Home Is Where Your Heart Is…Literally: Silent Hill Homecoming Review

Released last month, and just in time for Halloween, Konami has delivered the latest in the Silent Hill series. This newest entry to the Silent Hill family was not developed by original Team Silent, which has many avid fans debating if they should even bother with the game. With Double Helix Games at the helm, did they create a game that lives up to the legacy of the originals, or does it fall victim to the curse of Silent Hill?

To be fair, it’s a hard task to accomplish when you develop a game that someone else has established, and with such a well-developed series like Silent Hill, it’s even more difficult. In most cases, these types of games are critically panned for being unfaithful to the rest of the series. So let’s go over the good, the bad, and the ugly of this game and see how it stacks up against the rest of the series.

The Good:

The first thing you will notice upon playing Homecoming is the controls: and they are great. Not only are they simple and easy to use, but they work well with the style of the game. Each movement is important and may be your last, so if you were not able to move your character the way you want, or use an item as quickly as possible, you will be dead.

Storytelling in Silent Hill has always been praised as fantastically devilish and disturbing. Homecoming does a decent job of upholding tradition; there will be points where not only will you feel bad for the characters, but also times where you will be in awe of what is going on around you. It is true that the story is not as good as others are, and there are some rather big problems with it (we will talk about that later), but all in all, the story is fantastic. In addition, fans of the multiple endings in Silent Hill games will be happy, as there are five different endings you can get, and most of them will shake you to your core. It’s a frightening game, in a good way.

The Bad:

In this age of gaming, graphics are king. While gameplay is, in the end, the most important, when it comes down to it if you don’t like the way the game looks, then you probably will not buy it. Here is where Homecoming comes up a bit short. While the environments are all right, albeit a bit repetitive in some parts, a lot of the game just looks “average.” When I heard about a Silent Hill for the Xbox 360 and PS3, I expected a fantastic graphical update that would blow my mind and unfortunately, I didn’t get it. It isn’t the worst, but knowing how Konami works, they could have, and should have made sure it looked better.

Those of you who have dared to delve deep into the mythos of Silent Hill will continue to ask the question of “why the heck is that creature here?” and for good reason. While some creatures have become a staple of the series, that doesn’t mean they should be in the new game without any sort of explanation other than “It’s Silent Hill.” Sure, seeing Pyramid Head and those crazy nurses make yet another return fun and all, but it begs to question as to why are they here? In Silent Hill 2 the Pyramid Head character is linked directly to the main character’s subconscious will and desires to be punished, considering the context of this game, it doesn’t make much sense as to why he is there. With the nurse creatures, they were initially created to visualize the main character’s sexual frustration, and much like Pyramid Head, it doesn’t quite make sense to include them.

The Ugly:

Did you like the Silent Hill movie? Did you think it did an “ok,” if not “great,” job at capturing the essence of Silent Hill? If yes, then you can skip this right now. However, for those of you thought it was an alright movie but thought it lacked the soul of what made Silent Hill great, then prepare to be disappointed. The design of Pyramid Head, transitioning from the normal world into Silent Hill, and many other details are heavily influenced, if not directly taken, from the movie. It’s not a deal breaker by far, but it does make you wonder why they did that instead of just using the traditional designs. Change is a good thing, but make sure you know what you’re changing.

Remember when I said there were some problems with the story?—it’s time to talk about that. While almost every aspect of the game feels like it took hints from at least one other Silent Hill game, there is a glaring difference in the fact that for most of the game, you’re not alone. This is what made Silent Hill as scary as it was. Maybe occasionally you would see someone; they would talk to you, and then leave, but not in Homecoming. Shortly into the game a female companion, who reeks of “love interest” (which is a problem in and of itself) will join you, and she is not the only friend you’ll find along your way, either. That sense that you couldn’t fully trust anyone, or anything, isn’t quite there, and it makes the game feel slightly lacking.

In the end, Silent Hill: Homecoming is a good game, but not as great as it could have been. Did this new developer do a good job? Yes, for the most part, and I think if they are tasked with making another Silent Hill game after this, they will get better. For those of you expecting the thrill of Silent Hill 2 to come back, you may just want to rent this one. However, if you haven’t taken a trip to Silent Hill yet, or just love scary games, then get out there and grab it before for a Halloween treat; it’s sure to send a shiver down your spine.