I have a review I like to copy and paste any time Homecoming comes off, which is basically my opinion on the game.
A bit of a warning, this will be my rantiest review I think I've ever done.
Let me start off by politely, and courteously, taking a moment to ask why, out of every Silent Hill game, is this the only one on Steam? Now don't get me wrong, I'll get to Homecoming in a moment, but as most other entries in the series had PC ports, why. biased Konami, is this the only one Steam gets?
With that out of the way, Silent Hill Homecoming is the sixth main entry in the SH series, a psychological survival-horror series that has come to be known best for its atmosphere, story, surrealism, and creepy monster designs.
Silent Hill Homecoming came out on the heels of the Silent Hill film, and it shows. Several monster designs and much of the visual look of the game can be attributed to the film. Most notably, the game has some impressive Otherworld transition sequences inspired by the movies. They look cool, and sound cool, so they at least get the job done there.
And that's something to be said for Homecoming. It's not a terrible looking game, the designs of the characters and monsters at least look cool, the environments look appropriately ominous, and the fog effects, while a bit sparser than other entries in the series, are still rather well-handled.
However, the film inspiration becomes a bit much in areas. This was the game that shoe-horned Pyramid Head in for no reason, and I literally mean no reason. Oh, he appears in cutscenes, but not a single time in gameplay. Not once. And that's not even arguing on how he has no reason to be here. Both in the fact he literally does nothing in the story and it goes against on what Pyramid Head was in SH2. And then there's scenes that were so obviously inspired by the movie, and enemies inspired by the movie. It essentially is an extension to the Silent Hill movie in game form, honestly.
But so much goes against what the SH series is. I was literally in hysterics during a scene almost half-way in the game when suddenly you get a sassy black sidekick comic relief character and escape a police station being invaded Dawn of the Dead style by giant hammerhead land-shark monsters. Don't get me wrong, this is brilliant B-Movie hamminess, but what the fuck is it doing in the fucking Silent Hill series?
And that's what I think one of Homecoming's biggest problems is. It doesn't know what the SH series is. I am convinced the creators just watched the SH movie and made the game based off of that. There's no other explanation for it. Homecoming must of at one point in development been a video game adaption of the movie, because it has so much in common with the film; the nurses work just like they do in the film, so does the cult, and the aesthetics... But it's almost nothing like how the rest of the series is.
But let's get off our fixations of its identity crisis and focus more on the game as its own experience.
Silent Hill Homecoming tells the story of a man named Alex Sheppard who's returning from the military to visit his home in Sheppard's Glen (of course conveniently named after his family). He's been gone for a long time and finds that his hometown has completely changed. There's a few people still living in town, but the place is mostly deserted. Alex comes home to find his brother and father are missing, and his mom seems completely out of it with a pistol on her lap. Alex goes to investigate what exactly has happened to his family, and to this town, and what sort of connection it has with the nearby local resort town of Silent Hill.
To the story's credit, I did end up liking a few of the characters, most notably Alex, who did end up earning some sympathy from me through his journey. And Wheeler, your sassy black comedy relief character, was enjoyable, though so out of place. Most everyone else was forgettable, however. The plot twists unfortunately are mostly super predictable, the worst of all being the 'main' twist, and while I don't want to spoil the game, towards the end we get into some ludicrous Saw-inspired segments that just feel completely out of left field and unneeded. Homecoming also holds my personal honor for having the worst multiple endings I have ever experienced in a horror game. I'm not kidding, they are that bad.
The game has a few puzzles, and by puzzles I mean over half of them are sliding tile puzzles or this puzzle about crossing wires. Whoever the fuck at Double Helix thought that making most of the puzzles in the game fucking sliding puzzles really deserves a solid kick in the ass.
The game is also overly focused on combat. The combat to be fair isn't bad, with a very Zelda-esque system, being able to lock-onto enemies and circle and roll-dodge from them, but the weapons are notably unbalanced with some being far better than others. Also while technically the 'best' combat system in the series (and they try to rationalize it with the fact Alex is an ex-soldier), the series was never really about the combat, making it feel like the developers missed the point.
This so far makes it sound like I hate Homecoming, but in earnest I didn't.
Homecoming has so much wrong with it, as a Silent Hill game, as a horror game, and as an action game, that it's easy to mention, but it's actually not a terrible game, and has several quite good moments and actually is an okay to good game, though I'd argue one of the weakest in its series.
Homecoming has some decent moments. Exploring the house is both interesting and a bit haunting. Going into the basement the first time is a bit unnerving. A few of the boss fights, especially the second one, are actually well-done. The game isn't too repetitive and does have moments that split away from just combat or just exploration. Speaking of that, there's a decent exploration element in this game that often is a bit rewarding for little extra tidbits, imagery, and sometimes goodies and hidden weapons. The game has some fun unlockable costumes and weapons.
The story is enjoyable in a B-fare kind of way, and is backed by good music and sound design. While not Akira's best work, the music still holds up well for the title. There are small touches to the game too and details that are appreciated, including each grave stone in the graveyard having a different description on them (and there are many), some small scares that the player may miss if they aren't observant or don't explore a bit. The atmosphere is okay, though the game really isn't scary.
But I didn't hate my time with it, in fact, I would say I enjoyed myself playing it. It's got so many flaws and they're so easy to point out, but despite it all there is an enjoyable game in here. It honestly probably would of been better if it was Silent Hill The Movie: The Game though, as it really does things that just doesn't sit right as a fan of the series. But in its own way, it's an enjoyable B-Movie sort of horror game that has dips into legitimately good moments and ideas.
If you go in expecting some B-Horror fun, as opposed to a Silent Hill game, it's a pretty okay to good game in its own right, just has some flaws, but I wouldn't say the flaws ruin the game and there is some fun and interesting sections to be had as the game goes on. If you go to it for a Silent Hill fix, however, I think you'll be bitterly disappointed. A misguided, but ultimately pretty okay game, that could of been a good game if it wasn't bogged down by a few problems.
