Silent Hill: Origins

 PlayStation 2
  • Publisher: Konami
  • Release Date: Mar 4, 2008
User Score
7.4

Mixed or average reviews- based on 124 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 75 out of 124
  2. Mixed: 34 out of 124
  3. Negative: 15 out of 124
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. Frustrated4Ever
    Aug 9, 2020
    5
    "Meh" is the best word to describe Origins. It marked the start of Konami's blatant exploitation of the series. Nobody wanted a prequel to the original Silent Hill. If the game really honored its namesake, it would've offered players a unique experience, set during the dark events that cursed Silent Hill in the first place.
  2. crazydangerous
    May 21, 2012
    4
    This game has the same problem as sh4 for me it's tedious rather than fun and the story although okay does nothing to hook me. The enemies respawn on the streets rapidly in a attempt to waste your ammo, objects are hard too see especially weapons and energy drinks which is frustrating (I swear in the older games items glinted or sparkled oh so slightly). The weapon system was the onlyThis game has the same problem as sh4 for me it's tedious rather than fun and the story although okay does nothing to hook me. The enemies respawn on the streets rapidly in a attempt to waste your ammo, objects are hard too see especially weapons and energy drinks which is frustrating (I swear in the older games items glinted or sparkled oh so slightly). The weapon system was the only thing that brought me some entertainment as I beat enemy's to death with toasters and typewriters like I was in some sort of comedy sketch. Buy this for like $10 or just watch the game cut-scenes on youtube if you need to know what happens in this game.… Expand
  3. Basem101
    Aug 21, 2013
    5
    the first silent hill game i ever played and it is a complete mess the camera is so bad not at all good story and the game play was repetitive and not good at all
  4. Rem
    Jan 22, 2017
    4
    Silent Hill: Origins is a testament to how fantastic Team Silent was in crafting the first few games in this series, because this entry has almost nothing of the same level of quality. Being a port of the PSP, Origins on the PS2 fails on key aspects on both being a Silent Hill game and as a survival horror game in its own right.

    To begin, Silent Hill: Origins falls short in visual    Silent Hill: Origins is a testament to how fantastic Team Silent was in crafting the first few games in this series, because this entry has almost nothing of the same level of quality. Being a port of the PSP, Origins on the PS2 fails on key aspects on both being a Silent Hill game and as a survival horror game in its own right.

    To begin, Silent Hill: Origins falls short in visual design. Being a port of the PSP hurt enough, but Origins also lacks creativity in creating an appealing art style. The Team Silent games, despite the limitations of the PS2, found ways to make the game great-looking on the artistic scale. The Silent Hill portrayed here lacks grit and visual cues to draw in players. The various levels and their Otherworld counterparts lack terror or nuance for them to be any excitement to trod through. Textures are visibly low res, and the character models are undoubtedly below average looking. To top it off, there's an unbearably distracting film grain that covers the screen throughout and the inability to disable it is a big fat minus. It's far from the worst game from a visual standpoint, but it's barely average.

    This same mediocrity carries over into the gameplay, where enemies are either stupidly blind or easy to dispose of. The fact that you can walk by most enemies in the game in addition to their lackluster encounters doesn't help. Because of this, much of the survival element is lost. But how do the puzzles fare? They are slightly better than the combat, but that wouldn't be saying much. They're decent, but shockingly easy to figure out, it's only the cleverness of the puzzles that carry it along at a ho-hum rate. The best aspect of the gameplay is the exploration, which is largely the same with the exception of uninteresting level design, which brings down the whole aspect to an average feeling. This is further marred by the level design, which lacks any genuine surprises, even in the Otherworld, which only serves to pad the game because there is almost no difference in design and quality of the levels. Combine all this together and you get a painfully boring ride through the once terrifying Silent Hill.

