Rewind Back: Silent Hill

Well looks like it's time for another Rewind Back. What game am I going to talk about today? If you love horror games, you might probably know. Or if you're just lazy and read the title, it's Silent Hill. Silent Hill began way way way back along side Resident Evil. There, they dominated with their subtle scare factor and tank controls that made you flip if you mucked up. Hard to handle controls make scary games all the more terrifying. 

This game pretty much started a legend, yet at the time of its early release it was just a really simple horror based game. The story, when just beginning the game is as basic as it gets. You are driving along a road with your seven year old daughter. Suddenly a teenager bolts in front of you and causing a crash. When you awaken, Cheryl is gone and you leave to find her in a foggy blizzard. This begins the the chilling adventure in front of you; enjoy. The first "area" of the game is simply following a figure you see in the distance. To Harry, this looks like Cheryl, which is why he follows to hastily. Down the fog ridden street you run, and during this you really feel the atmosphere and why the game is so scary. It is so quiet. The only noises you hear are your own footsteps, the huff and puff of your breath, and static from the radio you find later. Solitude and loneliness is this game's plan on scaring your socks off. 

You follow what you think is your daughter into an alley when sudden darkness falls on the world. A siren blares as it darkens, you fumble for a light and come up with a lighter. It certainly is better than nothing. As you continue down, you begin to notice some disturbing things: Blood on the ground, weird symbols on the walls, rust. This all cultivates to finding a mutilated body chained to a fence. You're then ambushed by small...things. The have knifed hands and they attack your ankles like there's so tomorrow and pass out. 

You awaken in a diner, saved by an officer named Cybil Bennett. She's in town to find out why there's no more chatter from the local precinct. You ask her to help you find your daughter, giving a brief description of her; short, black hair, just turned seven last month. Keep note of this, because Harry tends to say that every time he finds someone with a heartbeat. As you go to leave, a radio tenses up and makes a lot of noise. You decipher that it must be broken, but suddenly a flying monster bursts through the window and you must defend yourself. Arming yourself with a pistol provided by Cybil, you take it down and pocket the radio, commenting that you'll need it. This radio is a nifty device. It gives you a warning of nearby monsters and offers a little company in the isolated world.

As you progress through the game, you travel through the big places in town; the local elementary school, the hospital, lighthouse, and the amusement park. And for our enjoyment, we have great characters that make the game pretty juicy. The first character is a weird lady named, Dahlia. Dahlia is a good character and a mysterious one at that. She speaks in hymns and clues to where Cheryl might be. She's creepy and Harry somewhat trusts her, as she too knows of the Otherworld occurrences. But do not fret, she plays a bigger role. Much bigger. Another character is someone that isn't named yet. She's a teenager that Harry has been seeing everywhere he goes and the girl that caused his car crash. Again, bigger role later.

Once you reach the hospital, you meet two new characters, and these are important, Then again, any character with a pulse is important and not trying to kill Harry, The first one is a nurse. This is Lisa Garland. Lisa is the only nurse that you encounter that isn't hideously deformed and trying to kill you. And she's scared, severely. She doesn't want to leave the room you've found her in, even when you promise to take her somewhere safe. Lisa seems so innocent and helpless in the hell called Silent Hill. Harry wants to sincerely help her, but he still tries to find Cheryl. When you enter and leave the Otherworld, you wake up beside Lisa, to her, you just pass out. This makes you question your sanity.... The next is Micheal Kaufman. The first time you meet him, he's shocked. You find him sitting in a chair after killing an Airscreamer. He's puzzled at the monster. When you try to come closer. he fires and you persuade him to not kill you. He then comes to his senses, seems distressed, and hurries off to search for whatever he is looking for. You don't know what it is, but later in the game he has a much bigger role. 

Thanks to Lisa's help, you know where your next destination is, Lakeside Amusement park. You leave, but not before trying to have Lisa join you. But she says she cannot leave, even when you beg.

Now this is where the game can change as there are multiple endings to Silent Hill. You can go to Annie's Bar in a side mission to unlock the best ending, or you can go without it, settling for either the bad and bad+ ending. 

