This is a hard one - it's a recommendation based on story if you're a Silent Hill fan - and if you do consider playing this, please do yourself a favour and do not play on hard. This combat is abysmal and the game is near unplayable because of it. That being said, I have started a second playthrough on "Story" to go for other endings, if by the end I feel better about the game I may change the score. For now though, this combat does this game a complete disservice because everything else about it is pretty damn good. The puzzles are neat (I did them on Lost in the Fog difficulty), the environments are stunning and the story is genuinely interesting and tragic. Everything about this is what Silent Hill should be, the combat is genuinely the only major gripe I have. Along with the combat, not only is it the worst I've played in the franchise but there's far too damn much of it. Several points in the game throw 5+ enemies at you and you can't proceed without killing them, the option is rarely there to avoid enemies, especially towards the end of the game. If you avoid them you're going to be chased by a group of enemies while you run full speed and likely miss loot and/or lore, it's just not fun to play at all. I'm still playing this but it has been marked as "Beaten" because I have rolled credits for the first ending.

This is a contender for my favourite Castlevania game (tied with Aria of Sorrow), it's also a top 10 video game soundtrack of all time for me. Genuinely, I knew this game had a few good songs but every time a new one played I was jamming. The sense of progression is really satisfying, much like any Castlevania/Metroidvania game. I had issues with a boss or two by design, uncovering the map in full was kind of a chore at times, but overall, I loved almost every minute of this game. I can definitely see myself replaying it in the future. The voice acting is also hilarious. Highly recommend it!