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RTTP: Silent Hill - Homecoming (Knife Only/CRT Edition)

NO SPOILERS PLEASE - I HAVEN'T FINISHED THE GAME YET
Vzhcpp3.jpg


I was actually gonna hold off on making this until I completed the game. I wanted to experience the game in it's entirety so I could go toe to toe with the haterz, but I couldn't resist because I'm having such a good time with it.

A little background. I bought this at launch for the PS3, one of the first games I got. I enjoyed it back then but thought it was pretty tough. I think Dead Space released before I finished Homecoming and just never went back to it. I've played through the first 2 hours here and there over the years, but according to my last save file, it's been 8 years since I played this game.

Why Knife Only? Cause an old thread on gamefaqs clued me into the fact that the knife is OP as shit. The 3 weak, 1 strong combo effectively stun locks enemies and makes combat a breeze....so far. Ferals, Needlers, Nurses, Lurkers, and Smog are all a breeze. Smogs can be a pain in confined spaces though.
LigbDvk.jpg


The music/atmosphere is as good, if not better, than I remembered. Story is intriguing. The game looks gorgeous on a CRT (S-Video)
xeb1EzX.jpg
PKiR9QD.jpg

7ZVCgcu.jpg
LOJTB02.jpg

sg4dMDO.jpg
Cze6Z5W.jpg


I'm thinking the fact that the game can only output up to 720p helps with the lower resolution.

If you've played this game and thought the combat was unfair, I highly recommend going back and trying it with the knife. It is making this game an absolute breeze so far. I don't even have to use the gun, I have 24 bullets, 11 health drinks, and 1 first-aid kit. The lock-on and dodge mechanics work great too. This game has a pretty serious combat system with lots of mechanics; combos, dodging, dodge rolls, stunning enemies and then doing a cinematic kill, being able to switch which enemy you're focused on. The camera works great too. I'm honestly of the opinion that it was entirely me just sucking and not following the games rules when I first played.

Tons of things to examine as well. You can examine usually 2-3 things in any room and it gives you a nice description most of the time, I absolutely love it when Survival Horror games really utilize that feature. It's also nice to examine key items and get a bit more internal monologue.


To the fans of this game, please, let's enjoy this moment in 2021 before the world comes to an end.

To the haterz, NO SPOILER ALERTS, lol. Did you know about the OP knife? Are you willing to revisit Shepherd's Glen and help Alex find his younger brother? Are you willing to admit that Sharted Memories is a masterclass in shit game design?


I can only hope that my enjoyment stays this high. If I'm wrong, I'll gladly admit it and eat crow. If not, I'm coming for you haterz.
 
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I really enjoyed the story for this game. I think it's because I related to Alex and the issues surrounding his place in his family. There's lots of symbolism which explores that too. I won't say anymore due to not wanting to spoil, though. A knife-only playthrough sounds interesting and I'll be looking forward to updates if you decide to post again.
 
I enjoyed when I played it, love that they did the other world transition just like the film did.
But I think it suffered due to budget.
I liked Alex, always thought he was kinda like Dean Winchester 😂
Imagine that?
A Silent Hill with the Winchester boys
 
I really enjoyed the story for this game. I think it's because I related to Alex and the issues surrounding his place in his family. There's lots of symbolism which explores that too. I won't say anymore due to not wanting to spoil, though. A knife-only playthrough sounds interesting and I'll be looking forward to updates if you decide to post again.
Right on.

I just beat the first boss with only the knife, no health items either. I did take damage and it took about 3 deaths to get the timing down for dodging but really stoked on that. Now I'm in the police station.

I do plan on using guns at some point, just holding off until it seems like it's absolutely necessary.
 
This is the only Silent Hill game I ever played, back when I was obsessed with beating 5 day rentals from the family video. I didn't remember it being overly difficult, but living at home right after college meant it had the right themes.
 
Made it to the sewers, took on the new monster in the parking lot with just the knife, required some dodging back to back to back, but if you do it right, the game will line you up directly to the monsters weak point, and yea, just stun-lock his ass with combos, lol.

I'm seriously super impressed at the combat system, it seems to take a lot of things into account and rewards you when you engage correctly with enemies. Granted, I am taking advantage of it to a point but I'd rather have the option to cheat it than to just be frustrated by it.

Another thing I forgot is that this game limits how much ammo you can carry, at this point it won't even let me pick up handgun ammo.

That's it for tonight but I'll keep updating as I go through it. Will hopefully beat it this weekend. Didn't expect for this game to engage me in such a way.
 
Steam just happened to have this on sale in their Summer sale for 75% off, so I picked it up for the PC.

You will more than likely have a grittier / classic spookier time with it on a CRT though.
 
Steam just happened to have this on sale in their Summer sale for 75% off, so I picked it up for the PC.

