Review: Silent Hill Downpour

Despite a history of being universally criticized for its shallow mechanics, Silent Hill is a series that has remarkably long legs. Introduced in 1999 as one of the first noteworthy survival-horror titles, it still stands tall as a flagship title among a sea of mediocrity. Even 13 years and several developers later, Silent Hill continues to hold on tight to the tropes that made it iconic in the first place. Vatra Games is the newest western studio to take a stab at this dark franchise but expectations among a die-hard fanbase have ensured that the team is fighting an uphill battle. Has Vatra prevailed and breathed new life into a withering legacy or has the tragic fate of Silent Hill been sealed forever?
Silent Hill Downpour (Xbox 360 / PS3)
Developer: Vatra Games
Publisher: Konami
Release Date: March 13th, 2012 (NA)

Many fans of Silent Hill jumped ship following the controversial release of "Silent Hill 4: The Room" and the eventual transition to western development. Critics and fans alike were quick to label games like Homecoming, Origins, and Shattered Memories as mere knock-offs that were trying desparately to capitalize on the brilliance of the original material. Whether it was the clunky controls or a diminished focus on psychological horror, it seemed like Silent Hill may never find its footing ever again. Silent Hill Downpour, the 8th sequential entry in the series, raised some eyebrows when it was unveiled at E3 2010 but fans (myself included) remained skeptical after it was revealed to be in development by a new and unproven developer, Vatra Games. However, the final product, while far from perfect, demonstrates that Silent Hill as a franchise still has a lot to offer and Vatra just might be the right studio to unlock its true potential.

A Tale Well Told

Silent Hill Downpour tells the story of Murphy Pendleton, a convict with a tragic past who is thrust into the unsettling world of Silent Hill when his prison-transport bus takes a nasty tumble during a rain storm. Awakening from the crash, he has no choice but to wander into Silent Hill while eluding the law. In classic Silent Hill fashion, Murphy is pressured by unknown forces to confront his past, and come face to face with a truth that he tried relentlessly to forget. The journey is standard fare for the series but it is the way in which the story is told through subtlety, exploration, and visual detail that make this game shine.

Silent Hill is known for oppressive world design and capturing the haunting beauty of desolation and isolation. Vatra's focus on rain is a welcomed change of pace for the series that fits in the context of the established lore like a glove. Where the past few games have gone wrong is in the narrowed focus of the world design. Players were either too restricted in their ability to explore the city (aka a more linear progression) or the open-ended world was left feeling completely void of anything threatening (aka Silent Hill Shattered Memories). Downpour manages to find the middle ground by giving players a lot of ground to cover in any order order that they wish while at the same time creating a sense of uneasiness through the imminent threat of violence.

The world is packed full of recognizable landmarks and hidden pathways that reward players who choose to explore; a design philosophy that has taken a back seat since Silent Hill 2. Those who wish to explore every back alley, every open house, and every abandoned subway tunnel will be rewarded with a variety of side quests that provide additional stories and insight into the plight of the games characters or the town itself. I enjoyed the additional story but a few of the quests never panned out, and instead felt like pointless filler material. However, I found myself enthralled by quests that sometimes played out over the course of several hours, and became obsessed with meticulously scouring every inch of the city seeking new places to explore.

Greasing the Wheels

Perhaps the most significant upgrades to Silent Hill Downpour exist in the form of enhancements to the combat and fluid animations. Vatra managed to craft a combat system that has shaken off a lot of the clumbsiness that the early entries in the series were plagued by. Swinging melee weapons feels natural and the camera works in such a way that enemies are usually very easy to spot. The contextual circle pad control makes switching focus from one enemy to another simple and fluid. Unfortunately, aiming with firearms is entirely different story. Thanks to their highly inaccurate aiming reticle, guns should typically be used as a last resort when being swarmed or when you happen to lose or break your melee weapon during a conflict. Luckily, the feeling of finishing off an enemy with a calculated blow from an axe or brick is incredibly satisfying.

Effective horror is a balancing act that is often controversial and easily picked apart when executed poorly. Vatra doesn't nail the horror aspect all the time in Downpour thanks to some awfully uninspired monster designs but instead strikes the proper balance through restraint. Enemy encounters are rare but randomly generated throughout the open world. I spent hours exploring secret apartment complexes, store fronts, and movie theaters and encountered enemies within those places only a fraction of the time. Instead, Vatra relies on excellent sound design and trusts the player to connect the dots when telling a story. Additional elements such as contextual animations when jumping over obstacles and scripted events that happen in real-time converge to make this one of the purest and most cinematic Silent Hill experiences in years. I found their ability to create tension and dramatic effect without yanking players out of the experience a welcomed addition.

Technical Foul

Unfortunately, the improvements introduced by Vatra came at a price. Silent Hill Downpour is riddled with offensive dips in frame rate and an utterly ridiculous save system that autosaves almost constantly, dragging the performance through the mud. It really is a shame because almost every other aspect of the game's visual presentation is competent and even stunning. Downpour is a beautiful game that makes great use of the Unreal Engine to render detailed character models and stunning environments that are deserving of the name Silent Hill.

Other elements of Downpour may be also be considered offensive to series die-hards. The industrial "Otherworld" that has become a staple of the series has been reduced in scope and encompasses a small percentage of the total experience. It seems a lot like the focus has shifted from using these sequences to inspire fear, and is instead more of a visual set piece that is used to break up the gameplay. The appearance of the iconic Pyramid Head villain was considered wildly out of place in Silent Hill Homecoming and has very obviously been replaced by a similar character in Downpour. While handled better than it was in the previous effort, it still may feel a bit out of place in a game that has already done a lot to establish it's own identity.

Starting Over

In the end, Silent Hill Downpour delivers all of the things that a good Silent Hill game should. Vatra has crafted a twisted tale that carries on the tradition of exceptional storytelling that started over a decade ago, and important gameplay elements have finally made small steps in the right direction that fans of the series should appreciate. But perhaps most importantly, the atmosphere is fitting for the series but unique enough to ensure that Downpour will be remembered in the minds of those who can look past its minor imperfections. Could Vatra Games symbolize the future that the series deserves? All I know is that I finally feel like Silent Hill is where it needs to be. I just hope Konami feels the same way.

Score - 84%
(80-89%: Great - Only very minor issues get in the way of greatness.)

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