If you do opt for the side-quest, you save Kaufmann and he searches for something even still. You can beat him to a motorcycle and get a vial, Kaufmann then berates you and takes the vial away. 

You head for the lighthouse to finish your quest to find Cheryl, Dahlia says you will find all of your answers here. In Lakeside Amusement Park, you find Cybil being attacked, and here is where you can choose another ending. You can save Cybil, or you can kill her. To save her, you MUST find the broken bottle and extract the remaining liquid from it. Else you get the Good or Bad+ ending. With Cybil saved, the mystery girl appears once more and now you're ready. 

With knowledge of what to do thanks you Dahlia, you trap the young girl. With her bound, Dahlia appears, laughing. She tricked you, tricked you into trapping Alyssa, who, in a weird retrospect, is Cheryl. Suddenly, Alyssa, who's a powerful user of magic, explodes with energy and you are transported to another dimension. 

Welcome to Nowhere, which reminds us of places we've already been. One in particular, Alchemilla Hospital. We meet Lisa again, and it's not for the better. Lisa's fate isn't a pretty one. She's....a bubble head nurse just like that you battle in the hospital. She's–dead. She said she understood what happened, why she's still there. As she begs you to help, you shove her away, she begins to bleed and you run in terror. Shutting her away and leaving her.

All of this cultivates after learning of Silent Hill's past. But first, a rundown of some serious stuff.
When you met Dahlia, she gave you an item called the Flauros. She told you to use this item at symbols that you keep seeing throughout the town. This symbol is called the Mark of Samual. And using the Flauros prevents it from being completed. Believing Dahlia, you unintentionally finished each make that you found. And what does doing this do?

This allows their God's power to grow, making it stronger with each completion. The God in question is inside Alessa. Dahlia impregnated her own daughter with a demonic God and you've been seeing her everywhere. But Alessa can't go anywhere. She was horribly burned when the ritual happened and has been confined to a bed, barely alive thanks to a spell by Dahlia. Before the ritual was completed, however, Alessa expelled her remaining innocence out of Silent Hill. This innocence was a baby. A baby that Harry and his wife found. That baby was Cheryl... And the only reason you were called to Silent Hill. Was for Alessa's soul to be rejoined, and so she could finally die...

With all of this revealed, you confront Dahlia one last time. Alessa and Cheryl with her; she's ready to bring her God into this world.

Now depending on your actions in the game you can have multiple endings. From what this post has said, we get the Good+ ending. You and Cybil confront Dahlia as she is reveling in her success, that her god is coming and she is the progenitor. Alessa and Cheryl merge, resulting in an angel-like figure. But Kaufmann intervenes, throwing a ketchup bottle at the figure in bandages. Nah, just kidding, it's Aglaophotis. This liquid destroys demons on contact. With it used, the angel thrashes about and forms a new and terrifying creature; The Incubus. This thing looks scary. It has a goat's head, a horrific feminine body and a backwards/demonic halo. With Dahlia killed by her God, it's your job to kill it. With GUNS. Use all of your ammo on this boss battle, do not try to use your steel pipe or it's really going to hurt. 


With it defeated, it forms the angel once more and gives you a baby. With this, you, Cybil and Kaufmann make your escape with the world tearing itself apart. But....Kaufmann can't go with you. Namely because Lisa comes back, grabs him, and drags him through the ground. You can do nothing but run and you escape with the baby in your arms. 

With the happy ending, you and Cybil decide to raise it together considering what both of you have been through. It's the best ending. So be happy. And that is Silent Hill! 

When I was a kid, this game scared the crap out of me and in a way, it still does. This is the the gem of survival horror and it is worthy of the title. The atmosphere and setting are amazing. And sure, not every Silent Hill game is the best or comparable to previous ones. But each game tells their own story. The town makes you face inner demons that you probably didn't even know you had. With each other game in the series, I have to say; I love them all. And sure, I haven't played every game. But it's never too late to try. But I've typed long enough. I hope, hope, hope you enjoyed reading. This is my last post of the school year so I hope I did well. Have a great day and. Keep. On. GAMING! 

ALL of these images were found at Silenthill.wikia.com. Check them out for all of your answers of anything Silent Hill. 
Anything Silent Hill related is owned by Team Silent. Don't sue me, guys!