The odds haven’t been inSilent Hill’s favor for quite some time now, with the once-prestigious horror franchise falling from its once mighty place in the gaming pantheon. First launching on the PlayStation 1 in 1999,Silent Hillimmediately grabbed players for its emphasis on cerebral scares and haunting atmosphere over the more action oriented approach the competingResident Evilfranchises centered upon. Although on equal footing at one point in time, flash forward to the present day, andResident Evilhas completely reenergized itselfwhileSilent Hillhas almost faded away into a memory.
The series decline began with middling releases likeSilent Hill: Downpour,but the biggest upset for the franchise was undoubtedly thecancellation of Hideo Kojima’sSilent Hillsback in 2015. Ever since then, fans have been scrambling for a sign of a revival, with each passing day leading to more and more disappointment. Things may appear bleak now, but hope remains for theSilent Hillfranchise to make a strong comeback sometime in the future.
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If anything, the aforementionedResident Evilseries went through a similar period of struggle prior to its current resurgence as one of the most popular IPs in modern gaming. Considering these shared woes and similar genres between both series,Silent Hillwould be wise to take a few notes from howResident Evilbuilt itself back up.
Back From The Dead
Even thoughResident Evilseems to be at peak performance nowadays, with two successful remakes and thehighly anticipatedResident Evil Villagecoming soon, matters weren’t always so positive. Prior to the stunningResident Evil 7in 2017, which served as a stylistic reboot of sorts, the series as a whole was experiencing an identity crisis.Resident Evil 5seemed to mark a sway towards more blistering action than ever before, forgetting the tense survival horror roots where the franchise began.Resident Evil 6pushed this new trend even further with absolutely bombastic scenarios, completely ignoring the horror element that made the IP so popular in the first place.
Capcom noticed the reception toResident Evil 6and seemingly went back to the drawing board to refresh the formula. Ironically enough, it was during this period thatSilent Hillseemed to be reclaiming the top spot, with the terrifying tech demoP.Tmaking waves among the gaming community in 2014. Although cancelled as mentioned earlier, the first person perspective clearly struck a chord with audiences, as many horror games continue to adopt this style to this day.
Then, come Sony’s E3 press conference in 2016,Resident Evil 7made a show-stopping reveal and became one of the highlights of the entire show. The"Kitchen" demo forResident Evil 7was also made available to players that same day, providing a glimpse of this reformedResident Eviland satisfying that itch for more of whatP.Thad teased just two years prior. With that in mind, much of the success this new incarnation ofResident Evilis indirectly because ofSilentHill.First-person seems to be a hit with horror nowadays, and even with all of these new releases, there is still the lingering shadow of whatSilent Hillscould have been. If and when a newSilent Hillgame is to be announced, its first major step should be to confirm that it has retained this first person viewpoint. This can bring about goodwill from fans the same wayResident Evil 7did for itself years ago.
Give ‘Em Goosebumps
There are more lessons to be taken fromResident Evilthan just a change in perspective, though, as that alone will not completely guarantee success.Resident Evil 7indicated a serious commitment to building high levels of intensity, causing even the slightest sound to send players into a frenzied panic. With gaming technology the way it is today,Silent Hillhas an opportunity to create something just as compelling and terrifying, making good use of modern graphical capabilities and even thePS5’s 3D audio settings.P.Talready showcased some amazing visuals for the time, something which can be even further improved and help with the immersion of a newer title. Seeing such photorealistic graphics can help trick players into feeling more directly involved with the events on-screen, and make it that much easier to send chills down spines
Another key factor is balancing the quiet, nerve wracking down time with larger, more horrifying enemy encounters. RecentResident Evilgames only feature a handful of enemies to contend with, making the presence of these characters that much more intimate and personal every time they occur.Mr. X inResident Evil 2is a great example of this, as he is generally unstoppable, making the player’s only option to run away. It isn’t a stretch to suggest thatSilent Hillis just as capable of emulating this experience, as Pyramid Head inSilent Hill2served the same gameplay purpose all the way back in 2001. Just as the player felt safe, his appearance would be a swift reminder never to let one’s guard down in this haunting, dreadful gaming landscape.
While this is not to suggest that a newSilent Hillgame needs to also have as combat heavy encounters, it is important to build to more pivotal moments with a effective use of subtlety.Silent Hillwas once considered to be the pinnacle of the psychological, survival horror experience. If rumors about aSilent Hillrebootare true, it only needs to look to its fellow horror counterpart as a blueprint for how efficiently scare new life into this renown horror series.
