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It’s no surprise that with David Lynch‘s passing earlier this month, filmmakers have been coming out of the woodwork to celebrate the man and his talent for the surreal, and being a source of inspiration for many. It wasn’t just filmmakers that were taking the time to talk about Lynch, however. Game developers such as Sam Lake to Hideo Kojima were also giving thanks for the man who inspired them.

As a result, there are several titles that have drawn inspiration from Lynch’s works, many of which are common knowledge, while some are lesser known. Regardless, once you dive into them, the light goes on and you realize yourself that Lynch himself could very well have made the crossover to video games at some point.

And really, who can forget that iconic PlayStation 2 commercial?

But enough rambling. Here’s a selection of titles that have roots...

After the disappointment for horror fans at The Game Awards this year, horror fans got their redemption in short order with The Horror Game Awards 2024. And unlike TGAs, Silent Hill 2 wasn’t shut out. On the contrary, Bloober Team’s remake of Konami’s classic took home Game of the Year honours, along with three other awards.

In addition to Game of the Year, Silent Hill 2 earned awards for Best Performance (Luke Roberts as James Sunderland), Best Soundtrack (Akira Yamaoka) and Best Survival Horror Game. And while Silent Hill 2-related, but technically not, Masahiro Ito won the Lifetime Achievement Award for his career’s work.

Meanwhile, Wrong Organ’s Mouthwashing and The Chinese Room’s Still Wakes The Deep were the other multiple award winners of the show. Mouthwashing took home Best Narrative and the Players’ Choice Award, while Still Wakes The Deep won awards for Technical Achievement and Best Indie Horror.

Silent Hill 2 was released in 2001 and recently just got a very successful remake. Recently, Masahiro Ito, the game’s art director, confirmed that the creature’s origin is rooted in reality within the game’s universe. Silent Hill 2’s Pyramid Head remains one of the most chilling and memorable creatures in survival horror history.

Image Credit: Bloober Team

Ito confirmed that Pyramid Head wasn’t merely a figment of protagonist James Sunderland’s imagination but instead originated from a painting within the game. This revelation has put to rest years of speculation among fans, suggesting that James’ encounters with the creature were influenced by something tangible

Silent Hill 2‘s Pyramid Head Just Got a Whole Lot Creepier

Pyramid Head’s introduction in the original 2001 release of Silent Hill 2 remains one of gaming’s most disturbing moments. As James searches for his deceased wife in Silent Hill,...

It’s amazing just how many horror videogame creators are content with simply sharing their work for free despite this being one of the most difficult artforms to master. With mainstream gaming becoming increasingly more expensive, I find it extremely fortunate that so many developers are looking out for horror fans who can’t quite keep up with expensive new releases.

And as we reach the tail-end of the spooky season, we’ve decided to come up with a list recommending six free horror games that are perfect for Halloween. After all, everyone is entitled to at least one good scare during October – even if it comes from a free video game!

Naturally, these entries were selected according to personal opinion, but we won’t be including any demos on this list, as those are just interactive advertisements for premium games.

With that out of the way, don’t forget...

One longtime question from the original Silent Hill 2 that has carried over into the remake is why Laura cannot see the town's monsters. Being a character connected to Mary, she becomes important to the story even though her existence sometimes feels out of place. With her wandering around the town with no fears, fans have speculated on the reason the monsters never affect her. After 23 years since the release of the original game, official confirmation surrounding the reason Laura does not see Silent Hill's monsters may just put this question to rest.

[Warning: Spoilers for Silent Hill 2 and Silent Hill 3.]

Laura is an interesting character, bringing a child-like innocence to Silent Hill. She is seen playing and drawing, a strange sight compared to all the monster encounters that James experiences. The reason she is present is clear in her search for Mary, but it presents an odd feeling that fans are right to theorize about.

The Silent Hill 2 remake includes a detail that is so easy to miss but confirms a theory that is as old as the game itself. The remake made a lot of changes that also honored the original game, including subtle references that veteran players will immediately recognize. This detail has become a huge breakthrough in the following and confirms a fan theory that deepens the game's story in an already rich and immersive narrative.

[Warning: Major spoilers for Silent Hill 2.]

The remake, developed by Bloober Team, presents a lot of dedication to respecting and enhancing the original game's legacy. With details like the new Glimpses of the Past feature and other subtle references to the game's history and iconic Easter eggs, the commitment towards pleasing fans of the original is clear. The decision to include a minor, yet impactful detail like this is a huge ordeal for the fanbase, confirming a long-present theory.

