Silent Hill, the once-great psychological horror series from Konami, is definitely due for a revival. Cory Barlog, the man responsible for 2018’s God of War, wants to be the one to bring the franchise back from the dead.
In a post on Twitter, Barlog responded to tweet asking readers which series they would most like to see a remaster for. Four choices were offered: Metal Gear Solid, Twisted Metal, Xenosaga, and Silent Hill. Barlog was clear in which one he would go with. “Silent Hill. and let me do it,” he replied.
Silent Hill hasn’t seen a proper installment since 2012, when Konami released the main series entry Silent Hill: Downpour followed by the RPG spinoff, Silent Hill: Book of Memories. Neither were particularly well-received. Then there was the Silent Hills debacle in 2014. What began as a mysterious demo titled P.T., Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima surprised everyone when it was revealed that he would be working on the next chapter of the franchise. Of course, things unraveled pretty quickly after that with Kojima leaving Konami and the publisher cancelling the project, going so far as to remove the demo from the PlayStation store.
Barlog himself is no stranger to high-profile departures. The writer and director shot to fame for his work on God of War 2, which earned him a BAFTA award. However, after starting work on God of War 3, Barlog abruptly left Sony’s Santa Monica Studio in 2008, wanting more freedom to create the games he wanted to make. He bounced from project to project, working with LucasArts, spending time with George Miller on an adaptation of Mad Max: Fury Road, and directing parts of the 2013 reboot of Tomb Raider for Crystal Dynamics. He ultimately returned to Sony Santa Monica in 2013 and directed the latest God of War title that moved the series away from Greek mythology and into Norse legends.
It’s hard to imagine anyone having the mindset and passion to return Silent Hill to the standard that the original Team Silent set. The originally trilogy of games are some of the best examples of horror video games ever and it would be some task to recapture the feeling of dread that those titles delivered.
However, Cory Barlog might just have the chops to get a Silent Hill remake done. He has delivered some utterly amazing work with the God of War series and is also well-known for his passion when it comes to developing epic video games. On the flip side, considering the turbulent history of both Barlog and Konami, this union could end in disaster. Perhaps it’s better to leave the past in the past.
