Back from the dead, Konami announced two Silent Hill games could be in the works after the franchise stood dormant for several years. Though gamers typically aren’t shy about voicing their opinions, Konami is actively seeking out feedback from fans before the games’ releases.
Without confirming if there are Silent Hill titles in the pipeline, a Konami representative said the company is “listening to customer feedback and considering ways to provide the next title” in the Silent Hill series when speaking to Eurogamer on January 27. This seems to differ from the company’s approach in the past on its key franchises such as Metal Gear and Castlevania, and could point to a player-first development plan that returns to core games rather than spinoffs.
Taking players’ feedback into account would have likely kept Konami from making some of its recent blunders, including Metal Gear Survive. When it was first announced, the game was met with almost universally negative reception, as it showed little resemblance to the rest of the series and seemed to lift elements from completely unrelated genres.
The statement came after reports last week that Konami could be working on two Silent Hill projects — an episodic game and another more traditional entry. Of course, if Konami is still soliciting fan input, these projects are likely very early in development.
Konami’s largest video game franchises stayed quiet over the last several years, with spinoff titles occasionally launching to less-than-stellar reception. Metal Gear Survive and Contra: Rogue Corps are among the most recent games, while the Castlevania franchise primarily lived on with its Netflix animated series.
Silent Hill differs as the franchise already prepared for a major comeback under the direction of Hideo Kojima and Guillermo del Toro. Konami announced Silent Hills, a reboot of the classic horror franchise, starring Norman Reedus. It was revealed via 2014 with P.T., a “playable teaser” that offered hints of the gameplay and story players would experience in the full game. Critics praised the teaser for its terrifying and disturbing gameplay, but Silent Hills was canceled, Kojima left Konami, and reunited with Reedus and del Toro for the apocalyptic open-world exploration game Death Stranding. P.T. is no longer available on PlayStation Store, but has nevertheless become a cult hit in its own right.
Should Konami hope to bring Silent Hill back to its former glory, it will have some tough work ahead of it. Silent Hill 2 is considered one of the greatest horror games of all time, with layers of mystery and bizarre characters that kept players on the edge of their seats from beginning to end.
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