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Silent Hill: Shattered Memories

Developer: Climax Studios Publisher: Konami
08 December 2009
Silent Hill: Shattered Memories - cover art
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3.17 / 5.0
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275 Ratings / 1 Reviews
#2,337 All-time
#86 for 2009
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Releases 3
2009 Climax Konami  
Disc
XNA 0 83717 40085 1
2010 Climax Konami  
DVD
XNA 0 83717 20186 1 SLUS-21899
2010 Climax Konami  
Disc
IT 4 012927 064061 ULES-01352
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Tension and frustration are two feelings that blend into each other, which makes the burden of making a horror game a heavier one to bear. Many fault the janky combat and aimless exploration of the Silent Hill series, because these elements aren’t particularly fun. I know I’ve had my fair share of complaints, but I’ve still had a respect for the series because fun hasn’t ever been the goal for Konami. The same can be said of Climax Studios, developer of Shattered Memories. Where Silent Hill: Homecoming made the mistake of redesigning Silent Hill as a western-minded video game, SH:SM seeks to reimagine the series as an experience. It makes for the most original and enjoyable Silent Hill since SH3.

One gets the feeling that everything that happens in SM is intentional, from the deafening ring of your cellphone to the trying chase sequences (more on those later). It’s a very controlled experience that can be considered an on-rails take on the series. You are always limited to the path in front of you, the puzzle you have to solve is limited to a room or two, and item management is nowhere to be found. It could almost be considered Silent Hill for kids if it weren’t for the haunting atmosphere and sexual themes. In fact, the game resembles Zack & Wiki in that you are always using the Wii remote to interact with the world in a literal way. You hold the controller to your head for cellphone calls, you reach out and open cabinets, and always solve puzzles with the precision of the remote. It makes for one of the most original Wii games that makes good on the promise Zack & Wiki offered so long ago. It might seem like a gimmick at the outset, but these interactions bring you into the world and make you feel more vulnerable as a result.

It’s hard to make people care about a series as niche and redundant as Silent Hill, so I can’t blame Climax Studios for its marketing blitz that played up the idea of this being a re-imagining and breaking psychological ground with technology that monitors the player’s state and acts upon it. Honestly, neither of these ideas would have come to my mind otherwise. Firstly, SM plays like Silent Hill if it leaned more on the adventure aspect than the action. There are no boss fights and the majority of the game is played within segments of puzzle solving with no sense of danger. Depending on the environment and music, these sections can be surprisingly relaxing. Silent Hill veterans will undoubtedly feel a bit let down when they discover that the merciless sense of dread from past games is gone. However, there are nine chase sequences that add a bit of tension and inevitable frustration. Like the combat in past games, the chase sequences aren’t particularly fun and make the player feel out of control of the situation — not something you want in a video game, but has its own special result relevant to this type of game. Unlike combat, these sections are easier to forgive since they don’t have a direct comparison in other games. Also, you can’t die in SM, at least not in the traditional sense. Similar to Prince of Persia, failure in these sections results in a quick respawn to the beginning of a section. I found this to be a progressive choice, as Silent Hill is an experience and not one you want constantly interrupted by game over screens nor item management and map studying for that matter.

The psychological aspect of SM feels like a joke, if only because how Climax framed the game. It’s always at the forefront of interviews about the game, and, even worse, the game boots with a screen warning you that it will psychologically analyze you. That’s like if Uncharted 2: Among Thieves had a warning screen that it will attempt to have awesome explosions. The psychological sections don’t add up to anything more than plot segments that help change the tone, bridge gaps in the story, and decide the ending the player will receive. These sections help give SM its own unique identity, but it’s hardly a game mechanic that will be remembered for years to come.

SM’s biggest problem is that it reinterprets Silent Hill conventions and calls it a day. Once you hit the mid-point after 3 hours of play, you’ve seen all the game has to offer and it's not going to go out of its way to surprise. This is a major disappointment when you consider how ripe the game is for some Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem-type mind fuckery via the Wii remote speaker or the first person view, which is applied during dialogue heavy scenes. There are a couple standout moments, but SM is a one trick pony that soon becomes a comfortable thrill ride when it would be more successful had it been more daring and confrontational for its duration. Then again, I can’t remember the last time a game asked me if I was a virgin in high school.

