putting the pieces together like this. Understanding the Lynch inspiration, the metamorphosis symbology, what that symbology means. Applying some film school level analysis to video games - which is very needed.

The white frame makes it hard to look at the video because of the contrast.

I know this is an old video, but I just wanted to say that I enjoyed it. It was greatly put, I loved the "script", and even when I know the game I was able to re discover some things thanks to your refreshing point of view. No one brought up the theme of the father looking for his daughter; something that, even outside silent hill, could be terrifying. Kudos to you friend.

Poor Lisa.

very interesting video! the themes of insects was something I hadn't heard before. thank you for this, I also enjoyed the icelandic accent :)

dude why the white background in the video im 55 seconds in and i can hear my eyes screaming

Wow, I always thought Maria looked just like Cameron Diaz, but I never noticed how much Lisa and Cybil look like her too, lmao. I hope you'll think about doing a retro analysis for Silent Hill 3. I really liked this one and the one on SH2.

Great video, and really please me to see some love on Takayoshi Sato. The guy is my all time hero and a fucking genius, but sadly I couldn't prosper as he should, in part because of Konami. Thanks a lot for give to Silent Hill the respect it deserves!

It upsets me each time you say Lisa is not reliable. I have to strongly disagree. Alessa brought her back from death because she was the only person who showed her kindness and cared for her (or at least what Alessa mistook her nursing care for kindness since everyone else caused her such pain). Lisa being brought back into existence, has no memory of taking care of Alessa, or the hidden rooms in the basement. She doesn't remember Alessa, therefore she has no memory of Kaufman paying her in drugs to take care of Alessa, or any memory of getting hooked on those drugs. Thus she is not strung out or withdrawing from drugs she has no memory being addicted to. So the statement that she's a drug addict and not reliable because she's going through withdrawal is completely not true. Her addiction was part of her past life, I doubt Alessa would bring back the only kind person she knows into existence to have her strung out on white Claudia with no memory as to why. That makes absolutely no sense. When it comes to Silent Hill.... you definitely have to get all the details right.

I know I'm late to the party, but as a Silent Hill 1 fan I can tell you that if you want a game that gets atmosphere very right (and sadly game-play wrong) then check out American McGee's Alice (not the squeal). You won't be disappointed, especially when it comes to the soundtrack.

I like how the game doesn't hold your hand but at the same time it'll help you with the few hints just to get the grasp of the beginning part to prep you up for tougher obstacles. And not to mention very clever foreshadowing of the story. The sheer brilliance of the game design makes it a special game.

I think the only game that directly contradicts the boiler explosion is Origins and since Origins is a piece of crap with a plot made of wet tissue papers.. we can safely asume the explosion did happen.

I said to my brother that the very original Resident Evil looks like a more refined version of Alone in the Dark, and when you put an image of the latter game over the former, for a brief moment I became confused which was which. '_'

*they don't want you to be scared... - cut to me scream playing the game

I am surprised you didn't mention Jacobb's Ladder. Another one of Silent Hill's inspirations.

Good video! Always like to watch videos explaining the story of the first Silent Hill. And i also find it hard to play it again, because of how intense it is, even then i love it because of the story!

For myself, horror games are a double edged sword. On the one hand, I really like the atmosphere and tension they are able to create. Its such an emotional and base experience. But on the other, the struggle to survive and keep myself together mentally means I'm probably going to miss some narrative. So your video cleared up a lot of things about the game (though I admittedly never finished it and got stuck in the sewers). And stringing together the theme of Metamorphosis was damn thorough and impressive. There was a lot of insight in this video, and you were able to make 30 minutes pass by at a good pace for the most part. But I feel its only fair to make some critiques: - There are points where you will be talking, but nothing will be shown on screen for pretty large chunks of time (like 15 to 20 seconds). I know its hard to choose what you should even put over dense explanatory sentences, but I think there should be at least something mildly relevant to whats being said, even if its just for consistency sake. If you're making a video, you should utilize that medium. - Your script is full of great ideas, development backstory, and mechanical explanation, but I'd say the language is a little unrefined. Now this is may be due to the fact that English is possibly a second language to you. In any case, its always good to have someone proof read your script for things like repetition or just streamlining language. Honestly, this is kind of a nitpick and isn't something you necessarily HAVE to work on (and you may already send your scripts to friends or others to look it over), but I figured I'd bring it up in case. - I don't think you do it a lot, but if you put text on screen, make sure it contrasts well with the footage you are showing simultaneously (though the use of the overall white background in your videos makes this a little more difficult to work past). And if you do put text, I'd say try to make it correspond to what is being said to reinforce the script. Having a quote in text on screen that isn't directly said / summarized in Voice over is confusing for the viewer. I hope this isn't too harsh, I just figured I'd help a fellow analyst out. I subscribed and am awaiting your next project, looking forward to the progress you make as a creator.

