For the past two decades, survival horror has become synonymous with the Silent Hill franchise to the point of the series becoming somewhat of a legend in the genre. The original titles are now considered classics on the PlayStation 1 and 2, with the much more recent P.T. now considered a modern classic by many, as well.
With this said, it feels like a huge shame that the series has been absent for as long as has been. Released in 2012, Silent Hill Downpour was the last console release that the franchise received. Garnering mixed-to-average reviews, Downpour wasn't a terrible game, but definitely didn't seem to live up to the series' origins.
This was, of course, not the last title planned to be released in the Silent Hill franchise. As most fans are familiar, Hideo Kojima was slated to release a brand new entry in the franchise. P.T. (or playable teaser) got released on August 14, 2014, serving as a demo for the upcoming Silent Hills, a new re-imagining of the classic series. The game was unfortunately cancelled one year later by Konami, with even the demo becoming no longer available for users to download, along with the exit of game developer Hideo Kojima from the company.
Originally made famous for revolutionizing a gaming genre that was still in its infancy at the time, the series has now entered somewhat of a hiatus. But even though there haven't been any new Silent Hill games in almost a decade, the survival horror genre seems to now be in a completely different place than it was when the series first began in 1999.
Spiritual Successors
Silent Hills' cancellation was truly horrible news. The game offered a huge amount of potential, and gave long-time fans of Silent Hill new hope for the series' future. So when it was canceled, it felt like a crushing defeat, and it still does in many respects. However, it also feels as though Silent Hills' cancellation brought plenty of good with it. Over the past five years, countless titles which have dubbed themselves as "Silent Hills"-inspired games have emerged.
Games such as Layers of Fear, Visage, and even Resident Evil 7 have all been confirmed to have been directly inspired by P.T., and would probably not be the same games that they are today (or perhaps not even existed at all) if the title hadn't been canceled. Layers of Fear and Visage in particular were both created as means of the creators "filling the void" left by the canceled game. Similarly, Resident Evil 7 was apparently inspired by P.T.; as the game's producer Masachika Kawata stated, the game was always going to have a first-person perspective but his love for the demo influenced the game's direction.
Under, a survival horror title taking place inside of a sinking ship during World War I, is the most recent title that seems to draw direct inspiration from the cancelled game. Many other titles have sought to recapture the same look and feel, including the unreleased Allison Road.
Bloober Team
Before the release of 2016's Layer's of Fear, game developer Bloober Team wasn't really a household name. The team has since gone on to become incredibly successful, creating several more noteworthy survival horror titles including Observer, Blair Witch, and the soon-to-be-released thriller The Medium. Each of these games have gone on to be quite popular, with both Layers of Fear and Blair Witch even getting VR ports. It's interesting in think that, if it weren't for the cancellation of Silent Hills, perhaps Bloober Team may not have been the same team that it is today.
A Return to Form
P.T. isn't the only Silent Hill title that has inspired new creations. Bloober Team's newest game The Medium looks to be heavily based off of the original Silent Hill games, with both its visuals and soundtrack appearing incredibly similar. Speaking of its soundtrack, the game brings back series composer Akira Yamaoka to the project, resulting in a soundtrack that sounds straight out of Team Silent's original games. Visually, the game deals with the themes of duality, personal demons, and other-worldliness, themes that has always been front-and-center of Silent Hill.
The game interestingly looks much different than Team Bloober's past creations, with the title appearing to take on a third-person perspective. This would be a first for the development team, as every other one of the team's titles has taken place within a first-person-perspective. The game truly looks like a next-gen Silent Hill, and if the series never makes a full return, The Medium might just be the next best thing.
The Return of Old School Horror
Outside of games directly inspired by the Silent Hill franchise, many other horror titles have recently released, also seeking to recapture classic horror. Games like Remothered: Tormented Fathers and its sequel Remothered: Broken Porcelain both are meant to be spiritual successors of the Clock Tower series of games, which itself is a precursor to Silent Hill.Â
The wildly popular Resident Evil franchise has also seen somewhat of a return to form since its seventh entry, with Resident Evil 8 looking to continue the emphasis on horror, as well as the recent RE 2 and 3 remakes, that also bring back the series' classic horror. All in all, the survival horror genre looks to be in a much better place than it was back in 2014, with more and more incredible titles releasing regularly.
Whether the Silent Hill franchise ever returns, it's clear that there are now more games than ever that fill its once-vacant shoes. If the series does manage to make its return, fans will of course welcome it back with open arms, but at this point it seems that it may not be necessary. There have been heavy rumors that the series may return as a PlayStation 5 exclusive, so a new title may be sooner than some expect. But nothing has been confirmed yet, so fans will just have to wait and see.
The Medium launches on PC and the Xbox Series X in November of 2020.