    The story this time centers around Travis, a trucker who serves as the catalyst for the series events given that this is an origin story and how that came about is the driving force of the story. Because of this, most of the characters from the first Silent Hill make a return, but for the worse. Their encounters are brief, but so out of character that it betrays their essence and makes me wonder if they were the same characters at all. So the falling point of this plot is Travis's backstory, which makes a valiant effort in getting the player invested, to which I did for the most part, but nowhere close to same level I had for the first few games. It's not bad by any means, just hardly as compelling considering it copies Silent Hill 2's backstory. The events that lead to the first game is quite frankly stupid and has little emotional connection to the character/player experiencing it and feels disjointed. Much of the subtle nuances are absent in favor of completely conventional storytelling and a lack of surprises or things that we already didn't know. There is a clear plot, but also a severe lack of heart or even logic. Near the end, you'll be unsatisfied and wishing it would finish sooner.

    Silent Hill: Origins, above all else, isn't scary and isn't even remotely close. This is because of the lack of emotional connection to the events at hand as well as the lackluster enemy design which range from meh to just downright stupid. Absolutely nothing will scare you in this game, if you can see anything because this game is too dark to even know where to go. The audio design from Akira Yamaoka isn't as good, because of a lack of ambient sound design to make you at unease. The musical score, however, is quite good and reflects some of the great work that he's produced in the past.

    Silent Hill: Origins won't win fans or newcomers over at all. It's flaws are too obvious too ignore, but it's the severe lack of what made the previous games special is its greatest downfall. It all too much feels like Origins is filling a checkbox on the mechanical aspect of what comprises the Silent Hill name without adding the more thematic nuances or smart use of them in conjunction with the game design. It lacks heart and creativity and you'll be wishing it's over before it actually is.    … Expand
  5. Joecred
    Sep 10, 2018
    9
    Great game, nice gameplay and interesting plot, the only dissapoiting thing its the duration , little short for a 2006 game, ah and the excess of bullets is another one, but it varies depending on the player
  6. Mav455
    Jan 29, 2015
    9
    Great game, the experience is even better with headphones on. You explore around the town to figure out the mystery behind a girl you found in a house fire.
  7. Chaosritter
    Mar 5, 2009
    2
    Silent Hill Origins is nothing but a poorly made wanna-be action-adventure who only lives of the big name. The combat system fails hard since the weapons break after 2 -3 monsters and you can't block nor parry, there are also way too many monster who are too fast and too strong that you could defeat them in CC without getting hit from every side, the balky camera and laggy controlsSilent Hill Origins is nothing but a poorly made wanna-be action-adventure who only lives of the big name. The combat system fails hard since the weapons break after 2 -3 monsters and you can't block nor parry, there are also way too many monster who are too fast and too strong that you could defeat them in CC without getting hit from every side, the balky camera and laggy controls make it almost impossible to attack first.It seems like the NPC's are only there because you also met them in the predecessor and Travis isn't able to show any kind of emotion. The story is quite interesting but pointless in the end and almost unrelated to the mainplot. It's also the shortest game in the series (~8 hours). Since it's a prequel i don't care about the lack of new content, but they also fucked up the good things: there are just a few humanoid monster left, the rest looks like badly mutated animals and stuff you put in a microwave for too long. The NPC's have nothing to say at all, everytime you meet them you'll hear nothing but "GTFO! NOW!", the promoted prehistory is nothing but a selling point. The possibility to switch between the normal and alternative world is quite interesting, but pointless since nothing you do affects the other side, you have to play the straight-line way all time long. They also overused the rust-effect in the alternative world and forgot almost everything else, soon you don't mind if you're in the normal or alternative world.

    This game's nothing but a steamy pile of fail who was only made to boost the PSP sales and badly ported after the goal was reached. Save your money, pirate it if you're a masochistic hardcore fan or watch the story sequences on YouTube and save time. It wasn't even made by Team Silent, so it isn't a real SH at all.

