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A brand new mod has appeared for one of the classic installments of the Silent Hill franchise. This new mod allows the players to experience the original "Silent Hill 4: The Room" in a whole new light, trying to bring up modern cameras to this classic beloved by some, and considered the blacksheep of the series by others.

X/Twitter user and developer Zealot Tomato has been working hard on the development of a mod that recreates a modern camera perspective to "Silent Hill 4: The Room" (GOG release) for a couple of months. The original Silent Hill 4 did have a 3rd person perspective, but it was a fixed camera most of the time, with the camera being set in a specific part of the stage, and most of the time following the player as it moved around in said fixed perspective.

The first major camera perspective that this mod offers is the now usual 3rd Person perspective, or rather, an Over The Shoulder (OTS) camera akin to that of the modern Resident Evil Remakes, specifically Resident Evil 2 Remake as mentioned by Zealot Tomato, complete with a free roaming camera.

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The 3rd Person/OTS camera has some options to play around with. The default preset option puts the character in the left part of the screen, with the center usually visible (similar to the REmakes). However, Zealot Tomato added an option to offset where the camera will focus in relation to the character, with the option to put the character in the center of the screen as well. The player can also play around with the camera settings to make a custom offset that fits the player's liking.

Additionally, the player also has the option for a complete and full 1st Person camera experience, both with a preset and customizable, to keep in tone with the Room segments of the game, and for a more immersive experience for those that choose to play the game this way, making Henry Townshend with this 1st Person perspective an Ethan Winters v1.0 (given their obvious similarities between each other from SH4->RE7), or possibly a precursor to P.T. for others with this camera option. And just to top it off, Zealot has also added another special option to customize the fog effect levels within the game, to give it more of a Silent Hill-feel for those that always felt that SH4 was the odd one out and blacksheep of the franchise.

Zealot has also teased his next project, with the next title from the franchise to get these 3rd Person and 1st Person camera perspectives being Silent Hill 3, so those interested can follow Zealot Tomato on X/Twitter, or follow the YouTube Channel "Zealot Tormunds" for upcoming showcases and releases of these mods.

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Silent Hill 4 Mod Loader GitHub Repository
Zealot Tomato's X/Twitter profile
Zealot Tormunds' YouTube Channel

 

[DragonMals]

Okay I am not an avid Silent Hill fan but this looks seriously impressive. How are people even able to do this with these older games???

 

[Robert Newbie]

Very interesting. Silent Hill 4 will always be a bit of an acquired taste because of its design choices, but any quality of life hacks may encourage people to give the game a try.

 

[gaga941021]

Okay I am not an avid Silent Hill fan but this looks seriously impressive. How are people even able to do this with these older games???

They are old. Easier to understand.

 

[DragonMals]

They are old. Easier to understand.

Makes sense.

 

[GothicIII]

Maybe its Just me, but didn't play the camera a huge role in the game beeing creepy?
It was scary because you can't immediatly see what's behind a corner/object etc.
Yes it was clunky but it delivered jump scares.
Nevertheless, having more options is always a good thing!

 

[DJ-Yoshiman]

Maybe its Just me, but didn't play the camera a huge role in the game beeing creepy?
It was scary because you can't immediatly see what's behind a corner/object etc.
Yes it was clunky but it delivered jump scares.
Nevertheless, having more options is always a good thing!

100%

And you're right, that's what's nice about options! Playing it for the first time and a few more times, keep the camera as intended. Now that you know the game and want to try out new things, try this mod!

 

[HUNTERFOX]

Improves your gameplay, nice love how this is being done to many older games

 

[ZeroFX]

Oh, nice. INB4 DMCA.

 

[MFDC12]

Maybe its Just me, but didn't play the camera a huge role in the game beeing creepy?
It was scary because you can't immediatly see what's behind a corner/object etc.
Yes it was clunky but it delivered jump scares.
Nevertheless, having more options is always a good thing!

QFT. As an aside, I hate OTS and first camera perspective for horror games, I’d rather have a cinematic experience with the fixed camera and forced angles. It’s why I really, really, really love the first three games of the series especially.

SH4 having first person camera in the apartment, of course, but the apartment parts are my least favorite part of the game anyways.

 

[osaka35]

impressive work. new features in a silent hill game? thank you 1000x

and 1st person. my first thought is VR, which is really a great way to upgrade silent hill games.

 

[SDA]

Hey, that's not bad actually.

 

[rudras]

Really cool... I like it!

 

[Jayro]

Hey, anything to spruce up one of the worst Silent Hill games ever made. (Did they ever officially fix the PC version so it's playable? Asking as someone who got ripped-off back in the day.)

 

[rantex92]

this is great but on the other hand it destroys the feeling of not beeing in control like team silent inteded

 

[Jayro]

this is great but on the other hand it destroys the feeling of not beeing in control like team silent inteded

It's a shit game and this mod makes it slightly less of a shit game... It really needs all the help it can get.

 

[rantex92]

It's a shit game and this mod makes it slightly less of a shit game... It really needs all the help it can get.

maybe you just cant see the beauty of this game

is it different then 1-3 ? yeah ... is the gameplay not on par with the other team silent era titles ? maybe ... but the beauty lies in psychological background and the story and dont get me started on the intro it is the scariest intro of all videogames in my opinion

plus it aint as bad as book of memories

 

[ShadowOne333]

maybe you just cant see the beauty of this game

is it different then 1-3 ? yeah ... is the gameplay not on par with the other team silent era titles ? maybe ... but the beauty lies in psychological background and the story and dont get me started on the intro it is the scariest intro of all videogames in my opinion

plus it aint as bad as book of memories

I have to agree wholeheartedly with this statement.

First off, the intro/trailer for the game still has yet to be topped, even in this day and age. That's how you create a proper gaming trailer in a masterful way.
As for the game itself, Silent Hill 4 is highly underrated, and most of the hate it gets is because it's not like the original 3 games that came before it.
To be honest, I'd always put SH4 almost on par with SH2 if not higher because of the whole psychological aspect of Walter Sullivan and the whole story surrounding him and his ordeals during the game and what put him there.

What really shines here is the counterbalance between melancholic and somber / complete dark tones. The major character here is no doubt Walter Sullivan, and still I put Walter in the top place of Silent Hill villains, no question, no one else tops him.
His psyche and motivations are incredibly well written and fucked up to the point where his backstory is so abusive and twisted, and yet the character is so focused, calmed and collected, that one cannot stop but feel some sort of foreboding horror combined with depression and tension just by his mere presence in the game. Every moment of him on screen is a sight to behold.

Sure some parts of the game don't hold up quite well, like the 2nd half of the game becoming a shore at times, but every Silent Hill game has such a portion, and between their highs and lows, SH4 is on the top of my Silent Hill list. People just get too carried away and prattle what others say about it, that they refuse to give the game a proper chance.

 

[rudras]

Well S4 is not as rich as the first 3 episode, its not even close but it still has some qualities and the specific atmosphere so I understand both of your opinion...
I personally think Homecoming, Downpour or the "thing" with multiplayer on vita are the big big crap and doesnt deserve at all the name silent hill....
Strangely I have good memories with Silent Hill shattered memories and origins on psp, it was intriguing and fun enough back at time...