In the town of Silent Hill, the rumor mill churns endlessly. With no new releases since 2014’s P.T., fans have been speculating for years that a new Silent Hill title is in the works, with a resurgence of recent gossip suggesting everything from Konami partnering with Hideo Kojima to an outright sale of the iconic horror IP to Sony Interactive Entertainment.

After making quite a splash in the blood-red pool of video game horror in recent years, Bloober Team has also been linked with the alleged Silent Hill reboot. However, the lukewarm reception to its most recent release, The Medium, has led some fans to question whether the Polish developer is up to the task of revitalizing such a beloved franchise. Other recent Bloober Team titles like Layers Of Fear, while popular, have also been criticized for an over-reliance on jump scares as opposed to the slow-burn psychological horror that Silent Hill fans demand. However, cyberpunk horror gem Observer proves that the developer is more than capable of rising to the challenge of making a new Silent Hill game.

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How Observer’s Approach to Horror Would Work Perfectly in Silent Hill

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A crucial factor that is sometimes lost in the noise and hype surrounding Silent Hill is the fact that, even in its heyday, the series was never a major commercial success. Bloober Team have managed to generate returns from a number of releases despite horror games still being relatively niche compared to more popular genres like action adventures or RPGs. It's important to remember that profits will ultimately drive Konami to either resurrect or neglect its legendary series, so this is a good sign for the potential revival. Observer continued Bloober Team’s recent strong sales performance, performing well enough to enable a graphically enhanced re-release entitled Observer: System Redux.

Fans, meanwhile, care much less about profits than they do about getting their hands on a new Silent Hill game after such a long, barren period - though they also care about the games being true to the franchise’s roots. Observer was described by reviewers as a combination of Silent Hill and Blade Runner, demonstrating that the title is as much a psychological horror game as a science fiction experience. The involvement of celebrated Silent Hill composer Akira Yamaoka in soundtracking The Medium is further evidence of Bloober Team’s ties to the franchise’s glory days.

Observer also showcased Bloober Team’s ability to craft an oppressive, horrifying world, featuring hallucinatory sequences where its main character hacks the brains of suspects and dying murder victims. The dread-infused, surreal atmosphere of Silent Hill was pivotal to the series, and Observer’s frightening setting and content provides reassurance to fans anxious that any future installments are able to maintain this sense of foreboding and unnerving weirdness.

Observer was praised not only for its environment and nightmarish tone, but also for its strong narrative and voice acting, including the talents of the late Rutger Hauer in one of the actor’s final performances. This should be further good news for fans of Silent Hill, who have particularly high standards for these elements of any upcoming releases. Konami’s attempts at re-recording the voice performances of the classic games for its ill-fated Silent Hill HD Collection were met with so much criticism that it was forced to negotiate with the original voice actors to include their audio in the final product.

Although Bloober Team has denied that it is working on a Silent Hill title, fans of the franchise should check out Observer before they dismiss the Polish developer’s psychological horror credentials. However, while Observer’s strong story, vocals, atmosphere, and commercial performance provide comfort that a new Silent Hill game would be safe in its hands, fans will surely reserve judgement until a new game worthy of the illustrious series is delivered.

Observer: System Redux is available now for the PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One and Xbox X/S.

MORE: The Medium and Observer: System Redux Physical Releases Coming Soon