Silent Hill 2 is well known for its dark and mind-bending twist endings, but some of the most memorable are the bonus joke endings in the franchise. After helping James overcome his fears and trauma throughout the game, many players might need a bit of humor to cheer themselves up after their grim time in the town of Silent Hill. Thankfully for long-time fans of the series, two of the best joke endings in the franchise make their grand return in the Silent Hill 2 remake.

[Warning: This article contains spoilers for several bonus endings from the Silent Hill 2 remake.]

Being a faithful remake of the beloved 2001 classic, the Silent Hill 2 remake brings back all the endings from the original, recreated in their entirety. The developers at Bloober Team even included two additional endings that weren't in the original Silent Hill 2 for players to unlock, both having significant implications that build on pre-existing endings to James' story. These additions...

The release of the Silent Hill 2 remake will inevitably bring new fans flocking to the landmark horror franchise. This is the first time any major installment in the Silent Hill series has been available on modern consoles; its lackluster HD remaster was limited to PS3. Couple that with the fact that it's the series' most iconic installment - and a pretty faithful adaptation of Silent Hill 2 to boot - and there's scarcely been a better time in the past two decades to get into Silent Hill.

[Warning: This article contains spoilers for the ending of Silent Hill 2.]

But with scores of new players descending into the fog for the first time, many players will be fooled by a familiar face: Pyramid Head: canon name Red Pyramid Thing. Silent Hill 2 marked the debut of the pointy-headed punisher, who's since become a series icon, in no small part due to Masahiro Ito's stunningly brutal character design. He...

The new Duskmourn set for Magic: The Gathering is getting a Special Guest card designed by a celebrated artist from the Silent Hill series. The lead monster designer and art director of the first three Silent Hill titles, Masahiro Ito, has contributed his art to an upcoming card. Ito is well-known for his iconic monster designs, including the terrifying Pyramid Head.

The new card was unveiled at Pax West, as spotted by Wargamer, and will be a reprint of the Damnation card with new art. The new Damnation features Ito's reimagining of Valgavoth, the central villain of Duskmourn.

Magic: The Gathering Duskmourn's Valgavoth Is The Perfect Choice For Damnation The Elder Moth Is No Stranger To Destruction

Special Guest cards are valid Mtg card reprints that feature special art by popular artists. The artists are tasked with recreating the card artwork to fit the current world or expansion of the game.

The PlayStation 3 had some absolute gems when it came to the horror franchise. Dead Space 2, The Evil Within, Alien Isolation, and Siren Blood Curse. The last on the list may be the more obscure among them, but it was able to bring some innovations to the genre that even the bigger names didn’t achieve.

Sadly, it is very likely to be lost to time as there are no remasters or remakes planned. In fact, not many people even know about the game or the team behind it. But, for fans of horror games, it would be a shame to miss it for the scares and laughs it offers.

Siren Blood Curse Was a Smorgasbord of Body Horror Visuals Siren Blood Curse required dealing with many perspectives. | Credits: YouTube – P.B. Horror Gaming

Using the human body to create unsettling and downright terrifying experiences takes effort. Such is the genre of body horror,...

Every discussion of horror in gaming requires a mention of one of the Silent Hill games. The franchise is not only one of the most popular but also one of the few to have multiple entries in the genre. With such a legacy, it’s only natural that gamers would want a deep dive into the creative process behind the series.

Silent Hill 2 is an original story, but that doesn’t mean the creators weren’t inspired by other forms of media. A well-known artist who worked on the game admitted that one of the most iconic movie directors inspired the events that happened in the game.

David Lynch Movies a Major Source of Inspiration for Silent Hill 2 Artists

Different forms of media are constantly inspiring and influencing each other, leading to an amalgamation of some of the best aspects of content. When two strong talents collide with each other,...

The upcoming survival horror title, Silent Hill 2 Remake is a highly anticipated title that’s being developed by Bloober Team. The game is based on the original title that came out in 2001, and still kindles a spark in the gaming community when discussing games with strong psychological themes.

However, this time around, the game is going to have a much longer campaign, and fans are wondering how this will work. This will give players a chance to experience parts of the narrative they haven’t before.

