Silent Hill: Origins

Player character Travis Grady stands near one of the mirrors used to transport him to and from the Otherworld.[1][2]

The objective of Silent Hill: Origins is to guide player character, Travis Grady, as he searches the monster-filled town of Silent Hill for information about a girl he rescued from a burning house.[3] The game uses a third-person perspective which it alternates with fixed camera angles.[1] Following the gameplay formula of previous Silent Hill games, Origins primarily revolves around combat, exploration, and puzzle-solving.[1] Typical gameplay of Origins consists of alternating between reality and its darker and dilapidated counterpart, the "Other World", to obtain keys and objects needed to solve a riddle.[4] Travis carries a flashlight and indicates the direction of a nearby usable item,[1] while his portable radio alerts the player to the presence of nearby monsters by emitting static.[5] Often, actions performed in one dimension will affect the other;[5] for example, raising a prop on the stage in the theater results in a similar reaction in the Other World.[6][7] Once solved, the riddle leads to an encounter with a boss, whose defeat unlocks a new area.[4] Completion of the game results in unlocking special items or alternative outfits for Travis depending on various accomplishments.[1]

For combat, in addition to using his fists (the first Silent Hill game where unarmed combat is possible), Travis accumulates a range of weapons throughout the town: firearms, melee weapons, and one-shot items usable in close combat; the latter two are breakable.[1][2] Although one-shot items can be used to quickly kill some of the monsters encountered early on, Travis is vulnerable while performing this action to damage from quick enemies or those with long-ranged attacks.[1] Origins also introduces the "grapple" system, a quick time event activated when a monster grabs him.[1][2] Should he escape, no damage is done to either him or the monster.[1][2] The status of his "health" is indicated in the inventory, since the game does not feature a heads-up display;[5] however, when his health is critical, the edges of the screen throb red, and his heartbeat is heard.[5]

Screenshot from the original gameplay preview. The creature pictured was also later scrapped after the project went to UK Climax.

At E3 2006, Origins was announced as in development by Climax Group's development team in Los Angeles, instead of by Konami's Team Silent who had developed previous installments.[21] The first previews of the game featured a departure from the third-person view typical of the series to a Resident Evil 4-style camera angle, and an emphasis on action and combat to a greater degree than the previous installments in the series.[22][23] In the previews, Travis had six weapons, divided equally between melee weapons and firearms.[22][23] Additional changes included a laser sight for his pistol and an option for the player to barricade areas.[22][24] At the time, the game was expected to be released in late 2006.[25]

Issues with the game's engine and "a confused high-level vision for the game" led to Climax shutting down their Los Angeles studio, and transferring the game's team to the Climax Action studio in the United Kingdom,[26] to ensure the final product would be "a tighter, more focused game that will provide fans with the experience they want... a Silent Hill experience"; the release date was also pushed forward from winter 2006 to Q3/Q4 2007.[27] The version of Origins that the United Kingdom development team received was intended to be a dark comedy inspired by the American television series Scrubs.[26] Konami allowed the team to change the game, provided that the changes were done within the same budget and time frame; Origins's script, level design, and monsters were redone within a week by Sam Barlow.[26] For Origins, the developers intentionally replicated aspects of gameplay and atmosphere from the first installment; for example, the monsters behave more aggressively than those in previous installments, as a throwback to the first game.[28] Later previews showed that the game had changed significantly and contained gameplay more in line with that found in the previous titles in the series.[29][30] The changes were well received by video game journalists.[30][31] On 19 August 2007, a demo of the game was leaked to internet download sites; Climax promptly denied they were the source of the leaked content.[32]

Origins was released for the PlayStation Portable (PSP) on 6 November 2007 in North America, on 16 November in Europe, on 29 November in Australia, and on 6 December in Japan.[33][34] The Japanese release carried the alternate title Silent Hill Zero.[33] On 22 January 2008, Konami officially confirmed that a PlayStation 2 (PS2) port was in development.[35] The PS2 port was released in North America on 5 March 2008, while the United Kingdom and Australian releases followed on 16 May 2008, and 23 May 2008, respectively.[36] It became available on the PlayStation Network for Europe on 28 April 2014.[37]

