The "playable teaser" (or P.T.) for a game called Silent Hills - formerly set to be the latest in Konami's long-running horror franchise before its cancellation - has been at risk of disappearing since its removal from the PlayStation Store simultaneous to the project's cancellation. Beloved by many fans, and of increasing importance to gaming history, there's a chance it could be lost to time despite efforts to preserve it.

Sony revealed P.T. on August 12 during its 2014 Gamescom press conference. Once the playable part of the demo was completed, players were rewarded with what was essentially a trailer for a new Silent Hill game, bearing the now-infamous name Silent Hills. It was set to be directed and designed by Hideo Kojima alongside Guillermo del Toro, with Norman Reedus starring as its lead character.

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Before it could even come to represent a full game, P.T. was already being hailed by some as one of the scariest games of its generation, but the horror of Silent Hills' P.T. would never see the light of day. Less than a year after the trailer dropped, P.T. was removed from the PlayStation Store. A few days later, Konami announced that production on Silent Hills was to be halted indefinitely, alongside the pending split of Kojima from the company. If players had not downloaded P.T. to their PS4s, there was no longer a way for them to access the demo.

Will Kojima's Silent Hills P.T. Be Lost to Time?

Silent Hills PT

With the new release of the PlayStation 5, the future for Kojima's Silent Hills P.T. looks even more dour. There was hope that the game would be preserved for another generation of consoles via local transfer or external storage, but Konami removed backward compatibility from P.T. ahead of the PS5’s launch, according to Polygon. There are currently no ways to emulate the game, either. There is a method for users to attempt to trick their PS4s into downloading the game via a personal computer if they already have the license (meaning they downloaded P.T. back when it was officially available), but this isn't recommended, as it could possibly result in legal repercussions or a PlayStation account ban.

In 2018, Konami shut down a P.T. fan recreation, but other attempts have periodically sprung up in its wake. An Unreal Engine remake by developer RadiusGordello is reportedly quite close to the original - so much so that IGN called it "an almost total remake," the only difference being a slight alteration of the ending to make the game more consistently beatable.

The most authentic experience of what what P.T.'s terrifying gameplay was like can be found on sites like YouTube, where a variety of content creators have published their own runs through the demo for audiences to view. Aside from the aforementioned, faithful fan recreations, users have also adapted P.T. into games like Minecraft, Fallout 4, and Dying Light. After the impact it had on the gaming industry, it is no surprise to find P.T.'s influence spread over a number of AAA and indie game releases. Elements of the type of horror and playstyle P.T. utilized can be found in Resident Evil VII: Biohazard, Visage, and Layers of Fear among others. 

The ultimate fate of P.T. is uncertain. In one sense, dedicated pockets of fans appear intent on keeping its influence alive and well, be it through recreations, remakes, and other forms of homage. Yet despite rumors of a new Silent Hills, given Konami's stance on the original application itself, there's a very real chance it could be lost without dedicated efforts from preservationists to restore it for future generations.

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Source: PlanetMinecraft, GameRant, BigMike's VideoGames