Players Are Eager to Experience More of a Familiar Story

When it comes to Konami and Bloober Team, a blend of masterful storytelling comes into play. The two are known for crafting some of the best psychological horror experience with games like Layers of Fear and The Medium.

Related“My wallet is ready”: From Silent Hill 2 To A Quiet Place, Halloween 2024 Is Shaping...

As we inch closer to the release of the Silent Hill 2 Remake, fans are increasingly hyped, and the discourse for the game has taken off. A collaboration between Bloober Team and Konami’s Silent Hill team, the game is set to drop on October 8, 2024, and it’s safe to say that the hype is real—especially in the West.

What about the game’s reception in Japan, its country of origin? There seems to be a noticeable gap in popularity between Japanese and Western audiences, and it’s been that way for a long time.

The Difference in Silent Hill 2’s National vs. Global Popularity

The disparity became obvious when a recent tweet highlighted the sheer difference in views between the Japanese and international trailers for the Silent Hill 2 Remake.

In just 22 hours, the Japanese trailer racked up a modest 3.1 million views. Not bad, right? Well, not until you...

After letting the cat out of the bag earlier during the Sony State of Play regarding the release date for Silent Hill 2, Konami has followed that up with the latest edition of Silent Hill Transmission. The event mainly focused on Silent Hill 2, but also delved into Christophe Gans‘ upcoming Return to Silent Hill film.

The event kicked off with an extended 13-minute look at the gameplay of Silent Hill 2, jumping around various moments in the game. We get scenes of James getting the iconic radio, the reveal of Laura and Maria, the nurses in Brookhaven, and culminating in the appearance of the Flesh Lip. Pre-orders are now open on Steam and the PlayStation Store, with bonuses including a Mira the Dog mask, and exclusive to the PS5, a Robbie the Rabbit mask.

We’re also getting a Deluxe Edition of Silent Hill 2. Along with the game,...

The Silent Hill 2 remake trailer may have had some questionable elements, but thanks to that, fans now have a satirical spin on the footage. Silent Hill 2 is an extremely iconic game that revolutionized the survival horror genre and has left its mark ever since its release, all the way back in 2001. When fans heard about the remake, expectations were very high. But there’s also a lot of concern about what might change in the process, as is the case sometimes with remakes.

The original game is being remade by Bloober Team, the studio behind Layers of Fear and The Medium, and is set to release sometime in 2024. A combat trailer for the remake was released on February 1, but a new satirical trailer might have stemmed from the official Silent Hill 2 remake trailer.

The Satirical Silent Hill 2 Remake Trailer Has Everything That Fans Don’t Want...

Silent Hill: The Short Message is a free, first-person horror game that explores themes of self-harm, suicide, and abuse. The gameplay in The Short Message is not groundbreaking, but the story is handled well and has the potential to engage players. The game effectively incorporates modern elements, such as text messages and references to the Covid-19 pandemic, while also featuring the involvement of original Team Silent members.

Silent Hill: The Short Message is heavily themed around self-harm, suicide, and abuse, and it is impossible to discuss the game without also talking about these points in some detail. Reader discretion is encouraged.

Konami's Silent Hill: The Short Message is the company's first real attempt to return to the series since Hideo Kojima's P.T. experiment, and serves as an interesting parallel to what came before. P.T. was originally billed as a demo for an unnamed game from 7780s Studio,...

The upcoming remake of Silent Hill 2 will apparently include a playable origin story for Pyramid Head, an iconic monster from the original game. This new content coming to the remake was discovered via a pre-order listing for the upcoming survival horror game, which is being developed by Bloober Team. Fans have already voiced their concerns over such changes to the source material, as providing more context to Pyramid Head could fundamentally ruin the character.

As development continues on the upcoming remake of Silent Hill 2, the game's pre-order information has revealed that it will seemingly include an origin story for one of the game's most iconic villains, Pyramid Head - which, unfortunately, has a good chance of turning out poorly. One of the all-time classics of the survival horror genre, Silent Hill 2 is likely the most notorious and well-known game in the franchise, going on to inspire several...

Update: Konami has now stated that the original Best Buy production information page was incorrect. The listing has since been updated to remove the line regarding Pyramid Head. No further information has been released as of this time. Our original story has been left unchanged as a reference for this new information.

Recently, the team behind Silent Hill: Ascension (an interactive series based on the Silent Hill franchise) had to shut down the chat feature that was supposed to be an essential part of the entire interactive experience. Why? Well, it turns out that the chat function was being overworked/abused by fans who kept spamming often lurid requests regarding, among other things, the sexual acts they would like Pyramid Head to perform on them.

