All Hallow’s Eve is special time for horror fans, and it’s a season that gives fans and celebrants an excuse to immerse themselves in a world of pure terror and fright that gives them bad memories and a good scare to share and enjoy. In fact, there’s never been a good time as any to play some horror games – with an abundance of fantastic titles available that includes the critically acclaimed Silent Hill 2 Remake and the new standalone sequel Silent Hill f. These games have provided some of the best psychological horror experiences ever, and this era should be known as “The Resurrection of Silent Hill” – with the Konami published series making a fantastic comeback after disappearing in the void for many years and becoming more terrifying and disturbing than ever.
As one of the most recognizable horror video game franchises ever made, it’s hard to imagine a time when Silent Hill became a dormant IP placed on the sidelines and with its future left in question. The first four games were made by a development team within Konami that came to be known as “Team Silent” – distancing themselves away from Capcom’s “Resident Evil” series by focusing on supernatural themes and events that centered on a fictional town that was plagued by monstrosities and other unspeakable horrors that were unique to the characters who entered that place and literally faced their own inner demons inside. Those games became critically acclaimed hits and classics, however Team Silent disbanded in the late 2000’s and an attempt to shift to western developers slowed down the growth of the series and left fans with Silent Hill titles that garnered mixed results.
Back in 2014, Hideo Kojima and his production company Kojima Productions attempted to revive the series with a new entry called “Silent Hills” – showcased as a surprise reveal after finishing a mysterious demo called “P.T” that saw players controlling an unknown protagonist in first person view mode trying to escape a haunted suburban home. Successfully finishing the demo would reveal the actual title of the game as well as The Walking Dead TV series star Norman Reedus as the lead character. Unfortunately sometime later, Konami would cancel the project and shift their focus away from making video games to concentrate on developing pachinko titles – leading to Kojima’s departure from the company and the future lot of classic IPs left on the wayside.
Nearly a decade after that controversial decision and some much needed restructuring within the company, Konami has finally saw the light and resurrected their long dormant IPs such as Castlevania, Suikoden, and of course Silent Hill – renewing their commitment to developing video games after several years of bad decisions and obscurity. Through a digital event known as the “Silent Hill Transmission”, the company has enacted a brand new initiative that sees a new wave of games and multimedia products in production that expands the series and sees a resurgence in the franchise. Projects outside of games include Christophe Gans long awaited Silent Hill movie sequel “Return to Silent Hill” – an adaptation of Silent Hill 2 that will be released on January 2026, as well as an assortment of merchandise and collectibles that diehard fans can avail from the official Konami shop.
The meat and potatoes however will always come down to the games themselves, and it began with the release of the Silent Hill 2 remake back in October 2024 – which was developed by Bloober Team and went on to become one of the bestselling titles in the franchise’s history. Its success would lead to renewed confidence in Konami and the announcement of a remake of the first game that’s also being developed by Bloober Team and is currently in production.
That’s not to say that there’s no attempt to make new games in the series, and Silent Hill f is a perfect example of a fresh and creative entry that expands the franchise away from the eponymous town – with the setting placed in 1960’s rural Japan and exploring brand new and unsettling themes that keep with the themes that fans have come to enjoy from the series over the years.
More than just the fog or the otherworld, or even the unique monsters and demons that appear in the games as a manifestation of the player’s inner torment and pain, Silent Hill has a lot of symbolism and meaning that can be hauntingly relatable as core elements of the human psyche and what makes an “everyman” are explored in each of the games. Whether its guilt, repressed trauma, or bad experiences in life that have come to define a dark aspect of a person’s life, the town or rather its curse will force you to confront your deepest fears. The supernatural and cult elements are only a catalyst for what truly brings these games to the forefront – the fact that every character like James Sunderland of Hinako Shimizu is flawed and they have to come to terms with their darkest secrets in order to free themselves from the torment and guilt that continue to weigh in on their lives.
Without a doubt, Silent Hill has truly resurrected itself and shows no signs of slowing down. The Silent Hill 2 Remake has sold over 2 million copies worldwide since its release last year, with Silent Hill f showing a similar fantastic feat of selling over 1 million copies on the first week of hitting the shelves. There’s never been a good time for the series to a resurgence of this caliber, and the future is looking bright as more projects such as Silent Hill: Townfall and the Silent Hill Remake await release in the next couple of years. There’s plenty of good reasons to become a fan and enter those worlds of psychological horror and terror. The only question is – are you brave enough to do so?
Happy Halloween and play the Silent Hill games!
