The world in this game looks so beautiful, and the mix of Japanese towns and fog creates an atmosphere that kept me curious throughout the entire game while maintaining a constant sense of dread from beginning to end.

As my first Silent Hill game franchise, I honestly couldn't have picked a better place to start.

The gameplay was probably my biggest hurdle. Combat feels clunky, weapon durability can be incredibly annoying, and constantly managing stamina while trying not to die and get scarejumped by grotesque monster gets stressful. Some of the puzzles also had me completely stuck until I went back and paid closer attention to the clues (I mean watching guide on YouTube)

That said, none of those frustrations stopped me from pushing forward because the atmosphere and narrative are absolutely incredible. This is psychological horror at its best. It's the kind of story that completely consumes you, forcing you to theorycraft long after the credits roll as you try to separate the literal reality from the metaphorical symbolism.

After finished several playthrough, something finally clicked. The overall vibe reminded me a lot of one of my old favorite anime series Higurashi, Then I discovered that it has the same author, and suddenly it all made sense. No wonder the psychological mystery hits so hard.

If you're looking for smooth action gameplay in horror genre, this probably isn't the game for you. But if you're here for an unforgettable psychological horror experience with a story that sticks with you long after the credits roll, it's absolutely worth playing.

Game ran very well overall and never crashed during my playthrough. Performance was stable, with minimal stuttering around 3-4 times mostly when loading into a new scene or room.

The graphics are very good. The gameplay felt a bit repetitive, the puzzles were somewhat challenging, had to search to solve some puzzles maybe like 3-4.

As a first time SH player, this game exceeded my expectations.