Homecoming vs Downpour

[phantomess]

I had mixed feelings about both games, but I liked Downpour more overall. The main drawback for Downpour with me was the monster designs (Weeping Bat was the only common enemy I particularly liked). I was also a little disappointed with the sidequests, because of a quote I'd read previously saying that completing sidequests could reveal stuff about Silent Hill lore. It didn't seem like there was much of that. But I did find some of the sidequests pretty cool, enjoyed the exploration, atmosphere, and many of the environments- not to mention the story.

I don't really feel like going into Homecoming right now, but I basically agree with everything in Juridawn's post.

[pink_isnt_well000]

Downpour over Homecoming in every single way. I rage quit Homecoming so many times because of the broken combat. I liked Homecoming's story but it just wasn't enough to enjoy it overall.

[Skele]

Homecoming by far. I was really excited for Downpour and i expected it to be better than Homecoming, but then i played it... All i can say is Downpour is a complete mess. Even if I could look past the technical issues it still wouldn't make me forget about all the other things the game does poorly. Bad camera (mainly while controlling it, and when it zooms in on Murphy), bad save system, poor & limited control scheme, horrible monster designs, clunky/dated gameplay (combat), the journal/map is a chore, etc.

I guess many of the SH fans here only care about exploration, characters, and story. you could botch everything else, and those folks will still eat it up. If you critique Downpour as a Silent Hill game, it's decent at best imo. However if you critique it as a videogame, it's horrible.

[EmilietheStrange]

Having played through Homecoming again a few days ago, I don't understand why so many people have an issue with the combat, or say that you're forced to fight every monster you encounter. That's simply not true. I tried to go through the game killing as few monsters as possible, with required boss fights being the obvious exception.
My results were as follows:

nurses killed: 1. The psycho ninja nurse in the hotel. All the others can be easily avoided.

lurkers killed: 3. The first one is required, and two in the sewers are required. Elle won't cross the pool until you kill them.

ferals killed: 1. The first encounter is a required kill, as Alex won't leave the pit if it's still alive.

smogs killed: 1. Not a required kill, but if you let the one outside the hotel live, it will harass you while you do the wire puzzle.

needlers killed: 5 or 6. There are at least 3 required kills in the sewers, and one in the hotel. Most other times, you can easily run away from them.

schisms killed: 3 or 4, I think, in tight spaces. Schisms are slow and usually won't chase you very long.

siams killed: All of them. (6) I learned the hard way a long time ago that these things will NEVER stop chasing and pummeling you if you try to run from them.

order members killed: several. Some of them are required kills.

Overall, the combat really isn't that bad. I don't see the issue with it.

[Skele]

^I agree about the combat in Homecoming, thanks for making those points. I think i would've been able to tolerate Downpour more if it had better combat. I found myself avoiding the monsters simply because i didn't like the gameplay. The only other SH game i did this with was SH4, and Downpour's gameplay reminds me of it (i hated the combat in that game).

[Glenn]

Having played through Homecoming again a few days ago, I don't understand why so many people have an issue with the combat, or say that you're forced to fight every monster you encounter. That's simply not true. I tried to go through the game killing as few monsters as possible, with required boss fights being the obvious exception.
My results were as follows:

nurses killed: 1. The psycho ninja nurse in the hotel. All the others can be easily avoided.

lurkers killed: 3. The first one is required, and two in the sewers are required. Elle won't cross the pool until you kill them.

ferals killed: 1. The first encounter is a required kill, as Alex won't leave the pit if it's still alive.

smogs killed: 1. Not a required kill, but if you let the one outside the hotel live, it will harass you while you do the wire puzzle.

needlers killed: 5 or 6. There are at least 3 required kills in the sewers, and one in the hotel. Most other times, you can easily run away from them.

schisms killed: 3 or 4, I think, in tight spaces. Schisms are slow and usually won't chase you very long.

siams killed: All of them. (6) I learned the hard way a long time ago that these things will NEVER stop chasing and pummeling you if you try to run from them.

order members killed: several. Some of them are required kills.

Overall, the combat really isn't that bad. I don't see the issue with it.

Thanks for compiling this data. It shows that there isn't that much combat. And as in all the other Silent Hills, combat is practically unnecessary in the town, but more so when in buildings.

[Yoshata]

Downpour for sure. In Downpour, I never had an issue with anything except maybe lag. I never felt negatively about the monsters or the combat, though I do understand where people are coming from about the monster design. I also love the story and adore the characters - they are all well-done, interesting and likeable (save for a couple, but they're meant not to be liked). I love Murphy as a protagonist.

I actually did really like Homecoming up until the end. I was severely disappointed in the ending I got. After that, I just watched the other endings online, and all of them are equally as disappointing - even the joke ending. The characters, save for Alex and Josh, were hollow to me, and the romantic interest did nothing for me. Plus, they totally ripped off SH2's story. It just seemed like laziness. :/

[ashatteredmemory]

I hate Homecoming, mainly because i always ragequited (and this is one of the only games where i ragequited) . I couldn't even run away from enemies since for some reason, they always caught up. In the town every time a feral started to chase me i go mental because i just HAVE to kill them or i lose lots of hp trying to evade them.

