Silent Hill: Homecoming is the sixth installment in the Silent Hill survival horror series. The gameplay is the same as it's previous entries, where the player searches for objects and uses weapons to defend against grotesque monsters while solving puzzles to advance further into the game. In terms of combat, the player is able to perform light and heavy attacks or mix them to perform combinations. For the first time in the series, the player may select responses when engaging in dialogue with other characters encountered in the game, which in turn may affect how the player sees the plot unfold.

The story follows Alex Shepherd, a young man who returns to his hometown of Shepherd's Glen following a supposed military discharge and time spent in a hospital for combat related injuries. Alex returns home only to find that his father and younger brother, Joshua, have vanished without a trace, as have many others throughout the town. He finds his mother in a depressive, near catatonic state. Alex searches through the town for his missing brother while uncovering the causes behind the strange events and the dark secrets of the neighboring town of Silent Hill.