Many horror games have come and gone over the last couple of years. There are a few that stand out and have made a lasting impact, though. One of those franchises has to be the Silent Hill series. Sure, the movie adaptations haven’t gone as smoothly as producers have hoped, but the video games — for the most part — provide stellar survival-horror experiences.
It all started with the first Silent Hill developed by Konami Computer Entertainment, which debuted all the way back in 1999. At the time, this game was revolutionary for its atmospheric vibe. You see, as you move about the map as the main protagonist Harry Mason, there’s fog everywhere. It blurs your vision of the path up ahead, which makes this game feel more expansive and open than it really is. It was a pretty novel design choice at the time.
So many years have past since this survival-horror game released, and yet, it still holds a loyal backing. Even to this day, there are those who appreciate what Konami did for the genre at the time. One of those users is game designer Zero Trace Operative. He has taken it upon himself to make over this first game in the series with a first-person perspective.
As you might imagine, this new perspective gives Silent Hill a completely different vibe and that’s a good thing. It makes exploring Silent Hill a much more creepy and tense experience. The entire time as Harry, you feel like something is approaching your back side. The only way to tell for sure is to turn around, which then leaves your back exposed on the opposite side.
It should be mentioned that you won’t be able to play through the entire game. That would be a massive undertaking and require a lot of resources. For now, though, players who want to check out this new first-person perspective in a classic can enjoy the first part of the game. You see, this is just a concept demo.
It’s currently out now on the itch.io platform. If you love this series and haven’t re-visited Silent Hill in quite some time, this demo may be just what the doctor ordered. It’s always amazing to see what fans of iconic gaming franchises do with the intellectual property. People are so creative today and this just benefits other gamers in the end. Props to Zero Trace Operative for giving us the chance to re-live some iconic survival-horror elements in a novel way.
