Much has been said about the recentSilent HillTransmission showcase, but there is one thing that most viewers can agree on. Out of all the projects shown,Silent Hill fis the most novel of the efforts. Although this showcase essentially markedSilent Hill’s revival, several projects are focused on recapturing the fame ofSilent Hill 2. Others likeSilent Hill: TownfallandSilent Hill: Ascensionhave been described in vague terms that leave their final forms uncertain. Even thoughSilent Hillfjust got a trailer with no release date, it still managed to put out something both different and concrete enough to hook a variety of fans.
Silent Hillis in dire need of this considering the state that Konami last left it in. Infamously,PT, the playable teaser forSilent Hills, was struck from the PlayStation Store when its corresponding project was canceled. The later announcement of aSilent HillPachinko machine was the nail in the coffin. Now, with both theSilent HillTransmissionandrumors of moreMetal GearandCastlevaniain the future, it seems that Konami is returning to its old franchises.Silent Hill fhasn’t proven itself to be as ambitious yet, but its differences from the norm definitely make it something to look out for.
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Silent Hill May Have Been Too Focused On Keeping Silent Hill Around
Among fictional towns, few are harder to place on a real life map than the titular Silent Hill. Rumored to be somewhere in Maine, the foggy town is meant to be an American setting viewed through a Japanese lens. The intermingling ofWestern and Eastern tropes madeSilent Hillwhat it was, both in terms of the town’s attributes and the horrors that occurred in gameplay. There have been minor visits to areas near Silent Hill throughout the franchise, but the focus remains on a small, fictional town. EvenPTtook pains to make its looping home resemble an average middle class American household.
Silent Hill fintends to break away from this. Essentially, the new game will show what the town would look like if it was transposed into the Japanese countryside. A lot of buildings shown in this new town look fairly old, and the game has been said to take place in the 1960s. It’s a shift from the norms followed by prior entries, but it could be just what the series needs. LikePTand some of the most innovative entries inSilent Hillbefore it,Silent Hill fseeks to recapture the magic ofSilent Hillby escaping the rigid structure that has been built up within it.
New Scares and Stories Abound in Silent Hill f’s Setting
It’s true thatSilent Hill fmay not feel like aSilent Hillgame, instead resemblingFatal Frameor Team Silent’s other horror seriesSiren. TakingSilent Hillout of the titular town is a risky move, but that’s what the series needs. In the eyes of some fans,Silent Hillbegan to rot as early as its PS2 days.Almost every project afterSilent Hill 4was compared unfavorably to the original trilogy. Only the experimentalSilent Hill: Shattered Memoriesand the lostPTrose above their peers.
Not only willSilent Hill fbring a fresh setting, but it will also bring new horrors as well. It looks like the game is fully embracing a traditional Japanese settingwith monsters based around deadly red spider liliesrather than metaphor-ridden flesh beasts. It’s too early to say what the full rogues’ gallery will look like, but it will definitely be slanted more towards Yokai in a spirit world than American horror movie monsters. Even the iconicSHotherworld may end up overtaken by plant matter instead of the traditional rust.
There’s a ton of new and exciting thingsSilent Hill fcould do with its setting, and its current status as a spin-off means it’s free to try whatever it wants. SeeingSilent Hillbranch out into other haunted small towns around the globe would be a great direction for the series to go in, especially now that Konami is spreading the license around. With theSilent Hill 2remakeholding down the Western front, the team of Ryukishi07, Kera, and NeoBards Entertainment should be able to cut loose in their new take onSilent Hill.
Silent Hill fis now in development.
MORE:Why Ryukishi07’s Involvement With Silent Hill f is a Big Deal
