Silent Hill: Homecoming

• 1. Development History And Team Changes

  ›

  Masashi Tsuboyama announced the game's development in a 2004 interview with Eurogamer. He stated that the project would appear on next-generation consoles without revealing specific platforms at that time. Two years later, composer Akira Yamaoka hinted that the team hoped to carry on plans of earlier Silent Hill platforms. The goal was to create fear in daylight while maintaining psychological roots similar to Silent Hill 2. Konami executives revealed at E3 2007 that the developer would not be Team Silent. Instead, Western developer The Collective took over production duties. The Collective had merged with Backbone Entertainment in 2005 to form Foundation 9 Entertainment. Foundation 9 then merged The Collective with Shiny Entertainment to create Double Helix Games. This new team had been working on another survival horror title called Harker before it was placed on indefinite hiatus during Homecoming's production. On the 10th of September 2009, reports confirmed the game would not see an official release throughout Japan due to marketing reasons.

  1015

• 2. Gameplay Mechanics And Combat Systems

  ›

  The player assumes the role of Alex Shepherd, a Special Forces soldier returning home from overseas duty. Alex finds his father and younger brother missing while his mother enters a catatonic state. Players explore various environments searching for clues like photographs and drawings placed inside Alex's journal. Items such as weapons and ammunition glow as visual cues to guide the player. Puzzle elements play a part in the game, with journal entries helping decipher keypad entries. For the first time in the series, players may select responses when engaging in dialogue with other characters. These choices affect how the plot unfolds. Combat takes into account Alex's experience as a soldier rather than a naive everyman protagonist. Players can perform light and heavy attacks or mix them to perform combinations. A variety of finishing moves ensure monsters are dead, a mechanic first featured rudimentarily in Silent Hill: Origins. Attacking enemies leaves wounds matching the motion carried out by Alex. New maneuvers include targeting enemies before attacking, dodging enemy attacks, and performing counter-attacks. Firearms including pistols, rifles, and shotguns are available and can be upgraded later. Firearm handling is rendered realistically with recoil effects. Unlike previous entries, players fully control and rotate the camera using two analog sticks.

  934363738

• 3. Narrative Structure And Plot Twists

  ›

  At the start of the game, Alex wakes up in the cab of a truck driven by Travis Grady who gives him a ride to Shepherd's Glen. The town is covered in fog and deserted. At home, Alex finds his mother murmuring about his father leaving to find Josh. He discovers many more people have gone missing since he left. His childhood friend Elle Holloway pins missing signs outside the police department. Mayor Bartlett and Dr. Fitch die by monsters in the Otherworld while their children remain missing. Alex allies himself with Deputy Wheeler at the police department. The Order kidnaps his mother after she reveals knowledge about Silent Hill. Alex, Elle, and Wheeler take a boat across Toluca Lake but are intercepted by the Order. They end up separated when another boat crashes into theirs sending Alex into the water. Alex rescues his mother bound and must decide whether to kill her out of mercy or not. Later he runs into his father who reveals that Alex was never a soldier and has been in a mental hospital since the accident occurred. Adam begs forgiveness before being killed by a monster called the Bogeyman. Judge Holloway captures Alex and reveals everything happened due to a broken pact made 150 years ago. Four founding families broke away from Silent Hill's Order to move to Shepherd's Glen. They agreed to sacrifice one child every 50 years to appease their god. The Shepherd sacrifice failed because Alex's father lacked conviction. Realizing he was the intended sacrifice, Alex experiences a flashback showing Josh's true fate. When younger, Alex struggled with Josh over a ring which caused Josh to fall into the lake and drown. His father retrieved the body and explained that Alex had ruined it for all of them. Unable to accept Josh's death, Alex was sent to the mental hospital instead of enlisting to the military.

  162122

• 4. Censorship Battles In Global Markets

  ›

  Homecoming faced difficulties passing censors in some countries before going on sale. The Australian classification board refused to classify the game due to impact violence and excessive blood effects. Objectionable scenes included various body parts being drilled into as well as the bisection of a character by an enemy. This banned the game for sale in Australia until representatives asked Konami to tone down violence. The German version was postponed to 2009 for cuts to be made after rejection by Unterhaltungssoftware Selbstkontrolle. The game received the rating keine Jugendfreigabe meaning 18+ after alterations similar to the Australian version. On the 19th of November 2010, the Amtsgericht Frankfurt am Main confiscated all Xbox 360 versions imported from the UK for violation of § 131 StGB representing violence. This effectively banned uncensored copies from sale within Germany. Representatives for publisher Atari mentioned they would ask Konami to modify content to allow MA15+ ratings for early 2009 sales.

  23242529

• 5. Critical Reception And Commercial Performance

  ›

  Homecomings average at Metacritic is 71 out of 100 for the PS3 version and 70 out of 100 for the Xbox 360 version. PC versions scored 64 out of 100. As the second external developer working on a Silent Hill entry, Double Helix faced scrutiny from reviewers and fans regarding how a Western team handled the franchise. Many found the change positive while others expressed interest in seeing further games from this developer. Zero Punctuation commented that the game exemplified Japanese franchises being downgraded by Westernization. Praise was given to graphics described as fantastic with Shepherd's Glen rendered brilliantly. The upgraded visuals bestowed filmic quality to everything making eerie transformations look better than ever. Surprise emerged over darkness where flashlights seemed less effective than before. Music written by Akira Yamaoka received well for being atmospheric moody and beautifully presented though some felt it did not fit so well. Voice acting evaluated as better than usual attempts but occasionally flat when emotion needed. Plot received mixed reception with some calling it intriguing and disturbing while noting lack of originality or great surprises. Several critics likened story to a subplot standing alone yet barely mentioning characters dominating previous mythos. Croshaw stated level design story and combat were competent but had little to do with what he liked about the series.

  3132333539

• 6. Musical Composition And Audio Design

  ›

  Akira Yamaoka returned from past installments to create both music and sound effects despite the development team change. It was the first game in the series to use surround sound technology. Yamaoka wrote 70 minutes of music for the entire project. He insisted on working with Mary Elizabeth McGlynn to provide vocals since fan reaction to her voice on previous titles remained favorable. Homecomings soundtrack released on the 24th of November 2008. McGlynn provided vocals for four tracks specifically. Ambient audio went a long way toward establishing expected Silent Hill mood according to reviews. Some concern existed that music was somewhat misplaced within certain scenes. The combination of Yamaoka's compositions and McGlynn's vocal performances created an atmospheric soundscape integral to player experience throughout the journey.

  2122