Silent Hill: Shattered Memories Game Play Review

Just the name of this game sends shudders throughout my body. Silent Hill: Shattered Memories definitely earned its status as a psychological thriller. The game was originally designed for the Wii, so the game play is a little different than most Silent Hill games. At the beginning of the game you are in a shrink’s office, and the idea behind the storyline is that you are telling the therapist what happened in the town of Silent Hill. The therapist gives you an assessment test that asks personal questions, the purpose behind this is to tailor the game to fit you, different answers will cause different things to happen in the main story. For instance, if you answer the questions in a perverted way, the women in the game will have bigger breasts and they will act more seductive towards you.

In my opinion, the gameplay is what makes this game scary. The Wii remote is used as a flashlight, and the nunchuck is what you use to move. Most of the time, it is pitch black in the town so the flashlight is extremely necessary. Another aspect of the game that makes it even creepier is the fact that there are monsters all over the place and there is nothing you can do about it. You have absolutely no way of defending yourself against the creatures if they come after you, all you can do is be alert and run away when they start coming after you. Sneaking around is key in this game.

But Monsters are not always afoot in Silent Hill. The main character, Harry, shifts in and out of different realities while he searches for his missing daughter Cheryl. One reality is the game’s real world, where there are no monsters and it is not necessary to sneak around. But in the second reality, which the game calls “Nightmare,” the world is dark and monsters travel throughout the town. The shifts between realities are never voluntary, they occur at certain points throughout the game and cannot be controlled. Throughout certain points in the game, Harry is back at the therapist’s office, and he is asked to complete more activities similar to the quiz in the beginning, all of these activities further tailor the game to fit the player’s personality.

I was extremely surprised at how much I enjoyed this game, the storyline and gameplay combined to create a unique and thrilling survival horror game. I liked that it was different than the games that preceded it, despite the fact that it was part of a franchise. It was well developed and the game play was very smooth. It was interesting to watch Harry search for his daughter and grasp at straws trying to remember what occurred in the town of Silent Hill.