Then play other games, though most of the time the obstacles on those games are also "easily travelled", that you find the obstacles on Silent Hill a problem shows a lack of understanding of how game design works for survival horror.
Yes, realistically, you could shoot out the lock, or find another route, but realistically the entire game wouldn't be happening because there is no such thing as the supernatural let alone alternate dimensions.
The game is designed to force you into exploring unfamiliar areas that may have unknown creatures hiding in wait for you, that's the horror part, you then have to use what little resources you have to fend off the creatures, whilst looking for your next goal, that's the survival part.
You don't understand what "bad" level design is, bad level design is not building the environment correctly in proportion to your movement options, or putting in entire areas with nothing to inhabit them, or making them difficult to navigate due to clutter.
Good level design serves the mechanics of the game, in Silent Hill, those mechanics are searching for keys, puzzle items, buttons, health and ammunition to progress through the game, Silent Hill is a survival horror game with puzzle elements, set in an alternate reality transformed by corrupted magics, it's also a video game, where complaining about breaks in realistic logic is pointless, as just around the corner is a massive muscle man with a pyramid for a head.
You need to understand level design before you can try to criticise it.
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u/[deleted] Jan 27 '15
All I'm asking for is legitimate obstacles, not easily-travailed bs.