I couldn't even complete the game because of this D:

The parts where i walked through (I stopped after Scarlet) seemed very meh to me, except for Hell Descent. The Hotel was very bland, the graveyard is a cliché horror place, Alchemilla is a rip-off...

I have to say though that the graphics were better, there were no bugs or framerate lags and there was no (or not much) re-use of props and textures. Not to mention monster design.

Downpour excelled in story, characters and atmosphere. Hell, it actually made me not to walk in certain room in the Library, even though there were no monsters in there at all.
The combat was for me a gigantic relief compared to Homecoming, and the although i said monster design was better in Homecoming, I found that these monsters weren't all that bad as many of the others said.

The 2 things that could have been better in Downpour were information about Howard and Ricks, and Side-quests that actually involved relevant information about the characters instead of giving some backstory about what's happening in the town.

[clips]

I mentioned in another thread in how i thought Downpour's otherworld would've benefited if we were able to explore it rather than run thru it...and the combat..moreso the behavior of the monsters..i didn't like that the monsters were blocking and dodging my attacks...they were too human in nature and i might as well have been fighting human beings...the atmosphere was great until the monsters showed up.

Homecoming has Downpour beat in terms of it's monster designs tho...i loved just about all of them including the bosses.

I loved the otherworld house level and helldescent levels in homecoming, but i also thought that St mary's and the various apt buildings you explored were a tad more un-nerving due to Downpour's atmosphere....you were even on edge even when you knew there were no monsters around and that actually is the concept that was behind the older games....fear of the unknown...evn when you sorta knew there was no threats around...Downpour did a pretty good job of keeping you on edge even during it's quiet moments...

[Axel_98]

I think Downpour by far. It had more depth than homecoming IMO. Also it was alot less combat oriented I think. I will never play homecoming ever again because of that stupid Doll boss. Took me literally half an hour to kill that thing, non-stop dodging and hitting. Though in it's defense I had no health items...

[Mr.FLOOT]

I much prefer Downpour over Homecoming.
Homecoming's graphics looked bad, I mean look at Curtis' Textures. His shirt is a mess and his hands look awful.
Downpour's character models were more detailed and realistic, and the voice sync was much better.
Homecoming ripped too much from the film and just didn't feel original.
Downpour did it's own thing. It had it's own area of town, it's own original events and a fantastic take on the otherworld (That extending corridor on the first Void chase was fantastic)

Sure Downpour has it's glitches, but in comparison it's a much better game. And it didn't turn into a Hostel rip-off at the end either.

[Harlequin]

I liked Downpour more. I don't hate Homecoming but it's not one of my favorites in the series. Downpour was just more enjoyable for me all the way through. The story was a lot more intriguing and the atmosphere was a lot creepier to me. Homecoming seemed to frustrate me a lot, and I was hardly ever frustrated when playing through Downpour.

[NanayaShiki]

Downpour. In every single category. I don't hate Homecoming like some do, but it's very far down on the list of SH games for me.

[LuLu]

I love Downpour. Homecoming just frustrated me. The combat was awful and distracting. I'm actually glad they didn't put too much into the combat in Downpour, because to me Silent Hill has always been more about atmosphere and story than combat.

In addition, I loved Downpour's characters (although some could've been more developed, I suppose), side quests, atmosphere, and Otherworld. Downpour's Otherworld actually scared me and gave me a sense of desperation to find a way out of it, which hasn't happened with me since Silent Hill 3. I LOVED the voice acting for Murphy as well.

The only thing I really appreciated about Homecoming was Scarlet's story/battle. Everything else I found to be mostly "meh".

[Silent Fantasy]

Downpour for me, though not by much because I just can't seem to make myself play it again like I did with Homecoming. At least not at the moment. Mainly due to the reason everyone seems to love it. Too much exploration.

I found Downpours combat much harder than Homecoming's (I beat HC on hard without even realizing it was on hard. I didn't once have an issue either) Downpour though, it kicks my ass on easy. Plus, I actually had some fun fighting in HC, but it did get too easy, predictable, and boring. Just like Downpour's. (Though i'd go more for frustrating, clunky, and pointless.) I usualy just run from everything in SHD, which isn't much of a problem to me as long as I can do it (your not forced in Homecoming either). The lag in it never bothered me, and neither did the monster designs, though I could see where people are coming from. (I thought the prisoners were dull and corny though.Same with weeping bats.) But Homecomings monsters attracted me and seemed more brutal. The atmosphere in SHD was much better than SHH's. I actually stayed pretty tense throughout the game. Not so much in HC. The story was much better in Downpour obviously, and the graphics and art were alot better to me.