It was an entirely predictable outcome for a project that seemed to be a terrible idea from the start. Remarkably, though, that arguably isn’t...

Alongside Bloober Team, the rest of the Silent Hill 2 remake team at Konami is making the rounds, spreading the good news about the game. IGN sat down with Silent Hill series producer Motoi Okamoto, as well as Silent Hill 2 concept artist Masahiro Ito and composer Akira Yamaoka to discuss the project, including the decision to go with Bloober Team as developer.

According to Okamoto, Konami settled on remaking Silent Hill 2 over the original due to SH2 being “the true psychological horror” identity of the series. “We decided that if the brand’s identity is true psychological horror, we needed to start by remaking Silent Hill 2. There were of course some people inside the company who thought it would be better to start with 1, but I wanted to start this project with something that symbolizes this identity.”‘

Okamoto elaborated, saying that during the time that Konami was discussing the revival of the series,...

When "Silent Hill 2" was released in 2001, the game changed the landscape of the survival horror genre in unprecedented ways. The second installment in the "Silent Hill" video game series accentuated the nightmarish terror of the original, transporting players into a liminal space where the most grotesque fears came alive. Among the many monsters that lurk around the shapeshifting town of Silent Hill is Pyramid Head, a faceless, hulking humanoid who still scares the bejesus out of players when revealed. Over the years, Pyramid Head achieved iconic status as a video game antagonist and began to represent the franchise as a whole. Although Pyramid Head was exclusively designed by Masahiro Ito to represent James Sunderland's repressed guilt in the second game, the growing popularity of the monster gradually distanced it from its original purpose.

Ito, who had served as art director and monster designer for "Silent Hill 2," was personally involved...

With the recent announcements made in the Konami livestream, most are likely more excited about the Silent Hill 2 remake than the new movie. The return of Christopher Gans as the director for the new movie was very disappointing, given how poorly the 2006 film was received by the audience and its depictions of certain core elements that made the franchise so popular. However, unlike the movie, Silent Hill 2 has an excellent reputation among fans of the series, with the remake having much better source material than the film.

Although the remake for Silent Hill 2 announced in the recent Konami livestream has gotten a mixed reception, with many remarking James Sunderland’s face looks weird in SH2's remake or expressing distrust in Bloober Team to capture the depth and feeling of the original’s story and characters, the announcement for a new Silent Hill movie was even more problematic.

The Silent Hill 2 remake is taking away the last safe space players had. Silent Hill 2 is a terrifying game in the Silent Hill series and one of the most influential horror games of all time. A remake for the game has recently been announced, developed by Bloober Team in conjunction with some of the original creators, including Akira Yamaoka and Masahiro Ito.

Bloober Team has stated that it wants the game to retain the same terrifying atmosphere as the original, but bring the visuals and gameplay up to a modern standard. Certain design aspects of Silent Hill 2 came as a result of hardware limitations, as the technology back in 2001 did not allow for an alternative while still maintaining the vision of the game. One of these aspects was the load screens, which split the game's large map into smaller areas. Bloober Team's Silent Hill 2 remake does not face these issues however,...

Konami’s Silent Hill livestream showcase event may have been surprisingly short, frustratingly vague, and (for some reason) released way too early, but it hasn’t taken long for fans to share their passionate reactions to the reveals we did get. After all, people have been waiting a long time for something (anything) related to Silent Hill that wasn’t just Dlc of varying quality (or slot machines). You’d better believe that people were waiting with their most emotional hot takes ready to go.

So far as that goes, the Silent Hill fan community has not disappointed. Indeed, a lot of the early chatter about the Silent Hill reveal event was focused on the fact that many people were thrilled to have an excuse to talk about anything related to Silent Hill again.

Silent Hill fans right now: pic.twitter.com/qLGyw5Jqgq

— Xeth (@Xethicz) October 16, 2022

Prior to the reveals themselves,...

Years of rumours and fan desires have been answered at last. Konami’s classic Silent Hill 2 is getting remade, courtesy of Bloober Team. Not only that, but we have several new entries in the series, as well as a new film by Christophe Gans!

