Silent Hill is a series known for some of the scariest monsters out of all other horror games. Each and every one represents the fears and regrets of those who are trapped inside the town leading to many frightening and thought-provoking visuals.
If there is a new Silent Hill on its way for the PlayStation 5, there are sure to be many new monsters to represent the new protagonist. However, the series also has some monsters that are reoccurring with different changes depending on the protagonist.
With eight mainline titles to the series and seven spin-off games, there are a lot of monsters that have appeared in the series. While many of them are iconic, they shouldn't appear in a new game unless they undergo changes to reflect the new protagonist.
Nurses
Nurses are one of the most recurring enemies in the Silent Hill franchise and for good reason. As many people have different memories with hospitals and nurse imagery, there can be a lot of variety in how the nurses of Silent Hill present themselves to the protagonists.
The first game nurses made their appearance in was the original Silent Hill, where the nurses had the most drastically different appearance from how they were in other titles. This variety is known as the Puppet Nurses due to them seeming to be normal human nurses but with a large parasite growing on the backs of their necks that are controlling them. This is symbolic of how Alessa saw the nurses in the hospital while staying there as the nurses were being puppeted around by the Order by keeping Alessa alive.
Silent Hill 2 is where the more popular base for Silent Hill's nurses came from, as these nurses are dressed more provocatively with their faces completed covered in bandages. This is meant to reflect how the protagonist, James Sunderland, viewed other women while his wife was in the hospital with them being faceless sexual female bodies. The nurses' faces being covered in bandages can also symbolize the twist at the end of the game with Mary Sunderland's true fate.
Nurses went through another change in Silent Hill 3 with their looks and behavior reflecting the memories of Heather Mason. The nurses all look alike with a black bob hair cut, but they still share the sexualized nurse uniform as the nurses in Silent Hill 2. These nurses are especially dangerous considering that some are holding handguns that they are capable of using. They represent Heather's memories from being hospitalized and trapped in Silent Hill's hospital and the pain she underwent inside.
After this, many of the nurses took more of inspiration from Silent Hill 2's nurse designs with little changes. If nurses were to reappear in a new Silent Hill title, a lot could be done to change up their designs to reflect a new playable character. In real life, many people have memories involving hospitals that can be traumatic, so the possibilities for a new nurse are endless.
Raw Shocks
Only appearing in Silent Hill: Shattered Memories and Silent Hill: Book of Memories are the Raw Shock enemies. These monsters are named after Rorschach test, which is a test in which someone describes what they see in inkblot patterns to help with psychological assessments.
In Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, these enemies represent Cheryl Mason's repression of her father's death as well as any of the bad memories she had with him. The game's endings and the true image of Harry Mason, Cheryl's father, are dependent on what players choose to interact with and focus on throughout the game. However, the appearance of the Raw Shocks also change depending on what paths that players find themselves leaning toward.
The Raw Shocks have four possible variants depending on the player's and Harry Mason's actions. They are:
- Feminine
- Diseased
- Abstract
- Atrophied
While Raw Shocks themselves shouldn't appear in a new Silent Hill, their concept should be explored again. Multiple endings in Silent Hill titles is expected, so having an enemy type that changes appearances as the player leans toward different paths could add even more replay value. It could even be possible that the enemies' behavior changes depending on the different appearances. Either way, this is a concept that has a lot of potential for expansion.
Robbie the Rabbit
While not being a monster created by Silent Hill from the minds of those trapped inside, Robbie the Rabbit remains an iconic and scary part of Silent Hill that sometimes has made appearances as an enemy.
Robbie is a mascot for Silent Hill's Lakeside Amusement Park. Slumped over mascot costumes of Robbie can be found by players in Silent Hill 3 that are covered in blood, implying that whoever was inside the costumes is no longer alive. A doll of Robbie can also be found in Silent Hill 4: The Room that changes positions when the player isn't looking. He doesn't make an appearance as a dangerous threat until Silent Hill: The Arcade.
Like with hospitals mentioned before, a lot of people have memories associated with amusement parks and costumed characters. Turning Robbie the Rabbit into a properly corrupted Silent Hill monster could result in true nightmare fuel. Having the monster among empty mascot costumes also has the potential to scare players from not being able to know what's an enemy and what's just in the room.
Unlike Pyramid Head who has a specific purpose for existing, Robbie the Rabbit can be easily modified to represent the darkness inside many possible new protagonists. If Robbie does make a new appearance, he can provide as much fan-service by returning as much as the nurses, who can also be changed around.
Players should note that there currently isn't any news on whether or not there will be a new Silent Hill, except for the recent crossover Silent Hill had with Dead by Daylight. Any news regarding a new Silent Hill title is just speculation at this point until something is announced.
There is currently no new information on when or if a new Silent Hill title is coming out.