The upcoming Silent Hill sequel, previously known as Silent Hill 8, has been officially named Silent Hill: Downpour in an upcoming issue of Game Informer.
First details of the game reveal a town so vast that it needs a Subway system to explore, with areas that include the never-before-seen Southeastern side of Silent Hill. There are no hospitals or schools in this area, eliminating locations that have been part of the Silent Hill experience since inception, but there will apparently be optional sidequests this time around.
Combat seems to take a page from earlier Silent Hill games, in that it’s possible to avoid most encounters, and avoidance is advised. You get one melee weapon at a time (an ax has been confirmed) but enemies are hard to kill and weapons break easily. The only mandatory fights are boss battles, which take the form of quick-time-events.
Water will take a major role in the game, and GI spotted a room with water running upside-down on the ceiling. In another nod to earlier games, the puzzles will have their own optional difficulty levels.
Interesting … sounds almost like they want to make Downpour more like the older games, but introduce an open-world setting. That’s actually pretty okay with me. It’s too early to judge yet, but I’m really hoping this turns out well. I love Silent Hill and I’m desperate for a game that doesn’t suck.
[Via NeoGAF]
