Silent Hill Origins Review

Every one of the editors at Play has that certain video game series, or even one specific game, that means more to them than anything else. That one game or franchise that, above all others, speaks directly to them and who they are as a gamer. For me, that series is Silent Hill.

Resident Evil introduced me to the world of “survival horror,” and fueled the love I already had for lumbering zombies, but Silent Hill was where things got serious. Every character I was introduced to, every track of beautiful Akira Yamaoka music that played, every street I traversed and demon I killed, every single piece of the game just clicked with me. This was my game; this was my series. Silent Hill was the game that I would make were I able to make games.

Unfortunately, I’ve been a bit worried about my beloved series, especially after Konami allowed a game that never deserved (or was originally meant to have) the title to be christened Silent Hill 4. Rumors surfaced of a new Silent Hill project for the PSP, and warning lights went off. Team Silent had stated many times that they had no interest in doing a main Silent Hill project for a handheld device, so either they were somehow convinced otherwise to go against their wishes, or somebody else was going to be in charge of the title. Those same rumors also hinted that the game might actually be a remake of the original Silent Hill, so at the same time I was also excited, because dammit, that’s absolutely something that I want.

I was on hand for the Konami presentation at E3 2006 when the video hit the screen, and it was revealed that this secret PSP Silent Hill title was in fact not a remake of the first game, but a completely new project, one intended to be a prequel to the story of America’s least-popular resort town. As the teaser for Silent Hill Origins ran, I tried to be enthusiastic, but I was also apprehensive; could Silent Hill actually work on a handheld, and did it even have a chance with development not being done by Team Silent, but a Western developer? And what in the world was up with the main character, Travis Grady, being a trucker?

When I inserted the Silent Hill Origins UMD into my PSP, and waited as the game booted up, I had no idea what to expect from what I was about to experience. After so much of the game had undergone a reworking from what it was originally supposed to be, and after it changed hands from a U.S. developer to one in the U.K. for said reworking, could the final product be a good gaming experience period, never mind be a good Silent Hill game?

Silent Hill Origins is not a good Silent Hill game—it’s a great Silent Hill game. This is not a generic survival horror title retro-fitted into the world of Silent Hill, nor a side-story relegated to the PSP; this is a true new chapter worthy of its name and without question console-sized in scope and ambition. I simply cannot stress that point enough: the game you will find when you play Origins is what you would expect to find in a new console chapter on the series, not a game that was created from the start to be on a portable device. I say that with no disrespect to the PSP; it is just that, even with how grand in scope and epic in nature games have become on the device, the fact that something like Origins can exist in the way that it does will force you to reconsider your entire attitude towards portable gaming and the possibility it holds.

As part of a series that is known for being visually beautiful, Silent Hill Origins had a lot to live up to, and man did it deliver. Visually, this game simply shouldn’t exist on a handheld, especially once you get a good look at the lighting effects used for Travis’s flashlight. The game doesn’t just impress the eyes technically, however; the care and attention that has gone in to crafting every building, every room, every inch of the portion of the town of Silent Hill that you will explore is absolutely faithful to the series. Every location has a unique and storied tale to tell, and never once does it feel like Climax skimped when it came to art and architecture design. Monsters are of similar quality, as old favorites are mixed in with new freaks of nature that feel right at home in their surroundings. Thought I won’t spoil him (her? it?) for you, one of the new enemies added for Origins in particular was especially frightening the first time we encountered one another.

Musically… well, this was the part of the game I worried about the least, because it had long been known that the game’s soundtrack would still be safe and secure in the hands of Mr. Yamaoka. Silent Hill soundtracks are the kind of thing that, for me, cannot truly be understood and appreciated until I’ve had the soundtrack CD for a while, and have been given the opportunity to listen to each and every track an ample amount of times at my own pace. What I can say, though, is that Origin‘s soundtrack reminds me of the more ambient sounds that were present in the original Silent Hill, versus the more melodic background tracks that drove later games.

