Silent Hill: Homecoming

Be advised: This post is meant for the general audience and not just for hardcore video gamers to enjoy. Past video gaming experience not required to fully understand this blog post. Blog post is spoiler free.

Now, I'm not one to review or shamelessly recommend video games on this blog of mine, but I'll make an exception to this one little game.

Silent Hill: Homecoming

Finally got it after days of searching

Just by looking at the game cover itself, one can already tell that it's going to be one heck of a scary game. And the game definitely lives up to the series' reputation, making it a worthy sixth installment to the critically-acclaimed Silent Hill series.

Rather than playing it to enjoy the game superficially like most other casual gamers, the Silent Hill series is known to be one of the few unique games with story-lines so captivating to the point you will cry once you discover the ultimate conclusion to both the story and protagonist's fate.

In short, I'm playing it to appreciate the story as one would a good storybook. So, the game's basically like an interactive storybook with moving pictures!

In this latest installment to the series, you play as Alex Shephard; a war veteran who returns home to Shepherd's Glen after being discharged from duty for injuries.

Upon arrival, in typical Silent Hill fashion, things are not right as the town of Shepherd's Glen is blanketed in a thick layer of fog and the town's streets are deserted and empty. To top it all off, many of the town's residents are missing.

So, Alex heads back to the Shepherd residence only to find out that his father and brother are missing. Even his mom is of no help as she lays there in a catatonic state. The only thing that Alex now knows is that his brother, Joshua is missing and his father has went looking for him.

And this serves as the platform where the game kicks off as you explore the titular town of Silent Hill and unravel its secrets steeped in evil and mystery as well as Alex's long forgotten past.

Like its predecessor's, it continues on the tried-and-true formula of the protagonist's search for his loved one only for it to end in a tragic twist.

Being the third game in the series to use that formula, it never gets old as the game itself has a worthy and slightly less solid story (compared to previous games) to justify the player's actions and breathe new life into the otherwise over-used plot device.

A colourful cast of characters join the fray and their superb animations and better-than-average voice acting skillfully move the story along and further help players to delve deeper into the shoes of Alex and richly enhances the story-telling experience.

Graphical advancements allow awesome shadow-lighting effects to really add to the unsettling nature of the game and the clever use of audio cues as well as ambient sound effects successfully delivers the creepy, fog-shrouded town we all know and fear.

Akira Yamaoka once again returns to score the game's soundtracks with masterpieces that fit right into the world of Silent Hill. From simple, sorrowful piano pieces to orchestral melancholies, there is a background music for almost every type of occasion in the game and cleverly sets the mood for the god-forsaken town.

Plus, the art direction in which the game takes (especially in the Otherworld; a more sinister parallel reality of Silent Hill) works in its favor as it serves to further complement the dark tragedy that the game centres upon.

Like in a typical Silent Hill game, you traverse various locales and do battle with the monsters roaming the accursed town. Even the monsters themselves have a personal connection to the story and Alex. These aren't just run-of-the-mill monsters that are there simply because they are for gameplay elements but rather, they too, have a story to tell.

Such elements are what makes Silent Hill plotlines stand out amongst so many others because everything feels so connected to Alex.


As you defeat boss monsters and come to grasp the story ever more, one can't help but notice striking details, no matter how small, that fit in so snugly into Homecoming's giant puzzle piece. It will shed more light on the strange happenings in the town as well as fill in on the character's backstory. Ultimately, these minute details bring life into the town and its residents.

Enemies such as these are manifestation of one's inner demons or vile acts

All in all, despite the game's poor pacing which was clearly intended to develop conflicts and build up the story for a final, unexpected and heart-wrenching climax, the game itself is a fun romp once again through the streets of Silent Hill. Moreover, players will breathe a sigh of disbelief and whimper in shock at the game's canon conclusion.

Story-wise, it isn't as solid or as strong as compared to Silent Hill 2's critically acclaimed storyline due to the poor pacing but halfway through the game, the story takes a dramatic turn for the better. Soon, players will find themselves questioning Alex's very own sanity as well as his part in all this disaster.

Silent Hill: Homecoming is probably not the best entry in the series but it certainly is a worthy one which hardcore fans of the series will enjoy.