Never played an SH game before, this a good place to start?

[Cadako]

Closest thing I've ever come to about the IP is the movie, which I'm sure doesn't do the series justice. I've also played RE on the PS1-2 back in the day which I believe has somewhat similar play styles.

That being said, would I be able to fully enjoy the game having very little knowledge about SH1 or much of the lore?

I'm sure gameplay-wise I would, but I get into the story and lore heavily as it helps my enjoyment that much further.

Or am I just overthinking this and should just watch a recap video or two about the events prior to this game and get it all the same after?

[decizion]

You don't need to have played the other Silent Hill games to enjoy this one.

[angstlicht]

sh1 and 3 (and origins, shattered memories) are their own story, most of the other SH games like 2 are one-offs with their own casts and storylines. sh2r is a pretty line-for-line recreation of sh2, which itself is pretty good. it's a much better way of getting into the franchise than has existed in some time, even if i prefer the ps2 version.

[Lumbago]

It's very fun to play. Take everyone's opinion in these blogs with a huge grain of salt though. The first four games are very enjoyable, but you don't need to have played them to enjoy this remake. Have fun.

[ArmedTerror]

I've never played any of the Silent Hill games either and I am getting it just fine. I did watch the movie, so I had some idea about how things work, but not much. I don't recommend the movie, although I always loved the premise of Silent Hill, so it was still cool to see.

[KillStealKing82]

The game is fantastic, I'm just over half way through and it's exceeded my expectations. I'm a fan of the series and played them all and this recreation is spot on.
Performance wise it's fine, you do get some traversal stutters but that's UE5 for you.

I would try and if you don't feel it get a refund, there is a lot of mud slinging being thrown at this game which I feel is really unfair. It's a lot better than Alan Wake 2 and up there with RE2 remake as remakes go.

Really you need to try for yourself to make an opinion on this one.

[Defective Dopamine Pez Dispenser]

SH2 (both the original and this remake) are stand-alone stories requiring no previous experience to understand or play. Other than some reported technical quirks, if you want to jump into the series, this is probably as good an onboarding point for newcomers as we will ever get, outside of full on remasters of the originals, imo.