Silent Hill revival announcement

[Jonipoon]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1581754587563708416

So, it seems like the rumors were true after all. Konami is having a huge official announcement for a Silent Hill revivial this Wednesday, October 19th, at 2:00 PM. PDT.

Please be good this time. I haven't played a good Silent Hill game since 2004.

 

[Ikawaru]

Awesome news for Silent Hill fans and this is indeed another peg for the survival horror genre getting a grand revival or "Renaissance" if you wanna call it. Hell, if this 'revival turns out to be something of a remake or reboot in spirit of the first one, which I really liked, it may just be a day one purchase.

Now we just need Square Enix to announce a 'Parasite Eve" revival and the grand renaissance party is officially in full swing *crosses fingers* please please please Square Enix let's do this.

 

[RipvanX]

Awesome news for Silent Hill fans and this is indeed another peg for the survival horror genre getting a grand revival or "Renaissance" if you wanna call it. Hell, if this 'revival turns out to be something of a remake or reboot in spirit of the first one, which I really liked, it may just be a day one purchase.

Now we just need Square Enix to announce a 'Parasite Eve" revival and the grand renaissance party is officially in full swing *crosses fingers* please please please Square Enix let's do this.

Unfortunately Squeenix and the author of Parasite Eve, Hideaki Sena had a falling out around the time PE2 came out. He didn’t like the direction they took it so they basically lost the rights to include elements from his book and the movie. This is why The 3rd Birthday turned out the way it did. Since Hideaki liked Aya Brea, and Squeenix still owned the rights to use her, they killed her off out of spite towards him for losing the license to use the PE name. It’s a disturbing and sad state of affairs.

As for Silent Hill, I really hope they can do a good job and be relevant in the video game industry again. Konami lost a lot of talent and respect over the years, so they have a big mountain to climb to gain peoples trust again.

 

[Ikawaru]

DuskGolem has said Konami is under new and improved management since 2014. Let's hope Squeenix also is since 2010. I've not played FF7 remake but I guess fans seem to like it.

I guess that's the cool thing about generations coming and going; it's inevitable that the people who enjoyed quality when they were kids eventually become business leaders and managers, whilst the more rigid older ones responsible for diluting the industry eventially retire.

The cycle literally never ends.

 

[Ikawaru]

Silent Hill 2 it is, and PS5 exclusive for 1 year. Since it's 2 not 1 I may try it out on a Steam sale later down the road but I'm sure diehard SH fans are PS5 owners anyway so this works out pretty good I would think.

 

[KManX89]

Silent Hill 2 it is, and PS5 exclusive for 1 year. Since it's 2 not 1 I may try it out on a Steam sale later down the road but I'm sure diehard SH fans are PS5 owners anyway so this works out pretty good I would think.

ZOMG YES!

And not only that, a new Silent Hill movie with original director, Christophe Gans was also announced the very same day:

He directed the good first Silent Hill movie and not the terrible sequel, Revelations, so all is well in the world.

 

[Turo602]

I never got the chance to get into Silent Hill. I own the HD Collection, Homecoming, and Downpour on PS3, but I wanted to start from the beginning and hopefully even get my hands on original copies of 2 and 3 since the HD Collection wasn't too well received by fans and I know Silent Hill 2 is supposed to be a big game. But I just never got around to it. I saw the movies in theaters and really enjoyed the first one. But with everything going on with survival horror these days, today's Silent Hill announcements definitely have me excited. Not sure how I feel about Townfall and Ascension though. One didn't really show anything and the other is gonna be something new and different I guess?

 

[Jonipoon]

Honestly I don't know what to feel from this announcement. In one way, I'm happy that Silent Hill is finally making a comeback in the video game industry. At the same time, the revival is mostly fixated on Silent Hill 2 and its themes around "personal hell". We're not just getting one but TWO new versions of Silent Hill 2 (one remake and one movie adaptation), and honestly I'm tired of this boring obsession with Silent Hill 2. It has plagued the series ever since Konami handed over development to Western studios in 2007.

Out of all the four original games made by Team Silent, Silent Hill 2 was the only game that focused on "personal hell" IOW a main protagonist suffering from traumatic events who is pulled to the town in order to face punishment or simply "learn a lesson". 1, 3, and 4 were stories about the cult of Silent Hill, with more emphasis on religion, occultism and mythology. Yet still, ALL of the Western-developed games that came after were basically rehashes of Silent Hill 2 that featured broken protagonists suffering from amnesia. A far cry from Team Silent's original idea of featuring normal everyday protagonists. James was the exception, not the golden standard for Silent Hill protagonists.

