History YMMV / SilentHill4

* CharacterPerceptionEvolution: Henry, once universally detested as the weakest ''Silent Hill'' protagonist, managed to retroactively become tolerable or at least not as hated as before, though not quite RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap. Unlike Harry, Heather, and ''especially'' James, Henry not only has no connection to the story outside of just happening to live in Room 302, but his personality is also extremely unengaging to the point that his [[DullSurprise reactions]] often spoil the mood. But then the sequels tried to copy the original games' formula by making every new protagonist have a [[DarkAndTroubledPast tragic backstory]] often repressed by guilt that they became shallow ripoffs. Suddenly, Henry's simple motivation to just get out of his apartment was very refreshing.

** Making jokes comparing the game to another notorious work titled ''Film/TheRoom2003''. Come to think of it, Adult Walter does look a bit like Tommy Wiseau. And not only did he [[spoiler:kill himself]], he did so with a spoon...
** The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7-HrspiKfY Circumcision Theory]]. [[labelnote:Explanation]]The top administrator of the Silent Hill Wiki infamously experienced a CreatorBreakdown in 2015, insisting that the game was one elaborate metaphor for the apparent evils of circumcision, and used his admin powers to quash any edits to the contrary. The saga would unfortunately be many people's first experience with the game, and remains a meme long after the admin was ousted.[[/labelnote]]

* BaseBreakingCharacter: Fans of the game love Henry Townshend for having a simple, unique motivation and not copying the "emotionally tortured protagonist with a dark secret" formula that worked so well for [[VideoGame/SilentHill2 James Sunderland]] but gave diminishing returns for his many imitators. Detractors dislike him for failing to replace the well-used "inner torment" angle with any other kind of reason to care about him or invest in him as a character, as [[FlatCharacter he has next to no personality]], is given no substantial backstory, and seems [[DullSurprise largely indifferent to all the horrors going on around him]].

* CharacterPerceptionEvolution: Henry, once universally detested as the weakest ''Silent Hill'' protagonist, managed to retroactively become tolerable or at least not as hated as before, though not quite RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap. Unlike Harry, Heather, and ''especially'' James, Henry not only has no connection to the story outside of just happening to live in Room 302, his personality is also extremely unengaging to the point that his [[DullSurprise reactions]] often spoil the mood. But then the sequels tried to copy the original games' formula by making every new protagonist have a tragic backstory often repressed by guilt that they became shallow ripoffs. Suddenly, Henry's simple motivation to just get out of his apartment was very refreshing.

* VindicatedByHistory:
** Henry, once universally detested as the weakest ''Silent Hill'' protagonist, managed to retroactively become tolerable or at least not as hated as before, though not quite RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap. Unlike Harry, Heather, and ''especially'' James, Henry not only has no connection to the story outside of just happening to live in Room 302, his personality is also extremely unengaging to the point that his [[DullSurprise reactions]] often spoil the mood. But then the sequels tried to copy the original games' formula by making every new protagonist have a tragic backstory often repressed by guilt that they became shallow ripoffs. Suddenly, Henry's simple motivation to just get out of his apartment was very refreshing.
** The game itself was heavily condemned as TheScrappy of the Silent Hill series, criticized for lacking any interaction with the titular town, putting more emphasis on combat, and for having symbolism and themes that weren’t as powerful as past installments. With the release of the [[VideoGame/SilentHillOrigins more]] [[VideoGame/SilentHillHomecoming controversial]] [[VideoGame/SilentHillShatteredMemories American]] [[VideoGame/SilentHillDownpour developed]] games that tried to copy the same formula and character structure of the past entries with [[BrokenBase varying results]], many have come to applaud this game for trying something new with the mythos by expanding on a serial killer briefly mentioned in ''VideoGame/SilentHill2'' and found its trippy, surreal atmosphere akin to Japanese ghost stories to be a welcomed change to the series. Nowadays it’s become common for fans to defend this game as a classic in its own right, some even saying it’s their favorite in the whole series ''because'' it did something different, complimenting it as a unique addition to the series and a good send off to the "Team Silent" era games (though this love comes in spite of a few [[EscortMission highly questionable]] [[InvincibleMinorMinion gameplay elements]]).
** It helps that the game has moments that can be genuinely chilling even when the game isn't using any of its sparse jump scares. The Otherworlds of Walter have variety rather than focusing solely on the traditional "industrial hell", and the environment itself even shows the story of Walter's dismal life. The haunting mechanic in Henry's apartment adds to the tension, making returning home something to be dreaded in the last half of the game.

