Summary
Silent Hill: The Short Messagemight not have been the title to do it, but the upcomingSilent Hillslate is exciting enough to hopefully ensure that the franchise is back and prepared to make its name in the modern era of horror.Silent Hill’sAscensionwas a huge letdown in terms of what it actually delivered, and Bloober’sSilent Hill 2remake arguably isn’t looking as promising as one might hope, butTownfallandfstill have the potential to thrive as authenticSilent Hillepics.
Aside fromResident Evil, thenext big horror outing may be Hideo Kojima’sOD, which was finally officially announced with an unsurprisingly abrupt and absurd teaser giving away seemingly nothing about it. Kojima’s name was once associated withSilent Hillsand, while that never ended up coming to fruition, it’s been interesting to see if any of that juice would ever leak into any future endeavor of his.ODmay end up beingSilent Hills’ spiritual successor in many ways, and its success or failure may derail or bolster the actualSilent HillIP moving forward if so.
Unfair or Not, OD Excelling Could Mar Silent Hill
WhetherODandSilent Hilllegitimately have anything in commonor not is irrelevant. The fact of the matter is that ifODis received well, it will be difficult not to imagine what Kojima could have accomplished withSilent Hillsand any actualSilent Hillgame coming out aroundOD’s release will probably endure undue comparison to it as a result, especially if it isn’t received as well asOD. Never getting to see what Kojima would have achieved withSilent Hillsis excruciating because of how profoundly impactfulPTbecame as a playable teaser spawning innumerable imitations from every corner of indie and AAA horror.
Silent Hillmay now always be compared to its original four gamesand evenPTas a step-sibling of sorts, making its renaissance tremendously difficult to execute well if it’s being eclipsed by Kojima’s work and fails to meet the standards of everything that came before it. The latter half ofSilent Hill’s catalog is thankfully a much lower bar to clear, but it’s now assumed thatODwill make good on the promise laid out byPTandSilent Hillwould have an impossible task ahead of it in trying to gain an unsteady foothold with horror’s most hotly anticipated follow-up in its midst.
OD Underperforming Might Shine a Generous Light on Silent Hill
There’s no telling nowifODwill take a similar shape to whatSilent Hillswould have been, but Kojima’s recent dip intoDeath Stranding’s wild peculiaritiescould suggest thatODwill be a comparable adventure full of its own zany and unhinged moments. Not leaning fully into horror like it’s currently presumed to might blemishOD, and aSilent Hillrelease around that time could potentially pick up the slack if it can muster all the correct beats of psychological horror and a lugubrious atmosphere that the IP was classically known for.
That said, withhorror director Jordan Peele contributing largely alongside Kojima,ODis unlikely to skimp on genuine terror.
Silent Hillwill hopefully be capable of emerging favorably and of its own merit, and yetODnot meeting unsustainable expectations could be a point towardSilent Hill. Indeed, because expectations forSilent Hillare at an all-time low, it has an opportunity to surprise players, whereas ifODis anything short of outstanding it could be viewed as a disappointment.The Short Messageis the perfect example of the rutSilent Hillcurrently finds itself in—it wasn’t brilliant nor egregious, but that makes it unremarkable and inevitably forgettable.
In order to pluck itself from this rut,Silent Hill’s upcoming games can’t afford to be unremarkable.ODis already distinguished by Kojima’s bewildering oddities and will be upheld by his name alone. Therefore,Silent Hillneeds to deliver something exceptional.
Silent Hill: The Short Message
WHERE TO PLAY
An all-new, modern Silent Hill experience, powered by the latest in game technology.Following messages from her friend, street artist Maya, Anita arrives at an old, crumbling apartment block. Drawn inside, she soon encounters bizarre, otherworldly spaces and inexplicable happenings as she explores, all while being pursued by a twisted monster.If she wants to make it out alive, Anita must somehow escape the abnormal perils of the apartments and find her way out again. But where is Maya? And just what is this strange world that she finds herself lost in?
