Is Silent Hill Homecoming Underrated? (No spoilers)

[roguesquirrel]

I like some of the monster design but i think the game is pretty subpar other than that.
One thing I distinctly remember was there were some pretty easy layup scares this game manages to completely stumble over in their execution. An example is one of the monsters crawls along the ground as they attack you. The first time you meet them you're in a lightly flooded basement and they're initially obscured by the water. Which would be a great scare when they leap out at you for the first time except it happens in a noninteractive cutscene thats goofily staged so the entire moment falls flat

 

[Dr. Ludwig]

Fuck no.

It's an awful game through and through. Nostalgia and attachment to the old games have nothing to do with it. On its own, its a failure of game design, story and atmosphere.

And as an action experience compared to its vastly superior competitors back in 2008 like Dead Space and RE5, it's downright pathetic as an action horror experience.

 

[JigglesBunny]

Nah, it's dreadful.

 

[PAFenix]

I enjoyed it, but it was also my first Silent Hill. I also played it with a group of friends and we had a blast like we would any B-Horror film, probably. Cheering each other on as we passed the controller on bosses and what not.

It's definitely not a high point of the series though, as I learned after playing 2-4 & Downpour.

 

[John Harker]

I liked it. Personally, better than Downpour. Downpour was ok. Not very memorable.

shattered memories (Wii) is the true underrated GEM of a game. I had an unforgettable experience with storytelling in that one.

 

[crpj31]

I remember that I did something in the sewers and the boss didn't appear. Of course I couldn't proceed so I had to restart the game because the save data glitched.
But after 4, the good ones are Origins and Downpour. The others are playable but forgettable.

 

[Combichristoffersen]

I remember that I did something in the sewers and the boss didn't appear. Of course I couldn't proceed so I had to restart the game because the save data glitched.
But after 4, the good ones are Origins and Downpour. The others are playable but forgettable.

Click to shrink...

Agreed. I like Origins and Downpour better than 4, tbh. Shattered Memories wasn't bad, just really boring.

 

[Lepi]

It's got some good visual design at times when it's not copying the movie, particularly the bosses and a later level. The music (which was rated highly at release) is great but I think it's poor/mediocre reception is justified. Keep going and you'll see the plot is bland and derivative and the gameplay is pretty rubbish.

 

[CoyoteSpitfire]

The writing just isn't very good to me. A lot of the dialogue feels unintentionally awkward and amateurish, and it takes WAY too much inspiration from the movie. Though I really liked the premise of a (seemingly) normal person returning to their hometown after it had been ravaged by cult shenanigans. Alex, being decidedly not normal, had some potential as a protagonist too. But unfortunately the story was written by people who thought it would be a good idea to shove PH, bubble-head nurses, & those dumbass bugs into the first area because of muh brand recognition.

That being said, it did give us one of the best pieces of music in the series.



Yamaoka the GOAT.

 

[Garlador]

I loved the soundtrack, I'll give it that. Akira Yamaoka was still killing it in the music department.

But even as a major Silent Hill fan back on the Silent Hill boards, we were all very well aware that the game was just not shaping up to expectations.

PS2

PS3

 

[big_z]

I beat it on pc way back when it came out. I remember next to nothing of it except a puzzle involving a clock that was graphically bugged so changes you made didn't show. Had to sit their for an hour brute forcing solutions blindly one at a time.
Trash game.

 

[Combichristoffersen]

I beat it on pc way back when it came out. I remember next to nothing of it except a puzzle involving a clock that was graphically bugged so changes you made didn't show. Had to sit their for an hour brute forcing solutions blindly one at a time.
Trash game.

Click to shrink...

I cheated my way through it on PC just to get through it, as I couldn't be arsed with the shitshow on PS3. I can't remember the bugged clock puzzle, but I remember there being an amusing bug where you could make Alex' mother levitate above her rocking chair if you stabbed her with the knife repeatedly.

 

[plagiarize]

It was fine. The highs were pretty high though. Hell Descent was great but it didn't make up for all the other lame stuff.