You will more than likely have a grittier / classic spookier time with it on a CRT though.
Right on. I hope you enjoy it!

One thing I forgot to mention is that there's a checkpoint system. Dying doesn't always mean you go back to your last save. This helps cause for the first boss, rather than use up a ton of health items, I died a few times figuring out his pattern and was eventually able to just kill him without using up any health items. The checkpoint will spawn you back with half of your health.
 
I still can get over the fact that they tried making Pyramid Head the next Jigsaw or Leatherface or whatever. It completely misses the point and the movie made the same mistake. Pyramid Head isn't made to be a horror icon.
 
It's the Silent Hill that made me 100% realize SH was now on the wrong path, and there was no going back from there

I tortured myself 4 times through it, always hoping I had missed something great, and that it wasn't as bad as I thought
I hadn't and it was
 
It's the Silent Hill that made me 100% realize SH was now on the wrong path, and there was no going back from there

I tortured myself 4 times through it, always hoping I had missed something great, and that it wasn't as bad as I thought
I hadn't and it was
Damn, sorry to hear that. Respect for going through it 4 times though.
The PS3 version doh. You can play the 360 version or there is a pc version? They cut off a lot of graphic effects on PS3.
I have a 360 but rarely play it cause the disc drive is a pain to get open. I'm curious though about those missing effects, I'll have to watch some footage of it to get an idea of what's missing from the PS3.
 
Damn, sorry to hear that. Respect for going through it 4 times though.

I have a 360 but rarely play it cause the disc drive is a pain to get open. I'm curious though about those missing effects, I'll have to watch some footage of it to get an idea of what's missing from the PS3.
 
Damn, sorry to hear that. Respect for going through it 4 times though

Well, 3 1/2 would be more accurate
I encountered a game-breaking bug in the sewers in one of my playthroughs.

At one point a gate blocks the way and one of the monster you need to fight destroys it at the end of the battle (if I remember correctly, it's been like 10 years). Yet the monster was on vacation during my playthrough, and where I saved last wouldn't allow the monster to come back when re-loading. I was already bored so I just… stopped…

I really wanted to like that game. But the bar was already set way too high for that team to be able to meet that. Still like it more than Downpour and Shattered Memories, though, but not as much as 0rigins, which was already disappointing
 
I got pretty far in the game, but then switched from an Nvidia GPU to a AMD GPU (as I sold the Nvidia GPU) and the game started having weird graphic glitches where it was showing assets as weird red/green/blue lines. May have been due to using a mod to up the resolution and get rid of film grain. Couldn't figure it out and inevitably dropped the game. Also got stuck on an infinite loading screen when starting the game.

Never in my life have I had such a difficult time with a PC port as this, which leads to me say it's a really awful port.
 
Alright, just made it through the sewers and again, just murked the shit out of everything with the knife, lol. 13 health drinks, max ammo. Feelin' good boys!
Tom Cruise 80S GIF
 
The knife is good in this game. The reason is because Double Helix was called The Collective, they made the first Buffy The Vampire Slayer. I wasn't a fan of the Buffy lore, but the combat was really fun.
 
I haven't tried it yet, but I would imagine there shouldn't be.

Also going to install this mod for SH2 to give to give it another go again. Last time I played it was fond memories of the OG Xbox version.

You will definitely be wanting the community fix/mods for SH Homecoming


Otherwise you're stuck at 30fps with awful sound bugs and other things if your resolution is 1080p+.
 
Thank you sir, I will do that!
LOL, I'm browsing the discord of the guy who's working on the PC version, dude is insane. His 'rules' section mentions, "I have a riffle and will shot you. Be prepared"

Here's a gem,

"I don't care what copy of the game you're using - just don't mention it in any form. Anyway if you don't legally own it (on any platform) - better just to shut the fuck up and enjoy your pirate copy as is if your IQ is below 50. 1-4 radical fanboys included into this list."

Tom Cruise Lol GIF
 
LOL, I'm browsing the discord of the guy who's working on the PC version, dude is insane. His 'rules' section mentions, "I have a riffle and will shot you. Be prepared"

Here's a gem,

"I don't care what copy of the game you're using - just don't mention it in any form. Anyway if you don't legally own it (on any platform) - better just to shut the fuck up and enjoy your pirate copy as is if your IQ is below 50. 1-4 radical fanboys included into this list."

Tom Cruise Lol GIF
Chappelle Show Lol GIF
 
Well there you have it, I beat the game and used the knife 99.9% of the way through. By the time I reached the last boss, I had like 14 health drinks and 6 first aid kits, lol.

Final Thoughts

I immensely enjoyed this game. I thought the story was engaging, it kept me guessing until the end. I really enjoyed the characters, especially Deputy Wheeler. The combat was fun all the way through, cheesing it with the knife really helped with that. The music and atmosphere are fantastic. Akira Yamaoka was consistently able to keep me on edge a good amount of the time, even though I felt like a tank with the knife. The guy is a master.

