The Silent Hill series has been pivotal for the survival-horror genre overall. It was renowned for its iconic score and eerie settings, which stood out immediately because of the fog-ridden areas. The signature aesthetics were pretty much in every game, except for Silent Hill: Downpour — which replaced fog with rain.
Much to many fans’ dismay, the series did worse and worse in the sales department and eventually had to stop being made. That didn’t stop a passionate Hideo Kojima. Even though the franchise was pretty much dead in the water, he took time to develop one of the more unique interactive teasers of all time called P.T. (Silent Hills).
Unfortunately, the project was cancelled and soon taken off the PlayStation store. Seeing the potential of this unique take on the Silent Hill franchise, fans re-created the experience. It was a difficult endeavor, but one that paid off and gave fans the chance to see the limitless potential of this survival-horror experience.
Even still to this day, P.T. is a chilling experience that modders have had fun playing around with. One such modder recently came across some hidden content that gamers weren’t meant to discover. That modder was YouTuber Lance McDonald. He fortuitously stumbled upon a version of P.T. where a decapitated girl was laying in the bathtub. If you’ve had the opportunity to experience P.T., it’s safe to assume that this was Lisa — who randomly appears throughout your tour of the eerie house.
It’s Easter eggs like this that the horror community has really gotten behind. If you’ve never played Silent Hills, it is a completely different experience compared to previous Silent Hill games, Instead of a third-person perspective, it switches to a first-person perspective. Thus, there is added immersion that certainly adds to the creep-factor as you’re walking about searching for clues.
You awaken in a presumably haunted suburban house as an unknown character. As you tour the house, odd things start happening. The game has been compared to Layers of Fear, which is a pretty accurate comparison really. Though, this game is more chilling and has better graphics. You’re stuck in a loop and every time it’s completed, things change with the house. The game thus has great re-playability.
It’s a shame that Kojima stopped the project all together. However, if modders can continue to support the game and these efforts fuel the community, maybe P.T. can build enough buzz to warrant a full-version release. A horror gamer can dream, right?