Bloodborne and H.P. Lovecraft

[Mr. Veech]

Quote Originally Posted by Prince James Zaleski

I don't think video games get any better than the first three Silent Hill titles.

Silent Hill 2 is a masterpiece of storytelling.

[Pharpetron]

Quote Originally Posted by nihilsum

I love the Bloodstarved Beast. So a crazy idea for a boss. Literally a bloody, flayed werewolf with flapping flesh everywhere, rushing you non-stop and poisoning you, screeching all the while. Its terrifying. The Suspicious Beggar is cool too. Its sort of one of FromSoft's archetypes, there is usually a character who will go and kill other characters in the game if you let them. But this one evolves into a crazy powerful werewolf. The Abhorrent Beast boss fight in a certain chalice dungeon is one of the hardest boss fights in the entire series in my opinion. Just plain brutal.

As far as Bloodborne boss fights are concerned, my favorite has to be the fight with the Orphan of Kos at the end of The Old Hunters. Never has a boss creature in a game conjured up in me such emotion. Seeing the newborn cosmic orphan standing there on that desolate seashore staring at that apocalyptic sun, weeping, shrieking, demented with grief at being alive and withered and skinless in a world of pain. For me, this sad skinless creature shrieking on a primordial seashore seems to represent beautifully the agony of being alive. The whole tragedy of life is there on that seashore with that orphan, and for me, the boss fight is an incredibly cathartic experience, similar in its way to the catharsis from watching a great tragedy.

[Mr. Veech]

@ Pharpetron

Its a tie between Orphan of Kos and Vicar Amelia for me.

[Pharpetron]

What I love about the fight with the Vicar Amelia is the way she screams while she fights. The first time I fought her -- I've played the game several times now -- all of her screaming was really unnerving.

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned Ludwig. After the Orphan of Cos, he's my favorite boss from Bloodborne. He's just so magnificently bizarre.

Silent Hill 4 is better than what came after, but the entire second half of the game being a retread of prior levels with the added joy of an escort mission means it doesn't reach the heights of the prior games. I like some of the early claustrophobia in the titular room, and Walter is a nice character, but the gameplay makes a fair chunk of the game a bit of a chore.

The second game is one of my favourite horror stories from any medium, but I also love the Alessa storyline of the first and third games. For me SH3 rounded off an amazing trilogy, SH4 was a mixed side story with some nice moments, and the rest are tepid attempts at rehashing SH2 – bar the charming (if unscary and non-canonical) Shattered Memories

[Mr. Veech]

@ Strength

I'll have to dust off my PS2 and find a copy of Silent Hill 4. It sounds intriguing.

Quote Originally Posted by With Strength I Burn

I understand all of your criticisms except this one. I never felt Silent Hill 4 was rehashing SH2.

When I said:

Quote Originally Posted by Prince James Zaleski

The second game is one of my favourite horror stories from any medium, but I also love the Alessa storyline of the first and third games. For me SH3 rounded off an amazing trilogy, SH4 was a mixed side story with some nice moments, and the rest are tepid attempts at rehashing SH2.

I meant all of the games after SH4 attempt to recreate SH2. The only possible exception is Shattered Memories. I like SH4 for doing something different, even if the game can be profoundly tedious at times to play and doesn't have much of an atmosphere due to the company you keep for much of the game, the bright lighting and the emphasis on melee combat or rushing through areas over survival horror mechanics.

I have some affection for it, but I find the first three more replayable. The second half of SH4 is so clearly flawed and unfinished.

[Robert Adam Gilmour]

May have said this on another thread but the fourth one wasn't originally supposed to be in the Silent Hill series (I think Konami forced it that way) and it was a troubled development, as is often the case when the second half of a game is recycled from the first half. Deadlines.

Yeah, I don't blame Team Silent. Konami forced them to give it a Silent Hill title and for it to be rushed out. If they took their time with it I'm sure many of the flaws would be ameliorated.

As it stands it's an OK game, but deeply flawed in a way the first three aren't. The main character is impossibly boring compared to James or Heather, but the Walter storyline makes the game's plot endearing and is why the game is part of my canon, unlike the western games.

[Mr. Veech]

It's a tragic shame that we'll never see Silent Hills. I admire both Kojima and Guillermo del Toro. PT, the demo, was absolutely fantastic, though I couldn't finish it on my own.

I felt that Silent Hills would've revitalized the franchise.