Silent Hill is back on our home consoles after 5 years, is it a happy homecoming for sh fans?
After Climax didn't do so badly on Origins sh fans' hopes were hightened on a different development team being albe to handle making a sh game how its supposed to be. Double Helix has been given the honur of bringing us the sixth installment of our beloved series, have they done the job? well for me yes and no.
Firstly the amtmosphere, yes I would say they have captured the sh atmosphere fairly well to an extent, its dark, foggy and hs amazing freaky sounds (made by team silent memeber Akira Yamaoka of course) that can make your skin crawl. But for me the presence of an american team developing this game is too strong for me it feels very americanised and generic and for me this game hasnt got plenty of the wtf moments in it compared with the older entries in the series and that to me is what alot of sh is about. Alot of what happens in the game is nothing you have never seen before in an older game in the series. The game also doesnt give you a feeling of walking through hell and back like the previous games did its just like almost walking trought a normal abandoned building with the lights off.
There isnt many puzzles in the game either and when there is they are not very difficult. They are also very generic and down to earth if you get what I mean, they are almost like a puzzle you would find in a Resident Evil game, wheras in the previous games the puzzles were strange and harder to figure out for example the puzzle of making a handle for the trap door in the prison section in sh2, in which u make with a combination of wax a lighter and a horseshoe using the lighter to melt the wax, but like re-wiring a fuse box which you do in Homecoming is just a bit to normal and obvious for me not very Silent Hillish.
As we all know the combat has been updated and given a poilsh. Now with the ability to dodge, roll and perform fast and strong attacks and make them into a combo, Alex Sheppard can defend himself better than past protagonists of the series. For me this change had been very welcoming making the game a bit more exciting when fighting monsters. The monsters who are which in this installment alot tougher than previous games so you need the updated gameplay to survive. The monsters I must say are designerd vey well in my opinion with the exception of the smog who looks out of place in the game for me.
The story is interesting but doesnt seem completely original comaparing to other stories in the series.
So far I may have only seemed to be poking at the bad things with this game, but don't get me wrong it is a very good game it is a very good survival horror in its own right and is very underrated, I just don't think its perfect as a sh game its a bit too down to earth for me and borrows to heavily from the movie.
I think any big fans of the series should play the game it is worth it its a very enjoyable game I have found myself hooked, I would say it has just missed the mark of presenting paranoia and wtf moments like the previous sh's did its not psychological enough and doesnt present feeling of whats happening could be in the mind everyone seems to be able to see the monsters almost like its a zombie infestation
(MINOR SPOILER) Teaming up with a police officer and fighting off the monsters together is just not something that happens in a sh game for me im sorry, although this is just a small cut-scene I think this part is just not something you will see in Silent Hill you need to be presented with the feeling of isolation and lonliness.
Overall a really good game just missed the mark on the legendary sh style for me.
The good: Fun Combat, Great sounds and music, Decent graphics, Good monster design, Old school radio sound from sh2 and 3,
The bad: Can be fairly difficult sometimes, Far spread save points, very few supplies, Very generic, Un original