Silent Hill Retrospective Part 4: Silent Hill 4

Welcome to part four of our Silent Hill Retrospective, featuring Silent Hill 4: The Room.

Silent Hill 4: The Room (2004)

Out of all the games listed in our Silent Hill Retrospective 2022, Silent Hill 4: The Room is by far our favourite. Originally, it wasn’t meant to be a Silent Hill game. However, it was eventually converted to one, which is probably why it isn’t actually set in the haunted town. Instead, it heads to the south of Ashfield, one of the neighbouring cities.

You play the role of Henry Townshend living in an apartment block. The longer you remain there, the more things start happening around you. Eventually, a massive hole appears in your bathroom, teleporting you to different locations. Some of them are in Silent Hill, such as the orphanage. 

As you meet new characters, they start dying, leaving you wondering what’s happening. Radio reports and news discuss a serial killer called Walter Sullivan who went on a killing spree before committing suicide. Yet, the modus operandi is the same, making you wonder if Walter has somehow returned.

One outstanding feature midway into Silent Hill 4 was the spiral staircase that took you back to the locations you already visited. There are now more powerful enemies with the ghosts of the characters that died before. The final confrontation is, of course, with Walter Sullivan, with the ending based on previous choices and actions.

While it was clearly a departure from the previous Silent Hill games, it certainly became my favourite. The story kept me hooked, and trying to keep Eileen alive was probably one of the most challenging events. I hope Konami remakes it or follows up with a sequel.