Silent Hill f’s success proves that the series can still thrive without its eponymous Maine town. While this caused a great rift between the purists and fans, the series developers want to bring more Silent Hill stories to different parts of the world.
In an interview with Inverse, Silent Hill developer Motoi Okamoto is looking forward to more Silent Hill games taking place in other countries. The Silent Hill team is interested in South Korea, Central or South America, Russia, and even Italy for its next title.
The interview was a clear sign that the series is slowly moving away from its American setting and toward a horror anthology format featuring mythologies and cultures from other countries. Here are a few country suggestions that greatly benefit from Silent Hill’s stylized approach to psychological horror:
The Philippines as a Silent Hill Setting
This Southeast Asian archipelago is rife with horror mythologies that still prevail today. It would only take Konami and whoever is developing a Silent Hill game based in the Philippines to take a closer look at some of the scariest tales and twist them in familiar Silent Hill fashion.
Places like Siquijor are notoriously known for their mysticism and witchcraft (or kulam), as well as creatures the aswang and tikbalang. Writers could add how folklore is deeply ingrained in the country’s daily lives, blurring the lines between superstition and religion. They could even tackle common Filipino issues like family dependency, conservatism, and religious manipulation, twisting them even further to create a personal hell for the protagonist.
Any other places in the country could work, so long as Konami tweaks these themes and myths to fit its psychological horror narrative.
Germany as a Silent Hill Setting
There’s a strong possibility that Konami is already planning to make a Silent Hill game set in Germany, a country best known for its Germanic folklore, including vampires and werewolves.
Konami could play along the country’s iconic abandoned castles and Gothic architecture. For a clear example, Robert Eggers’ recent film Nosferatu comes closest to delivering a true Gothic horror experience. As for a possible narrative, they could go for World War II-era stories recounting not just the real horrors of war, but the lasting trauma it caused to the country and its people.
Mexico as a Silent Hill Setting
A Silent Hill game set in Mexico could be a game-changer, as it is tricky to create a horror game in a country that reveres the dead. Konami would have to adjust the core principles of its psychological horror format to make it more culturally viable. Mexico’s Dia de los Muertos is the country’s most important holiday, but it could also act as a perfect setting for a Silent Hill story. Konami could play along with generational trauma or grief as protagonists refuse to remember their dead, causing mental distress as a result.
This list can go on, but the limitless possibilities of Konami stepping away from its established town could mark a fresh rebirth for the series. An anthology approach feels like a natural evolution that the series badly needed. Konami only needs to experiment with a country’s culture and mythologies, where the protagonist’s personal horrors are all laid bare.
It’s already widely known that Silent Hill is not defined by its geography, but by how its personal horrors shape its world. It’s clear that Konami is aware of this shift and sets its sights beyond its safe havens. It is the series’ best idea since remaking the classic entries, and Silent Hill f’s Japan setting was the first to prove that it is possible.
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