Silent Hill: Rogue City

So I caved and klarna'd myself a PS5.

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you'll know I've spent countless (at least 50) hours trying to scare myself shitless on Silent Hill, so when I saw there was a remake of the best one receiving more praise than any other entry in Konami's cursed franchise, I go-go-gadgeted my nostalgia gland and told my brother to buy it for me for Christmas to help ease-via-compounding my seasonal depression (my mind works strangely when at all).

I just got up to Brookhaven Hospital and, so far, the game is a slam dunk, at least for me. It's like they knew exactly what made Silent Hill 2 work (unlike some recent remakes I could mention). 

The soundtrack? All there, only expanded and reinterpreted in parts to correspond with a more expanded world. All pitch perfect, even the new tracks. I don't think a Silent Hill game can really work without Akira Yamaoka. He's clearly the fuckin' man. Good job Yamaoka-san. 

The atmosphere? People wondered if replacing the odd voice-acting and old graphics would take away from what made the game special. Nope - the uncanny atmosphere is still there. The characters still act weird, only now the voice acting is actually just really good. The characters now just feel more real and still as unsettling as before. My favourite so far is Eddie. In the original he was almost a comic figure - a person who (perhaps unintentionally) added levity to the affair. Not anymore. Now he's subtle, creepy, grotesque, but stays as a repellent glutton. Also his relationship with James makes more sense, James a cautious wellwisher, Eddie awash in a fog of confusion and stupidity.

The gameplay? All the confusing bullshit is gone (but you can turn it on for a more nostalgic experience) and the puzzles have more reason to them. The combat is still awkward, clunky and difficult, but in a more naturalistic way - the new technology has taken the spirit of the original combat to new heights. It still isn't fun and that's the point. 

In a way it was an easy goal - just do what Resident Evil did for their old games, but for Silent Hill. But you have to give the ingenuity and creativity on display here its due props. 

Bloober's bloopers and Konami being Konami meant fans weren't all too excited, but the success of the remake is one of the most heartwarming stories I've heard from the gaming space in a long time. Take that haters. Good job Bloober-san. 

I haven't finished it yet, but if the game can keep up this level of quality until the end, I won't feel bad for wasting my brother's money on my own nostalgia. 

And as a lover of violence, sex and dry-as-you-can-make-it satire, I'm a massive Paul Verhoeven fan. Particularly Robocop, with its whacky world of over-militarised police and obscene corporatism. But I'm not Karl Marx and this blog isn't the Communist Manifesto.

Robocop Rogue city is GTA-esque in its tone, but Tony Hawk-ish in its sandbox. You are tethered to the fact you're a robot policeman in the same way that Tony Hawk is tethered to his skateboard, but this doesn't deplete the fun. Robocop can blow off criminals heads, slam them against the ceiling and obliterate them by throwing dumpsters. As a fan of the film, it's fun to explore the police station and enjoy all the references. It's a relaxing affair, cleaning up the crime of Detroit until it runs red with blood. 

God bless this age of remakes and other deployments of old IP meticulously strategised to extract money from big hogs like this old nerd. 

But get this! Many late nights (and a couple of gummies) I found the two games started to bleed into each other. The atmosphere lines up, some of the time! Check out the pics below and comment which you think is which!

Robocop even has a few psychological-horror sequences which had me reaching for my lead pipe before my Auto 9. 

    

    

                                               

So my recommendation is this: Silent Hill: Rogue City. I'm not talking about some sort of rubbish crossover (but if a bored modder where to do that I'd give it a go) - but get yourself Silent Hill 2 and get Robocop Rogue city and use Robocop as a palette cleanser. After running through the streets and apartment buildings of Silent Hill, nearly escaping for your life, play as Robocop and become the danger. It's an enjoyable feeling to be empowered after prolonged periods of being not empowered. 

Is this blog getting worse? Baby, that would imply it was good to begin with. 

(the editor) Dan