thought about the abstract daddy boss fight again and I really think playing it is a masterclass in boss and level design
the loop mirroring the cycle of abuse. the TV playing memories. the corner where the boss can't get you, but there's a blanket and a teddy bear. the way you have to smash the TV, the way the boss smashes doors and walls because angela grew up with a home constantly destroyed. the way the environment gradually deteriorates from the real world to the nightmare dimension. the way the final area has the distinct fleshy walls and mechanical pistons.
it is just MASTERFUL.
and then to run into angela again later and have her say "thank you for saving me back there... but i wish you hadn't."
you get this horrible, explicit insight to the abuse she endured, and you see her in a burning room, telling you she wishes you hadn't saved her from it. she asks you for her knife back. she says 'for me, it's always like this' because living in the constant personal hell of her trauma sets everything on fire in silent hill.
and you discover the safe corner in the boss fight because you see her duck into it. this one cubby where no one could hurt her, but with only one entrance and exit, because it's a reprieve not an escape. happy thursday