** The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7-HrspiKfY Circumcision Theory]]. [[labelnote:Explanation]]The top administrator of the Silent Hill Wiki infamously experienced a CreatorBreakdown in 2015, insisting that the game was one elaborate metaphor for the apparent evils of circumcision, and used his admin powers to quash any edits to the contrary. The saga would unfortunately be many people's first experience with the game, and remains a FandomEnragingMisconception long after the admin was ousted.[[/labelnote]]

** The game itself was heavily condemned as TheScrappy of the Silent Hill series, criticized for lacking any interaction with the titular town, putting more emphasis on combat, and for having symbolism and themes that weren’t as powerful as past installments. With the release of the [[VideoGame/SilentHillOrigins more]] [[VideoGame/SilentHillHomecoming controversial]] [[VideoGame/SilentHillShatteredMemories American]] [[VideoGame/SilentHillDownpour developed]] games that tried to copy the same formula and character structure of the past entries with [[BrokenBase varying results]], many have come to applaud this game for trying something new with the mythos by expanding on a serial killer briefly mentioned in ''VideoGame/SilentHill2'' and found its trippy, surreal atmosphere akin to Japanese ghost stories to be a welcomed change to the series. Nowadays it’s become common for fans to defend this game as a classic in its own right, some even saying it’s their favorite in the whole series ''because'' it did something different, complimenting it as a unique addition to the series and a good send off to the "Team Silent" era games.

* MemeticMutation: Making jokes comparing the game to another notorious work titled ''Film/TheRoom2003''. Come to think of it, Adult Walter does look a bit like Tommy Wiseau. And not only did he [[spoiler:kill himself]], he did so with a spoon...

----

* EnjoyTheStorySkipTheGame: The game was more or less panned for its obnoxious game design, but the story is regarded as one of the best in the entire Silent Hill franchise. Zero Punctuation's Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw felt it achieved this in spite of, and partly because, it never goes to the titular town.

* MemeticMutation: Making jokes comparing the game to another notorious work titled ''Film/TheRoom.'' Come to think of it, Adult Walter does look a bit like Tommy Wiseau. And not only did he [[spoiler:kill himself]], he did so with a spoon...

** It helps that the game has moments that can be genuinely chilling even when the game isn't using any of its sparse jump scares. The Otherworlds of Walter have variety rather than focusing solely on the traditional "industrial hell", and the environment itself even displays the story of Walter's dismal life. The haunting mechanic in Henry's apartment adds to the tension, making returning home something to be dreaded in the last half of the game.

*** It helps that this game has moments that can be genuinely disturbing without relying upon JumpScare techniques. The Otherworld of this game has variety to it this time around rather than focusing solely upon the Industrial Hell motif, having locations that look like real life places but twisted up by Otherworld logic into abandoned places populated with monsters. The haunting mechanic in Henry's apartment adds to the tension, making returning to your hub something to be dreaded in the final half of the game.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: A mix of WatsonianVsDoylist is used here with regards to Henry's dull attitude in the game. The Doylist think they put jack shit into the character. The Watsonian will argue that Henry's dull reactions and emotional detachment may be signs that he has Asperger's, or that they're symptoms of sleep deprivation, starvation, and dehydration. Or it could just be that he's socially-awkward and isn't used to expressing himself.

* ContestedSequel: It’s the last of the ''Team Silent'' developed games, and is the most controversial of the original 4 entries. It’s often hated by some for having uninteresting/wooden characters, uninspired monster designs, repetitive levels and graphics, poor combat and a lack of deeper themes the [[VideoGame/SilentHill2 previous]] [[VideoGame/SilentHill3 2 games]] had, condemning it as the beginning of the end of the series. However, it’s also loved by others for establishing its own creepy atmosphere, having one of the best stories within the series and for taking a risk and trying something new as opposed to copying 2&3 again, praising it as the last masterpiece of the series.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: A mix of WatsonianVsDoylist is used here with regards to Henry's dull attitude in the game. The Doyalist think they put jack shit into the character. The Watsonian will argue that Henry's dull reactions and emotional detachment may be signs that he has Asperger's, or that they're symptoms of sleep deprivation, starvation, and dehydration. Or it could just be that he's socially-awkward and isn't used to expressing himself.