 

[PlanetSmasher]

"The enemies in homecoming are well designed because i overnanalyzed this one enemy"
Thats not how it works chief.

Spoiler

If you want to convince people Homecoming is this precious gem everyone else is too dumb to understand, put the work. Explain Smog. Explain the relevance of Pyramid Head on it. Explain all the flaws people are pointing out instead of cherrypicking the one example you can gush over and close your ears to everything else.

Click to shrink...

Keep in mind...

Spoiler: General series lore

Adam Shepherd is a member of a cult that split off from the original Silent Hill cult, with a lot of similar beliefs and ideas about the town and the entities within it. He would be in a position to worship "Pyramid Head" or Valtiel or whatever you want to call it as a manifestation of punishment, as the character actually knows the cult significantly better than James does, since James just got the 'idea' for the thing from looking at a picture in the Silent Hill Historical Society building while on a vacation with Mary. Adam CLEARLY recognizes it when it appears to kill him, too.

That's not to say it makes the thing's presence in the game a GREAT thing, but at least as far as it's concerned and WHY it's there, it didn't bother me that much. If it was actually hunting Alex, that would be far weirder. It just ignores him every time they cross paths.

 

[Richietto]

Nah I think it's pretty bad overall. I will never understand why people like this game or even Downpoor.

 

[big_z]

I cheated my way through it on PC just to get through it, as I couldn't be arsed with the shitshow on PS3. I can't remember the bugged clock puzzle, but I remember there being an amusing bug where you could make Alex' mother levitate above her rocking chair if you stabbed her with the knife repeatedly.

Click to shrink...

I remember there being a lot of bugs at launch. I felt lucky when playing because it was smooth sailing until I got to that clock. All the bugs rolled up into one for me. Can't cheat through a broken puzzle that's required to progress.

I think even if the game had launched polished it would still be forgettable. I skipped downpour as a result. Shattered memories was excellent at least.

 

[Combichristoffersen]

I remember there being a lot of bugs at launch. I felt lucky when playing because it was smooth sailing until I got to that clock. All the bugs rolled up into one for me. Can't cheat through a broken puzzle that's required to progress.

I think even if the game had launched polished it would still be forgettable. I skipped downpour as a result. Shattered memories was excellent at least.

Click to shrink...

I never really liked Shattered Memories, but at least it was better than Homecoming. I only have the PSP version of SM, but I want the PS2 or Wii version, but both are kinda expensive these days -_-

 

[Winston1]

I would unironically say that Homecoming is actually the best of the post-Team Silent games, just because it manages to reach a quality of "so bad it's good." I would certainly replay it over touching Origins or Downpour ever again.

 

[addik]

My fondest memory of playing Homecoming was that time where game changed to Underworld right before a boss fight, but the way to the boss fight where platforms where Alex has to climb down and climb up.

At that point, I just laughed out loud thinking this game has turned in to some platforming game.

 

[big_z]

I never really liked Shattered Memories, but at least it was better than Homecoming. I only have the PSP version of SM, but I want the PS2 or Wii version, but both are kinda expensive these days -_-

Click to shrink...

I played it on Wii. People had the tendency to ruin the experience by spoiling how the game worked. If you go in blind it's fantastic.

Project zero 2 remake on Wii was also top notch. Another hidden gem.

 

[Baccus]

I'd give them that they nailed the /feel/ pretty well, way better than Downpour.

The characters do look as if they belong inthe series and the dialogue is delivered in the airy, stilted way that suits it so well. Yamaoka is brilliant as always.

It really tries to be a Silent Hill. And it gets to fool you some times and that's great. It's a great feeling.

 

[Deleted member 2317]

But even as a major Silent Hill fan back on the Silent Hill boards, we were all very well aware that the game was just not shaping up to expectations.

Click to shrink...

Honestly, it's perhaps the opening and ending leave the worst taste in my mouth- the bit with his mother and the basement, and everything to do with the cult segment.

What lies in between is pretty pretty pretty fun for a seventh generation Silent Hill game, but it could have been so much more.

 

[ProfessionalDevices]

Hmm... No