I loved how Downpour didn't feel so empty and had things to do compared to HC, which felt like walking in a straight line. Though, also going with that extra stuff in Downpour comes a weakness to me. The major bordum of trying to find out where your supposed to be and where to go. I'v almost fallen asleep trying to find out where i'm supposed to be in Downpour(No exaggeration), never knowing if I was on the right path or doing a side quest i'd never finish because it's way to spread out. Homecoming did better to me because that "straight line" gameplay atleast kept the story and game itself flowing, not giving me a chance to yawn. (In most cases. That straight line turned into just walking a few times though)

I liked the boss fights in Homecoming and wish Downpour would've had some. The bosses Downpour does have show alot of creativity(As did HC too), and also show some wasted potential for 2 or 3 more bosses throughout to change it up. As for the otherworlds, Downpour wins in vision and atmosphere while Homecoming wins in pacing.(Well, when HC actually used it's otherworld. But Downpour has that issue also.)
Like many others, I hated the running in SHD, and would've loved to explore, do puzzles, and just find wierd shit in the otherworld.
The characters in Downpour were much better than in Homecoming also, and it gave me nothing to laugh at like Homecoming did. (crazy cult. Drill torture. Texas chainsaw ripoff. Plastic hair. Ninja turtle teeth. Very bad lip sycing. "Shiiit.") Oh, and Downpour actually creeped me out and kept doing so unlike Homecoming..which never did. There's a big one. And as was said in the post above mine, Downpour just had alot more depth to it.

So in conclusion, I do like Downpour more (even if it's kinda hard to see why with my comparisons, though it just shows how close they are.) But in the end, to me, Downpour feels like it had much more work and heart into it than Homecoming did. Homecoming felt very unpolished (Though some may dissagree or see Downpour as the unpolished game, I seen the differance.) and as of now, it's better than Homecoming to me. Just not by much because I pretty much love all the SH games the same. (pretty much. Key word)

SHD- 8/10
SHH- 6/10

[ginjajacob]

The question is really like saying would you rather be punched or kicked, neither really pleasurable expereinces. But i suppose one could be argued as more pleasurable than the other.

Did anyone not notice with both titles that they sort of seemed rushed at the end (well final third). I dont mean with regard to narrative but technically? Homecomming even more so.

[Silent Fantasy]

^ Homecoming felt rushed at the end, Downpour didn't to me. And neither are unpleasurable. Not to me. They both just have some noticable, not gamebreaking, issues, that when put together make them sound like a mess. In practice, neither of them are a mess and both are playable/ enjoyable. ( Well the enjoyable parts just my opnion obviously. )

[Mantorok]

I liked Downpour better than Homecoming.

Everything from the town to the side quest was far superior in Downpour.

The only parts that homecoming has over downpour is the monsters obviously. They also did a better job incorporating the side characters into Homecomings storyline. While I found Howard and Ricks much better than Homecoming's side characters. I was disappointed when both of them just disappeared and played no part in the later storyline.

I also found the plot twist and mystery to be a little better in Homecoming. While I liked the mysteries and how they contributed in Downpour, I have to admit I pretty much saw the whole Frank and Patrick thing coming quite early on. While the sacrifice and mental institution for Alex came as a better twist.

[clips]

I also found the plot twist and mystery to be a little better in Homecoming. While I liked the mysteries and how they contributed in Downpour, I have to admit I pretty much saw the whole Frank and Patrick thing coming quite early on. While the sacrifice and mental institution for Alex came as a better twist.

IDK...i kinda saw both plot twists early on...in Homecoming, they made it painfully obvious that Josh was dead just by his behavior early on in the game and in Downpour, you knew there was something that Murphy owed that cop just by his behavior...the twist would've been better in Downpour if they didn't make Frank who was so obviously a "dirty" cop.

It was a bit twirly mustachey for his character and a bit more vagueness to his character might hidden the twist there a bit....they did try to disguise the overall storyline and twist tho, by adding sidequests and giving you very little information on the overall plot throughout the entire game up until the last part of the game, but by then you kinda already figured out what was happening.

I still give the game it's due, because it did craft and implement an impressive aura of atmosphere and simply put, trying to create original storylines is a monumental task to take up anyway, because just about everything has been done. Homecoming has the edge in monster design and i actually liked Alex a bit better than Murphy's character, but Downpour is the overall better game...

[Augophthalmoses]

Homecoming bests Downpour easily in three areas: fighting mechanics, boss fights, and monster design. Fighting wasn't perfect and needed some work, but it was a more balanced, diverse system than Downpour. But as you know, you can't do anything in Silent Hill without somebody bitching to high heaven of "immersion!" despite the fact previous Silent Hill games didn't exactly avoid trying to overpower the player with dozens upon dozens of bullets scattered throughout the levels.

Downpour's final boss was good and all, but a bit disappointing you didn't actually get to fight him. And the only regular monsters that were decent were the Screamer, Dolls, and Weeping Bats. The rest were just generic and they all looked far too human.