16. Silent Hill 3 || PlayStation 2 || 12.19.22
Beginning my playthrough of Silent Hill 3 (SH3) almost immediately after finishing Silent Hill 2 (SH2), I was greatly anticipating how the series would continue. Although, whether my high expectations were met, I'm unsure.
While the plot of SH was a little disjointed alongside relying a little too much on player investigation, and SH2 being treated opposite with a story-rich experience, SH3 relies upon a more plot-centric focus as a direct sequel to the debut title, although its success pales in comparison to SH2. Whereas the second installment employed the use of stunning FMV sequences, SH3 substitutes this design choice to instead rely directly upon in-engine cutscenes. That being said, the in-game graphics are impressive considering the game released in 2003, with the cutscenes being able to convey authentic emotions and facial and body movements which was probably just not quite achievable with the series predecessor. There is certainly more to be said regarding how effective this game's cutscenes are, though, which I will detail near the end of my thoughts.
Unfortunately, the series's cohesiveness suffers with SH3's introduction. It is not something of large concern as the plot is fine as a standalone title, but for those deeply analyzing the game to understand where it stands given the established lore and rationale of the town of Silent Hill, the narrative becomes a little difficult to make proper sense of. With the debut title, the origins and explanations for the monstrous projections are defined as being caused by Alessa's powers as a result of her trauma, whereas the follow-up entry forgoes that principle by establishing that Silent Hill itself has a mystique regarding it which affects troubled persons who enter it. However, SH3 backpedals to SH rules as the world surrounding Heather transforms into the franchise's iconic environment, with Silent Hill cult member Claudia also perhaps having some control as well, which can be theorized by her steadfast faith in the church's doctrine.
Throughout the game, players control Heather, a teenage girl with some connections to Silent Hill, unbeknownst to her. As the game's events begin, Heather initially avoids the realty she's faced with after meeting a few strangers with unknown motives. The three individuals include the private investigator Douglas who's tasked with tracking Heather, aforementioned Claudia who seeks to finally achieve the birth of their church's god, and Silent Hill cult leader Vincent who acts somewhat of a trickster while guiding Heather to accomplish his own goals while thwarting Claudia's. While Heather's first immediate concern is to simply return home which proves much more difficult than expected, her second goal is to enact revenge upon Claudia after experiencing a personal loss directly caused by Claudia and to prevent her goals from being achieved, as Heather slowly but steadily becomes enlightened about her past and identity.
Following the narrative as Heather, I initially did not find her to be an interesting or even likeable protagonist. Responding to the events unfolding, Heather exhibits a lot of early 2000s edgy teen angst which develops to her being more irritated than horrified. However, I realized after playing that Heather experiences an immense amount of stress and pressure. Beginning her journey afraid, unsure, and angry, she quickly pushes aside these feelings to instead become irritated as Silent Hill's monsters and physical manifestations devolve to simple annoyances. As she encounters one after another obstacle, Heather becomes a little numb to it all. On more than one occasion, Heather will just sigh while saying lines to the affect of "Oh, this again?" Truthfully, I still have a mixed stance regarding Heather, but I think that I can admit that, while the SH3's tone and protagonist choice is effective, this choice didn't quite satisfy what I was wanting from a Silent Hill title and could have perhaps been achieved better. One early instance that can demonstrate my mixed opinions appears as an act of breaking the fourth wall while building a humorous mood as it references SH2. To me, this small and optional moment is just a bit too self-aware, but perhaps it is moments like these which help the player feeling more connected to Heather.
On the topic of gameplay, SH3 felt quite unlike the previous two entries, as it takes a much firmer approach to survival horror in regards to item management and conserving resources. This shift is not necessarily a bad thing but instead just different. I can assume that the gameplay change relates to some other characteristics—mostly the story—which are lacking, alongside how the horrors of SH2 were largely executed from a psychological standpoint which is not evident of SH3. In this entry, enemies seem much more aggressive with their numbers also feeling higher. Combined with a much more limited resource pool unlikely the previous two entries, players are forced to act more strategically in deciding when to attack and when to avoid. An added strategic element added is the inclusion of beef jerky which distracts some types of enemies so that Heather may better flee. Some areas bombard the player the enemy density, so utilizing this resource is worthwhile. With gameplay in mind, I was much more inclined to avoid enemies when possible, and especially so toward the final hours. Only at the final boss did I encounter some difficulty due to my diminished inventory, though.
In both SH and SH2, the game would move away from high-stress, claustrophobic areas to moments of relative peace as town exploration opened up which allows for players to decompress. However, virtually no exploration is offered in SH3. While I can understand the reasons why this practice wasn't employed, that sense of imbalance felt more as a result of neglect rather than decided upon. At times, the game feels just a little bit more linear than previous entries, as puzzles even felt simple enough as collecting the necessary items to solve are easy to find. As players once again revisit Silent Hill, being forced to navigate throughout its streets would probably feel overdone somewhat, although I believe focusing on another portion of the town or making new exploratory changes would mitigate this problem. Established in SH, the town is quite foggy. This aspect is lessened to a degree in SH2, but, with SH3, the fog density is elevated to such a high degree in an effort to sway players from wandering about.
One aspect which SH3 absolutely accomplishes is its sense of environment that strongly conveys pain and fear. As with a lot of other aspects, there is a wide overlap of characteristics between SH and SH3, given their direct relationship. Just as in SH, the environment in SH3 becomes emboldened with blood and rust which successfully illustrates physical pain. Whether it's in plain view, requires a moment to pause to move the camera around to observe what visuals surround Heather, or even explore optional rooms and fully down dead end hallways, gruesome sights throughout the level design are genuinely horrific to view. Every so often, small details can be found which hint at Heather's origin which steadily become more and more apparent as Heather herself gains this knowledge. Whether it be an environment change or simple observation, discovering these details and the horrors Heather herself is forced to wade through is rewarding. Having released nearly 20 years ago, the graphics and environmental detail are visually striking while still holding up well today.
For some reason, I found myself struggling with camera controls with more regularity than with SH and SH2. It was certainly an issue before, but it really become a bother while playing SH3. Another annoyance which at times related to the camera was the decision for Heather to fall down holes or off the walkway to her death. While this issue may be seen as providing just a degree of more realism to the game, I personally disliked it. Admittedly, I fell to my death more than I'd like to admit; until I reached the final boss, it was the only time in any of the three games that I had even reached a game over. If while playing a player's death in a survival horror game is attributed more to their own struggles in character movement than enemy attacks, I find that to be an issue.
In regards to music and sound design, I was disappointed since I was playing the game directly after finishing SH2. In SH3, it is the first time which lyrics accompany songs, and I just don't find this change to be successful, as a whole. Circling back to SH3's cutscenes, there were certainly emotional moments which were designed to evoke a response from the player, but they were severely weakened by vocals. Compared to SH2's haunting sounds and compelling use of silence which were, at times, even more effective at inducing fear than relying on sound, I wasn't left with any lasting impression of the game's music and sound. To be fair, I think I just prefer for a title like this to rely upon instrumentals, and these design choices were perhaps the biggest complaints I have with SH3.
Overall, SH3 is a quality game. However, does it rival SH2? Perhaps to some, but I think there are certainly more negative aspects to mention with this entry than with its predecessor. I will admit, though, that I think I would have a more positive opinion with the game if playing it again, whenever or if ever that may be. I haven't started playing Silent Hill 4, but that's soon to happen.
