While publisher Konami is gearing up to revive the Silent Hill survival horror franchise, the same strategy would never work for the beloved Metal Gear series. The stealth action saga kicked off in 1987, and since then it has received various sequels and spin-offs. Every official entry in the Metal Gear franchise has been directed by Hideo Kojima, who created the saga back with its first entry. Last month Konami revealed that multiple new Silent Hill games are on the way, but fans shouldn't expect the same for Metal Gear.
Both the Silent Hill and Metal Gear franchises have laid dormant for years, and Hideo Kojima is actually connected to both situations. Kojima was the creator and creative caretaker of Metal Gear, so the tactical espionage action series has been on hiatus since he split with Konami back in 2014. At the time Kojima was actually preparing to develop a brand-new Silent Hill game, tentatively titled Silent Hills, in collaboration with film director Guillermo del Toro. Kojima leaving Konami for the realm of independent game development therefore left both Metal Gear and Silent Hill without direction, though the publisher seems ready to revive the long-dormant survival horror series with multiple projects from a variety of studios.
Hideo Kojima Is The Key To Metal Gear
While Konami will give Silent Hill fans new games in the near future, creating brand-new Metal Gear games would never work. Hideo Kojima was the creative visionary behind the stealth franchise, and any attempts at replicating his direction would just be a pale imitation. Kojima and the Metal Gear series aren't perfect, of course, but even the director's bizarre or downright terrible ideas still helped give Metal Gear a strong identity. Games like Silent Hill f and Silent Hill: Townfall could be promising because of the franchise's anthology style, but Metal Gear Solid 6 made without Kojima simply wouldn't feel like Metal Gear. This is proven by Konami's sole attempt at continuing the franchise post-Kojima, a lackluster zombie survival game titled Metal Gear Survive.
Creating new Metal Gear installments with a new director would be foolish, but the rumored Metal Gear Solid 3 remake could be a smart way to continue the stealth action saga. Remakes can create entirely new experiences using modern graphics and enhanced gameplay, while still remaining true to Hideo Kojima's original ideas and direction. Rumors suggest that developer Virtuos is currently remaking Metal Gear Solid 3, and that title's particular popularity makes it a natural choice. Remaking even older games like Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2 down the line could let Konami take more creative liberties without spoiling the series' legacy.
The Metal Gear games were not created solely by Hideo Kojima, with other talented creators like artist Yoji Shinkawa and writer Tomokazu Fukushima also playing vital roles in development. Hideo Kojima drove the Metal Gear series forward as its creative engine, however, with both brilliant and bizarre ideas forging the franchise in equal measure. While Konami is bringing back Silent Hill by letting various developers put their own spin on the series, Metal Gear would never work without Hideo Kojima.