When was the last time you played a game that intentionally tried to get into your head and turn your puppy dog dreams into nightmares about hell hounds rending flesh from the bones of babies? And no, Mega Man 9 doesn’t count. It’s probably been a while; horror games are few and far between now. However, the Silent Hill series has long been the prime destination for gamers intent on getting grossed out. Where else would you go for disturbing sexual metaphors mixed with some grotesque displays of the human anatomy? Well, besides the local free clinic.

Silent Hill Homecoming has shambled into stores, leaving a trail of blood and bile in its wake. Will this latest entry make gamers shit their pants out of fear, or buyer’s remorse?

Homecoming has no qualms with throwing you right into the thick of it, introducing us to protagonist Alex Shepherd being wheeled down a dilapidated hospital hallway in a gurney, catching quick glimpses of kids being killed in passing rooms as his attending, who is covered in blood, leaves him strapped down in an operating theater, alone. Double Helix does a great job introducing us to Alex’s twisted world, and the remains of long-time Silent Hill stand-by Alchemilla Hospital look as vile and uninviting as ever thanks to fancy next-gen graphical effects that I can’t even pronounce. And when you watch the normal (which is a bit of a misnomer, since even the most common environment in a Silent Hill game is run-down and disturbing) world disappear and give way to the rusty metallic milieu and din of the “Otherworld” only a few minutes later with the same panache of the Silent Hill movie, you’ll feel right at home in Hell.

Unfortunately, Homecoming shares some other similarities with the movie - not all of them positive. While the transitions from normal world to “Otherworld” are well done and set a mood of despair and fear, most of the game is just not that scary. Not only that, but the environments themselves pale in comparison to other horror games, including previous series entries. There are some standouts, like the opening hospital level and Overlook Prison, but nothing here is remotely memorable. Likewise, a good portion of the game is spent wandering empty streets with little to do but kill some monsters on your way to the next plot point. The lackluster layout is made worse thanks to a particularly odd decision to gimp one normally helpful tool.

The trademark flashlight is back, but this time around it merely serves as a reminder of how dark your surroundings are. For whatever reason, the developer decided that making the flashlight next to useless would increase the scare factor and tension. On paper, this seems fool-proof; less visibility in a town overrun with fetid fleshy monstrosities equals more terror. Sadly, not being able to see more than a couple feet in front of you proves to be more of an annoyance than anything else. The seemingly half-broken flashlight and mostly unsurprising enemy encounters end up cancelling each other out: Sure, you can’t see much, but when it’s fairly obvious that a bloody beast is going to bust down a door and try to eat your face, the scare just isn’t there.

Thankfully, the visceral combat system makes up for the tension that the environments don’t provide. Taking a cue from more action-centric titles like the recent The Bourne Conspiracy, combat involves dodging, quick attacks, well-timed power strikes, counters, and even choosing the right weapon for the job. This is a huge departure for the series, as past titles have always played up the fact that the protagonists were everyday people, untrained for combatting the horrors of Silent Hill. This time around, your character is a soldier; he knows how to take care of himself in a fight. This does deaden some of the fear you’d normally experience during a fight, but the fuglies thrown at you are more than capable of slaughtering you. And what else could you want from a Silent Hill game?

Ultimately, Homecoming is an acceptable entry into the series. Then again, the last two titles, 2004’s Silent Hill: The Room and 2007’s Silent Hill: Origins, significantly lowered the bar for the once-great franchise. Double Helix has developed a Silent Hill game that pays close attention to past titles while treading some gory new ground. However, this mix of old and new doesn’t work flawlessly, nor does Homecoming perfect the trademark style the series is known for. At some points, you may even feel like you’re playing a Silent Hill knock-off, which isn’t a stretch since Konami did outsource the game to an American company. In the end, Homecoming deserves a look, though it may be a letdown to long-time fans.

Plusses

Genuinely good boss battles. Double Helix attempts to inject some strategy into the mix and is only somewhat successful, but these overgrown freaks (one of which is several human bodies cobbled together) stand out if only for their sickening appearances. Make sure you hoard those First Aid kits that magically patch up gaping wounds for these battles.

The story. The more attentive (i.e. macabre) gamers out there may unravel Alex’s tale well before the credits roll, but the story of his homecoming is strong enough to keep you playing through even the more tedious levels just to find out what the hell is really going on. Suffice to say, the twists and turns are not disappointing.

A couple cool unlockable weapons make subsequent playthroughs a little less annoying and five different endings ensure that you’ll spend more time in the town of Silent Hill than you ever wanted to.

Minuses

Fighting is a chore. It’s a shame that a brand new combat system was built for the express purpose of getting up close and personal with a cadre of creatures, and yet fighting the beasties gets repetitive quickly. Add in the fact that there isn’t a large variety of enemies or weapons, and combat eventually feels forced and annoying.

While the overall length is fairly long by Silent Hill standards, a good deal of your time will be spent revisiting previous areas in order to find that one door that you couldn’t unlock before. Likewise, vague objectives and unintentionally obscured paths will leave you frustrated as to what to do next. Expect to spend a good deal of time wandering around aimlessly until you find what you’re looking for simply by chance.

While the overall narrative is strong, some of the voice acting is not. There are some characters that you will wish death upon for their painful deliveries; fortunately, the game has no qualms with granting your wishes in the bloodiest of ways.