    Thanks for reading and excuse my syntax, english isn't my native language.    … Expand
  8. doodlerman
    Jun 12, 2011
    8
    So far it's the last game in the series to use fixed camera angles. It's not as good as its predecessors, but it does at least live up to the name of Silent Hill. I also liked that your only weapons could break, so you're never truly safe. Combat in this game is a bit difficult, which can either be frustrating or make the game more thrilling - I found it to be more thrilling, becauseSo far it's the last game in the series to use fixed camera angles. It's not as good as its predecessors, but it does at least live up to the name of Silent Hill. I also liked that your only weapons could break, so you're never truly safe. Combat in this game is a bit difficult, which can either be frustrating or make the game more thrilling - I found it to be more thrilling, because combat in SH games isn't supposed to be easy. You're supposed to want to run instead of fight. Also the atmosphere is great, like most of the series, and though the graphics are a bit too clean at times (the opening house on fire sequence is a bit cheesy looking and the final boss is the same way). The other monsters are some of the most twisted and disturbing in the series. Also it has a sort of sense of incoherency, which has always been pleasing to me in the Silent Hill series.… Expand
  9. JosephStewart
    Jan 20, 2009
    7
    I'm a real big Silent Hill fan, and mostly liked the game. Only 3 problems:
    1. Not enough descriptive text (many curiosities are given no description when pressing x)
    2. No free look (I want to see whats in that corner! WTF!!) 3. Combat is HARD. Some monsters can just spin around and hit you even though they aren't supposed to, and until you get guns, combat can be a real    I'm a real big Silent Hill fan, and mostly liked the game. Only 3 problems:
    1. Not enough descriptive text (many curiosities are given no description when pressing x)
    2. No free look (I want to see whats in that corner! WTF!!)
    3. Combat is HARD. Some monsters can just spin around and hit you even though they aren't supposed to, and until you get guns, combat can be a real pain. And I mean a real pain, both in-game and out.    … Expand
  10. Carlitoxic
    Jun 19, 2014
    5
    Otro juego que bebe de un título anterior para generar algo de espectación. El juego es demasiado conservador y facilmente olvidable. Lástima pero hay que entenderlo, nadie escribía historias como el director de los primeros capítulos de la saga, que ya no está. Como juego es correcto pero el nombre de Silent Hill le queda muy grande, otro intento fallido y van ya varios.
  11. moonlight_shado
    Aug 12, 2016
    9
    Must play for SH fans, on ps2 emulator works very well.
    Much, much better than home&garden or downpour.. .
  12. Panchogul
    Jun 2, 2020
    7
    Acabo de completar Silent Hill Origins por primera vez.

    En general me gustó bastante, buena variedad de armamento tanto de fuego como cuerpo a cuerpo, la exploración externa estuvo igual de buena, escenarios que al principio me hicieron creer que no sería un juego tan largo, pero se me hizo más largo que SH 2 y 3, los puzzles no se me hicieron tan difíciles aunque el puzzle final del    Acabo de completar Silent Hill Origins por primera vez.

    En general me gustó bastante, buena variedad de armamento tanto de fuego como cuerpo a cuerpo, la exploración externa estuvo igual de buena, escenarios que al principio me hicieron creer que no sería un juego tan largo, pero se me hizo más largo que SH 2 y 3, los puzzles no se me hicieron tan difíciles aunque el puzzle final del flauros si me costó un poco atinarle. Lo único que no me gustaron fueron las peleas contra los jefes, que si bien el de la madre de Travis me pareció el mejor diseñado del juego en general, el resto no logró impresionarme, hasta se me hicieron demasiado fáciles, solo el padre de Travis me dio una buena paliza sin llegar a perder.

    Mi escenario favorito fue el Sanatorio Mental, de hecho revisaba el mapa a cada rato porque siempre me perdía.

    Luego me lo vuelvo a completar para obtener el final malo, el final ufo y desbloquear el resto de trajes y objetos.

