Downpour Spoiler Thread

[REmaster]

Just got home from work. Picked up Downpour on the way while I paid off the rest of ORC. Putting it in now, shit is about to get real.

[Canas Renvall]

^ This poor soul, he doesn't have a clue... *cackles loudly to himself*

[Smiley]

Good luck getting lost for forty minutes at a time.

[REmaster]

I'm in the caves, killed one of the cave monsters and ran from the rest. Tough bastards.

Dying, no med kits left.

Stopping for tonight.

[Canas Renvall]

Well, I just beat the game and I'm not sure which of the six endings I got, but it was a positive one at least.

This game is by and large, one of the best in the series. I'm absolutely stunned at how well Vatra Games did. While I don't like comparing SH games to the "golden trio", I will honestly say that this game holds up incredibly well against them, and is the best since then. To think that some company that had only one game on their record, a download-only arcade-style action shooter, is able to come up with this, blows my mind.

If they work on more SH games, and can consistently keep them as good as they made this, I have no issue labeling them as the second coming of Team Silent.

[Inferno04]

Good luck getting lost for forty minutes at a time.

THIS. XD I picked it up before work today and got started after work. Maybe it's because I'm running a fever, maybe it's the Nyquil making me sleepy, but I keep getting lost. xD

[Smiley]

How many side quests did you do canas?

EDIT:

[Canas Renvall]

I honestly only found about two, and I still ended up at about 12 hours. I made a no-spoiler review on Facebook, I'll copy/paste it when I get home.

[Smiley]

That's why. I've finished four so far, and from what I've seen in the achievements that's nowhere close to being at the half way mark.

[Canas Renvall]

Yeah, and they're sprinkled everywhere.

Anyway, my no-spoiler review for Downpour that... just so happens to be going into spoiler tags because it's a wall o' text.

Spoiler:

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I just finished this game tonight, and I'll just say it now: Vatra Games, the totally unknown Czech development studio that's only ever made one downloadable action title, is the first and only serious threat in terms of quality to the original Team Silent for the series. They've completely outdone themselves with this eigth installment in the franchise. I was honestly not expecting much from a company that had nothing more going for it than "Rush'n Attack: Ex-Patriot", but I've been proven absolutely wrong (and I'm very, very glad for that).

Story: Without getting into spoilers, the game starts with protagonist Murphy Pendleton in Ryall Prison. After a short tutorial sequence, Murphy is put on a prison transport bus to be transferred to another facility. As luck (or fate) would have it, the bus ends up crashing and throwing everything into disarray, which Murphy then uses to escape. The player must guide Mr. Pendleton through the town in order to escape, but of course, things never turn out so easily...

Again, I don't want to spoil anything, but I will say that Vatra Games has crafted a haunting, deeply disturbing tale rivaling that of the series favorite Silent Hill 2. The game knows how to expertly hook the player, throwing crumbs for story hints, and forcing the player deeper into the rabbit hole, with six possible endings to uncover depending on how the game is played. A fantastic job.

And yes, there is a UFO ending, of course.

Gameplay: The game plays like a lovechild between the old-school and new-school games in the series while even adding its own major ideas into the game. And yet, it fits so naturally with the way it's exectured that you can't help but congratulate Vatra on a job well-done. First, even before you start the game, you see that the infamous split between combat difficulty and puzzle difficulty has returned. The game is over-the-shoulder, but when enemies are nearby it zooms out more like the older games. Combat is simple, and while it gets the job done, it can be somewhat tedious at times. You attack with X on the 360/Square on the PS3, and block with Y/Triangle. You can hold the attack button to charge your hit. Like any SH game, if you don't finish the enemy off once they're on the ground, they'll get back up.

The game uses the Origins-style "find a weapon, but it's breakable" system, however it refines it. Now, you can carry a whopping maximum of one melee weapon and one firearm at a time (or two firearms). However, unlike Origins, when you pick up a melee weapon it won't just shatter after two hits with the exception being a glass bottle (but that makes sense). The enemy variety isn't incredibly vast, with maybe 5 enemy types and some variations, but you never really notice unless you're really paying attention to stuff like that.

