The much venerated Silent Hill series continues to expand with its latest addition, Silent Hill: Downpour. Downpour is the eighth game to be released under the franchise label and features many of the same elements that are to be found in the other titles of the series, with some very welcome additions. For example, the trademark gritty and creepy atmospheres which are to be found in other Silent Hill games are clearly on display here. But where earlier titles focused on providing gamers with a carefully scripted and largely linear experience designed to rattle your nerves, SH: Downpour expands to include some basic exploration and even incorporates side quests.
Visuals
Stylistically, those that are already familiar with Silent Hill and its trademark dark and rusty atmosphere should be right at home. This title expands upon the graphical and artistic notions of the series, fully bringing it into alignment with the games of our era (not to mention, console generation).
As with some of the other Silent Hill releases, users are complaining about frame-rate issues. Most of these problems seem to be related to intense on-screen activity and/or draw distance-related problems. Despite these complaints, the game is still extremely nice-looking and doesn’t disappoint in the atmosphere department.
Gameplay
As you are probably already aware, the gameplay and controls for most survival horror games can present somewhat of a required learning curve for those that are unfamiliar. For those of us who are already familiar with previous titles in the genre (like the Silent Hill or Resident Evil series, for instance), these types of seemingly frustrating control schemes are fairly easy to adapt to.
Puzzles and melee weapon-based combat are staples of Silent Hill: Downpour. Unlike some of the previous puzzles encountered in previous SH games however, those featured in this release function to break up the monotony. In fact, some of the puzzles in Silent Hill: Downpour and downright bizarre (yet somehow highly entertaining).
Story
The actual story of Silent Hill: Downpour isn’t really anything new, but it is still very enjoyable and engaging. You learn more about the back story through items you find out in the game world (portions of newspapers, notes, and letters). One of the truly great things about Downpour is that it features multiple endings; meaning, players who complete multiple play throughs are treated to additional endings based on how they played the game.
Verdict
The evolution of the Silent Hill series continues, with Downpour being an excellent addition to the franchise and brand. Could the game have been even more spectacular and bombastic? Of course it could, but that’s not really what the Silent Hill series has ever been about. It could be argued that the reason Silent Hill was / is such a success relates back to how the series is able to establish an immersive atmosphere in which the player essentially occupies a horrific dream-like world. In other words, Silent Hill is more about the atmosphere as opposed to action. Fans of the series will definitely want to add this title to their collection and those just discovering Silent Hill for the first time will get an excellent introduction to the creepiness that is the Silent Hill universe.