Which, actually, brings up an interesting point; Silent Hill Origins, to me, feels far more like a true sequel to the original game than any of the other titles have, even though timeline wise it’s a prequel. Each of the Silent Hill games have had their own particular style, and from the opening cinema up until the final “game results” screen, this feels like the game we would have received after the first Silent Hill had we not been given what we know as Silent Hill 2.

So, in almost every regard, what Climax has accomplished here is a game the reminds me of why I became a Silent Hill fan in the first place, and exactly the kind of experience I wanted (and needed) as a follower of the series after my disappointment with the previous chapter. That isn’t to say, however, that a few missteps weren’t made here. Unlike some others out there, I had no problem at all with the game’s combat—it’s what we’ve come to expect from the series, with the mistakes that were made in Silent Hill 4 long forgotten—but I certainly agree that the breakable melee weapon idea really didn’t need to exist. Giving every pipe, board, hammer, or other such hand-to-hand weapon you come across a finite amount of use doesn’t add much to the game, especially considering you’re given so many of them that it’s never a question of needing to use them sparingly. The only effect this decision really had was that, if you aren’t careful, your weapon will break mid-fight, which creates annoyance more than it does challenge. Another feature that ended up surviving from what Origins was originally supposed to be is the Quick Time Events-type situations: as in, something happens, and you have to push the proper button at just the right time to avoid an attack or whatnot. Honestly, this type of thing doesn’t fit in with the overall Silent Hill style, and now that most of these elements were removed from the game, those surviving examples of QTEs feel even more out of place.

Both of those complaints are minor, however, and for the most part don’t negatively effect the overall experience. Unfortunately, one other decisions that was made does bring the game down have a negative effect, at least in my mind. One of the most fundamental, key elements of this series has been the town of Silent Hill itself, and the many layers contained within it. The dread of its most dire self showing up—the dark, rusty, “nightmare” version of Silent Hill—always lingers in the back of your mind, and once you are cast against your will into that horrible world, all you can think about is trying to escape back to the relative safety of the more normal “foggy” Silent Hill. For Origins, that idea has been completely altered, as Travis now has the ability to travel back and forth at will between the two worlds whenever he comes across a mirror. Gameplay wise, this adds a new element to the overall game, as solving puzzles and making progress now requires exploration of both worlds at the same time, versus one and then the other as was previously the rule.

This change in gameplay is, to be honest, relatively minor, but the effect this then has on the deep sense of anxiety and terror cast by the nightmare world is quite severe. That alternative version of Silent Hill has always been the game’s biggest adversary to the player—just one of emotional threat, versus the physical threat from the game’s creatures—and that threat can now be dealt with whenever the player wishes, and in as big (or as small) of chunks as desired. The nightmare world was a punishment for the game’s main character, and a challenge that the player had to force themselves to overcome. Even though Origins still requires that the player enter the nightmare world at certain points, and deal with all that lies waiting there, the player now holds power over that world, instead of the player always being at its mercy.

On a personal level, I can’t at all accept this change: not the mentality behind it, the affect it has on the way the game ends up playing out, nor the fact that Silent Hill V is set to have a similar method of player-controlled entering and exiting of the town’s various selves. In the bigger scheme of things, however, while I may disagree with the decision that was made, I also came to accept it, and understand that it was an unfortunate yet ultimately non-gamebreaking change to the Silent Hill routine. What Silent Hill Origins does right, it does right beautifully, and though I may wish that that one particular gameplay change had never been made, it did not stop me from otherwise completely enjoying this game, nor should it stop you.

If you are a longtime Silent Hill fan, you will not be disappointed with the final product that was produced here; that I can assure you. If you’ve never played any of the previous chapters before, well—what better place is there to start than at the start?

A Great	Not only does Silent Hill Origins prove that survival horror can work on a handheld, and work beautifully, but it makes it look easy while doing so.
Silent Hill Origins was reviewed using review code, physical copies, or hardware provided by Konami. Scores are graded on a scale of E (Bad) to S (Special) in homage to Japanese video game grading scales, with the understanding that an S still does not denote a "perfect" score. Scores may have been adjusted from the original source to better fit my personal scale.