    ¿Que les pareció a ustedes?    … Expand
  13. GenuineBruv2021
    Oct 29, 2018
    5
    Silent Hill Origins is a very average game, exploring the environments is easily the most boring part about this game, there's too much ground to cover. This isn't an origins story, its it own thing. The story is average at best and so is the gameplay. The graphics are impressive though but that's about it. Overall this game is depressingly average, I don't recommend it.
  14. LopsterPopster
    Mar 27, 2012
    7
    This is definitely where the Silent Hill series should have ended; I definitely started to see where the game went downhill from here. This probably would have been excellent to play on the PSP, but the PS2 port of it was very weak. Konami completely ignored the fact that we now had a second analog stick and two extra shoulder buttons to work with, plus the graphics were pretty grainy. IThis is definitely where the Silent Hill series should have ended; I definitely started to see where the game went downhill from here. This probably would have been excellent to play on the PSP, but the PS2 port of it was very weak. Konami completely ignored the fact that we now had a second analog stick and two extra shoulder buttons to work with, plus the graphics were pretty grainy. I basically could have plugged a PSP into the TV and had the same (if not slightly better) experience. It was, however, a good game. I thoroughly enjoyed the hell out of this game. The storyline was good, it helped give some insight to just wtf was going on in the first Silent Hill. Some of the monsters, however, were almost identical to some of them in SH2. For instance, the straight jacket is just the Lying Figure but can shoot a ball of acid rather than spraying it. And the Faceless nurse is the bubble heads from SH2. The boss fights are decent and simple. Many have felt strongly against the fact that you have a choice of whether to go to Otherworld, saying it took away the sense of dread. I still felt a sense of dread of knowing I had to go to Otherworld in order to beat the level, Otherworld scared the hell out of me. It was nearly pitch-black, with loud unsettling music, and monsters that would appear out of nowhere. The fact that your weapons broke constantly also gave a sense of "OH **** I NEED ANOTHER WEAPON NOW." But the fact that you could carry 500 melee and about 7 different types of guns kind of drew away from that. All in all, it is a good game but is better played on the PSP.… Expand
  15. Patrick67
    Aug 12, 2012
    7
    Silent Hill Origins i believe did justice to the series. Honestly Silent Hill 4: The Room just didn't really make a good game. It was just so different than the previous 3. However, this game is a prequel to the 1st game of the series and in my mind its pretty decent. The story is pretty decent enough in my opinion. The only things i don't really like about the game were the not soSilent Hill Origins i believe did justice to the series. Honestly Silent Hill 4: The Room just didn't really make a good game. It was just so different than the previous 3. However, this game is a prequel to the 1st game of the series and in my mind its pretty decent. The story is pretty decent enough in my opinion. The only things i don't really like about the game were the not so great controls. It bugged me that my character was a bit sloppy to control in tight places and what not. The combat system was interesting to me however i felt that some weapons could have lasted longer than others. The plethora of weapons in the game was amazing but i just felt a little let down. I was used to the usual 3 or 4 melee weapons and 3-4 firearms in Silent Hill games. This game has between 10-20 or so melee weapons (some are throwable and break after a single it) and around 6 guns. Thats just too much for a survival horror game and when playing through it you never really have to worry about running out of weapons or ammo cause there is just so much of it throughout. The transitions to the Other World are pretty interesting as you control when to go back and forth, however it does get annoying at some points. The