Enemies
The creepy creatures that chase you are called raw shocks. If they grab you, you will lose health until you disengage yourself. They run faster than you, so there is no way to avoid all of them.
How to Throw Them Off
If they grab you, you need to hurl them away. Big gestures aren’t necessary; the main thing that is needed is to move both hands together. I find it easiest to throw off raw shocks in front of or in back of me, since I just shove both hands forward or backward. If they are to the side, just move your hands in concert. Don’t swing your arms around disjointedly; frenetic gestures are useless.
How to Slow Them Down
At times you will pass by objects and see an onscreen indicator to move the nunchuk to throw this object to the ground. This slows raw shocks down, which will give you a little more breathing space.
How to Know Where They Are
Raw shocks will chase you or come out of buildings and rush you. If you press the down button on the direction pad you can see how many are behind you and how close they are. The remote will squeal when it’s pointed in the direction of raw shocks, so you will know if one is on the other side of a door. Unfortunately, sometimes you still need to go through that door.
How to Hide From Them
At times you’ll see something glowing a little that you can hide in. Some people claim you can regenerate health while hiding, but in my experience the raw shocks sniff you out and grab you so fast that there’s no time to regenerate health, so I soon game up on hiding.
Raw Shocks and the Flashlight
Some people claim that if you turn off the flashlight, the raw shocks are less likely to notice you, which would be in keeping with previous Silent Hill games. I couldn’t tell that it made much of a difference, and since it makes it harder to see where you’re going, I usually kept the flashlight on.
Pathfinding
In each sequence, you are simply trying to get from the starting point to a point indicated on your map. Sometimes just running through doors randomly will eventually get you where you’re going, but having a strategy can make it easier.
The GPS Map
Bring up the map by pushing the left button on the direction pad of the remote. If you press the left button a second time it closes the map. If you press A while you have the map displayed you will go into full screen mode, at which point the game is paused and you cannot be attacked.
Some people say you should check the map periodically, while others say it is useless and simply gives the raw shocks a chance to catch up. For me, the map is useful.
You can use the map’s drawing tool to draw a path to your destination. You can see little black squares representing doors, and this can help you figure out the best way to go. However, the map doesn’t indicate where ice is, so sometimes the doors you would want to go through are blocked and you will need to redraw your path. The map shows the path you have taken (which is how you can tell when you’ve gone around in a circle) so you can see when you’re diverging from your plan and try to figure out what went wrong.
Flares
Sometimes you will find a flare; they are easy to see from a distance as they shine out a bright red beacon. If you light a flare, the raw shocks will keep away from you for as long as it burns. However, you will not be able to use the map. If you drop the flare, you can stand by it and check the map and the raw shocks will still stay away. Sadly, you cannot then pick it up again.
Try not to use flares until you absolutely have to. If you can hold onto one until you think you’re near your goal, then light it and drop it so you can figure out the last bit of your trip in peace.
Miscellaneous Advice
A poster named Dewcrystal says you should never take the first door you see, that if you have a choice between a door and a door further on, take the latter. This seems to often be the case, but I didn’t follow this advice consistently so can’t guarantee it’s a useful strategy.
Video playthroughs
One of the easiest ways to get through a nightmare is to find a video of someone successfully navigating one. On YouTube, SMacReBorn has created a playlist of his entire playthrough, and titled each video with the major elements of that part of the game (he refers to the nightmares as “chases”). If you look at multiple playthroughs you’ll see there are various paths you can take to get through.
