Silent Hillhas made a welcome return to the horror franchise with its release of theSilent Hill 2remake, developed by Bloober Team, who were known for atmospheric horror games such asBlair Witch,Layers of Fear, andObserver. However, while the studio has proven to be masters of atmospheric horror, many fans of theSilent Hillfranchise doubted their ability to recreateSilent Hill 2successfully, especially after the combat trailer was released.
Silent Hill 2’s remake not only reviewed well, but has seemingly gone on to be a commercial success, and generally hailed as a wonderful reimagining of the original. This kind of success is a relief to horror fans everywhere, asthis means that the curse that has plaguedSilent Hillseems to be overwith Bloober developing Konami’s popular franchise. Perhaps all that was needed was a look into whySilent Hillwas originally popular and beloved.
The Curse Of Silent Hill Is Over
SH2’s Remake Is The Best Silent Hill In Years
With the release of theSilent Hill 2remake, it seems as if the decade-old curse ofSilent Hill’s demise is over. That’s not to say Konami never put out a single interesting title, but according to variousMetacriticmetascores and user scores,the last successfulSilent Hillgame wasSilent Hill 4: The Room, and even then, out of the first four games, it was the lowest-scoring. From there,Silent Hillgames began to go downhill, with it jumping back up in popularity thanks toP.T., the famous demo for a now-canceled game that was to be calledSilent Hills.
86
8.9
1999
89
8.8
2001
85
8.7
2003
76
8.1
2004
78
7.3
2007
70
6.3
2008
79
7.5
2009
58
4.8
2012
2014
0.8
2023
53
6.1
2024
9.2
Despite there being so many installments to the franchise,only a handful have been truly successful. AfterP.T.’s cancelation,fans were certain thatSilent Hillwas a doomed franchise, asP.T.was the most anticipated and influentialSilent Hillgame to exist after a decade of mediocre games. Then, another decade later, it seems as though the curse of badSilent Hillgames has ended, with Bloober faithfully recreating the nightmare that isSilent Hill 2.
Silent Hill 2 Remake Is A New Era For SH Fans
A Return To Quality Survival Horror
As mentioned previously, theSilent Hillfranchise went downward as soon as the cancelation ofP.T., one ofSilent Hill’s most thrilling and influential entries, was confirmed. Fear for the franchise had grown exceptionally, especially when Hideo Kojima, a key player forP.T., left Konami.
However, with Bloober’s successfulSilent Hill 2remake, it’s become clear thatSilent Hillis climbing back up the ladder and joining the return of other horror franchises, remaking the name for itself with such a beloved entry. Many fan and critic reviews have resulted in a metascore of 86 and a user review of 9.2, which is successful in terms of ratings. This is proof alone thatSilent Hillis finally entering a new, successful erathat will keep the franchise going for years to come.
What’s Next For Bloober?
Chronos Is Bloober Team’s Next Project
There are many expectations of Bloober now that it has successfully remade a PlayStation 2 classic. While many fans are eager for moreSilent Hillgames, potentially from the studio,Bloober Teamhas recently announced on X (formerly Twitter) that it plans to release a horror survival game in 2025.
This game is calledCronos: The New Dawn, which is a third-person survival horror coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Steam, and most importantly,it’s an original IP from Bloober, not aSilent HIllgame. Taking place after a cataclysmic event, throwing the player into wastelands, it’s clear that Bloober has no intention of leaving atmospheric horror, and the studio may just develop anotherSilent Hillgame in the future.Silent Hillfans shouldn’t expect anything, however, until after the release ofCronos.
Bloober Should Remake More Silent Hill Games
If Bloober has no plans to develop its ownall-newSilent Hillgame, it should continue remakingSilent Hillgames instead. TheSilent Hillfranchise is full of lore-heavy games that just didn’t hit the mark for players, be it due to combat, controls, or passable storytelling. But the one game that deserves its remake is the long-awaitedSilent Hill.The firstSilent Hillis what started the nightmarethat every horror fan loves.
Its popularity led to the beloved film of the same name, its famous indirect sequelSilent Hill 2, and it even spawned a direct sequel,Silent Hill 3. And whileSilent Hill 4is deserving of a remake,Silent Hillshould be remade first just on the basis that it is the very first game in the franchise, and such a game could pull in new and old fans. Not to mention, the first game is hardly accessible to the modern audience; a remake would fix that, and the issues within the game itself.
Sources:Metacritic,Bloober Team/Twitter
Silent Hill
The game that started it all, Silent Hill, is the first title released in the Silent Hill Franchise in 1993 for the original PlayStation console. Silent Hill defied conventions by putting combat in the background and giving players control of Harry Mason, a man with no combat training searching for his adopted daughter in the mysterious town of Silent Hill. Harry’s arrival in the town is disorienting, and he soon discovers the town is home to a cult trying to revive a dark deity they believe will bring the world to order.
