"Silent Hill: Homecoming" represented a big change for the series, with a new developer bringing in current-gen ideas like a fully controllable camera and choice-driven dialog exchanges. Change is coming once again for the next entry in the series, which the upcoming February issue of Game Informer reveals is called "Silent Hill: Downpour."
As was the case with "Homecoming" before it, "Downpour" hands the series' reins over to a new developer: Czech company Vatra Games. Design director Brian Gomez acknowledges that the team's biggest concern is making sure their game is a good fit for the series. "Silent Hill the town is the star of the show," he said. "So we see Silent Hill as the only consistent character across the whole series. It's really about who you plug into it."
What he means, for those who aren't familiar with the series, is that the nightmares which manifest within the town are specific to the person whose story you're watching play out. So while Gomez promises that "Downpour" will feature "some nice little tie-ins for the fans," this is Murphy Pendleton's (the main character's name) story and it has no direct tie to whatever events have transpired before.
Gomez also confirmed that the fully adjustable camera on offer in "Homecoming" is gone. Fixed camera angles have been a series standard since the very first game, and they are used to help focus the tension in certain moments. "Downpour" will offer up a mix of the two, like the early games in the series.
There's more as well, such as the amping up of how player choice affects the story and the addition of sidequests. You'll have to wait for the February issue of GI to learn all about those features though. For now, be content with the fact that another "Silent Hill" is coming, from a developer which seems to understand the underlying puzzle pieces that help make the series great.