We get it. Silent Hill 2 is everyone's favorite. But I'm so sick and tired of it being the only focus of the series. Although I knew beforehand that Silent Hill 2 was getting remade instead of the first game, I'm still heartbroken by the fact that Konami has completely ignored the original Silent Hill from 1999. If any game in the series deserved a remake, it's THAT one. Sigh. They're going for the safest financial bet. Some people are suggesting that Konami are simply testing the waters and if this remake is financially successful they'll remake the first game as well, but I'll believe it when I see it. If I know Konami well, the only reason they're remaking Silent Hill 2 is because director Christophe Gans approached them years ago about making a movie adaptation of it. Then they realized they could make some quick buck by squeezing out a remake just in time for the movie's release. Then in order to maximize profit and give the illusion of them taking the brand seriously, they quickly approached some low-tier developers that have little to none experience in making big budget titles, asked them to make some obscure cheap Silent Hill games (in this case Townfall and Ascension) and pretend that it's something worth to be excited about. Oh and speaking of, they're also focusing on merchandising and making loads of new dioramas and statues in order to squeeze even more money out of Silent Hill 2 nostalgia. It's literally all about Silent Hill 2. I don't even know why they brought back Akira Yamaoka and Masahiro Ito to work on the remake, their old music and designs are unchanged so it makes me feel that they're just there to ensure fans that this will be respectfully true to the original. Like "Hey guys look! It's Yamaoka and Ito! Don't worry, we know what we're doing because we brought back these two guys! REMEMBER THOSE?".

Then there's of course Silent Hill f, the only thing from the announcement that peaked my interest. An original game with a fresh new concept that doesn't try to copy Silent Hill 2? Sounds promising, but I can't shake off the feeling that this looks like it was supposed to be its own original IP before Konami decided that they could make it a part of their Silent Hill "revival".

Lastly: I wasn't expecting, but I was perhaps hoping for the stream to annouce that the classic games were coming to PSN, but nope. Nothing. Nada.

 

[Ikawaru]

Mounting controversy. I personally do not see a major problem with the combat from an outsiders perspective, it just seems like the same but modernized and people are grasping at straws. The combat demo actually, ironically piqued my interest in the game because in my old age, I just want something straightforward, challenging, and fun. OTS worked wonders for REmakes, why can't it work for SH2?

Also, as far as the story goes, I feel the need to add that "Personal Hell" and learning karmic lessons are well within the context of spirituality, mysticism, and occultism. Again, from an outsiders perspective, I cant see how that could be detrimental to the series in a big way, unless it was poorly implemented. I am admittedly unfamiliar with the story, but based off of what I heard it seems to fit the bill with what the series seems to be striving for.

Atmosphere doesn't look bad as far as I can tell. I'd say as long as they don't screw it up too bad and keep it reasonably faithful it shouldn't be an issue. I'm definitely not an expert in this field so there may be more adept people who could provide a better analysis on how "faithful" the game "looks".

 

[bSTAR_182]

As a long-time fan of the series, I can see the arguments from both sides. The graphics don't quite seem up to the standards of game remakes like RE2 or Dead Space. As the video also pointed out, there is some justified criticism taking place and I hope it inspires the developers to make those needed adjustments with the sound effects and graphics. The fact that Bloober has come out and agreed makes me hopeful that fans are being heard and that the developers are giving it their all. They’re well aware there’s a lot riding on this remake.

That being said, a good portion of the criticism is just fan nitpicking.
Some of the most pretentious and pessimistic people that I’ve gotten into discussions over the internet with were from a popular SH forum.
So no doubt there are fans who are making a lot of noise over any amount of change made to the most acclaimed game in the series.

Combat was also one of the main issues fans had with Silent Hill Homecoming, so I had a feeling fans would interpret a whole trailer dedicated to combat in the worst way for the SH2 remake.

It’s safe to say that they’re not going to please everyone. And even though I wasn’t impressed with the story of The Short Message, the game does have great atmosphere that feels in tune with SH. This has me hopeful for the SH2 remake. At least they have the story down, so it’s just capturing that essence of the original game while modernizing the gameplay.

 

[Ikawaru]

Bloober Team seems like a based company. They are listening to fan feedback and also aren't afraid to point the finger at Konami when Konami ****s up. "Those idiots are the ones responsible for the lack of updates and the poorly portrayed combat in the game". Pretty ballsy for a studio to call out their benefactors like that, they should do it more often.

It looks like Bloober team is a Polish company, not surprising. Out of all countries in the West, Poland is definitely one of, if not THE most based of the bunch. I think the series is in good hands, provided they authentically listen to fan feedback and continue knocking sense in Konami.

Curious as to where the series will go if this game is successful. Maybe get the hard reboot treatment RE is getting by staying faithful to the core of the franchise and at the same, putting the other foot into new entries for a new generation of players. Of course RE8, (as we all know of course) story wise was kinda way off track from its science fiction roots, but hopefully RE9 as well as whatever next major SH installment will return to form and be "great again".