In celebration of my fancy new promotion, Stephanie (who is the best, BTW) bought me Silent Hill: Downpour. I think I was pretty clear about how much I loved Shattered Memories, so it shouldn’t be too shocking that I was a little wary when the first details for Downpour hit.
The game was being developed for 360 and PS3, which sounded to me like a death knoll for Shattered Memories’ style, which focused almost entirely on exploration and atmosphere. Then came the guns, which meant that combat was back; combat has never been more than “acceptable” in Silent Hill games, and is usually much, much worse. I was immediately awash with fears of the game being produced with a “hey PS3 blood and guns derp derp” mentality.
Fortunately, I couldn’t have been more wrong. I’m only a quarter of the way through the game, so I’m not sure how things are going to roll out, but so far I’m really enjoying it. Downpour actually does feel a lot like Shattered Memories in most ways. The flashlight mechanic is less prominent here because you have to manage weapons as well as illumination, but it’s still an important part of gameplay. The single (playable) Otherworld section I’ve been in was a mix of puzzle solving and running from an undefeatable enemy. Otherworld transitions are unexpected and visually interesting (I do miss the ice though).
Downpour carries on the Silent Hill tradition of shallow, janky combat. The biggest improvement here is the ability to block, which is way overdue. I don’t know, maybe Origins and/or Homecoming allowed your character to block; I haven’t really played either. But yeah, blocking isn’t going to change the whole game, but it does make monster encounters more managable.
The monsters are also apparently affected by the weather. A loading screen tooltip that came up once said they come out in greater numbers and are more aggressive when the rain is really coming down. I haven’t witnessed a heavy rain yet, but I was surprised at how some of them will elect to run away when the rain stops. Monsters located inside always seem to be equally aggressive, but I suppose that makes a certain amount of sense.
The world is an interesting kind of hybrid of open and linear design. Another Silent Hill staple, now that I think of it. The first couple areas do a fairly good job of herding you forward, but give some nice rewards for exploring off the beaten path. Once you actually make it into the town, you’re given a bit more choice in where you want to go. Between locked doors and blocked/crumbled roads, Silent Hill still tries to push you in the direction of the next plot point, but you can run around town pretty freely. Another tooltip that I saw hinted at a subway system that might allow me to get around town faster, which has me wondering exactly how big Silent Hill is this time around.
One of my favourite things about the game so far is that it has side quests. Yeah, honest-to-God side quests in a “survival horror” game. I use quotation marks because survival horror isn’t really a genre in video games anymore. But anyway, side quests! I’ve only done two at this point: one rewarded me with copious amounts of bullets, I don’t think the other had any reward besides the satisfaction of doing a good deed.
The other thing about Downpour that I’m really digging is that it is terrifying. It might have less to do with the game being scary and more to do with the fact that I’m playing it the correct way. I knew nothing about the game before launch aside from what was shown in the very first trailer; I didn’t even know it was released until I haphazardly noticed it on a store shelf. Also, I’ve been playing it alone in the dark. The right atmosphere mixed with not having a clue what’s going to happen next is exhiliarating in the most horrifying way.
Suffice it to say, I am leaning on the radio static (which signals monster presence) more than I ever have before in a Silent Hill game. Somehow though, monsters are still managing to get the drop on me and catch me off-guard.
It’s not as scary now that I’ve learned how most of the monsters act and what the rules of the game are, but those first few hours were something else. The tension remains high because you really never know what’s going to happen next. I’m currently making my way through a library section of a tower, and there’s this… ghost, I guess that keeps randomly pushing stuff over and giggling. It’s nothing new to the horror genre, but it’s spooky as all heck when you’re not expecting it. There was another related event that actually made me jump out of my chair, but the game is still fairly new so I’ll avoid any more spoilers for now.
So Silent Hill: Downpour is pretty great. I’m not sure if I like it more than either of the Silent Hills that star Harry Mason (Silent Hill Play Novel not included), but it’s definitely my favourite SH game otherwise. You done good, Konami. You done good.