Silent Hill: Homecoming: One of the Games of All Time

 Horror games are such a mixed bag. That is apparent in franchises more than anything. The whole thing is reminiscent of Horror movies. You could be experiencing some shlocky bullshit or you could be witnessing one of the all time greats. It doesn't matter what the legacy behind the project is, it will eventually come down to the execution. Today, I want to discuss the rusty blade that is Silent Hill: Homecoming.

A game that evokes Silent Hill really well in the monster design, but ultimately fails in areas that are natural to the series. This comes down to many factors. The puzzles are laughably easy and can be brute forced more times than not. The character writing is pretty weak for the most part. While the combat is also not much to scoff at, it does have its days. Yet fundamentally, it is easy to see why this game is disliked. I do not hate it like many others, however I wish that the game was something else. 

Aside from the glaring issues, there are numerous nitpicks to be had. The inclusion of Red Pyramid Thing (A.K.A. Pyramid Head) and the Bubble Head Nurses. The UFO ending being available in New Game and extremely easy to get. As well as there being only one ending song. There are so many negatives that the positives never seem worth it in the end. SH: Homecoming is a game that I can say that I beat because I could. 

Experiencing the game was more tiresome than anything. The end of the road was very cathartic though. Playing Hard Mode with the game's Laser Pistol felt like you turned god-mode on. There was nothing the game could've done at that point. Even the small sections without it were cake walks. This is because the second best weapon in the game was the Combat Knife / Ceremonial Dagger. 

What made the Knife so good was its short recovery and stagger at the end of the 3-hit or 4-hit combo. Normal enemies would crumble. So, you would be able to save all of your ammo for boss fights in your non-laser playthroughs, and sections without it in Hard Mode. This is a problem that I have only seen in Silent Hill 4: The Room when speaking about the Silent Hill Franchise. 

In that game, it was the Rusty Axe. One of the few unbreakable weapons in the game that boasted fast start-up and recovery frames that would essentially infinite most enemies. This type of thing only matters to nerds like me. But what ultimately makes this bad, is that it turns combat into this boring loop. While it may not have been that enjoyable before, now it is more chore-like. And I like SH4 for the most part. Yet that has always been one of the core negatives. 

Speaking of negatives, the biggest boon has to be the character writing. Alex Shepherd is an okay protagonist. I don't hate him, but I don't love him. I think that the game frames him in a much darker tone than is deserving. He was involved in an accident and was being punished for it by an entity that had to judge James Sunderland. I felt that he had already paid for his crimes with the guilt aspect. Yet every ending except for two of them are just the worst.

The requirement for the "Good" Ending involves forgiving Alex's Father, Adam. Without giving too much away, Adam Shepherd is an awful person that is absolutely going to hell. So, why should Alex have to forgive a man that clearly doesn't deserve it. There are no redeeming qualities to this character, yet I am supposed to forgive him. Not to mention the choice in forgiving him is not explained well. I forgave him on my first playthrough on accident because I thought that the dialogue choosing would be longer. That shit sucked ass. 

I think that the game is one of the worst in the franchise for good reasons, but it is not all bad. The saving grace this time around happens to be the monster design. Ol' reliable never lets me down. The Smog enemy is my favorite amongst the normal ones. The unsettling walk paired with the glowing lava look and the exposed ribcage are exquisite. It's also one of the more difficult enemies to deal with. I love them. 

But nothing compares to how sick the bosses are. Even Sepulcher, the first boss is very wicked, despite being the weakest overall. All the designs stem from the theming behind the way that they were all killed for the most part. And I just find that to be extremely intelligent. Yet, if I had to pick the one I liked the most. I would choose Scarlet.

Scarlet's porcelain shell paired with the gangly limbs makes her so unsettling and perfect. The fight is extremely good as well. Out of all the fights in this game, I would rank this as the top 1. Another cool element that is exclusive to bosses in Homecoming is the visible damage. What I mean by this is that Scarlet's porcelain shell will break off in places where she is damaged. This reveals the muscles and tendons beneath. A truly gruesome sight. What makes it even better is that Scarlet has a second phase. The only other boss with another phase is the final boss, Amnion. 

This second phase turns the fight up a notch. She starts crawling on the sealing and getting more aggressive. And I think that if the game had embraced the terror that was evoked in a fight like this all of the time. Then maybe people could forgive its flaws a bit more. However, that is not what happened. The game is only truly in its element during boss fights. And that sucks. 

I can see the potential when it is boss time. But boss time is few and far between. I would take more fights like these than fighting Order members or Curtis. It really is amazing that you could have some of the best things in the franchise and some of the worst in the same package. Yet, Homecoming finds a way.

At the end of the day, Silent Hill: Homecoming is a mediocre game. Not completely bad, but it is certainly not good. If you like Silent Hill or Survival Horror, I would still recommend it. I think that a game like this is required playing. You just have to experience it. Learn why this game is received so poorly. You may even like it. Embrace garbage and live in it like a little trash gremlin. The true horror fan experience I assure you.