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.
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]
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.
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]
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.
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]
Homecoming is too old-fashioned and lacks the originality and tension that made the previous games so enjoyable. [Mar 2009, p.70]
An under-egged effort even more compromised by a token PC port. [Issue#17, p.69]
