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Silent Hill: Homecoming

EMAIL PRINT pc

7.3 User Score:

Mixed or average reviews

Based on 14 critic reviews
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Based on 45 votes
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Game Info

Publisher: Konami

Developer: Double Helix Games

Genre(s): Third-Person Adventure, Survival Horror

Players: 1

ESRB Rating: M (Mature)

Release Date: September 30, 2008

Summary

The game thrusts players into a shadowy world of chaos and terror with atmospheric graphics and an original storyline that sheds new light on the desolate, fog-shrouded town of Silent Hill. Silent Hill: Homecoming follows Alex Shepherd, a war veteran returning home from an overseas tour of duty to investigate the mysterious disappearance of his younger brother, Joshua. His travels lead him through the small, insular community of Shepherd's Glen and eventually through the hauntingly empty streets of Silent Hill. Building upon the series' trademark foundations of atmosphere, adventure and storytelling, Silent Hill: Homecoming introduces players to a frightening new experience. When confronted by the perverse incarnations of evil that roam Silent Hill and Shepherd's Glen, players are able to utilize an enhanced combat system and execute a number of offensive and defensive maneuvers as they experience every terrifying encounter with the game’s numerous nightmarish creatures. Players also have to solve a variety of puzzles as they progress through the highly atmospheric game world, using cues from the environment to unlock Silent Hill's darkest secrets. Continuing the series’ tradition of standout music and sound design, Silent Hill: Homecoming features an original soundtrack by famed composer Akira Yamaoka. [Konami]

Cheat Codes & Hints: Cheat Code Central

Also On The Web: Official Website

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Play (Poland)

Something new, something old, something borrowed and something rust-red. The Americans rebooted the old franchise and their mixture is strong. Numerous references to the roots of the genre and the previous parts don't get in the way of their efforts to rejuvenate the series. The game scares in a way that seems to tamper with what's in your head, a way that I consider superior. [Mar 2009]

GamingXP

If you like games of the Silent Hill series, you will enjoy this game. If you are looking for a high grade horror-game, you should pick another product situated in the genre.

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Gamers.at

Homecoming isn’t bad per se, it’s just that it isn’t frightening enough to be worthy of the Silent Hill-name. It might be a mildly enjoyable Action-game, but not much beyond that. [Issue#17]

Vandal Online

Despite its flaws, we have to say we have a more than decent title here, heir to a legacy of classic survival horror elements and an example of what Silent Hill should be in this generation. Although the final result is not so awesome, this is a good opportunity to return to that silent village.

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LEVEL (Czech Republic)

New installment to the popular horror series surprisingly discourages the gamers by an extremely slow opening. Those who get over the first few boring hours will be rewarded greatly — music, atmosphere, puzzles, boss fights are fantastic as usual. [Feb 2009]

GameStar

The fifth episode of the series is shocking PC gamers - with long distances to cover and stupid riddles to solve. It still has some well done horror moments to offer, but it's not as creepy as the earlier episodes. A lot of effects were just copied over, so instead of being scary they cause the feeling of "been there, done that".

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PC Format

Homecoming adds a few small elements to the mix. [Jan 2009, p.100]

Game Informer

Fans will probably dig the game’s cool set pieces and the story, but the save points are placed too far apart, many puzzles require too much random experimentation, and the dialogue system seems like an afterthought. [Nov 2008, p.118]

InsideGamer.nl

This action game with horror influences made us scream at night. The music and spooky enemies has driven us to a point that we had to switch on all the lights. Once we weren’t scared anymore we saw some things that made are eyebrows go up. The protagonist, Alex, can fight and uses a gun. This takes away a lot of fun that we had during the last Silent Hill. So it is safe to say that it’s a good game, but doesn’t have the ‘wow’ factor.

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PC Zone UK

Homecoming is too old-fashioned and lacks the originality and tension that made the previous games so enjoyable. [Mar 2009, p.70]

PC Gamer UK

Right up to date - the date being 2002. [Jan 2009, p.77]

IGN

The game feels like a bit of a letdown. The gameplay has been reduced from a tense psychological experience fraught with spine tingling jumps and scares to a generic, predictable action title set in the location with good graphics and a great soundtrack.

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Absolute Games

Instead of breathing new life into the dying series, Double Helix created a piece of fan fiction. This Silent Hill is as authentic as chicory coffee or synthetic rubies.

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Total PC Gaming

An under-egged effort even more compromised by a token PC port. [Issue#17, p.69]

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this game is 7.3 (out of 10) based on 45 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Borealis gave it a9:
This is not bad game. Maybe, it's not THAt old Silent Hill, maybe bad porting on PC (But I haven't got problems with it at all), but its really good horror game with pretty graphics. Monsters are awesome.

Remy B gave it a4:
When you buy a game you want to finish it. However, this SH installment was so poorly executed you couldn't have paid me to see it through to the end. The PC port controls are mega-clunky. There are bugs throughout the game which force you to load a previous save in order to continue (moving the books in the bookshelf to access the button behind them will break if you don't drag the books all the way to the left before letting go of the cursor, for example). My other massive complaint are the over abundance of loading screens and load times for them. This game feels like it was thrown together 10 years ago. If i hadn't gotten it for almost nothing on Steam I'd be, well....steamed.

Wagner J gave it a4:
A poor port to the PC. The game flaws turn what could be a good experience to a waterfall of freezes and UI flaws.

Ryan F gave it a10:
It seems most of the people giving this game a low rating are looking for something else -- Silent Hill, you know, that game that came out on the Playstation years ago? Stop being nostalgic. Sure, this game isn't everything the older games were, but it's still damn good.

Rich D gave it a10:
I'm giving SH5 a ten because its not the same as the other games it is a bit different and i think thats what makes it good its not the same old thing over again.

Ryan H gave it a10:
Great game, i personally thought it was freaky as all hell, still gives me the creeps. i dont get where everyone says this game is horrible, good story, intense fighting, great graphics, nice music. good enough for me. i give it a 10 easy.

Lee C gave it an8:
Graphics Brilliant Game play Brilliant but it would of got full 10 ... it pauses between fight scenes ... im total fan of Silent hils and this is the best for graphics and sounds ... but errors with pauses and save points are a little far between.

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Silent Hill: Homecoming

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