Image: Konami
After years of hibernation, the Silent Hill franchise is making a comeback with four games and a movie.
Silent Hill fans have had a rough few years of rumours and leaks that never seemed to amount to anything, but that ends today. During a special livestream, Konami has finally unveiled not one, not two, not even three, but four whole new Silent Hill games in the horizon - one of which is a full-fledged remake of the iconic horror game Silent Hill 2. The developer also shared a look at an upcoming reboot of the Silent Hill movie franchise, which will also include elements of Silent Hill 2.
Let’s break down these announcements:
Silent Hill 2
In my restless dreams, I see that game: Silent Hill 2. Troubled protagonist James Sunderland returns in a remake of what is widely perceived to be one of the best games ever made, now retold with modern visuals and updated gameplay. Konami gave us a meaty trailer here, mixing in gameplay and remade cinematics - including a memorable shot of James staring into a mirror and wondering about his wife Mary, who has seemingly returned from the dead. His search for his wife brings him to the foggy town of Silent Hill, where nothing but horror lies in wait for him.
The Silent Hill 2 remake is being developed by Bloober Team, a Polish game studio behind horror games like Layers of Fears, The Medium and Blair Witch. The developer is working with Silent Hill 2’s original composer Akira Yamaoka and artist Masahiro Ito to remake the game faithfully, but with a new over-the-shoulder perspective, redone combat, updated visuals and a fresh cast of actors. Much to the ire of PC players however, the remake will be a PlayStation 5 timed-exclusive for one year before it hits PC.
Silent Hill F
Now onto the next mainline Silent Hill sequel: Silent Hill f. This will be Konami’s first new entry in its horror franchise since 2014’s infamous P.T. playable demo. According to Konami, the game will take place in, “1960’s Japan featuring a beautiful, yet horrifying world,” setting it apart from previous entries. It’s also being developed by a studio in Taiwan called Neobards Entertainment, in collaboration with developers from Konami’s Japanese studio.
The trailer is pretty scarce on detail, but we do see an interesting flower motif going on here. The video follows a young girl who moves from a grave decorated with pink flowers to the darkened, grimy streets of a town where mysterious red tendrils lash out at her. Now a sea-traveling mass of flora and fungus, we see her body covered in flowers before her face peels off to reveal a hollow skull. Pretty spooky stuff. This trailer fits in with a previously-leaked Silent Hill game codenamed Sakura, which was reported to have a playable teaser demo on the way soon.
Ryukishi07, an anonymous writer and creator of the When They Cry visual novels, is writing the game while ‘kera’ designs its creatures and characters. Ex-Nintendo employee Motoi Okamoto will produce.
Silent Hill: Townfall
Here’s something a little different: Konami has also revealed Silent Hill: Townfall, a standalone game in development at No Code and Annapurna Interactive. The game’s first teaser trailer implies that we won’t be playing a traditional horror game here, as all the video does is slowly zoom in towards a communications device that displays increasingly disturbing imagery, while a voiceover questions why the player is here at all. It’s an intriguing teaser, but we still have very little idea what we’re in for.
Developer No Code is a talented studio that makes this game worth keeping an eye on, however. The studio has earned BAFTA awards for both Stories Untold and Observation, games in the horror and thriller genres that suggest it’s more than capable at handling a Silent Hill game.
Silent Hill Ascension
Konami’s last Silent Hill game announcement was also its most puzzling. This game, entitled Silent Hill: Ascension, is touted by the publisher as a, “whole new experience,” that takes the form of a, “live, real-time interactive series.” The teaser suggests that players can take part in the game as an online community, potentially over a streaming site - judging by the comments shown. Konami warns that there is no reset button on the game however, which means that while you can change the outcome of the story - you can’t backpedal on your decisions. This is the only game out of the bunch to have a firm release window: 2023.
Return to Silent Hill
Lastly, we got more information on Konami’s upcoming reboot of the Silent Hill movie franchise, aptly named Return to Silent Hill. The director of Silent Hill (2006), Christophe Gans, will be back in the director’s chair for a movie that will faithfully adapt the story of Silent Hill 2. This means that just like the upcoming remake, Return to Silent Hill will follow the story of James Sunderland, who wanders a nightmarish town in search of his late wife.
While the movie has only just entered pre-production, the video above does show us pictures of storyboards and interviews with the movie’s creators, who promise viewers that they plan to be as faithful to the original game as possible. Funnily enough, we have this movie to thank for the upcoming remake too. According to Konami’s head of IP Rui Naito, Konami only set about making the Silent Hill 2 remake when they were pitched ‘Return to SIlent Hill’ as an adaptation of the game, so the two could go hand-in-hand.