Siren | 2003

Siren 

 Siren (known as Forbidden Siren in PAL regions) is a survival horror stealth video game released in 2003, developed and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for PlayStation 2. It was released in Japan on November 6, 2003, and later in other regions between March and April 2004.

The game was directed and co-written by Keiichiro Toyama, who also created Silent Hill in 1999. The story follows a series of intertwined tales of various characters set in the mysterious village of Hanuda, a place inhabited by entities known as "Shibito," who are like the living dead. The player must use a unique ability called "sight-jacking" to see through the eyes of the Shibito and humans to track their movements, avoid threats, and progress through the game.

The game received praise for its story, atmosphere, and originality, but was criticized for its gameplay. It was followed by a sequel, Siren 2, released in 2006, and a remake, Siren: Blood Curse, released in 2008. Additionally, two manga series, Siren: Akai Umi no Yobigoe and Siren: ReBIRTH, were created.

Siren is divided into several stages set across ten districts of the village of Hanuda, with each stage played from the perspective of different characters. The primary goals of each stage are to reach an exit, defeat Shibito, or find certain items. The game's overall objective is tied to the story, where the actions of one character impact the goals of others.

Each stage contains scattered items that provide background lore, which can be reviewed at any time via a catalog. The core mechanic is the sight-jacking ability, which allows the player to view the perspectives of nearby Shibito or humans to understand their location and movements. However, using sight-jacking prevents the character from moving, leaving them vulnerable to attack.

The game emphasizes avoiding Shibito, with the player encouraged to sneak around, use items to lure enemies, or hide to avoid them. Shibito will investigate sounds, and may call other Shibito to their location. While weapons can be used to temporarily incapacitate Shibito, they will rise again after a short time. Characters can recover from injuries over time.

The story of Siren unfolds through the eyes of several survivors. The main characters include student Koya Suda, Harumi Yomoda, professor Tamon Takeuchi, priest Kei Makino, teacher Reiko Takato, actress Naoko Mihama, hunter Akira Shimura, and visitors Shiro Miyata and Risa Onda. These individuals find themselves caught in a supernatural disaster in the fictional rural village of Hanuda, Japan, in 2003.

What initially appeared to be a simple earthquake gradually evolves into a disaster where Shibito invade the village. The village becomes flooded with red water, and spaces are distorted with buildings from different eras merging together. Abnormal phenomena persist, including a warped reality that transcends time. The residents of Hanuda follow a unique faith called "Mana religion," and high-ranking members of this cult attempted to summon a god named Detatsushi by sacrificing a girl named Miyako Kajiro. However, Koya Suda inadvertently interferes with the ritual, causing it to fail and unleashing the disaster that drags the village into another world.

Siren is caused by the summoning of Detatsushi, who resurrects the Shibito. Their goal is to restore the god's physical form. The villagers mutate, some into insect-like forms with wings. In the end, Koya defeats Detatsushi, but only Harumi survives and returns to the real world.

The game was developed by Project Siren, a team that included individuals involved in the creation of Silent Hill. Instead of traditional animation for facial expressions, the game used a technique of capturing real human faces and projecting them onto character models.

Siren was digitally re-released on PlayStation 3 and later upscaled for PlayStation 4 in 2016.

The game received average reviews with a Metacritic score of 72/100. GameSpot praised the story and characters but criticized the repetitive nature of the gameplay. IGN commended the originality of the sight-jacking mechanic, the graphics, and the story, but noted the difficulty and the trial-and-error gameplay.

In 2006, Siren 2 was released, followed by a remake, Siren: Blood Curse, in 2008. Blood Curse reimagines the first game's story, focusing on an American film crew who go missing in a Japanese mountain area.

Siren also appeared in manga form. Siren: Akai Umi no Yobigoe (The Call of the Red Sea) was serialized from 2014 to 2015, and Siren: ReBIRTH was released as a new manga in 2018 to celebrate the series' 15th anniversary.