SM is a welcome reimagining not only of Silent Hill but also the long stagnant survival horror genre. It doesn’t have the loftiest goals and it is far from having the scope and depth of a triple-A title, but there are so many great ideas at work that you can only imagine what it would have been with the resources of a bigger project. It’s the sort of game you wish was great instead of good and that you’d loved instead of merely liked. That’s still a lot more than I can say of any Silent Hill since the first three.
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Catalog

duckienation Silent Hill: Shattered Memories 2024-03-21T04:28:40Z
2024-03-21T04:28:40Z
3.5
In collection Want to buy Used to own  
KyleTheCoolDude Silent Hill: Shattered Memories 2024-02-28T04:00:04Z
2024-02-28T04:00:04Z
In collection Want to buy Used to own  
JJ155 Silent Hill: Shattered Memories 2024-02-22T22:59:51Z
2024-02-22T22:59:51Z
In collection Want to buy Used to own  
DonMira Silent Hill: Shattered Memories 2024-02-17T15:10:21Z
2024-02-17T15:10:21Z
1
In collection Want to buy Used to own  
sonyatheotter Silent Hill: Shattered Memories 2024-02-14T10:02:26Z
2024-02-14T10:02:26Z
3.5
In collection Want to buy Used to own  
JeuneEpsy Silent Hill: Shattered Memories 2024-02-01T22:24:32Z
2024-02-01T22:24:32Z
4.0
In collection Want to buy Used to own  
lizzen Silent Hill: Shattered Memories 2024-02-01T15:47:57Z
2024-02-01T15:47:57Z
2.5
In collection Want to buy Used to own  
PonyPower Silent Hill: Shattered Memories 2024-01-28T22:26:31Z
2024-01-28T22:26:31Z
3.5
In collection Want to buy Used to own  
Sander030312 Silent Hill: Shattered Memories 2024-01-25T17:39:03Z
2024-01-25T17:39:03Z
In collection Want to buy Used to own  
faustolmachado Silent Hill: Shattered Memories 2024-01-24T03:15:18Z
2024-01-24T03:15:18Z
3.5
In collection Want to buy Used to own  
Mirror_D_80z Silent Hill: Shattered Memories 2024-01-23T08:07:48Z
Wii • XNA
2024-01-23T08:07:48Z
5.0
In collection Want to buy Used to own  
ArcanaNoctis Silent Hill: Shattered Memories 2024-01-20T01:27:45Z
2024-01-20T01:27:45Z
3.0
In collection Want to buy Used to own  
Content rating
ESRB: M
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Single-player
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1x Disc
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  • Previous comments (7) Loading...
  • A_Latin_Guy 2023-01-05 02:07:26.044365+00
    Can't believe this from the same people the made Origins. It's a much more mature and unique take on the SH story, not to mention that it takes a much more different approach, this time being more of a Psychological Thriller than a full-blown Horror game. My main gripes are the excessive linearity and the chase sequences which replace combat. They can get very tedious since they're all very similar and maze-like.

    It's a good game for sure and definitely the best one post-Team Silent.
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  • rabbit_nabokov 2023-01-10 20:11:10.179221+00
    This isn't Psychological horror
    It's Psychology horror
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  • DerHausmeister 2023-02-14 09:47:14.61588+00
    I'd like to see other experimental approaches in the future of the series, even if they come across as a bit half-baked like this one. The Kaufman sections are cringe, but the underlying scoring system for your actions is more nuanced and impressive than I remembered. Unfortunately, for the most part it's just a decent looking walking sim with some good puzzles, lame chases and gimcky interactions for the Wii.
    reply
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  • to_noid_or_not_to_noid 2023-06-07 21:09:03.079074+00
    Hopefully some of the ‘Silent Hill’ spin offs that’re on the way are as creative as this one is.
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  • Marat_Alimov 2023-06-19 04:49:08.396888+00
    Well, that was sad.
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  • rabbit_nabokov 2023-07-05 13:01:06.150779+00
    "Hot Take: Better than original"

    I'm not looking to send you to court for being a contrarian but it seems people blurting out HOT TAKE before a bad take are actively trying to add as little as possible to a potential discussion.

    I mean, look at that comment from A_Latin_Guy. Pragmatic, justifying his thoughts, just a top of the class comment.

    Hot take: This is clearly not a remake of SH1 and viewing it as such is just an obvious attempt at triggering nerds, such as myself. What a shame.
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  • jdgardenback 2024-02-09 18:33:40.701363+00
    Best post-Team Silent entry by a country mile
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