Top 10 Best Ways to 'Fix' Silent Hill: Homecoming

One of Homecoming‘s most obvious issues is its utilization of monster concepts and designs that were effectively plagiarized from ones previously developed by artist Masahiro Ito for the original Silent Hill 2: particularly, the recycling of Ito’s “Bubble Head Nurse” and “Lying Figure” as the “Dark Nurse” and “Smog” enemies. For the Dark Nurses, I’d redesign them into malformed “surgeons” wearing very blood/filth-encrusted medical garments; for the Smog creatures, I’d give them tattered clothing, functional but atrophied/deteriorated arms, and a notably more “corroded” appearance.

9. Repurpose (or Just Drop) the “Boogeyman”

To extrapolate on the entry above, Homecoming‘s inclusion of the elusive “Boogeyman” monster was an allegedly corporate-mandated request to crowbar SH2‘s notorious “Pyramid Head” into the story (based on his then-recent popularity boost from appearing in the Silent Hill movie). However, in keeping with Masahiro Ito’s expressed intent to keep Pyramid Head as only existing in the mind of SH2‘s protagonist, I recommend either: completely repurposing (and radically redesigning) it to conceptually distance it from the former, or, due to its relatively small screentime, just dropping it.

8. Rework Wheeler’s Offscreen Activities

In the latter half of Homecoming‘s story, players end up in the titular town but are forcibly separated from allies Elle Holloway and Deputy Wheeler; eventually, the latter will contact you via radio and say that he’s found Elle while sneaking around a prison occupied by the game’s cult. But as many have pointed out, this is highly improbable and even…suspicious: to this, I recommend a reveal that Wheeler was captured and coerced/manipulated/brainwashed by the cult into being “helpful” to you.

7. Redo the Combat

Another major criticism of Homecoming was its dubious implementation of a more “action-oriented” approach to its combat, with the equally questionable “rationale” behind it (especially after the game’s major plot bombshell is dropped) not helping matters. I suppose a compromise could be made by adopting and expanding on the combat mechanics in the SH2 remake: namely, allowing the player to dodge (and block), but with the caveat that enemies can too (and deal way more damage).

6. Remove the HUD

I personally feel that the Silent Hill games should have little-to-no (preferably no) usage of heads-up displays (HUDs) visually representing the character’s health, stamina, and/or inventory outside of the offscreen item menu. In my opinion, this greatly breaks the previous games’ wonderful sense of immersion, so I suggest completely removing the health/ammo displays from Homecoming and having Alex become “bloodier” to indicate his damage state (like in Downpour and the SH2 remake).

5. Rethink How to Use the Order Soldiers

While the “Order Soldiers” – cult militants wearing heavy mining/hazmat gear and attacking with pipes and rifles (yet don’t set off your radio static because they’re just human beings) – are interesting enemies on paper, the game’s insistence on having them frequently yell out and announce their presence completely hampers their stealth and potential scare factor. To remedy this, I propose reworking them to be people caught and heavily drugged, tortured, and/or lobotomized by the cult into mute, violent drones (with Elle now being prepared for the same “process” instead of being sacrificed).

4. Redefine Where (& What) the “Town” Is

As pointed out by others who’ve closely analyzed Homecoming‘s storyline, protagonist Alex’s sudden “teleportation” from Shepherd’s Glen to Silent Hill in the earlier half of the game (and questionable journey there by boat to rescue his mother) opens certain plot-holes. However, based on an indirect suggestion from TheGamingMuse, the narrative could be rewritten to emphasize that the “town” seen and visited in Homecoming is actually a sort of patchwork “mirage” being experienced by the main characters (which could help explain Old Silent Hill’s inconsistent placement and layout).

3. Reconsider the “Order’s” Backstory

Another issue discussed in narrative reviews of Homecoming is that the “Order” (the game’s version of the cult from SH1, SH3, and SH4) overtly contradicts – and is incompatible with – how Silent Hill’s religious organization is established to exist and operate. This would be a major rewrite, but perhaps it could be clarified that the “Order” is a separate, even “heretical,” offshoot of the earlier games’ cult who’ve also tapped into Silent Hill’s strange properties; likewise, this could explain their different practices (such as the 50-year family sacrifices) and centuries-long “exodus” from the titular town.

2. Reimagine the Big Twist (Pt. 1)

This goes into spoilers, but it’s revealed that Joshua (Alex’s younger brother who was treated by their parents to an absurdly better degree) is actually dead, with the latter accidentally causing him to die while out on a boat: since it was Alex who was selected for the 50-year sacrifice mentioned above, it caused the “darkness” of Silent Hill to seep into the town of Sheperd’s Glen. Since this is ostensibly too much like the big reveal in SH2, I propose having part of the twist be that Joshua is actually still “alive” as an elite Order Soldier you encounter multiple times (perhaps replacing the “Boogeyman”).

1. Reimagine the Big Twist (Pt. 2)

Touching back on criticisms regarding the game’s more action-oriented combat, another issue with the game was that Alex’s time in the “military” was just a delusion to repress Joshua’s death and his ensuing commitment to a mental hospital (with the flimsy rationale that he learned “combat” techniques from his father). Here’s how I’d reconcile this: a new subplot will establish that Alex is somehow torn between two “competing” realities, where he’s a mental patient with a family and an army soldier with none, as supplemented by new endings that have him accept one over the other.