Came out during that period in the mid to late 2000s when Konami was really trying to maximize the franchise potential of the property by doing things like disbanding Team Silent to pursue Western developers, releasing arcade rail shooter spin-offs, and of course trying to tap into that lucrative mobile gaming market. It uses a point-and-click adventure game style that surprisingly suits the franchise well. I was genuinely impressed with the quality of the puzzles and they even managed to include combat encounters, which, while not great due to the complete inability to avoid taking damage, are at least not irritatingly difficult thanks to how easy it is to replenish your supply of ammo and health items.

Honestly, my only serious complaint with the gameplay is how precise you need to be with the cursor. I actually got stuck early on because I didn't realize I had to do things like click on the small candle in a candelabrum to collect it and not just the candelabrum itself, or check each individual drawer in a dresser to find everything it was holding. Now, that might have made more sense if you were controlling this with a mouse and keyboard, but it was designed to played on a keypad so you wouldn't expect it to require you to be that specific. There is also a fair amount of backtracking that some may find annoying as the title uses a mechanic similar to Origins where you can jump between the regular and nightmarish "Otherworld" planes at will via a sigil, forcing you to regularly revisit the room where it's located. Personally, I didn't view it as too much of an issue because of the overall short length (that also keeps exploring the singular location from becoming too repetitive) and the fact that it's pretty good at directing you to where you're supposed to go or what you need to do next. Plus, it's not as though you wouldn't be doing a lot of that in the main entries anyways.

The plot follows a small group of people who are drawn back to the orphanage they grew up in and are tormented by a mysterious voice once they arrive. It's a shockingly dark tale given the platform, dealing with themes such as suicide and child murder. The big reveal also ties into the larger picture of the Silent Hill universe in a significant way, albeit one that kind of muddies the overall lore. It will be interesting to see if the sequels clarify/rectify any of this. Whatever the case it did its job of getting me interesting in where the narrative will go in the follow-ups with that cliffhanger ending.

I think this will prove worth tracking down for fans. On top of the solid gameplay and writing, they did a decent job of bringing the series over to cellphones right down to the symbolic imagery. There's a particular sight involving a tree that stands as one of the most memorable and haunting visuals in the entire saga as a result of its appearance and emblematic meaning. So especially compared to the other tie-ins, Orphan may just surprise you with how worthy it is of the brand.

7/10