enemies throughout the game are mostly OK. The nurses are easy, the straighjackets look like a rip off of the lying figures from Silent Hill 2 and the final boss is just something i never really expected to see out of these games. Also finishing the enemies are a little difficult as, say you knocked down an enemy and another one is around you sometimes finishing off the enemy wont work like you press the button and nothing happens, and if you do finish off the enemy while your character is in the process of it another enemy is charging an attack and sometimes is just unavoidable. This game does have its flaws as most games do but i liked it and would prefer it if you are a fan of the series.… Expand
  16. carloswalnuts
    Mar 10, 2014
    8
    No es el mejor Silent Hill, pero se compensa gracias a su historia, ambientacion y sonido, lo malo es que la calidad grafica esta por debajo del Silent Hill 2, y el control de camara es lago tosco.
  17. caligula_king
    Oct 3, 2015
    8
    Muy buen juego, realmente me gusto y me la pase muy bien con el, Buena historia , un personaje en cuando vas avanzando te cae cara vez mejor , Un buen SH sin mas .
  18. mrrealperson
    Feb 5, 2020
    7
    Очень недооценённая игра. Climax в отличии от Team Silent умеют правитльно называть игры, и содержимое действительно оказалось приквелом Сайлент Хилла. Лично я визжал как сучка, когда вновь попал в Алхемиллу. Первый каноничный Сайлент Хилл после первого, и первый Сайлент Хилл, который сумел вызвать во мне чувство ностальгии. Полно отсылок, правда часть города, представленная в приквеле сОчень недооценённая игра. Climax в отличии от Team Silent умеют правитльно называть игры, и содержимое действительно оказалось приквелом Сайлент Хилла. Лично я визжал как сучка, когда вновь попал в Алхемиллу. Первый каноничный Сайлент Хилл после первого, и первый Сайлент Хилл, который сумел вызвать во мне чувство ностальгии. Полно отсылок, правда часть города, представленная в приквеле с такими же узкими улочками как во втором Сайленте, но хотя бы по знакомым локациям нам дают погулять. Определённо хороши загадки, их реально интересно решать. Саундтрек как всегда шикарный, а в техническом плане Ямаока только растёт, хоть в этот раз запоминающихся композиций поменьше. Сюжет подкачал только, да и с точки зрения хоррор-жанра тоже не самая выдающаяся игруля:( Однако, учитывая, что это приквел (а приквелы как правило часто сюжетно ограничены), портированный с PSP, да и сделанный в короткие сроки, то это просто блестящая работа. Если вы фанат оригинального Сайлента, смело играйте и ностальгируйте, остальным, в том числе и новым игрокам, игра может не понравиться… Expand
  19. AzathothWakesUp
    Sep 8, 2020
    1
    NOT A TRUE SILENT HILL GAME, WITH NOTHING TO DO THE WITH OTHER TIE-INS TO SH1, IE SH3
    CONS
    to dark to see anything even with brightness cranked up to maximum get tired from running, with enemies faster than you, you will stop to catch your breath occasionally no difficulty settings all melee weapons break after a few swings, changing the entire combat system enemies now respawn when    NOT A TRUE SILENT HILL GAME, WITH NOTHING TO DO THE WITH OTHER TIE-INS TO SH1, IE SH3
    CONS
    to dark to see anything even with brightness cranked up to maximum
    get tired from running, with enemies faster than you, you will stop to catch your breath occasionally
    no difficulty settings
    all melee weapons break after a few swings, changing the entire combat system
    enemies now respawn when leaving and entering a room
    runs poorly on emulators!!!!
    mist world and nightmare world look too similar, hard to tell apart
    interactable objects are no longer brightly colored
    familiar enemy attack power significantly increased from past games
    story contradictions between Origins/SH1 and SH3/SH1
    lack of a comprehensive written strategy guide
    brand new camera system hides enemies who are right in front of you
    brand new controls, again, with about a 2 second delay before run kicks in (with controller latency under 10 ms)
    every save point is dangerouly close to an enemy filled doorway

