For Zack, playing Silent Hill offered more than just fear; it also brought a very unique feeling.
This feeling was similar to when he first saw the mass of snakes in the Forbidden Forest while playing Bloodborne.
As the story in the game progressed, he encountered more NPCs.
In a room that resembled a kitchen, a corpse was stuffed inside a refrigerator.
In a mid-game bathroom, there was a fat man puking his guts out into a toilet. From their conversation, James learned the man's name was Eddie.
Eddie claimed he hadn't killed anyone, and judging by his state, Eddie seemed mentally unstable.
What made Zack want to break down was that to collect clues, he had to reach into the toilet full of filth.
Watching James kneel in front of the toilet and reach inside, Zack felt a wave of nausea.
Even though this scene in the game was a cutscene rather than letting the player look directly at the toilet's contents.
But combined with the action, the splashing sound as he dug in the toilet, and the motor vibrations from the hand sensors,
It was impossible not to let one's imagination run wild!
Plus, with the immersive experience of VR mode, Zack was somewhat relieved that his VR game pod wasn't equipped with an odor sensor.
Otherwise, he felt he wouldn't be able to eat anything for the rest of the day.
The Pyramid Head from before was gruesome, but at least it was a monster.
Now, James performing a bare-handed toilet dive was just too much to handle.
Besides Eddie, who was throwing up in the bathroom earlier.
On the rooftop, Zack also saw the woman he had first encountered in the graveyard.
When he met her, she was lying in front of a floor-to-ceiling mirror in a room. From their conversation, he learned her name was Angela.
Just like Eddie before her, Angela's mental state was also very unstable.
She held a dagger in her hand, her demeanor was extremely negative, and she appeared to have suicidal tendencies.
At the same time, she was easily startled. When James invited her to explore Silent Hill together, Angela refused and asked him to hold her dagger for her.
But when James reached out to take the dagger, she was so scared that she ran off, leaving the dagger on the counter.
"What are you running for? You're the one who asked me to hold onto the dagger!"
Watching Angela flee, Zack in the room was stunned. However, compared to before, he felt a little better now.
Because based on their current behavior, the earlier Eddie and this Angela, despite their mental issues, seemed to be somewhat normal people.
But then, at the very top floor, Zack encountered that Pyramid Head again.
Like most horror game chase bosses, no matter how much you shoot, Pyramid Head couldn't be killed.
It would only turn and leave after being hit a certain number of times. After driving Pyramid Head away and returning to the misty scene outside the apartment, Zack didn't know if he should feel lucky or sad.
In the fog, he wanted to go somewhere dark, and in the darkness, he wanted to go back to the fog.
This made Zack very conflicted. On the fog-filled streets, he ran into that mischievous, unlucky child he had met in the apartment earlier.
And from her, he learned that this child seemed to know Mary. But before James could ask more, the little girl disappeared.
It felt very creepy, especially when Zack, controlling James, arrived at Rosewater Park, the creepiness intensified.
Because there, he saw a woman who looked exactly like his wife, Mary.
A stripper named Maria.
James told her about receiving Mary's letter and asked if she had seen Mary.
They had a conversation, and James recalled a place with special memories for him and Mary: the Lake View Hotel.
But as James was about to leave, Maria also asked him not to leave her alone in this place full of monsters, saying she wanted to go with him.
So, what was originally a solo journey turned into a two-person trip.
"I can't, I can't. I need a break. If I keep playing, I feel like I'm going to scare myself to death, not be scared by the monsters."
In the deathly silent, foggy town, listening to the two sets of footsteps in his ears, Zack took a deep breath and murmured softly.
Normally, in a horror game, going from solo to a duo with a reliable teammate should be a cause for joy.
Just like in the previous game, "Fireworks," it was great to have Teacher Chen for company.
But the problem was that Maria in Silent Hill, who, according to their conversation, looked exactly like the deceased Mary, and her behavior also made him feel a bit uneasy.
Compared to the earlier prank-loving little girl, the suicidal Angela, and Eddie puking in the toilet.
Maria before him, aside from being a bit alluring, was too normal.
And it was precisely this normality that made Zack's heart race with anxiety.
With every couple of steps, Zack would stop and look at Maria behind him.
He was afraid that as they walked, Maria would suddenly disappear, or that he would turn around and see Maria transformed into a ghost.