Apologies for the choppy audio, I am going off the grid for a couple of weeks and decided to work with it rather than rerecord and reedit everything so I would at least have something to post.

Another thing, Cybil is not native to Silent Hill, she work at the nearby town of Brahms so is quite possible she also lives there.

I've watched all three of your (Silent Hill) analysis videos, and they've all been spectacular. I've been into Silent Hill (mostly 2 with basic knowledge of 1 and 3) for like ten years and this is extremely informational and interesting! Thank you so much for making these. :)

I really liked this analysis, specially the film influences. Great video!

Silent Hill was drawn towards its stagnation and death by conformity to an overarching cosmology and canon explaining how and why Silent Hill the way it is. That limits what it can say, for example, that it's tied into a fixed literal history. It's no longer a bafflingly unrelatable Rorschach blob of a town. Granted, one game should have a degree of self-consistency but as soon as fans , demand, and receive Silent Hill as a whole as a laid out and fully understood history of a spooky town Silent Hill is dead. It's just an autopsy, it has given up its soul.

Wouldn't it be cool if it was all redone high polygon graphics?

I’ve played just about every popular horror game of the past 20+ years but the first time the radio static starts going off after you first leave the diner but you don’t see any monsters around is still the most scared I’ve ever been by a video game. After replaying this game as an adult, I can’t believe I played this shit all the way through multiple times when I was like 11 years old.

I’ve seen a few examples of “terror” working, such as alien isolation, but the only genre that really has an impact on me are those games and movies that seek to deeply disturb rather than frighten. Somehow the presentation makes you question things about yourself. Even as you comfort yourself with the idea that you’d never have the same impulses as the proxy you play as, you begin to see the circumstances through their eyes and experience it from that perspective.

This is an amazing content, where can I find more stuff like this?

Even today, the game's creepiness still holds up.

Taking a break from the video to laugh at the part were ocarina is more influential than Half Life 🤣🤣🤣

Your videos are great. Glad I found this channel.

It's nice to see someone who knows the facts. Alessa's powers, whether by accident or on purpose, caused the boiler explosion in an attempt to stop the ritual. I think there is an article in the game that was accidentally left out in the U.S. version, which specifically mentions the boiler explosion.

Awesome video on one of my favorite games! In the end when you summarized your points on how the limitations Team Silent faced improved Silent Hill (whether intentional or accidental) it really made me think about how some of the classics and greatest titles in gaming ended up the way they are because of constraints. Now that developers face hardly any, it takes methodical thought to embed games with so much character and nuance. I'd love to see you do other titles in the Silent Hill series! Great analysis :)

Silent hill 1 is so much overlooked by silent hill 2 I can't even say, the monster are so underrated especially puppet nurses,rompers,hanged scratcher,grey child and air screamer especially parasite which we never seen in SH3 and SHO, People so much ignore this game existence because of it's graphics and cult stuff which is basically hiding child abuse and losing of child. Btw I don't hate SH2 I am just little angry.

This is my first time vi, this channel, and so far, I'm definitely enjoying it.

Great video. This game is my all time favourite. Spot on with your analysis but I think you could have mentioned how much influence the film “Jacob’s Ladder” had on the production. The parasites on the backs of nurses being an obvious example.

Still one of THE greatest horror games ever made. It's criminally overshadowed by its successors, particularly its legendary immediate sequel (presumably because it was the only installment to come out on a pre-6th generation console and be stuck with the blocky early 3D graphics) and it deserves far more appreciation and respect than it gets.

Am I the only one who’s always noticed a lot of similarity between the visuals of Metal Gear Solid and Silent Hill? Like more than just the console they’re on. They were both made by Konami and developed alongside each other. It doesn’t seem crazy to think it’s possible.

I think the last time I saw a developer make a game of a different culture with amazing detail and excellent execution was Sucker Punch with Ghost of Tsushima. They really caught some of the themes very well. The main deviation was the ending selection which goes either the traditional samurai way or the modern rebellious way which I thought was great.

I wish you'd do a longer video of silent hill 1 like you did for SH2 and 3...

Oh no... the Teddy Bears have replaced the Children. Eh.

Nice video.