    PROS
    the mirror trick    … Expand
  20. gotterpotter56
    Jul 16, 2023
    6
    Игре не хватает своих идей и хорошего нарратива. Единственное интересное нововведение это переход между мирами, в остальном игра чувствуется как смесь между 1 и 2 частью
  21. SuperClaudio64
    Feb 28, 2021
    6
    Origins è ok, ma forse un po troppo corto. è un gioco che non era necessario ma che comunque non lascia un impronta negativa sul nome SIlent Hill. Probabilmente è uno degli ultimi Silent Hill accettabili ma che però inizia a diventare più un gioco action, il che ha portato i titoli futuri a essere visti come giochi estranei alla serie di Silent Hill.
  22. Kovalev_Stepan
    Jul 18, 2022
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Очень приятно удивлен игре. Всё, что я слышал об этой игре, это негативные комментарии. Пройдя через силу 4-ую часть, я не верил, что следующая часть будет ещё хуже. Как оказалось origins гораздо лучше the room. Игра держит в напряжении, как и первые три игры. Эмбиенты в этой части это просто нечто. Очень атмосферное музыкальное сопровождение, местами лучше первых трёх частей. В игре присутствует огромное количество головоломок, их больше, чем во всех предыдущих частях, как мне показалось. Хоть и решаются все, кроме последней, за 5 минут, но всё равно приятное дополнение. Ведь в той же 4-ой части вообще не было головоломок. Я не считаю кручение вентилей в водной тюрьме загадкой. Интересно придумали переход между реальным миром и альтернативным в виде зеркала. Вернули в игру фонарик и радио, которые как я считаю, должны быть в каждой части silent hill, так как добавляет атмосферы. Много кто жалуется на то, что в качестве оружия можно использовать практически всё, что под руку попадётся, ну и сами руки, так как это портит атмосферу игры. Может от части это и так, но это только улучшает впечатление от игры для меня, так как это довольно таки интересное новшество, в отличие от квартиры и призраков в 4-ой части. Да и это объясняет плохую концовку игры, где выясняется, что герой психопат, который убивал людей, которые ему мерещились в виде монстров, поэтому был не прочь голыми руками избить до смерти медсестру. В игре есть и минусы, главным из которых был в виде ужасной камеры. Вообще управление и камеру взяли по типу 4-ой части. То есть управление теперь типа 2D(герой двигается относительно камеры, а не лица) и нельзя вглядываться в окружение, как это было даже в 1-ой части. В игре 1999 года управление камерой было гораздо удобнее, чем в игре 2007 года. Из-за неудобной камеры, входя в очередную комнату, я слышал врага, но не мог его увидеть и поэтому стрелял наугад. Ещё из минусов стоит отметить не очень раскрытый сюжет. Даже историю Лизы вкратце показали, а хотелось бы поподробнее узнать её. Может не очень понравился сюжет, потому как это приквел 1-ой части и ты по-сути уже знаешь финал. Также вкратце описали историю Трэвиса. Но из-за атмосферы, потрясающего музыкального сопровождения, интересного геймплея эта игра оставляет положительные эмоции. Но самое главное, что игру можно отнести к самой серии игр silent hill, в отличие от 4-ой, которую кое-как притянули за уши к серии. За все 8 часов игры ни разу не появилось желание бросить прохождение.… Expand
  23. klaaz
    Jan 26, 2023
    7
    An entertaining game that adds value to the story behind Silent Hill. Although it improves aspects related to the malfunctioning of the controls of the previous games, it ends up below them in the rest of aspects.

Awards & Rankings

20
#20 Best PS2 Game of 2008
5
#5 Most Discussed PS2 Game of 2008
9
#9 Most Shared PS2 Game of 2008

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
69

Mixed or average reviews - based on 21 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 15 out of 21
  3. Negative: 0 out of 21
  1. GameZone
    78
    Silent Hill Origins might be the weakest installment in the series, but it’s a testament to the quality of the franchise when the weakest entry is still this good.
    Read full review
  2. Play Magazine
    70
    For 30 bucks, the capable haunts here are worth this house of horrors. [May 2008, p.60]
  3. Official Playstation 2 Magazine UK
    70
    There are moments that'll have you on the edge of your seat, but unwieldy combat and easy enemies takes away the fear. [May 2008, p.70]
See all critic reviews »