Silent Hill: Downpour

"All roads lead to Silent Hill"




Developer: Vatra Games
Publisher: Konami
Release Date: TBA
Platform(s): PS3, X360
Genre: Horror Action Adventure




You may have heard of Silent Hill. The city, next to Resident Evil’s Raccoon City, is one of the most frightening places in video games. Despite its name being synonymous with fear and terror, it still arouses our curiosity and makes us want to return to its desolate streets. Having haunted gamers in over seven games already, Silent Hill is showing that it still has many secrets to reveal, as well as new stories to tell.


Although met with success, the latest releases of the Silent Hill series have not been received well by critics. The last two titles, Homecoming and Shattered Memories--despite not having been considered a failure--received average grades and left fans hoping for a game that would restore the franchise’s former glory. Konami Productions realized this need, and Silent Hill: Downpour was born. It’s more or less a want to return the series in a time when it was still an absolute synonym to the word "terrifying." In this task, Konami enlists the help of Vatra Games, a studio in the newly formed Czech Republic.

 

We heard about Downpour in the first half of 2010, when the first trailer for the title was displayed at E3. On occasion, the game was simply known as Silent Hill 8. Despite the beautiful images displayed at the event, nothing was said about the game within six months, a sign that the video was just a taste of what was to come in the future.


In Downpour, we are again brought to the distressing city. However, this time, the arrival is made (apparently) by chance. Murphy Pendleton is an escaped prisoner who sees the alleys covered with fog hiding the perfect escape from prison. However, there is always a reason for someone to come to Silent Hill - and that is something he will find out the hard way.
 

The series has always been famous for using a much more psychological style of horror. Instead of simply throwing monsters against the screen, we have always had a tense soundtrack, with a mixture of loneliness, despair and paranoia. With Downpour, it is no different. From the moment in which the protagonist sets foot on the street, he realizes that there is nothing normal about the place he is currently in. More than that, the character is shrouded in mystery, something that will directly affect his sanity.
 

Thus, Pendleton did not know if bizarre things happen during the story are real or the result of some disturbance in his mind. In addition, the stories themselves lived on the spot begin to mix with the prison memories, making him unsure of anything about his past and about what happens around him. According to the game's producer Devin Shatsky, no one comes to Silent Hill by mere accident.


Vatra Games states that the transition between Silent Hill and the real world is not merely to create an aesthetic or psychological damage to the player. The idea is just to make the move to change the scenario completely. So expect to find objects in unlikely places or even the appearance of elements with no logical explanation. We can bet that this feature in Downpour can be used at various times to solve different puzzles.


Another innovation in gameplay mechanics is the clashes, which is reportedly optional. Although Shattered Memories has divided fan opinion regarding the idea of confronting the monsters impossible, this characteristic directly influenced the production of Downpour. As much as Pendleton has a gun and can shoot creatures, it may be wiser to run away and find a safe place to hide. Tom Hullet, producer of Downpour, said escaping can also be a kind of strategy, mainly because of the difficulty has increased.
 

He also said that despite this, the frequency of fighting (optional) will not be so constant. According to Hullet, players will spend a lot of time walking the empty streets of Silent Hill. The idea is to explore that dark atmosphere to work the feeling of loneliness of the character - which should increase the anxiety and fear of what can happen at any time.


Another point discussed by the producer was multiplayer. To Hullet, it would not make any sense, as would defeat the essence of the series’ themes. By keeping the title for a single player, the gloomy atmosphere becomes even more immersive. On the other hand, the involvement typical in Silent Hill loses a very important factor in this eighth chapter. That's because Akira Yamaoka, responsible for creating the harrowing soundtrack of the franchise, is no longer part of the development team. To replace him, Vatra hired Daniel Licht, who worked in composing songs for the show Dexter. Vatra has commented that Licht’s work is phenomenal and will surely please fans.


Although Silent Hill: Downpour has no confirmed released date, the game is expected this year for PS3 and X360.




Marco Cecilio, NoobFeed