I'll definitely be playing it again to get the different endings and to try and master the other melee weapons.

13 years later after release, I highly recommend revisiting this game if you own it and didn't care for it at release.


8.5/10
 
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Well there you have it, I beat the game and used the knife 99.9% of the way through. By the time I reached the last boss, I had like 14 health drinks and 6 first aid kits, lol.

Final Thoughts

I immensely enjoyed this game. I thought the story was engaging, it kept me guessing until the end. I really enjoyed the characters, especially Deputy Wheeler. The combat was fun all the way through, cheesing it with the knife really helped with that. The music and atmosphere are fantastic. Akira Yamaoka was consistently able to keep me on edge a good amount of the time, even though I felt like a tank with the knife. The guy is a master.

I'll definitely be playing it again to get the different endings and to try and master the other melee weapons.

13 years later after release, I highly recommend revisiting this game if you own it and didn't care for it at release.


8.5/10

The music for this game is wonderful. One of my favourite boss tracks is from Homecoming:




I never would have thought the knife is OP, definitely going to give it a try next time.
 
NO SPOILERS PLEASE - I HAVEN'T FINISHED THE GAME YET
Vzhcpp3.jpg


I was actually gonna hold off on making this until I completed the game. I wanted to experience the game in it's entirety so I could go toe to toe with the haterz, but I couldn't resist because I'm having such a good time with it.

A little background. I bought this at launch for the PS3, one of the first games I got. I enjoyed it back then but thought it was pretty tough. I think Dead Space released before I finished Homecoming and just never went back to it. I've played through the first 2 hours here and there over the years, but according to my last save file, it's been 8 years since I played this game.

Why Knife Only? Cause an old thread on gamefaqs clued me into the fact that the knife is OP as shit. The 3 weak, 1 strong combo effectively stun locks enemies and makes combat a breeze....so far. Ferals, Needlers, Nurses, Lurkers, and Smog are all a breeze. Smogs can be a pain in confined spaces though.
LigbDvk.jpg


The music/atmosphere is as good, if not better, than I remembered. Story is intriguing. The game looks gorgeous on a CRT (S-Video)
xeb1EzX.jpg
PKiR9QD.jpg

7ZVCgcu.jpg
LOJTB02.jpg

sg4dMDO.jpg
Cze6Z5W.jpg


I'm thinking the fact that the game can only output up to 720p helps with the lower resolution.

If you've played this game and thought the combat was unfair, I highly recommend going back and trying it with the knife. It is making this game an absolute breeze so far. I don't even have to use the gun, I have 24 bullets, 11 health drinks, and 1 first-aid kit. The lock-on and dodge mechanics work great too. This game has a pretty serious combat system with lots of mechanics; combos, dodging, dodge rolls, stunning enemies and then doing a cinematic kill, being able to switch which enemy you're focused on. The camera works great too. I'm honestly of the opinion that it was entirely me just sucking and not following the games rules when I first played.

Tons of things to examine as well. You can examine usually 2-3 things in any room and it gives you a nice description most of the time, I absolutely love it when Survival Horror games really utilize that feature. It's also nice to examine key items and get a bit more internal monologue.


To the fans of this game, please, let's enjoy this moment in 2021 before the world comes to an end.

To the haterz, NO SPOILER ALERTS, lol. Did you know about the OP knife? Are you willing to revisit Shepherd's Glen and help Alex find his younger brother? Are you willing to admit that Sharted Memories is a masterclass in shit game design?


I can only hope that my enjoyment stays this high. If I'm wrong, I'll gladly admit it and eat crow. If not, I'm coming for you haterz.

I loved this game when it came out. More than sh 3 and the room. Of course not better than sh 1 and the holy grail sh2. I never beat it though.

Never understood why it got shit on. I liked it more than downpour, which started off great and then went bad after getting to town, too many enemies everywhere once u got to ope. World town, made it feel more resident evil than silent hill.

I think I'm going to dig out my disk and dust off the ps3, play this maybe some sh2 remastered and some other ps3 only titles. Thanks for the thread.
 
I loved this game when it came out. More than sh 3 and the room. Of course not better than sh 1 and the holy grail sh2. I never beat it though.

Never understood why it got shit on. I liked it more than downpour, which started off great and then went bad after getting to town, too many enemies everywhere once u got to ope. World town, made it feel more resident evil than silent hill.

I think I'm going to dig out my disk and dust off the ps3, play this maybe some sh2 remastered and some other ps3 only titles. Thanks for the thread.
Definitely stick with the knife if you do end up playing it. It made the game so much easier than it should be. 3 weak attacks, 1 strong attack combo just wrecks everything. Still gotta get dodges down but that isn't too bad either.
 
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