Silent Hill: Homecoming Review

Sony’s recent Siren: Blood Curse and even SH’s own PSP effort from earlier this year have partially managed to scratch my itch for creepy storytelling, grotesque mutations, and undie-soiling scenarios. But, more than just being scratched I’ve been waiting for that itch to be rubbed bloody raw ever since the next-gen consoles arrived. Now, with Silent Hill: Homecoming, one of my two favorite (the other being Resident Evil, of course) horror franchises has finally arrived on my horsepower-pushing Xbox 360.





Developer Double Helix Games did a very smart thing when Konami handed them the Silent Hill license. Clearly fans of the series, they didn’t try to muck about by introducing new gameplay elements which don’t necessarily serve the story in their just-released Silent Hill: Homecoming, for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Windows PCs. Bioshock offered a revisionist take on survival horror, one which looks like it may be replicated in the upcoming Dead Space while Resident Evil is reportedly moving in a more “Gears-style” direction. Silent Hill, on the other hand, stays true to its roots and is all the stronger for it.

In Homecoming Double Helix have crafted an experience which is a uniquely modern take on survival horror, incorporating now-standardized game elements such as 3D camera controls and smooth character interactions into the genre’s basic tenets, bending them where necessary but never breaking them outright. In Homecoming, fear comes from keeping players in a constant state of high tension, achieved through combination of deft level and art design, unsettling audio cues and perfectly paced proceedings. In short, this latest Silent Hill, new developer and all, is at once a return to form and a bold step in a new direction.

For the first time Double Helix has taken the reins of Konami’s fright-filled franchise, and, for the most part, it seems a changing of the guard was the right move. Team Silent, Konami’s in-house developer began to lose ground after the series crowning creep-fest Silent Hill 2; SH3 wasn’t great, and The Room was worse. With Homecoming, Double Helix have crafted far from a perfect game, but one that at least gets the series back on the right track. Like Resident Evil, before its game-changing fourth entry was released, this franchise has been long in need of a serious update. It was time to do away with the clunky, tank-like controls, frustrating cinematic camera, and head-scratching narrative threads. Homecoming addresses all these issues and more, offering the best Silent Hill since 2.






This time around, the story follows Alex Shepard, a soldier who’s been discharged and returns home to Shepard’s Glen. Of course, this isn't where the fun begins. You start out in a hospital that would rival anything Eli Roth could think up for the next Hostel film and quickly discover that Alex has big brother issues. Somehow seeing his younger brother Joshua at the hospital doesn't raise as many questions from Alex as it would a normal person, but hey, this is Silent Hill and certain things are forgivable. You move quickly through the hospital and find yourself finally back home. Unfortunately, everything has changed. For starters, the fog level is increased to a point where you will begin to fear the fog again in real life, just like you did with the first game.

The unfolding story which follows comes to reveal a great deal about the history of Shepherd’s Glen, which is indeed directly linked to that of Silent Hill. A number of the series’ overarching story details are more fully developed by the time the closing credits roll, though to give even a basic idea of what would delve into heavy spoiler territory. Those who have been fretting over the presence of Pyramid Head and the hideously scarred Nurses can rest easy in the knowledge that, while their presence may not be explicitly explained, it is suitably justified.

Of course story is second to atmosphere in a Silent Hill game, and here we have some of the best in the series. For starters, the level design is generally superb. Double Helix clearly favors tight, claustrophobic spaces, as evidenced in locations such as the Shepherd’s Glen Cemetery, Silent Hill’s local prison and a subterranean hike into the depths of an abandoned mine. An abundance of tight hallways limit both mobility and visibility at nearly every turn, heightening the sense of fear. When combined with some truly unsettling ambient sound effects - the impact of which is significantly increased with surround sound - traversing these environments proves to be a mentally exhausting experience.



Even Alex’s childhood home is fair game. The player’s first visit is unsettling enough, with mom raving in the living room and a Lurker hiding in the basement. Later, when the home is transformed into its inevitable Otherworld incarnation, even the faint illusion of safety in universally familiar surroundings is stripped away. Between this and the game’s final environment – no, we’re not revealing it here – it’s clear that Double Helix is trying to hit us all where it hurts, turning even the most sacred of sanctuaries into unholy nightmares.

It doesn’t hurt at all that Homecoming’s graphics rank among the best of what’s available right now. The incredible levels of detail in both the environments and the creatures which inhabit them are highly effective in giving our imaginations fewer blanks to fill. These details extend right down to even the smallest things, such as enemies showing damage in real time as Alex cuts them apart or tiny black insects scuttling for the safety of nearby crevices when light is cast on them.




The entire production is complemented by the excellent atmosphere the franchise is famous for creating. The score and gut-wrenching sound effects nicely set the macabre mood, and the visual presentation—aside from just being too damn dark some of the time—is equally successful at setting your neck hairs on end. Enemies are as sickening as ever, and some of the bosses will have you calling for your mommy. Pyramid Head, of course, is on board in all his five-pointed-noggin' glory. Additionally, the titular town’s hellish counterpart, the Otherworld, will likely live in your nightmares long after you’ve completed the game. Despite a bit more focus on action, the series, first and foremost, continues to deliver frightening atmosphere in spades.

All of this praise doesn’t mean that Homecoming is without its flaws. The combat system, built upon a series of basic light-heavy-dodge combos, works reasonably well but some of the monsters feel a bit too cheap. Siam’s attacks in particular are nearly impossible to dodge while no such complications interfere with the game’s four bosses, all of them larger than Siam and some of them more agile. In many ways, it’s best to save firearm ammo for encounters with Siam or Smog, the game’s only true ranged attacker until the very late stages, rather than holding out for the boss fights.






As agile as Alex is, there’s also still some general clunkiness in his movements. This stems from the controls, which are vaguely tank-like. The left analog stick handles forward/backward movements and left/right strafing while the right stick manages both the camera and the direction Alex is facing. While he is thankfully fairly quick on his feet, there’s no easy way to perform an about-face. For a game so focused on avoiding confrontation, Alex’s impaired ability to turn tail and run is a bit surprising.

The story also becomes a bit muddled by the end of the game unless you’ve been reading all of the scattered notes, letters and the like. While useful objects such as weapons and health drinks emit a faint yellow glow, reading materials are only indicated by Alex’s automatic head tracking and an “Examine” pop-up command when he’s right on top of the item. Given how dark the majority of Homecoming’s are, we would’ve preferred a more user-friendly way to locate these story-advancing elements than following Alex’s head, which is often shrouded in shadow.

While there are things that don't quite feel right with Silent Hill: Homecoming, there is more than enough to hold it up as a great way to enter the month of October. This game delivers on the experience you have come to expect from the franchise. It will also give you reason to begin clamoring for the next installment. The folks at Double Helix gave me the Silent Hill I wanted: a nerve-racking, scary as hell experience to hold me over this Halloween season. Any fan of Silent Hill should be checking this out, and anyone just needing a good scare can join in the Homecoming.



GEEK SCORE : 7.9/10


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