Few games had the level of impact on the industry, the genre, and the pop culture landscape that theSilent Hillgames have. Although opinions are mixed about many later installments, the first fourSilent Hilltitles are considered classic staples of survival horror gaming. The two of them being remastered for PS3 and Xbox 360 back in 2012 should have been a step in the right direction after several years of questionable releases. Instead, theSilent Hill HD Collectionwent down in history as another stain on the series' reputation. However, 10 years later, theSilent Hill HD Collectionhas come to represent something else: The lasting power of truly great games.
Most gamers, if questioned, could probably nameSilent Hill 2as one of the greatest survival horror games of all time. There are many reasons this title is so beloved, but the single most important one is its smothering atmosphere. The tangible fear and despair found in the game are so well-known that fans are still eager to playSilent Hill 2over 20 years after its initial release. Unfortunately, uninformed fans have a tendency topick up theSilent Hill HD Collectioninstead. As theSilent Hill HD Collectionis notorious for the way it fumbled its porting of bothSilent Hill 2and its sequel, this is a problem.
RELATED:Silent Hill Fan Makes Art Using Metal and Rust
Silent Hill HD: There Was a Great Game Here
TheSilent Hillseries saw greater criticism over a number of years. It can be difficult to put into words exactly what happened. Whatever the case, aside from a false start in the form ofP.T.and the canceledSilent Hills, the last new mainlineSilent Hillgame was2012’sSilent Hill: Downpour. Although demand for newSilent Hillgames has been present since the very first title took the world by storm, it appears that Konami has become less and less interested in fulfilling that demand.
Silent Hill HD Collectioncame out at the very end of the franchise’s lifespan. This remaster could have been the thing to save theSilent Hillbrand from lapsing into dormancy. Instead, it ended up serving as a death knell for a series whose fans could not revive it through willpower alone. Aremake ofSilent Hill 2was considered long overdue at the time, and a remaster of both it andSilent Hill 3should have been well received. Unfortunately, a number of factors combined to make theSilent Hill HD Collectiona porting disaster.
The Day the Fog Went Away
Silent Hill’s monsters were inspired by modern artists, but a key part of the early games' visual design was inspired by hardware limitations.Silent Hill 1and2came out on the PS1 in 1999 and 2001; both titles' iconic thick fog was created to disguise the console’s short draw distance.Silent Hill 3came out for the PS2, but it continued to use thick fog to obscure the path ahead and shroud monsters in secrecy.
When theSilent Hill HD Collectioncame out, the fog transparency was turned down significantly, destroying much of the games' famous atmosphere in the process. This also impacted the transparency of glass and shadows. Furthermore, the remaster features a number of underwhelming new textures, and its versions ofSilent Hill 2and3shown are also much duller, darker, and less vivid as a whole.
If the visual issues weren’t enough to discourage fans from playing theSilent Hill HD Collection, it’s also plagued by technical problems. Apparently, the developers working on the remaster didn’t have access to the original source code forSilent Hill 2and3. This means that the team had to work with an unfinished build of the original games and screen it for bugs that were caught before the original releases.
The result is a remaster that crashes often, has trouble with lag, and occasionally fails to load rooms, thus leaving the player trapped in an inescapable void, among other problems. With all of these bugs, it’s no wonder that theSilent Hill HD Collectionfailed to turn things around for the franchise. What’s more surprising is thatSilent Hill’s legacy is still aliveand well long after the franchise itself went dormant.
RELATED:Slitterhead Developers Reveal Details on Creature Design, Game Engine, Structure, and More
The Hills are Silent, But the Love Lives On
Silent Hillwas one of the games that helped lay down the foundations of what the survival horror genre would be. Like many other fellow horror classics from the 1990s and early 2000s, the series went dormant after a string of questionable management and creative decisions. Thedecline ofSilent Hillmay well be what led to the existence of theSilent Hill HD Collection, at least in the state it was released in.
However, gamers around the world have refused to let that be the end of things. Many dormant classic titles have their dedicated fans and concerted social media marketing efforts, but theSilent Hillfanbase stands out because it continues to grow long after the franchise went quiet.
New fans continue to be lured in bySilent Hill 2’s reputation. Existing fans feel so strongly about the allure of the franchise’s aesthetic that they createmods turning other games intoSilent Hill-style survival horror titles. The themes, monster designs, and environments of theSilent Hillfranchise have gone on to become staples of the genre. As disappointing as theSilent Hill HD Collectionwas for veteran fans, it ultimately didn’t do anything to hinder the long-term popularity ofSilent Hillas a whole. This kind of staying power is incredibly impressive in an industry that frequently demands creators flood the market with new games to stay afloat.
Recently, sharp-eyed fans noticed thatKonami had renewed theSilent Hilltrademark. While there have been numerous canceledSilent Hillgames and other false starts, it’s possible that the franchise is finally being revived 10 years after its untimely end. Now is a time of remakes, reboots, and remasters, which could make this the ideal environment to resurrect the horror ofSilent Hill. With a bit of luck, the thick fog of the Otherworld will once again shroud this eerie resort town in fear and mystery.