Great video

While a fantastic video, another major inspiration for the series was Jacob’s Ladder!

I smashed that subscribe button so fucking hard when he drew the Lynch connection

It's probably just the Dutch accent but I feel like I'm listening to a young Bas Rutten. Love the videos, can't wait for you to make more.

well the fog part is accidental technical issue with draw distance more than it is with Mist

The moment you mentioned the boiler explosion I had to subscribe. Another good soul that really looks into the game, the inspirations and the team behind it. Not just some fencesitting SH wiki weirdo. Thank you for this beautiful video essay!

Great video bro. But i just have one simple thing to say... u really *blinded* me with the white background, I think it’s better to change it to black or make the images fit the whole screen. Other than than *I really loved the content*

As always man, great job. It would be cool if you could do one for P.T. aka Silent Hills. I really think it could have been the best iteration of the franchise .

I'll be your Lisa if you'll be my Kaufmann ; )

This is a briliant series. I'm hyped to watch it all.

I hope Silent Hill The Room remake is coming to PC

Since Silent Hill is the first video game I played, radio static gives me chills on the rare occassion I hear it nowadays.

The only serious critic I have about this vid (as a fanatic of dark modes) is the amount of white screens and white backgrounds.

I don’t care what anyone says. As a die hard Silent Hill fan, this will always be the single best entry in the series, second only to P.T Silent Hills and Silent Hill 3. In my opinion, they are the only truly scary games in the series.

I ll be back :D MGS and This will be next :D but its enough for today after watching the SH 2 summary :D

You should really play the American version of the game if at all possible, one of the spookiest and most unsettling enemies of the game are removed in the other releases.

Also no... the seal is not something causing the spread of the nightmare, Alessa is. You follow Alessa as she is casting the seals, and she carries the nightmares with her, unable to stop her power to manifest her thoughts in the physical world. Her ability to do this is why she was bullied and called a witch, why you fight butterflies, you can see all of her persona in her bedroom. The seal is just a seal and has no power to manifest anything, it's a lie Dahlia tells Harry.

I played this when it first came out. I would turn all the lights out, sit too close to the tv and crank up the volume on my stereo. The first time I entered the school courtyard, heard the radio static and saw 2 of the little "zombie kids" emerge from the dark was probably the best horror game experience I ever had.

Nice video, but doesn't give enough credit to the soundtrack used in the game ,which in my own experience, it was a huge factor in genuinely making me uneasy every time I played.

Wow , vid was way better than my expectation. You deserve more. Love your passion. Hope the best for you

This is a fantastic analysis! Because of this I’ve decided to purchase the PS1 Classic on the PS3 and take another deep dive into the game that started it all in SH1. Thanks again and keep up the good work.

Intro not mentioning Baldur's Gate and Starcraft. ;( It really was the time that set the standards of videogames to this day.

You really must do an updated mega detailed remake of this, before all the media and interviews and resources for it vanish.

Good video! Would be cool if you did sh4 ;)

Gaur ertu íslendingur? Það hljómar allavega þannig.

Silent Hill > Resident Evil Team Silent & Lynch are a deadly combination!

This video is difficult to watch because of the blinding white background.

Better technology=no more imagination for your mind.

Impressed by your demon's souls analyses; I have decided to view more.

You deserve way more subscribers then you have. Appreciate your work!

Your editing has come a long long way in the last 3 years, bravo! Still, this isn't a bad video either.

Jacobs ladder

O I sure hope you get to silent hill 4

Silent Hill Sin Hill Sin hell Silent hell Siren in hell Silent hill

Hey, I absolutely love your content! Are you planning to do a full analysis of SH3 by any chance?

hello

No David Lynch movie was EVER as scary as Silent Hill. But interesting comparison.

What about Silent Hill on GBA?

aesir stole my bike once.

Woah such inspirational ending, great video

Excellent analysis! Great channel altogether.

Why ther is nobody in the town?

I love this video, excellent work!

Can you do Silent Hill 3

Bachman Road.Not street.

Haunting Ground please

You should review spyro or Rayman with that voice not silent hill

I hope you’ll do SH4 next 🥺

what about the sitcom post-credits what the hell was that

Without silent hill background theme music this video is painfully boring. I love Silent Hill lore, it's just this presentation is so uninteresting.

Hello

Monalessa

Please do silent hill 3

why do you speak eng the same way laz people speak turkish?

Hairy.....? xD

Where are you from?

YOU SOUND LIKE DAME PESOS

.''The most influential of them all - Ocarina of time.'' Please...