Konami Reveals Major New Silent Hill Game And Movie Projects
For the first time in years, Konami has wished "Silent Hill" fans a happy Halloween. The Konami Transmission on October 19 brought announcements, news, and contributions from franchise royalty, but the fundamental takeaway was simple. After years of often frustrating silence, there is now — feel free to knock on wood — a new, official, Konami-branded "Silent Hill" game coming to a console near you.
No one knows better than "Silent Hill" fans that good news does not equal good outcomes and even very promising starts can turn into legendary disasters. That said, this is a very promising start. Pro horror gamer Selina and Konami producer Motoi Okamoto welcomed multiple major artists behind several upcoming projects set in the world of "Silent Hill." With preorders open on some projects and exciting new creative partnerships in the works, it looks like Konami will be bringing brand new "Silent Hill" content into the world in the near future.
Silent Hill 2 remake with Bloober Team
For diehard fans of Konami's psychological horror series, the biggest news of the transmission might have been the announcement, complete with trailer, of a ground-up remake of "Silent Hill 2." Widely regarded as the best "Silent Hill" game and one of the best horror games of all time, "Silent Hill 2" holds a special place in horror fans' shriveled black hearts.
The good news is particularly welcome after the several disappointments SH2 fans have suffered since the game's original release on Playstation 2. Hope for a big-screen adaptation fizzled after the box office underperformance of the first "Silent Hill" film, and a clunky, buggy 2012 remaster (via Silent Hill Historical Society) failed to grab the fanbase's attention. What Konami announced, however, isn't just a remaster — it's a complete rebuild of the original game under the auspices of original artist Masahiro Ito and composer Akira Yamaoka. Under their guidance, development is being handled by the Polish developer Bloober Team.
Bloober Team has established horror chops: its original titles include "Layers of Fear," "Observer," and "The Medium." The company's 2019 adaptation of "Blair Witch" demonstrated its ability to handle beloved horror IP. CEO Piotr Babieno noted the influence of the "Silent Hill" series and "Silent Hill 2" in particular on the company, saying "for many Bloober Team members, Silent Hill is the title that made them fall in love with horror games."
New Silent Hill film, old friends
No less exciting for "Silent Hill" fans than news of the SH2 remake was the official announcement that a second "Silent Hill" film is in the works. "Silent Hill" received a muted response on release and underperformed at the box office, but has developed a substantial fanbase since (via Flixist).
The new film, under the working title "Return to Silent Hill," will be helmed by original director Christophe Gans. Gans and returning producer Victor Hadida confirmed during the live stream that "Return to Silent Hill" will be a direct sequel to the original movie, based primarily on the plot of the "Silent Hill 2" game. The creative team has already begun to recreate settings, characters, and monsters for the big screen. That said, "Return to Silent Hill" is still in pre-production; there is no word on casting or film locations, and there is no firm release date.
Brand new blood for a venerable franchise
Perhaps the biggest news in the latest Konami Transmission is less the reveal of particular titles than a new commitment by the company to develop and expand the whole "Silent Hill" IP. In keeping with that, Konami announced several new partnerships with planned projects that go well beyond the established games and film. "Silent Hill: Townfall" is a new game set in the "Silent Hill" universe. Made by No Code Studio and Annapurna Interactive, the same developer-publisher duo responsible for BAFTA-winning horror titles "Observation" and "Stories Untold," hard info on the new title is limited.
"Silent Hill: Ascension" goes even further beyond the usual boundaries of "Silent Hill." To quote the stream, "Ascension" is "a live, real-time interactive series." Produced by Konami along with JJ Abrams' Bad Robot and developers Behaviour and DJ2, "Ascension" appears to be an interactive streaming series in which viewers will be able to vote on and change onscreen events. These events will determine the direction of the plot and become part of the "Silent Hill" canon. The series is slated to go live sometime in 2023.
The Konami Transmission closed with what may be its most interesting offering. The stream showed an artful and disturbing (seriously, watch with care, especially if you're trypophobic) cinematic trailer for a project called "Silent Hill F." While little is known of gameplay, the story for "Silent Hill F" will come from Ryukishi07, the auteur behind the "When They Cry" visual novel series, and much of the design from graphic artist Kera. The two have collaborated to create a brand-new world for their "Silent Hill" story set in 1960s Japan.