After all, this was a horror game!
...............
Players like Zack made up the vast majority.
Time and again, they would enter Silent Hill, feel a moment of relief, and then discover even more terrifying things unfolding before them.
Just as they got used to the fog, they were thrown into dark apartments.
Just as they got used to the darkness, Pyramid Head and all sorts of bizarre plots would unfold.
But at the same time, these events, while instilling fear, also revealed more mysteries that compelled players to continue out of curiosity.
For example, the various characters appearing in the game also made players curious about their fates.
When James tried to enter the bowling alley, Maria, who was accompanying him, refused to enter.
Upon entering, one could find the little girl who had been playing pranks was chatting with Eddie.
From their conversation, it was revealed that the little girl's name was Laura, and Eddie seemed to be evading the police. However, it didn't seem to be a major crime like robbery or murder.
Laura suggested he apologize to someone, but Eddie said it was useless because no one would listen to him.
When James entered, Laura seemed to deliberately avoid him and quickly fled.
James persuaded Eddie to chase Laura with him, but Eddie was busy eating pizza and said following Laura would only slow her down.
So, James had no choice but to leave Eddie and chase after her. He got information from Maria that Laura had gone to the back alley.
Following Maria through the back alley and past the Heaven's Night club, they saw Laura enter the hospital alone and open the door.
New types of monsters also appeared in the hospital.
The incredibly sexy nurse, of course, as long as you don't look at their heads.
Their heads were swollen like balloons about to burst, wrapped in bloodstained bandages. From them, no human facial features could be discerned. The only facial characteristic was a bloody jaw and teeth.
As they advanced, their bodies twitched violently, as if every joint had a mind of its own and wanted to break free from the body, wielding steel pipes that were unbefitting their profession and unleashing violence.
It was quite bizarre, but if you covered their heads and just looked at their bodies, they were actually quite fine.
You might even find yourself unable to contain your impulses, because their figures and outfits were designed to perfectly cater to certain kinks.
However, for players, arriving at the hospital meant their situation would become much worse.
First, there was a sense of disappointment.
Before this, when players first met Maria, they would generally feel a sense of suspicion.
After all, encountering a normal person in Silent Hill was inherently suspicious.
But in reality, Maria had been behaving quite normally throughout the journey.
And upon reaching the hospital, just as players had subconsciously accepted Maria as a reliable teammate and helper, Maria would tell James in the hospital that she felt unwell.
So, James had to leave her to rest in the room and go look for Laura himself.
If they hadn't had the experience with Maria up to this point, and had been alone from the start, it would have been fine.
But now that they were accustomed to Maria, this sudden separation brought a huge sense of drop, especially combined with the extremely eerie atmosphere of this horror game.
But this was just the beginning. What was even more deadly was the change in the game's environment.
As James found Laura, she told him she had met Mary a year ago. James became very angry, thinking Laura was deceiving him.
Because Mary had died three years ago. Laura then stated she could prove it and lied that a letter from Mary was in the room.
But when James entered, Laura locked the door. Three monsters in cages appeared on the ceiling.
After defeating these three monsters, the game's environment completely changed.
To the sound of sharp air raid sirens, at that moment, countless deep red, flesh-like substances appeared on the walls and spread.
Water stains, bloodstains, and mold were everywhere, along with rusted metal netting or structures.
Corpses were scattered everywhere. Roads that were previously passable were now impassable, and some that were previously impassable were now open.
Fortunately, in the basement, James found Maria, who had escaped there.
Maria was very angry, scolding James for only caring about his dead wife and not saving her.
However, after their argument, they reconciled and decided to search for Laura together.
But just as players felt relieved that Maria had rejoined the team, Pyramid Head appeared not long after.
Unlike the Pyramid Head in the apartment that would retreat after being hit a certain number of times.
This Pyramid Head in the hospital just slowly advanced and swung its great sword, no matter how James attacked.
James had to flee with Maria, escaping into the elevator. But before Maria could get into the elevator, the doors closed.
No matter how hard James tried, the elevator doors would not open.
In the end, James could only watch helplessly as Maria was killed by Pyramid Head.
Giving players hope, and then crushing that hope.
It can be said that in terms of level design and pacing, Silent Hill's performance was certainly full of malice.
(End of chapter)
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