Silent Hill: Where Did It All Go Wrong?

Back So Soon? It's Like You Never Left...

Whereas most sequels go for the bigger and bolder approach, doubling down on action or bombastic set pieces, 2001's Silent Hill 2 went in a different direction entirely. Not literally, mind, as it was still set in the titular town. Whilst naysayers may think that the concept would get stale, it actually became the sequel's biggest strength.

Largely sidelining the whole "cult thing" from the first game, the story was more streamlined into that of James Sunderland and the Curious Case of the Supposedly Dead Wife. This time around, there was more life in the town, as James crossed paths with residents with their own agenda, as well as the oppressive feeling that the town itself could be... well, not alive, but sentient.

That it didn't follow the same narrative as the first worked in its favour, as well as the graphical and technical leap onto the PlayStation 2 saw it garner critical acclaim on release. The success and reception saw it ported to Xbox later that same year, with additional content, to equal acclaim on Microsoft's proprietary console.

So, what could the next game do? If it followed in the same footsteps as the second one did, it would start to get stale. Instead, Konami went back to the first one as source material and somehow managed to interweave a connecting story in that didn't diminish or ignore the efforts of Silent Hill 2. It continued the legacy that Harry Mason left, as you go back to exploring more of the town, dark world and all, to get to the bottom of Heather's story.

There won't be any spoiler if you aren't familiar with what happens, but suffice to say it told a damn fine story by the end of it. The fog mechanic somewhat lifted in favour of darker visuals and theme, it was also well received on its release. Despite being released only two years after the last game, that Konami switched the story and setting around again only aided it, without cries of staleness seeping in.

By now, Silent Hill was three main games in, each one riding high on reviewer and audience reception. Konami had cemented its place as a top tier publisher with two critically acclaimed franchises, Silent Hill and Metal Gear Solid respectively, across the last two generations of consoles. Where could the series go next, if not any higher?