Silent Hill: Origins

released on Nov 06, 2007

Silent Hill: Origins is the fifth installment in the Silent Hill survival horror series, and a prequel to the original game. As in the previous entries, the player move back and forth between nightmare and real versions of the town, gathering items used to solve puzzles and open up new areas. Monsters of various types provide obstacles and, in series tradition, are mostly disturbingly twisted versions of humanity. The main character can fight with his bare fists or use melee weapons. Unlike previous games in the series, melee weapons break after a time. There are also one-shot items that can be thrown and several guns. There is no HUD, but the edge of the screen turns red when the protagonist is near death.


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This review contains spoilers

Silent Hill Origins is the prequel to the first Silent hill and gives us some shaky backstory that connects with the first SH. We play asd Travis Grady who is a truck driver that decided to take a shortcut through Silent Hill. While driving Travis Suddenly sees a girl fall on the road and he breaks, only to see no girl. Travis then sees smoke in the distance and then decides to investigate only to find a burning house with a little girl inside which he saves and with this the horrors of Silent hill begin for Travis. I actually like SH: Origins, to me it was better than SH4. We don't have tank controls anymore because we are using the analog stick now, we have unlimited inventory but now we have breakable melee weapons but the game does give you so much melee weapons that you can pick up throughout your playthrough. We have guns too but I only really used them for boss fights and I had plenty of ammo to spare. Healing items are given when you explore the areas you are in and before boss fights. The puzzles were not hard at all, just remembering or writing down the things that are highlighted. There are 3 endings, I got the good ending as that is what everyone gets when beating the game for the first time, then there is a bad ending and UFO ending.

Tan increíblemente irrelevante aún cuando en teoría cuenta un capítulo importante en la historia de Silent Hill. Jugablemente es muy tosco, complicando aspectos que podrían ser más fáciles adrede y con un diseño de niveles y jefes bastante pobre. Levemente recomendable.

' Camionero (algo borracho) se lía a puñetazos con toda colina silenciosa. '

i definitely don't think origins is a "bad" game per say, just not a very good one either. you can really tell that this is the west's first stab at a silent hill game, what with the lack of subtlety, focus on combat, and most bizarre of all its insistence to "explain" all of the cool mysteries from the first game. at times it feels like a prequel to the silent hill movie rather than the game.

however, for a first attempt at a silent hill game, AND for being on a PSP? this game is honestly pretty solid. the music is fantastic as usual but what really elevates it this time around is its usage. much like silent hill 3, the music is tweaked from the standard franchise's sound to fit the specific aesthetic of this game. the soundtrack sounds more folksy and old school rock n roll which is a really cool choice for the specific story and vibe this game has.

i would say fits the game's protagonist, but travis doesn't really have anything going on as a character. his specific trauma is really fascinating and very different from the other series' protagonists, but what's done with that is very limited because the game is so focused on being a silent hill prequel, which is sadly it's biggest drawback.

the core gameplay loop is great and it controls well, it is a silent hill game after all. the creature designs are freaky and cool, it is a silent hill game. visually it's pretty strong (especially for a PSP game), just like the other 4 silent hill games. but the issue is that origins is kinda... just another silent hill game. i complained about SH4 pushing way too far with its changes to where it feels alienating, but at least SH4 feels like something new and interesting. this just feels like... hey! it's silent hill on the PSP! which is cool and all, but i'm looking for a nice sweet spot between a classic solid SH experience AND a huge shakeup to the formula.

so if narratively, you can't help but compare it to SH1, and gameplay wise, you can't help but compare it to SH1-3, and the protagonist doesn't even stand out, then what identity does this game even really have other than being the PSP silent hill? not very much to be honest with you. which cuts right into the core issue this game faces: it's kinda boring?

it's good! it's enjoyable! but after a while your eyes just kinda glaze over. it is just a bland, generic, basic silent hill game. i don't really see myself ever replaying this unless it's with a friend. sorry climax studios, at least your next effort is a lot stronger!

Easily the worst silent hill behind downpour, not only this game makes a complete disservice of everything team silent built for the lore of silent hill, but also it's a horrible game in almost every aspect i can think of