Silent Hill: Homecoming

 PlayStation 3
Silent Hill: Homecoming Image
Metascore
71

Mixed or average reviews - based on 41 Critics What's this?

User Score
6.8

Mixed or average reviews- based on 193 Ratings

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  • 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 ofThe 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]… Expand
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Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 18 out of 41
  2. Mixed: 23 out of 41
  3. Negative: 0 out of 41
  1. Destructoid
    90
    We expected the worst, but in the end, we were pleasantly surprised by the authenticity of the game's world and the depth of its story. We're glad to say that the little lakeside resort town of Silent Hill continues to be just as messed up as it always was.
  2. Gamervision
    80
    Silent Hill: Homecoming may not be a great game, but it’s certainly enjoyable. For fans of the series, or just survival horror in general, this game certainly warrants a playthrough… after the crowded holiday season is over.
  3. PSX Extreme
    77
    Despite its flaws, it has the desired impact, and that’s the best that can be said about this particular game.
  4. Level7.nu
    70
    When it was announced that a western developer was to take over the reins from Team Silent there were many raised voices of concern about what would become of the series. Silent Hill Homecoming is actually a classic Silent Hill experience, a bit too classic to be honest, with the game's formula sticking very close to the old Silent Hill games. The graphical upgrade works great, lending design inspiration from the movie, and the music and sound is phenomenal. The plot is also told very well. The modernized combat system unfortunately eliminates the sense of respect and fear for the enemies, the main gripe we have with this otherwise great survival horror experience.
  5. GameSpy
    70
    Silent Hill: Homecoming is a very strange game, as its dual nature and oddly unsatisfying gameplay could likely turn both fans and newcomers away.
  6. IGN
    67
    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.
  7. Thunderbolt
    50
    Silent Hill: Homecoming feels tired. The series is past its best and is in need of a complete re-work.

See all 41 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 30
  2. Mixed: 15 out of 30
  3. Negative: 1 out of 30
  1. mercury1987
    Sep 13, 2019
    10
    Worst silent hill after book of memories. konami began to fail after Silent Hill 4.
  2. JonathanH.
    Oct 2, 2008
    9
    as a pretty big fan of the silent hill series, i'm very satisfied with this game and it's improvements over previous silent hill as a pretty big fan of the silent hill series, i'm very satisfied with this game and it's improvements over previous silent hill titles. the storyline is great, the atmosphere is just as frightening as any of the other games, and the combat system is much improved and not as clunky. for a survival horror title, you can't ask for much more in my opinion.… Expand
  4. br_moore
    Dec 15, 2018
    8
    I first played Homecoming a long time ago as a budding Silent Hill fan, having first played SH3 and 2. I was never able to get past a certainI first played Homecoming a long time ago as a budding Silent Hill fan, having first played SH3 and 2. I was never able to get past a certain part, and over the years I always had a negative view of it in my head. I finally got around to actually replaying it and finally attempting a full playthrough very recently. I came in expecting it to be a mess, but I was actually very pleasantly surprised by Homecoming.

    Let's start with the pros. Homecoming, for the most part, retains the series' engaging atmosphere and level design, with foggy towns surrounded by dilapidated buildings. Puzzles were for the most part clever and interesting, some of the combat was fun, it has truly great monster/boss design, very interesting lore, and some impressive graphics at times. By far my favorite part of this game were the Otherworld segments. They did a fantastic job of making the Otherworld environments feel super trippy, surreal, and hellish. Sometimes I couldn't help but feel being in the Otherworld in Homecoming was equivalent to actually being in a real Hell. The visual designs, exploration, and puzzles in these segments were absolute artistic highlights of the game. One odd thing this game did really well was the graphics on the enemies and bosses; something about the textures and lighting on them made them look strangely photo-realistic, which never failed to impress me.

    Now on to the cons. Almost everything I mentioned above has a downside to it in some kind of way. While the graphics are impressive in places, in others they are downright bad (very low resolution textures in some environments and awful character models). Some of the levels are pretty boring to traverse, with the Prison level being ridiculously bland and linear to the point of feeling lazy. The bosses, while very visually impressive, are lackluster and not fun to fight (the final boss is fun, though). The characters are not all that interesting or memorable, and the endings leave more to be desired.

    The gameplay overall can also get a bit repetitive and bland, with the combat being the worst offender. It really gets tedious and problematic as the game goes on, with the nurses and Schisms (hammer-head shark things) being nightmares to fight properly. It's just that the clunky controls and awkward movement hinder the overall smoothness of the game.

    In the end, Homecoming is a surprisingly good game, considering its reputation in the franchise. It has a good number of frustrating problems that show off how unpolished the game really is, but it has so many good and interesting qualities that I found it hard to not be engaged and wanting to come back for more. I would give it a 7.5 out of 10, but for the sake of Metacritic, I chose 8.    … Expand
  5. shawnwheeler
    Oct 11, 2008
    7
    I luv the silent hill series but this simply is not a true SH game.

    developer double helix tried but only delivered a mediocre horror game    I luv the silent hill series but this simply is not a true SH game.

    developer double helix tried but only delivered a mediocre horror game that taints the once revered silent hill series.

    heres hoping that team silent hill will return to give us all the true current gen silent hill game that we all want.    … Expand
  6. DovahK
    Dec 8, 2018
    7
    Siempre lo paso mal con todo lo que tenga que ver con miedo, y este juego no ha sido una excepción para nada.
  7. sityoazzdown
    May 18, 2012
    7
    this was an alright game. I found myself at times getting dizzy running in circles, because you never knew 'which was the right direction tothis was an alright game. I found myself at times getting dizzy running in circles, because you never knew 'which was the right direction to go, or trying to finding stuff. This game didn't really scare me, but I respect the spook feel to it. I wish there was more diverse monsters, but that's the only complaint I have. Game wasn't that entertaining, but it didn't' suck at all.… Expand
  8. phulos
    Mar 18, 2011
    3
    No! You just can't decently mix all that makes good adventures to create a fresh new one. But unfortunatly Double Helix did that for their SHNo! You just can't decently mix all that makes good adventures to create a fresh new one. But unfortunatly Double Helix did that for their SH Homecoming. The result of this? An untasty adventure guided by soulless protagonists, a nurse here a Pyramid Head there without any explanation.
    And how can the developpers explain the huge gap between the quality of the ordinary monsters design (the modelization of dogs and nurses was better on PS2... that's a limit for the first and big return of the series on new gen!) and the one of the different bosses (only good point of the game, maybe the best bosses of the all series! The most difficult to get rid of too...)? How can they explain the awful fight system (unplayable! In addition, the hero can't run away anymore...) and the level design coming from the age of the first 3D games on PS one?
    Shattered Memories gave me hope in the future of the SH license. Homecoming sank me back into despair...
    The Vatra Team will have to be careful for the chapter to come. SH Downpour is seen by lots of fans like me as the last chance for the series to recover even just an ounce of glory.    … Expand

See all 30 User Reviews

Awards & Rankings

77
#77 Best PS3 Game of 2008
33
#33 Most Discussed PS3 Game of 2008
20
#20 Most Shared PS3 Game of 2008