The most fondly beloved games of this period came from the British development house Climax Studios, who were responsible for the development of PSP/PS2 title Silent Hill: Origins in 2007, and PSP/PS2/Wii title Shattered Memories in 2009. Aside from the occasional hit, it was mostly downhill from there. For the first four games, they were all developed in-house by Konami’s Team Silent, but Konami began licensing the brand out to other development houses in the West to do something with the series. It’s at this point, however, where the Silent Hill series starts to move in completely new directions - and not entirely for the better either. Silent Hill 4 hit an average of 76 on Metacritic, with reviewers praising the game’s creepy visuals and story, but admonishing the game for some wonky targeting despite focusing more on combat than ever. So, you know, nothing like it.Īs far as the game being a departure from the traditional Silent Hill tropes, SH4: The Room was a bold attempt at keeping the franchise fresh, but unfortunately it didn’t really translate well in terms of reviews. It’s like Being John Malkovich, if it was a horror game. There’s also a weird hole in the bathroom that may or may not be a portal to other dimensions. Silent Hill 4: The Room, which launched on PS2, Xbox and PC in 2004, deviated from the expected Silent Hill tropes by not taking place in the town, instead focusing on an apartment in another city that has some supernatural connection to the psyche of a dead serial killer. Unfortunately, it’s here where the legacy begins to waver somewhat, but not as quickly as you’d think. The follow-up games, Silent Hill 2 and 3, went on to achieve an equal to greater level of success that the first entry, with 2001’s SH2 earning an 89 on Metacritic, going on to be considered as the best entry in the series, while Silent Hill 3 in 2003 would earn an 85, and sold 300,000 copies within a few months of release. The first game in the series launched in 1999, receiving a 86 on Metacritic and selling over two million copies worldwide, which is incredibly impressive for the gaming industry over 20 years ago. In the early going, it felt like Silent Hill was on top of the world. He would leave Konami in 2010, but still found his way back to horror by working on Bloober Team’s The Medium. Akira volunteered himself to work on the original Silent Hill’s soundtrack as a composer, before becoming the series’ sound design lead, working on Silent Hill for a decade. One other aspect of the franchise which became synonymous with Silent Hill was the incredible score and sound design by Akira Yamoaka, a then long-time Konami employee responsible for the score on the likes of Contra: Hard Corps, Snatcher and Gradius Deluxe Pack. That inspiration would prove to be a lifesaver for the Silent Hill series, as the developers used heavy fog as a way to mask the PS1’s shortcomings regarding draw distance. The franchise was inspired by a lot of sources, one of the most notable being The Mist, the Stephen King novel about monsters descending on a small town while shrouded in heavy mist. Naturally, the team opted for a supernatural horror game set in a sleepy little American town, which would become the titular Silent Hill. ![]() Development of the first game started in September 1996, with the intention to create a game that would be successful in the West. Silent Hill’s history begins within Konami. Today, finally, we’re asking the question: will we ever see a new Silent Hill game? Unfortunately, the series has had an incredibly rocky history over the past couple of years, and the future of Silent Hill has been up in the air ever since. ![]() However, with Halloween practically around the corner, the timing is right to finally tackle the big one: Silent Hill.įor a lot of people, Silent Hill is considered one of the most iconic horror franchises of all time, and it holds a special place in the hearts of many for being a huge part of their formative years. Tackling a series like The Darkness isn’t so bad when there’s only two games, but there’s plenty of meat on these bones. Since we started this little retrospective series of ours, there’s one franchise that’s been more daunting than the rest, just because there’s so much to cover.
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