For the past two decades, survival horror has become synonymous with theSilent Hillfranchise to the point of the series becoming somewhat of a legend in the genre. The original titles are now considered classics on the PlayStation 1 and 2, with themuch more recentP.T.now considered a modern classic by many, as well.
With this said, it feels like a huge shame that the series has been absent for as long as has been. Released in 2012,Silent Hill Downpourwas the last console release that the franchise received. Garnering mixed-to-average reviews,Downpourwasn’t a terrible game, but definitely didn’t seem to live up to the series' origins.
RELATED:Silent Hill 4: The Room Makes A Comeback
This was, of course, not the last title planned to be released in theSilent Hillfranchise. As most fans are familiar, Hideo Kojima was slated to release a brand new entry in the franchise.P.T.(or playable teaser) got released on June 14, 2025, serving as a demo for the upcomingSilent Hills, a new re-imagining of the classic series. The game was unfortunately cancelled one year later by Konami, with even the demo becoming no longer available for users to download, along withthe exit of game developer Hideo Kojima from the company.
Originally made famous for revolutionizing a gaming genre that was still in its infancy at the time, the series has now entered somewhat of a hiatus. But even though there haven’t been any newSilent Hillgames in almost a decade, the survival horror genre seems to now be in a completely different place than it was when the series first began in 1999.
Spiritual Successors
Silent Hills' cancellationwas truly horrible news. The game offered a huge amount of potential, and gave long-time fans ofSilent Hillnew hope for the series' future. So when it was canceled, it felt like a crushing defeat, and it still does in many respects. However, it also feels as thoughSilent Hills’cancellation brought plenty of good with it. Over the past five years, countless titles which have dubbed themselves as “Silent Hills”-inspired games have emerged.
Games such asLayers of Fear, Visage, and evenResident Evil 7have all been confirmed to have been directly inspired byP.T., and would probably not be the same games that they are today (or perhaps not even existed at all) if the title hadn’t been canceled.Layers of FearandVisagein particular were both created as means of the creators “filling the void” left by the canceled game. Similarly,Resident Evil 7was apparently inspired byP.T.; as the game’s producer Masachika Kawata stated, the game was always going to have a first-person perspective but his love for the demo influenced the game’s direction.
Under, a survival horror title taking place inside of a sinking shipduring World War I, is the most recent title that seems to draw direct inspiration from the cancelled game. Many other titles have sought to recapture the same look and feel, including the unreleasedAllison Road.
Bloober Team
Before the release of 2016’s Layer’sof Fear,game developer Bloober Team wasn’t really a household name. The team has since gone on to become incredibly successful, creating several more noteworthy survival horror titles includingObserver, Blair Witch, and the soon-to-be-released thrillerThe Medium. Each of these games have gone on to be quite popular, with bothLayers of FearandBlair Witcheven getting VR ports. It’s interesting in think that, if it weren’t for the cancellation ofSilent Hills, perhaps Bloober Team may not have been the same team that it is today.
A Return to Form
P.T.isn’t the onlySilent Hilltitle that has inspired new creations. Bloober Team’s newest gameThe Mediumlooks to be heavily based off of the originalSilent Hillgames, with both its visuals and soundtrack appearing incredibly similar. Speaking of its soundtrack,the game brings back series composer Akira Yamaokato the project, resulting in a soundtrack that sounds straight out of Team Silent’s original games. Visually, the game deals with the themes of duality, personal demons, and other-worldliness, themes that has always been front-and-center ofSilent Hill.
The game interestingly looks much different than Team Bloober’s past creations, with the title appearing to take on a third-person perspective. This would be a first for the development team, as every other one of the team’s titles has taken place within a first-person-perspective.The game truly looks like a next-genSilent Hill, and if the series never makes a full return,The Mediummight just be the next best thing.
RELATED:The Spookiest Levels from Non-Horror Games
The Return of Old School Horror
Outside of games directly inspired by theSilent Hillfranchise, many other horror titles have recently released, also seeking to recapture classic horror. Games likeRemothered: Tormented Fathersandits sequelRemothered: Broken Porcelainboth are meant to be spiritual successors of theClock Towerseries of games, which itself is a precursor toSilent Hill.
The wildly popularResident Evilfranchise has also seen somewhat of a return to form since its seventh entry, withResident Evil 8looking to continue the emphasis on horror, as well as the recentRE 2and3remakes, that also bring back the series' classic horror. All in all, the survival horror genre looks to be in a much better place than it was back in 2014, with more and more incredible titles releasing regularly.
Whether theSilent Hillfranchise ever returns, it’s clear that there are now more games than ever that fill its once-vacant shoes. If the series does manage to make its return, fans will of course welcome it back with open arms, but at this point it seems that it may not be necessary. There have been heavy rumors thatthe series may return as a PlayStation 5 exclusive, so a new title may be sooner than some expect. But nothing has been confirmed yet, so fans will just have to wait and see.
The Mediumlaunches on PC and the Xbox Series X in November of 2020.
MORE:Dead By Daylight Launches Silent Hill Cybil Bennett Legendary Set DLC
