10 Video Games With Incredible Stories But Terrible Gameplay

Silent Hill 4: The Room is in many respects the black sheep of the mainline series, because it opted to deviate from the firmly cemented style of the original survival horror trilogy for something markedly different.

For starters, it literally moved away from Silent Hill and was set primarily in the city of Ashfield, with protagonist Henry Townshend's apartment serving as a hub (and the game's only save point) which players could explore from a first-person perspective.

The series' iconic, often infamously challenging puzzles were also massively toned down in favour of a greater emphasis on combat, and many fans and critics were vocally critical of the game's second half, defined by repeated environments and a prolonged escort mission.

None of this is wrong at all - indeed, Silent Hill 4's gameplay pales vastly compared to the first three games, enough that even many hardcore fans struggled to get through it.

But the story gets much closer to the all-timer quality of Silent Hill 2 than most will freely admit. It's certainly more disturbing, in large part due to the unexpectedly fleshed-out characterisation of the game's antagonist, undead serial killer Walter Sullivan.

Combined with the series' typically first-rate atmospheric design, Silent Hill 4 is a mesmerising experience albeit one constantly at odds with its lackluster, often exasperating gameplay.