Silent Hill's revival has been rumored several times in recent years, but if the new rumors carry any weight, the latest plans for the beloved horror series may leave some fans wishing the series would stay buried. With the summer of game announcements just around the corner, the cup runneth over with leaks and speculation - and with Konami announcing a new game-focused initiative a year prior - there's plausibility to the chatter. Silent Hill is one franchise Konami is aware fans are hungry for, so it stands to reason it's a series the company would focus on as they forge ahead with gaming once again.
Silent Hill has always shared the horror spotlight with Resident Evil but always stood out for many reasons. The Silent Hill franchise has been lauded for pioneering a new genre of horror that focused less on combat and more on puzzle-solving and storytelling. Silent Hill is more about small intimate stories that surround tortured and flawed characters that all end up in the mysterious town for one reason or another. What the city represents and shows to the player depends on the character's world, sins, or situations, varying from title to title. These elements are consistently elevated by carefully curated choices regarding the game's atmosphere, music, and sound design, along with the immersive nature of sharing in the confusion and bewilderment of the protagonist. However, this carefully crafted symphony can quickly turn into a harmonic disaster with rushed development practices, mishandling of the intellectual property and its legacy, and a failure to understand why games like Silent Hill 2 and 3 have endured as long as they have.
It's important to note that Konami hasn't had a win in years. The publisher's last successful title was Metal Gear Solid 5, which was mired in controversy surrounding the series' creator, Hideo Kojima. The company shortly after quickly sought to profit over what it could with existing assets and released Metal Gear Survive in 2018, seeking to capitalize on multiplayer trends of the time but ultimately came up short. Konami also has long-neglected new entries in many of its other properties, such as Castlevania. Although there's been some success with retro-compilations like the Castlevania Advance Collection, Silent Hill wasn't a series that benefited from this approach. As a result, little faith exists in the hands of Silent Hill as of late, and the trend of descent Silent Hill is experiencing has been occurring since the 2010s - as evidenced by the Silent Hill 2 and 3 HD remasters.
Previous Attempts At New Silent Hill Games Have Fallen Flat
The HD remasters of Silent Hill 2 and 3 were much maligned by fans - from the (lack of) fog effects to the embarrassing font replacements, the collection felt like anything but a celebration. Only the PS3 version ever saw a patch to improve the titles, as the Xbox 360 title remains in the shoddy state it arrived in. This low-effort port speaks volumes about the lack of reverence with which Konami handled the series. The following titles - Silent Hill: Homecoming and Silent Hill: Downpour - were derided by fans and critics for being pale imitations of the series. The latter title even lacked the imperative musical stylings of Akira Yamaoka, the composer synonymous with the franchise. Konami continued the trend of shopping IPs out to other developers following the constant hostile reception, resulting in the poorly received Contra: Rogue Corps appearing on shelves in 2019.
Bloober Team May Not Understand Team Silent's Vision
Unfortunately, the company seems to be eager to continue outsourcing its titles, as the rumored next company to tackle Silent Hill is Bloober Team, recently responsible for titles such as Layers of Fear and 2021's The Medium. The Medium's reception was mediocre at best, but the recent game's lack of understanding surrounding mental illness is more worth taking issue with. Whereas Silent Hill 2 focuses more on working through trauma and coming to terms with why protagonist James Sunderland was in Silent Hill, The Medium seems to tackle trauma in a way that perceives those who suffer too much of it are beyond redemption and should be paid no mind.
If the rumor regarding Bloober Team is considering adding new endings in the Silent Hill 2 remake, its unique take on the title will fly in the face of Team Silent's original vision. In addition, although Silent Hill 2 wasn't known for its combat, this doesn't mean another studio known for having similar design issues will be a logical transplant for the original team. Improvements are always welcome and should always be the goal to strive for.
However, what's more distressing than the remake rumors is the idea that a Silent Hill 2 remake project is simply one out of several new Silent Hill game projects that Konami is pushing for. The rumors reported by NateTheHate2 and corroborated by Jeff Grubb briefly mention a new mainline entry and "side stories." The last mainline entry, as mentioned earlier, was the much-maligned Silent Hill Downpour, developed by Vatra Games. The prior attempt at a side story also faced significant criticism. Konami exposed the world to Silent Hill: Book of Memories - an inexplicable effort to turn the series multiplayer on the PS Vita.
Konami should be taking its time and carefully rebuilding consumer trust in the brand - putting less emphasis on merchandise and showing more respect toward a franchise that helped put the company on the map. This burst fire approach to saturating the market with a slew of Silent Hill titles feels much akin to the D.C. Universe's strategy of catching up to competition - but that's the problem. While survival horror games like Dead Space have been rising again, Silent Hill doesn't have direct competition. The only obstacle in the way of the game's success is the publisher's lack of understanding of the meticulously thought-out Silent Hill universe crafted by Team Silent. Konami's shortcomings regarding the franchise are most apparent with the debacle surrounding Silent Hills. This new entry sought to bring new life to the franchise starring Norman Reedus, helmed by Hideo Kojima and filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro - a dream team if ever there were one.
Silent Hills' Cancellation Was A Blow To Series Morale
But in what felt like a tantrum thrown by the scorned game publisher, Silent Hills was burned to the ground and unceremoniously canceled. Shortly after the cancellation, Konami also delisted the playable teaser, P.T., to try to deny the game's existence. Silent Hills' cancellation was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. Every subsequent attempt to improve the series since the departure of Team Silent has been met with warranted criticism and reservation from fans and critics, as Konami has consistently failed to bring the franchise back to life. The sting of Silent Hills' cancellation remains fresh in the minds of every fan of Silent Hill and fans of the horror genre in its totality.
Distressingly, history is doomed to repeat itself; yet another developer who may not understand the assignment combined with an inundation of titles may drown the series before it ever gets a chance to come back for air. Though it may seem unfair to judge these attempts before they've come to fruition or even been confirmed, Konami's track record as of the late 2010s warrants skepticism. Silent Hill fans may wish the series stay dead depending on what comes next - one can only hope that any future visit to Silent Hill is terrifying for all the right reasons.