Now, I'm sure people are wondering how the Otherworld does in this game. It forgoes the Shattered Memories "frozen hell" for a more traditional, industrial-style Otherworld. However, it does still pull from Shattered Memories in that much of the Overworld is spent either solving puzzles or running from the Void. The Void is just what it sounds like: a vortex that appears from time to time that can't be stopped, and Murphy must run from it through winding pathways or risk being torn apart by it. As you run, you can throw down obstacles to slow the Void. These moments, much like Shattered Memories' version of the chase scene, are heartpounding and absolutely thrilling. You have to constantly pay attention to where you're going and make quick decisions in a panic in order to stay alive. These moments serve to keep you on edge constantly.

Now, what the game prides itself on is exploration. Upon reaching the never-before-explored southeastern portion of Silent Hill, Murphy is more or less given a general direction, then from there he's on his own to explore the town. While the town is shrouded in intense fog as in previous titles, what sets this one apart is the rain dynamic. It's completely randomized, but at times it will start to storm in the town. When it starts to rain, more enemies come out and they are far more aggressive than normal. This helps to encourage running away as opposed to fighting, much like the original trilogy. The game mentions that you should always seek shelter until the rain subsides, and this portion of Silent Hill is more open than any of the other titles; you can enter many of the buildings, and much of the time, you'll accidentally stumble onto sidequests because of it.

That's the big addition Vatra threw in to spice the game up with their own flavor: sidequests. Sure, we had one or two in the original trilogy, but this game is laden with them all around town, just waiting to be uncovered. They're completely optional, but in my opinion they add a lot to the gameplay, and extend the game's replayability quite possibly far beyond any previous game in the series. I only accidentally found one or two on this first playthrough, but they were downright bonechilling. Which leads me to my next point...

Scare/Creep Factor: It's a Silent Hill game. If it isn't scary, it doesn't deserve the name, right? Now, ever since Silent Hill 4, it has been argued that the series has been declining, and the most affected place was the scare factor. People said it just wasn't there like it used to be. Thankfully, Vatra has decided that this trend simply would not do. Instead, it seems like they've scrutinized everything in the series that would work effectively with all sorts of scares. It has pop-out scares, psychological scares, and much of the time it's dripping with atmosphere in a dark building.

Vatra Games nailed the feeling of Silent Hills 1-3 perfectly with the complete sense of embracing the random and downright strange nature of the town, such as the infamous Mirror Room in SH3, or the completely impossible architecture found throughout the Otherworlds of the previous titles. I don't want to give anything away, but I will say that one of the highlights for me in regards to this in Downpour is a certain puzzle in the orphanage; it came completely out of left field and it reminded me that Vatra understood just as well as Team Silent how to make something stunningly bizarre and yet make so much sense given the insane nature of the town.

Also, as an added little touch, during loading screens where it usually gives tutorials, a random, creepy message will pop up from time to time. I've gotten such lovely ones as "STOP DOING THAT.", "They never loved you.", "Are you sure you're alone?", and "They're in the room, you just can't see them.", among others.

Also contributing to the creepiness of the game is the...

Music: I saved this for last on purpose. Everyone knows that Akira Yamaoka is no longer here, and I know that people are going to automatically dock points for that. I'm here to say that those people aren't being remotely fair to the game in that regard. Daniel Licht, composer for the serial killer drama/thriller Dexter, comes on strong in his premiere video game performance. He takes a different route to the music that Akira Yamaoka does, but don't let that put you off; he still ends up with a creepy, dark, industrial sound, but he does so with his own unique touch. This game shows that Daniel Licht is a worthy successor to the godly Akira, and I can't wait to hear his work for other entries in the series if he chooses to continue working with Konami.

Also, Daniel Licht worked with Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, who provided vocals for two of the songs, so for those who were worried about that, rest easy. Mary is, according to Daniel, "an essential component to the score".

Bottom Line: This is my favorite game since the original trilogy. 4 was pretty good, I liked Homecoming, I thought Origins was decent, and I liked Shattered Memories. However, Downpour is the first in the series since Silent Hill 3 where the experience literally left me afraid once I turned off the game and looked around in my pitch-black basement. Vatra Games has proven themselves in the world of survival horror, and if they can keep up what they've done here with this title, I've no doubt that people will call them the second coming of Team Silent.