Most reviews for Silent Hill: Origins were positive; its original release on the PSP received a Metacritic aggregate score of 78 out of 100.[43] GameDaily wrote that Origins "impressively brings all the elements we love about the Silent Hill franchise to a portable format that works wonderfully".[43] Shane Bettenhausen of 1UP.com concluded: "Sure, it's predictable, conventional, and a little bit short, not to mention ill-suited for brief pick-up-and-play sessions on the bus, but we're encouraged to see developers making an original, console-quality experience for PSP".[45] According to Kristan Reed of Eurogamer: "No doubt mindful of remaining faithful to the series' legacy, Climax pays such close attention to the ingredients of the first three Silent Hill games that it's basically an unapologetic homage to them".[4] While stating that Origins would appeal to fans for its story that adds to the series' mythos, Game Informer added: "Unfortunately, the game has fallen into something like a rut in most other areas and less fanatical gamers won't be as forgiving of its faults".[43]

The storyline was met with generally mixed feelings from reviewers. According to Kevin VanOrd of GameSpot, the premise was unoriginal and unsuspenseful, detracting from Travis' appeal as a protagonist, although he felt that the game provided new material for fans to analyze.[2] PALGN's Mat Keller wrote that the Origins' "blatantly obvious" subtext failed to affect the player, in contrast to the subtext of previous installments.[3] 1UP.com stated that while Origins suffered from heavy foreshadowing and predictable plot twists and character development, it added to the backstory of the series.[45] Conversely, Wesley Yin-Poole of VideoGamer.com described the storyline as "engrossing".[51]

Critics felt that the visual style was similar to those of the previous Silent Hill installments.[3][47] Enjoying the visuals, Jeff Haynes of IGN wrote: "From the cluttered and junk strewn locations to the rusty, chaos filled doppelgangers of the alternate dimensions, everything feels like it's been stripped from one of the other titles and shrunk down to the handheld".[1] Reviewers praised the graphics,[47][45][52] the monster designs,[52] the detailed environments,[2][4] and atmosphere.[4] However, some reviewers wrote that the character models could have been more detailed.[4][47]

Gameplay drew a variety of reactions from "immersive"[47] and "intriguing",[1] to formulaic.[4] The puzzles were generally considered by critics as challenging and well-done.[2][3] The duration of the game was considered short,[3][45] and reviewers criticized the spacing of the save points and absence of checkpoints.[4][51] The game's adherence to the formula of the Silent Hill series also drew criticism;[4] the opening comment of GameSpot's review remarked that "this old fog needs to learn some new tricks", and further detailed that the game provided "an entirely conventional adventure that relies on eight-year-old franchise hallmarks at the expense of anything truly new".[2] Some camera issues were noted,[1][47] especially in tight corridors.[49] Reviewers wrote that Origins had a greater emphasis on combat than previous installments,[3][49] although reaction to the combat was generally negative.[2][4][45] Some reviewers felt that the player was encouraged to avoid combat, due to a variety of gameplay factors, including the breakable melee weapons.[3][45] On the other hand, GameSpy's David Chapman stated that the readily available weapons made Travis too powerful.[49] The inclusion of quick time events was not well received by reviewers, who felt that it added nothing appealing to the game.[2][45] Additionally, the soundtrack was frequently praised as frightening,[2][3][52] and a part of the game's appeal.[4][45] The PlayStation Official Magazine UK wrote: "Despite its small-screen setting, Origins even manages a few genuine scares, mostly thanks to the first-rate sound: this should only be played through headphones".[43]

The PS2 port was not as well received by reviewers, with a lower aggregate score of 70 out of 100, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[44] The graphics of the port were considered by reviewers to be not as good as the PSP release[50] and other installments in the series for the PS2.[48][46] Conversely, a reviewer for GameZone wrote that despite some technical issues with the graphics, the visuals of the port sufficed.[53] Other issues with the port commented on by critics include the lack of manual camera control,[50] the absence of a mini-map or overall map for the more challenging areas,[46] and no new bonus material for the port.[50]

• Official website (in Japanese)
• Silent Hill: Origins at MobyGames