The new Silent Hill: Downpour is due to be released this Autumn, according to Konami. Some new screens have splashed onto the scene, with a little more information as well to wet your appetite for more survival horror.
This time around, players will take on the role of an escaped convict, giving the game’s protagonist, Murphy Pendleton, a different spin from previous games. Pendleton ends up on the outskirts of Silent Hill when his prison transport bus crashes. Little does he know that he has simply gone from the frying pan straight into the fire. The character is a bit of a departure from previous games, since Murphy is rougher around the edges than the seemingly innocent heroes that we’ve played as in the past. As a result, expect elements of his sordid life to be tied into the game’s plot line.
In a recent interview with the game’s producer, Devin Shatsky, some environmental elements related to the game progression have been revealed as well. No longer will we run down a linear pathway, given boundaries by a seemingly endless amount of locked doors. Devin said:
We wanted to give players a bit more incentive to search around, and check those doors without facing a constant barrage of discouraging locks. This gives the player a greater sense that they are “exploring the town” and then rewarded with these mini-stories. We’ve been very careful to keep these immersive enough to make the player feel like they’re still a part of the main story, yet separate enough that they aren’t forced into completing all of them in a linear fashion to reach the ending.
This is certainly a welcome change, since there’s always a level of mystery within Silent Hill, and being given the opportunity to explore as you please allows the player to peel back some of those layers if they so desire. Within the same interview, it is also revealed that the weapon and inventory system will follow up on the previous Silent Hill: Shattered Memories system. Thus you will not have standard weapons that are carried at all times, but rather makeshift ones gathered from the environment, which wear out and break eventually. Senior Associate Producer Tomm Hulett says:
Fear is a tricky thing to get a handle on. Shattered Memories provided a very important experience in a genre currently dominated by the ability to stand your ground and gun down monsters: helplessness. Our goal with Downpour is to then take what we learned, and fold it back seamlessly into a “core” Silent Hill experience.
The result is that fighting may not always be the best option in Silent Hill: Downpour. Sometimes your best bet may be to run away and live to fight another day. Konami has also released some screens of the upcoming game, and in true Silent Hill fashion, they’re dark and creepy.
Are you excited for yet another round of survival horror? Let us know what you think in the comments below!