Announced today during the Silent Hill Transmission, Konami will be bringing the remake of Silent Hill 2 to PC via Steam and PlayStation 5 first, with Xbox versions arriving later. Masahiro Ito and Akira Yamaoka are back to help development, and the game will offer an over-the-shoulder camera view this time around. And yes, Akira Yamaoka is back once again to score the remake! There’s no release date as of yet, but you can wishlist it now on the PlayStation Store (and Steam).

Along with the remake, Konami also announced a new entry in Silent Hill: Townfall, which is being worked on by Annapurna Interactive and No Code Games.

Dare to speak the name of the scariest horror game character you know about. Odds are that you just whispered the name of Silent Hill‘s most famous monster, “Pyramid Head.”

It’s always been a little odd that Pyramid Head became not just a legendary figure in horror gaming but the face of the Silent Hill franchise. After all, Pyramid Head (sometimes also called the “Red Pyramid Thing”) premiered in the second Silent Hill game and was supposed to be a one-off monster. Instead, he ended up arguably becoming more famous than the franchise he initially appeared in.

Of course, with that fame comes the inevitable question of “Why and how?” Why and how did Pyramid Head become more popular than the rest of Silent Hill’s cast combined? What makes him so special? The only Silent Hill monster who has achieved anywhere as much popularity was P.T.

Silent Hill art director Masahiro Ito recently took to Twitter once again and dropped some behind-the-scenes nuggets of info regarding the making of Silent Hill 2. The topic once again centred on the creation of everyone’s favourite monster in Pyramid Head, whose background was inspired by Mel Gibson‘s Braveheart.

According to Ito, the background of Pyramid Head as the executioner of the town came from the scene where Braveheart is executed (the famous “Freedom!” scene). Specifically, the hooded executioners were the inspiration behind the background of the franchise’s most famous antagonist.

“As to Pyramid Head, the background setting ‘as the executioner in the town’ was definitely inspired by the background character in Braveheart,” says Ito. “ut the background ‘as the character standing against James’ was inspired by this Louis’ quote from Jacob’s Ladder.”

Following that tweet, Ito then went back to a tweet that he had made...

The rumour mill for Konami’s Silent Hill franchise has been in full swing as of late.

From outlandish reports of Microsoft buying the Japanese publisher’s gaming back catalogue, to more plausible news of the company partnering with Sony to develop two brand new Silent Hill titles, to even the unlikely possibility of a re-collaboration between Konami and everyone’s favourite Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima. Long story short: even though there hasn’t been any official confirmation from the publisher, the Silent Hill series feels like it’s finally back in the spotlight now, and that’s even before mentioning the new cinematic sequel that’s officially been given the greenlight, too.

That said, some fresh new intel that pertains to Konami’s beloved survival horror franchise has begun to make the rounds, and it comes from one of 2020’s most prominent leakers, Dusk Golem Aka AestheticGamer over on Twitter.

The Silent Hill games are among the most unsettling works of horror ever made. This is in no small part thanks to Masahiro Ito, who worked as a monster designer on the first three games and the art director for Silent Hill 2 and 3, creating a line-up of ominous locations filled with memorable nightmare freaks like the…...

Amidst the critical praise and rabid fan discussion surrounding Netflix’s latest smash hit, “Stranger Things,” the word “influence” constantly pops up. Directors Matt and Ross Duffer have spoken at length about the movies and monster makers that have inspired their insane sci-fi horror series, from John Carpenter‘s “The Thing” to David Cronenberg‘s body horror designs, or Masahiro Ito’s macabre monsters in the “Silent Hill” video game series. At the center of the show’s parade of nightmares is the Demogorgon, a.k.a. The Monster, which remained in the shadows for several episodes letting viewers’ imaginations...

A spiritual successor to the Clock Tower horror game series, NightCry has a new teaser trailer directed by The Grudge's Takashi Shimizu...

Something horrible crawling out of a well. A bloodshot, staring eye. Hideous monsters apparently made from shadows and strands of burnt hair.

It's only 30 seconds long, but the teaser trailer for the forthcoming NightCry is a veritable compendium of Japanese horror staples - though that may be partly because it was directed by Takashi Shimizu, the filmmaker behind Ju-on: The Grudge.

Being live action, the trailer tells us relatively little about the game itself. NightCry is from the mind of Hifumi Kouno, and it's described as a spiritual successor to his own Clock Tower - the 1995 survival horror game that sent a shudder down players' spines with its multiple endings and atmosphere of creeping dread.

NightCry will be set on a luxury liner where the passengers are...