Should we really be excited about a Silent Hill revival?

On Sunday, Konami did the second to last thing we ever expected of the publisher, and revealed that Silent Hill is making a comeback. The only way it could’ve shocked fans more is by announcing that Metal Gear Solid is actually being remastered.

Anyway, excitement from fans was immediate, as is to be expected. Silent Hill fans are incredibly passionate about the franchise, although many of us are primarily passionate about seeing those original games on modern consoles. Right now, it’s a battle to play Silent Hill and Silent Hill 2 on modern devices, and honestly, they might be old and haggard at this point, but they still have something very special about them.

It’s been ten years since we last received a mainline Silent Hill game, Silent Hill: Downpour, and almost two decades since we last received a properly good Silent Hill game (excluding PT, if you’d actually count that as a Silent Hill game, given it never got the chance to really be one). I’m personally a huge Silent Hill fan, although I’m only an advocate for the first three games, excluding a rendezvous I had with Silent Hill: Shattered Memories.

My excitement for Silent Hill being brought back from the dead wore off quickly; mainly, this was due to the likes of both friends and ResetEra reminding me that this is Konami we’re talking about, and not Capcom. Konami who, between 2006 and 2013, managed to release multiple games with Silent Hill in the title; none of which were really treated as a Silent Hill game, or met with the same acclaim as the original trilogy.

Silent Hill almost feels like a negative attachment for these games. I can only speak for Shattered Memories, which wasn’t a bad game by any means. Nor was it great, but it was still an enjoyable experience. If anything, what brought the game down in this instance was having Silent Hill attached to it, and managing the expectations of Silent Hill fans. That said, can Konami even recreate the feeling the original Silent Hill gave fans? I’m not convinced.

You see, a successful return isn’t just about throwing players into a foggy town with hideous monsters and a lifetime’s worth of trauma to unpack via the Otherworld. If it was that simple, The Evil Within would have ticked those boxes. Silent Hill was a near overwhelming sensation; a feeling of vulnerability and the unknown, and a general shock at how Silent Hill told a story packed with trauma – something many of us identify as a very real horror.

Once Silent Hill and Silent Hill 2 laid the groundwork that they did, I can see why the games that followed suffered. It isn’t solely all down to Konami kicking Team Silent to the curb, but the fact that Silent Hill didn’t set itself up to be a huge franchise. In Silent Hill, we started out as Harry Mason on the search for his adoptive daughter, Cheryl, following a car accident. Then, in Silent Hill 2, we step into the shoes of James Sunderland as he searches for his deceased wife, who has somehow sent him a letter from beyond the grave, inviting him to the eponymous town.

Now, Silent Hill 2 doesn’t focus on the characters or plot of Silent Hill, but it all takes place within the same town, and players find themselves cracking open a fascinating (but unnerving) story within both games. In Silent Hill 3, we follow Harry Mason’s daughter, Heather Mason – that wasn’t a half bad time either, even if a large chunk of the game wasn't actually spent in the town of Silent Hill. This is where the series began to suffer.

After this, interest in Silent Hill is generally lost for most people. Sure, we see Alessa and Pyramid Head rock up in later games, but more as Easter eggs for fans of the series, rather than an actual development upon past games. There are no more plot threads or characters for people to be invested in, and I think this is a primary reason as to why Silent Hill fell flat in later years.

With all of that in mind, we ought to manage our expectations for whatever is next. Don’t get me wrong, I’m rather relieved to know that Silent Hill isn’t over. After all, PT showed us some promise that the series could, one day, provoke the long chased-after Silent Hill feeling in fans again. Additionally, after a decade off from Silent Hill, there’s some hope that Konami may have finally have finally realised this series needs some undivided love and attention.

But, given Konami’s track record with Silent Hill, I have my doubts that this is the case. With rumours of Bloober Team working on a Silent Hill 2 Remake also, I fear that whatever’s next may be just as average as the past instalments. Or as mid as The Medium – Silent Hill deserves better.

Honestly, as someone who has advocated for a Silent Hill comeback for a long time now, I’m now thinking, and hoping, Konami will simply one day just port Silent Hill 1 to 3 to modern consoles without butchering them (looking at you, Silent Hill HD Collection), and let Silent Hill rest in peace.