Simply because I feel that Walter was the most developed character in the entire game. Henry, to me, was just a plot device. A nondescript male protagonist. Also, I felt sorry for Walter!

Silent Hill characters (the good guys) as are suppose to be shy and even somewhat emotionless, like James Sunderland from SH2. I thought Henry was just as quiet and solitary as every other male role... even down to Harry Mason from SH1. None of the protagonists say a whole lot. Were some people expecting him to show every single range of emotion to its fullest within the story’s timeline with Shakespeare lines and dialog???

Walter was nothing more than a psycho, a sadist murderer with no redeeming qualities. A supernatural being who did such things like tried to make Eileen feel pity for him by possessing her; he wants to be felt sorry for. Walter is trying to justify himself, to the point where he tried to make Eileen kill herself by walking into the killing machine near the end of the game. All because of what he wants, he wants to make himself feel better. There is no victory when you become worst than the person or people who wronged you.

Unlike aNinnyMouse, who doesn't say a word about the people he killed, I feel sorry for his victims. When it comes to the list of people that Walter killed, he in fact killed more innocent people (11 in all or 14 if you count Henry, Eileen and Frank) that had nothing to do with what happen to him.

Those who survived:
Henry Townshend: Henry would have been the last person Walter would have killed and he did of course attack him throughout the game.
Eileen Galvin: Bruises, right eye smashed in, left arm broken, and numbers carved onto her back. She was the only person who survived Walter’s brutal assault.
Frank Sunderland: If Walter completes the 21 Sacraments, Frank is killed as well. The cause of death isn’t specified, he’s just found dead.

As for those he did kill... according to the game, this is how they were murdered:
Joseph Schreiber: Although the means of his murder and location of his body are officially unknown, Joseph apparently never made it out of his room and became Walter's 15th victim.
Cynthia Velasquez: Stabbed to death.
Jasper Gein: Burned to death.
Steve Garland: Murdered with a sub-machinegun in a pet store and brutally killed all the animals.
Rick Albert: Battered to death in his warehouse with a golf club.
Billy Locane: An elementary school boy who along with his sister were killed with an axe.
Miriam Locane: Unlike Billy, who was killed with a single blow from an axe, Walter brutally dismembered Miriam's body before removing her heart.
William Gregory: Stabbed repeatedly with a screwdriver.
Eric Walsh: Shot in the face.
Peter Walls: Beaten to death.
Sharon Blake: Drowned to death. Sharon was a middle-aged housewife whose family was being held hostage by the Order in Silent Hill. After reading about the strange occurrences at the Wish House she decided to go and investigate, concerned for her family's safety. Walter, who drowned her, caught her whilst on her way through the woods.

Joseph Schreiber said it best
“Now, he’s become nothing than an inhuman killing machine.”
“You must kill him”

Yeah... what a character to feel sorry for...

I not saying that Henry is the best SH character, but all these Walter fans and sympathizers make me sick... they remind me of those people who say, "I would let Chris Brown beat me anytime"...

First of all, there's a pretty big difference between sympathizing with a fictional character and a human that harms other human beings relevant to the real world. So it seems like your belittling domestic violence by comparing ti to fictional events in an underrated video game.

Also, there was a point in time where Walter wasn't a murderous, mindless, killing machine. And yes, he had to be put down. He had to be killed. I mean that's why it was the goal of the game. There is no "rescuing" of a monster, but that doesn't mean there was a point in time where he wasn't said monster. As you've seen in the game he was beaten and brainwashed from there very beginning. That is where the sympathy roots from, not the killing of him, but the creation of him.

And no, but that does not mean he couldn't have shown a human amount of emotion. Relatability is key for good character development.

"You people"? You are really taking this really personally. I love the whole mindless females. Do you usually refer to girls/women as females? I find that incredibly dehumanizing. Also if you've done any research on psychology, you would know that Walter's development is not just a "copout." Cop-out are when villains are evil just to be evil. Disney villain evil. Most serial killers have the a pattern that leads up to the acts of violence.

Including the most prominent being the absence or abuse of parents or guardians during childhood. link

link

"Neglect and abuse in childhood have been shown to contribute to an increased risk of future violence. Substance abuse can and does lead to increased aggression and violence. There are documented cases of people who suffered severe head injuries and ultimately become violent, even when there was no prior history of violence." link

So no, it wasn't a ploy. It was an attempt to be realistic in writing the perfect villain. This is an utterly fascinating take on the typical antagonist. We see that he's human, we relate to him but we're also utterly disgusted in him and ourselves for relating to him. And i certainly don't think they downplayed as much as possible. I feel like gore is a very a cheap fallback for scares, and I say Kudos to the crew for using story-telling while crawling through a monster's psyche to portray his crimes. Our imagination is a very powerful tool. Showing him as a child, was another means of disturbing. The calm before the storm. This cute little boy will grow up to be something with horrible capabilities. It's disarming. Unnerving, and an incredibly common trope among Japanese horror . Rule of Rose has the same effect only much more powerful as they haven't even grown up yet and they are still capable of great cruelty among their peers. Fantastic game, btw. I suggest you try it out for the story alone. It's very beautiful.

I digress. As for the last part, I've already said that we mostly feel sympathy for who he was. Not the person he became. There's even a scene where the misguided child version of him stops his future manifestation from harming Eileen even further. And as for his "good looks" That is also a means to be disarming on the designer's part. I almost feel he is a bit of a reflection of Charles Manson. He has the long hair and the scruffy facial hair. Blonde hair which represents purity in some culture. This is to further portray him as the messiah that he believes himself to be.

He has charm. He used it on Eileen when she was a little girl. She even had sympathy for him and gave him that doll. Turned out terribly for her later on, as you can see. So yes he was clearly designed with some conventional amount of attraction. (Though I think Henry is more attractive as far as men go in this particular game) Regardless, I don't think it was for the sex appeal. Walter is one of the most well-designed characters in this game because he has motive. He is not just pulled along. We know him better than any other character because we explore his psychology through Henry. It's hard to like a character like Henry when you know nothing about him.

That being said, you have every right not to like this character because of his actions. I just don't you should judge others so harshly and so quickly for liking him.

And it saddens me how you instantly use gender as a means of judgement towards the fans.

When it comes to Silent Hill 4, it's between Henry and Eileen. But good god, Walter fans are the worst, coming up with every known excuse they can think of.