The Silent Hill franchise came roaring back in 2022 with the Silent Hill Transmission, announcing three new games, a film, and an interactive streaming series. Despite promising a new transmission in 2023, the whole year passed with nothing announced. 2023 did see the launch of the interactive series Silent Hill: Ascension, but the project was widely panned. 2024 has seen a new trailer for Silent Hill 2 and the release of Silent Hill: The Short Message. Now, Konami has announced a new Silent Hill Transmission for May 30. Here are five things we want to see from the event.
A Movie Trailer
Silent Hill has had a tricky history on screen. The first film, based loosely on the original game, was praised for its atmosphere, music, and visuals, but criticized for its deviation from the source material. The sequel, Silent Hill: Revelations, took inspiration from the third game, and was critically panned upon release.
The 2022 Transmission saw the announcement of a new film, Return to Silent Hill, to be helmed by the first film’s director, Christoph Gans. Since then, things have been relatively quiet, with nothing but casting announcements from IMDB to go off.
However, this month saw an early cut of the film premiere at Cannes. Being based on the critically adored Silent Hill 2, Return to Silent Hill has a lot riding on its shoulders. Hopefully, a trailer will show us exactly what we can expect when the film premieres.
And speaking of Silent Hill 2…
Silent Hill 2 Release Date
Silent Hill 2 is often considered one of the greatest survival horror games ever made. The game follows James, a widower who receives a letter from his deceased wife, Mary, inviting him to Silent Hill. While he searches the town he meets Maria, a young woman almost identical to Mary. Unfortunately, he also finds the familiar town haunted by monsters, including Pyramid Head, who repeatedly comes for Maria for an unknown purpose.
SIlent Hill 2 has been praised for its atmosphere and story. More than a survival horror, in many ways it’s a love story, or a mediation on grief and redemption. It presents a complex cast of characters drawn to the town for their own reasons, and forces us to consider where our loyalties lie. Silent Hill has a habit of forcing people to confront their mistakes as they seek redemption. Silent Hill 2 puts us in the town’s shoes like never before.
Since the announcement of the remake, the game has been hotly anticipated. While some criticism has been aimed at Bloober Team for its past treatment of mental health issues, the fact that several members of the legendary Team Silent – including creature designer Masahiro Ito and composer Akira Yamaoka – is enough to get fans excited.
While the game was originally slated for a 2023 release, 2024 seems like a safe bet. It’s possible that the game will be released alongside Return to Silent Hill, but either way, fans are more eager than ever before to delve back into one of the most legendary horror games ever made.
Silent Hill f
Silent Hill f (or forte) is the next mainline entry in the Silent Hill series, and one we know very little about. We know that the game takes place in 1960s Japan, as opposed to the town of Silent Hill itself. If the trailer is anything to go by, we know that there’s a focus on flowers. Early guesses have theorized that it will focus on PTV – a drug made from a flower native to Silent Hill. Other guesses point to a different chapter of The Order – a cult in the series – or even the Silent Hill Phenomenon mentioned in The Short Message.
Of course, what’s Silent Hill without a little mystery? Each game has seen us delve into otherworldly plots, whether we’re saving the world or just saving our souls. 2024 is looking to be a big year for the series, and it’s time Silent Hill f got time to shine.
The transmission could give us a new trailer, or even a demo or release date. After all, Silent Hill 2 may be hotly anticipated, but Silent Hill f is new, and could point to where the franchise is going in the future.
And where is it going? Well, Silent Hill is a finite area that saw plenty of locations visited over and over again. With the otherworld spreading its influence worldwide, there’s plenty of opportunity for the team to give us fresh horrors.
Silent Hill: Townfall
The third game announced during the initial Transmission, Silent Hill Townfall is the most mysterious of them all. We know that the game will kick off a new episodic series. What form that series will take is a mystery. The name suggests that we’ll see Silent Hill itself in crisis. Meanwhile, the announcement trailer seemingly mentions Alessa, a powerful psychic and important recurring character.
There are plenty of directions that an episodic series could take. Perhaps we’ll see something in the vein of The Dark Pictures Anthology, which itself arguably has some influences from Silent Hill. Maybe we’ll see the downfall of Silent Hill through the perspective of its inhabitants. Perhaps we’ll even see the origins of the Order, or how the town exists in numerous forms at once. Maybe we’ll be putting an end to Silent Hill’s mysterious power, or somehow working to protect it.
Regardless, it’s time for us to see more from the mysterious new title, and what we can expect from it almost two years later.
Junji Ito
Call this one a wildcard. Junji Ito is one of the most acclaimed horror mangaka of all time, responsible for titles such as Uzumaki, The Enigma of Amigara Fault, and Army of One. More recently he’s gained recognition worldwide through the Netflix series Junji Ito Collection.
Ito’s influence can be felt in numerous horror games, but one title in particular stands out: Silent Hills. The canceled game would have included Ito as part of the creative team, marking his first official work in the medium.
Silent Hill f is being written by Ryukishi07, creator of the When They Cry series of visual novels. It’s clear that Konami is looking for fresh talent, and arguably Junji Ito would be the golden goose. A fresh story written by Ito, or even a game inspired by his work, could be amazing.
Of course, we have to consider the elephant in the room: Hideo Kojima. The two are good friends, and have continued to collaborate following Silent Hills’ cancellation. Kojima and Konami went their separate ways in 2015 on seemingly unhappy terms. As such, whether Ito would return to the company for a new game himself is up in the air.
