I woke up this morning to an odd surprise. A game called PT showed up for free by some indie studio I’d never heard of. A similar phenomena occurred to me on Steam with a horrible game called… well I don’t remember the game. It was bad. You had a flashlight. There were literal youtube screamers in the game and something about vampires in a Russian town.
Being a fan of horror games and free things I installed it to give it a shot.
And that’s how it began. Me in first-person, cockroaches skittering around, and a door. What followed was a couple hours of some of the most intense, atmospheric horror I’ve felt in a game in a decade. This was not the indie piece of shit I installed on Steam and instantly forgot.
This is a polished gem with real production value and an amazing attention to detail. This is substantial.
As I played a little bit more. I noticed an elaborate loop unfolding. Around the time I heard a voiceover at once describing a murder scene, rather matter-of-factly, while also talking directly to me and warning me about tap water, the game was beginning to feel familiar. I’ve felt this exact type of slow deliberate horror and suspense before. A lasting fear with story subtlety woven in… this is starting to feel like…
Silent Hill.
I took to the internet – I was stumped on a puzzle anyway… and this bitch showed up…
As I heard the wet slurping and cracking sounds that could only be my body breaking, I read on.
IT IS SILENT HILL.
Well sort of. If you missed Gamescon, live in a hole, or spent the last week changing diapers and working on a book like I have, a new game was announced called “Silent Hills.”
I consider Silent Hill 2 to be a top-ten favorite game. Beyond that I actually liked The Room for the premise. Of course after The Room they’re all shit. But not this one. P.T. gives me hope. It’s doing everything right. It’s viral marketing used in a genius way… a familiarly genius way. Like MGS2 Solid Snake used in gameplay trailers that were actually Raiden genius. Like Mobidick Studios 2012 genius.
“Hideo Kojima collaborating with Guillermo Del Toro on the new game: Silent Hills.” I went on to read.
I just woke up from a nerdgasm induced coma, I’m so fucking excited. You can’t tell but I actually started this post at 9 a.m. this morning when the coma hit. It’s a miracle my son fed himself and, I’m happy to report, is still alive.
Wait… did that say Del Toro too?
Dead baby Kaiju… fucking of course Del Toro.
Oh, wait… there’s more. Norman “Boondock Saint, Fuck Walkers, I’m a Bad Ass” Reedus.
The leather jacket sleeve I saw waking up in game should’ve given it away. This game has so much awesome surrounding it and it’s just a fucking playable teaser (PT, get it?). There’s more atmosphere and attention to detail and care than the last 4 Silent Hills combined. I’ve just shit my pants more in the last hour over this game than the last decade of the genre.
That said. Expectation is a bitch. It’s my job to remain skeptical… but it’s so difficult to. If Silent Hills is released with half the effort put into PT, it’s going to be the best Silent Hill since 2.