Bomber

Bruh thats because they are two fundamentally different experiences. I mean ya get that but then you seem to forget that. A merchant in silent hill 2 would absolutely ruin the horrifying experience. It makes sense in resident evil 4 and up to have an in game economy because combat has been put a bit more in the forefront since nemesis. Disempowerment is one of the keys to a terrifying experience and resource management is key to a survival horror. Grinding money to give to a merchant for upgrades would make it to where the devs would have to adjust the difficulty to scale up in a game that isnt based on combat. It would just put another needless distraction.

Theres more ways to encourage exploration than a merchant and Silent Hill 2 remake did this spectacularly well by creating spots where you can investigate for a reward but you never know exactly which spot would contain it on first playthrough. The hightened difficulty in combat with SH 2 remake made me have to use the shotgun and pistol far far more times than i ever had to in the original and thats put me on my toes.