* {{Narm}}: The game is almost ''casually'' weird at a lot of points just for the heck of it, with things like the apartment super keeping a smelly umbilical cord in a box in his room or a document about the tenants ganging up on a peeping Tom and stripping him naked, as a social event. They might have been going for a disturbing effect with much of it, but the straight-faced way it's presented (everyone involved treats this bizarre stuff as if it were perfectly normal) makes these moments feel like they came out of an unusually dark Creator/MontyPython sketch. See [[http://retrovania-vgjunk.blogspot.com/2016/10/silent-hill-4-is-comedy.html?m=1 this VG Junk article]] for more.

* BaseBreakingCharacter: Fans of the game love Henry Townshend for having a simple, unique motivation and not copying the "emotionally tortured protagonist with a dark secret" formula that worked so well for [[VideoGame/SilentHill2 James Sunderland]] but gave diminishing returns for his many imitators. Detractors dislike him for failing to replace the well-used "inner torment" angle with ''any'' other kind of reason to care about or invest in him as a character, as [[FlatCharacter he has next to no personality]], is given no substantial backstory, and seems [[DullSurprise largely indifferent to horrors going on around him]].

* BaseBreakingCharacter: Fans of the game love Henry Townshend for having a simple, unique motivation and not copying the "emotionally tortured protagonist with a dark secret" formula that worked so well for [[VideoGame/SilentHill2 James Sunderland]] but gave diminishing returns for his many copycats. Detractors dislike him for failing to replace the well-used "inner torment" angle with ''any'' other kind of reason to care about or invest in him as a character, as [[FlatCharacter he has next to no personality]], is given no substantial backstory, and seems [[DullSurprise largely indifferent to horrors going on around him]].

* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: Some fans complain about how the gameplay is quite different from the previous ''Silent Hill'' games. You don't use a flashlight, you can only hold ten items at a time, the game isn't as puzzle-oriented as its predecessors, and ''[[NonIndicativeName you never visit the titular town]]''. These things, combined with a complete tonal shift from a uniquely Japanese take on American SurrealHorror into more conventional J-horror (complete with an obligatory StringyHairedGhostGirl), have left it saddled with the (believable, but false) rumor that this is just a DolledUpInstallment. Though compared to the [[VideoGame/SilentHillHomecoming other]] [[VideoGame/SilentHillShatteredMemories Silent]] [[VideoGame/SilentHillDownpour Hill]] [[VideoGame/SilentHillBookOfMemories games]] released after 4, this one doesn't have that much hate as it used to have.

* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: Some fans complain about how the gameplay is quite different from the previous ''Silent Hill'' games. You don't use a flashlight, you can only hold ten items at a time, the game isn't as puzzle-oriented as its predecessors, and ''you never visit the titular town''. These things, combined with a complete tonal shift from a uniquely Japanese take on American SurrealHorror into more conventional J-horror (complete with an obligatory StringyHairedGhostGirl), have left it saddled with the (believable, but false) rumor that this is just a DolledUpInstallment. Though compared to the [[VideoGame/SilentHillHomecoming other]] [[VideoGame/SilentHillShatteredMemories Silent]] [[VideoGame/SilentHillDownpour Hill]] [[VideoGame/SilentHillBookOfMemories games]] released after 4, this one doesn't have that much hate as it used to have.

* {{Narm}}: The game is almost ''casually'' weird at a lot of points just for the heck of it, with things like the apartment super keeping a smelly umbilical cord in a box in his room or a document about the tenants ganging up on a peeping Tom and stripping him naked, as a social event. They might have been going for a disturbing effect with much of it, but the straight-faced way it's presented makes these moments feel like they came out of an unusually dark Creator/MontyPython sketch. See [[http://retrovania-vgjunk.blogspot.com/2016/10/silent-hill-4-is-comedy.html?m=1 this VG Junk article]] for more.