Chapter 763 - 763: Full of Doubts

Oppression.

This is the biggest feeling Zack and all players have when playing Silent Hill.

It's not just fear; beyond the fear, there's more of a mental burden.

If you really want to know, are there any designs in Silent Hill that make you feel very scared?

Actually, no.

In the game, there aren't monsters that suddenly appear without warning, nor will you see a ghost face the moment you turn your head or open a door.

Instead, there are specific designs. For example, the first time you see Pyramid Head, he doesn't immediately chase the player. The second time, it's just a cutscene, and in subsequent chase sequences, there are no sudden jump scares.

The same goes for the regular monsters in the game.

Silent Hill relies more on creating an atmosphere of despair and oppression through its environments.

Like the thick fog, the radio that hints at nearby monsters, and the world that becomes strange after leaving the hospital room.

And after Maria is killed by Pyramid Head, James gathers some information and learns of a term called "the Abyss."

Here, players must repeatedly jump into dark, black holes in the museum, seeking a way out.

These dark, square holes, pitch black and seemingly bottomless, require players to jump in, much like a Leap of Faith in Assassin's Creed.

Many players endure the town's fog, navigate the eerie apartments, and even have lighthearted moments with the nurse characters, but they truly falter here.

This is because when jumping into these dark holes, it's completely dark. Besides the sound of falling wind, there are no other noises.

The silence and the sensation of falling from a great height are truly unbearable.

Many players would rather be startled by a sudden monster than experience that unsettling feeling.

And it's not just the jumping.

After jumping down one hole, you still have to find the exit to the next.

Narrow labyrinthine corridors, dark worlds that feel like vast squares, and various sanity-draining traps are enough to drive players mad.

If the eeriness and oppression were limited to the environment, then combined with the game's later plot, it becomes even more confusing for the players.

This is because James arrives at Silent Hill's prison and encounters Eddie again.

Unlike the chubby kid who was previously vomiting into the toilet and eating pizza, there is now a headless corpse nearby.

In the dim setting, Eddie acts like a madman. With a bizarre expression, he mutters that killing isn't difficult; you just point a gun at someone's head and "bang."

But then he shows a panicked look, vehemently denies killing the person, and flees.

Meanwhile, in a prison cell, James sees Maria, who was supposed to have been killed by Pyramid Head while escaping via elevator.

Yet, Maria here seems to have no memory of being killed by Pyramid Head. She even mentions that James and Mary left a videotape behind when they were vacationing at the hotel.

James wants to rescue Maria, but he can't open the cell door, so he has to venture deeper into the prison to find a way.

In the depths of the prison maze, James encounters Angela, who is being attacked by a monster. However, after saving Angela, she scolds him, saying he actually didn't want Mary to stay with him and just wanted someone new.

Through conversation and hints, James learns some of Angela's story: she was sexually abused by her alcoholic father, and eventually, she stabbed him to death and fled.

After passing through the dungeon maze, James finally reaches Maria's cell, but something strange happens: Maria, who was clearly alive earlier, is now dead on the cell bed.

Having lost Maria, James has no choice but to press on.

He goes through the maze and arrives at a cold storage room.

He encounters Eddie again, who had escaped, with several corpses scattered around him.

Through their conversation, James learns that Eddie was mocked and bullied throughout his childhood for being overweight.

One day, he finally couldn't take it anymore. He shot an attacking dog belonging to a football player, injured the dog's owner's knee, and ran away.

Now, he vows to kill everyone who mocked or bullied him.

Furthermore, he tells James that since they were both summoned to this place by Silent Hill, they are the same kind of person.

With that, he immediately attacks James.

To defend himself, James is forced to kill Eddie. When he realizes he has killed someone, he begins to doubt if Mary truly died three years ago.

Are the memories in his mind real?

Just like James in the game, players who reach this point are filled with many doubts.

What kind of place is Silent Hill?

Why are there so many terrifying monsters here?

And why does the little girl Laura hate James so much?

And why did these people in the game come to Silent Hill?

Including Maria in the cell earlier, before she died, why did she repeatedly emphasize that if James wanted her to be Mary, she was Mary, and insisted she was real?

And Eddie's words, saying they were all summoned by Silent Hill.

Then, was Mary's letter real?

Why did the whole world change after coming out of the hospital room?

Which world is the real one?

Are Maria and the others real?

Countless questions swirl in the players' minds.

What story is Silent Hill telling? This becomes a question mark for many players who reach this point.

......

In the game, Zack has finished the prison level.

Leaving the cold storage, he takes a small boat and arrives at the Lake View Hotel, the place James and Mary had agreed to meet.

In front of the Lake View Hotel, just like in the town of Silent Hill, a white fog permeates the air.

The environment is still as silent as death.

However, what now makes him more curious is the truth behind all this in Silent Hill.

From what happened with Eddie and Angela earlier, and some hints,

Zack has formed a conjecture: people in Silent Hill all have some past they cannot bear to recall.

Eddie came to Silent Hill to escape the police after killing a dog and crippling its owner.

Angela came to Silent Hill after killing her abusive father while searching for her mother.

What about Laura, the bratty kid in the game, Maria who looks exactly like Mary, and James?

For what reasons did they come to Silent Hill?

What story do James and Mary have, and why are there so many monsters in Silent Hill?

With curiosity, Zack controls James and walks towards his ultimate destination, the Lake View Hotel.

He has a feeling that here, he will find the answers to all of this.

(End of chapter)

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