As P.T. makes its way out of the shadow realm Konami had cast it into upon firing Hideo Kojima, PC players are finally realizing just how unparalleled it is in scares, even though it’s already a decade old. Just imagine what could’ve been if Konami hadn’t cut its life short.
That’s right, even though most PS4 users who made it all the way through described it as the best horror experience of their lives, and those who failed to finish it declared the same via their actions, Konami threw the whole thing in the trash after its infamous but still mysterious falling out with would-be Silent Hills director Hideo Kojima. The series would go into dormancy for nearly a decade until the release of 2024’s Silent Hill: The Short Message. It was a welcome free Silent Hill experience, but one that paled in comparison to what had come before. Do you know who didn’t let P.T.’s lessons go to waste? Konami’s biggest rival in the horror scene.
Resident Evil was in a massive slump after Resident Evil 6. Though it sold very well, that happened mostly because people were still so high on Resident Evil 4 and, to a lesser degree, RE5, that they’d immediately devour anything from the mainline RE series. Capcom had tried three different campaigns for Resident Evil 6, and nothing really landed with fans. There was nowhere to go, or at least until Konami delivered the answer on a platter. The people behind Resident Evil, the series that had basically given birth to all other survival horror titles in existence, correctly thought it acceptable not to let such a lesson go to waste.
You might not remember now, but it wasn’t just Resident Evil 7 that relied heavily on inspiration from P.T. The entire promotional campaign did. It began with a mysterious demo that was both atmospheric and borderline nonsensical, which naturally got serious Internet traction. The demo got periodic updates, which kept hype at a fever pitch by the time Resident Evil 7 came out. It sold over 15 million copies, more than the Silent Hill series’ total sales before dormancy.
With such a hit on their hands, Capcom naturally continued the First-Person RE trend with Village, which sold over 12 million units. Resident Evil Requiem has already sold over 8 million units without even being out for a full year, and that success comes from mixing the two most popular formulas in the series’ history: P.T.-inspired Resi + Leon S. Kennedy.
I’ve been critical of Kojima’s writing in the past, but I truly believe he would shine in the horror genre. When he first talked about his plans for Silent Hills, Kojima said he’d originally set out to make a game that would make players piss their pants, but upon further discussion with Guillermo Del Toro, the team decided to instead design a game that would make players shit their pants. And the best part is that he might’ve been able to pull it off. P.T. has the best atmosphere in horror games—perhaps in all of horror—and I’m sure the man’s inventiveness would’ve blown millions of minds with its ability to come up with never-before-seen scares.
The Silent Hill series has since been reborn with the Souls-inspired Silent Hill f, the Silent Hill 2 remake, and Silent Hill Townfall. Out of the three, I especially liked the remake, but I still need to know what could’ve been had Silent Hills become a thing. I really hope OD scratches that tasty itch.