A MUST BUY.

[Smiley]

Here's an ending guide on what to do to achieve all six. So far I've done two.
http://www.justpushstart.com/2012/03...endings-guide/

And it should be said that the special ending is pretty hilarious if you're a Silent Hill fan. It's not like the traditional Dog/UFO endings.

[Inferno04]

Soooo...did anyone notice the

Spoiler:

show spoiler

tire swing in the Orphanage? I thought it was awesome and clever. I didn't notice it at first and was more confused than anything. "Wait...was there a dead body there last time I passed through?" *Turns around* "Wait, a tire again, wtffff"

Small touches like that are what make this game great.

[Mr. Spencer]

I'm surprised that IGN gave this a 4.5. By the sounds of things, it's far from deserving of such a low score. Not amazing, but not terrible either. A good game from what I can gather here.

[Canas Renvall]

Yeah, IGN is... silly. I've learned to never, ever trust their reviews, and this just helps prove why. I would personally say it is amazing.

[Inferno04]

I'm surprised that IGN gave this a 4.5. By the sounds of things, it's far from deserving of such a low score. Not amazing, but not terrible either. A good game from what I can gather here.

I actually would peg it at amazing, but that's just imo. IGN definately failed, and I laugh at any criticism of 'meh the batttle system is clunkyyyy." It's Silent Hill. It's always been clunky, it's practically a trademark. It even fits because you're always playing as a regular person, not some badass like Shepard.

Honestly Downpour feels like a sucessor to SH2, with the implication that the town itself has weird mojo, and avoiding anything with the stupid cult. I'm not kidding when I say this is probably my 2nd favorite Silent Hill game.

[rewak]

A 7 is about what i would give it. It almost had me, i was enjoying it, but it just had problems too big to overlook. Since this thread is labeled spoilers i won't hold back.

Here is my big list of problems!

• The story is bland and predictable when it comes down to it. Not really a SH worthy story with any deep meaning.
• Most of the scares are predictable too, only once was i surprised. It's almost like Alan Wake, you know what's ahead and it ruins it.
• Only 2 moral choices in the game, really? Why bother having the feature if you aren't going to use it more?
• Some characters are underdeveloped.
• The Void sucks, how unimaginative can you get!
• Only one of the enemies actually has a symbolic reference, the others are just there to look weird.
• When the save icon appears, it should SAVE, not just be there for decoration. Better yet just let the player decide when to save like every other game.
• Stop referencing the previous games, seriously, stop. Nostalgia is a poor attempt to get a reaction. Even for a joke, just stop it now.
• Suddenly taking all your items away is just poor design. It doesn't make the player feel fear, it makes them feel cheated.
• Seriously stop it with the references!
• Making you stop during a chase sequence is tedious, not scary.
• No UFO ending, even the arcade game had a UFO ending!

These problems are small compared to Homecomings, but they stop the game from being as good as other installments. The thing is i feel like if Vatra were given another shot they could fix these, but only if they actually acknowledge them. Towards the end the attitude towards fan opinion was basically "Shut the hell up and take what you get". This was more that Tomm Hulett guy, maybe they should can his ass or at least put him on some anger management course. I just hope they listen to the fans reaction, not the critics reaction, because i felt the combat was really good and that seems to be the thing most critics are criticizing.

[Smiley]

Not to initiate a back and forth argument but I feel like I have to give some proper response to your complaints. Not so much the opinionated stuff like you finding the story or a specific monster bland because that's just a difference of preference. I found the story to be one of the better ones and the chase sequences with the Void I found very tense because there's no rhyme or reason to a vortex that is ripping the layers off of you. Since I enjoyed Shattered Memories I dug the constant running from these encounters. Even so.

1. The moral choices are about three. Two in the beginning and one in the end. Homecoming and even the earlier Silent Hill games like SH3 give you either as much or less to choose from. And while these factor into your ending, it certainly relies on more than just one or two choices. How you interact with the monsters themselves plays a big role where other silent hill games hadn't.

2. Not all the monsters have to have a symbolic meaning in their design. And even then the game establishes a relation that you're dealing with types from other character's viewpoints in the otherworld.

3. Silent Hill references are inevitable. You either love them or hate them. The ones here do not impact or mess up the story in any way except for the joke ending which is simply just that. Heather mocked a toilet scene from SH2 which was one of my favorite references in the series to date. The idea of adding a UFO ending to SH2 was done late in the game for Xbox and the PS2 "restless dreams" release to connect to the first one since the original SH2 only had the joke 'dog' ending at the time. Some of the later games even had endings adding both the dog and UFO simultaneously. all to reference the original zany endings of the past. At least Downpour had a humorous one for the fans. SH4 lacked even that.

About the only thing I agree with you on is the save/load system. I'm even annoyed that Resident Evil: Revelations uses a checkpoint save system. At least here I can load previous saves up to a point. I prefer saving in a specific spot though like the classic games. People don't have the patience for typewriters and glowing red symbols anymore.

[rewak]

Rebuttal! Nah seriously, again not starting an argument, just responding to your comments That's what message boards are all about right? I totally agree it is all subjective, it's all my opinion, and i will say Downpour is the first proper SH game (i consider SM to be a spin off) that i've enjoyed in a long time.

I really enjoyed Shattered Memories too and i liked the chase sequences, i just thought the void was the laziest idea to make the character run. Then having you stop to wait for obstacles was weak too. And Murphys animation for knocking things over was just too slow, it ended up barely making a difference. Basically i think Vatra just figured they'd copy Climax's idea but they didn't do a good job of it, SM's were much better and kept a flow going. It just made no sense, it would have made more sense in Homecoming or Origins since they deal with repressed memories, but it just had no relevance to anything in this game. Like you said though you liked it because it had no reason, i don't because it doesn't, all preference.

There was 3 moral choices, you're right. That's my bad, but it's still not as much as i would have liked, there were a few places where i thought "That could have been an interesting moral choice spot". The biggest was the cutscene with Sewell and Murphy when he comes to Murphy asking if he's going to keep up his end of the deal, i wanted the option to tell Sewell no. I just figure it was something they could have used to add more replay value with not much effort on their part.

The enemies, yeah that is all subjective, i just would have liked it to hinge more on what was going on. For example rather than the bat enemies in the caves it would have made more sense to me to bring the gray children back or a variation of them. The only enemy i really liked was the doll, creepy stuff there.

I'm fine with a few subtle references, like the SH1 theme on the jukebox was fine, but that scene with DJ Ricks was way too far in the "winkwinknudgenudge" area of nostalgia, then the stupid joke ending was just all hinged on nostalgia. Those two moments are where it became a problem for me. It's not so much an issue with the stories crossing over, it just makes me roll my eyes every time it's done now. Sometimes it makes me wish i was playing the game they're referencing instead.

I agree about the multiple endings, i'm glad that's back and it's truly multiple instead of just good and bad, but the way they kept going on about being such fans of the series, not to do a UFO ending makes me wonder just how much since it's pretty much a staple of the series amongst fans. Yeah SH4 didn't have one but that game sucks

[Smiley]

The original SH2 didn't have one either. Only later was a UFO ending added in. Even without it, the original SH2 was not a bad game for not having such an ending. And the dog bit was just as silly.

But with or without a UFO I could still tell that the team designing the games were fans in their own right. I'll admit I enjoyed what references they had because to me a bad reference is one that interferes too much with the plot so that it's expected for you to know the series beforehand. The only exception to this would be UFO endings because they require more time and effort as a fan to obtain them. Except in Homecoming's case where the developers were lazy and had it so that you can unlock the UFO ending [B]on your first play through.[B] In this game newcomers wouldn't really pick up on the music spots, some of the locations, files or pictures you can uncover so I was fine with them and their nostalgia joke ending. My only wish for the ending was that they had more characters from the previous games. The HD Collection was being worked on so I can see why they just pulled the models from 2 and 3 and put them in this game with the other Downpour characters. But what about Harry, Travis, Henry or Alex?


Quick question: Is that supposed to be Cheryl and Harry running 10:35 into the vid?

[Inferno04]

I think it's Cheryl and Harry, orSpoiler:

show spoiler

the little girl from the monastery and Anne

. The latter makes no sense but in looking closer, sadly I think the more adult figure is Spoiler:

show spoiler

Anne

.