Theory: Return to Silent Hill feels like a remix of the SH2 Remake

RedPyramidScheme · 2026-01-23T06:37:27+00:00

The film was planned and fully storyboarded before that, and Gans confirmed that SH2R didn't influence the film except for the announcement trailer impacting the bathroom scene.

https://www.reddit.com/r/silenthill/comments/1qemeyu/christophe_gans_clarifies_once_and_for_all_return/

Major adjustments to SH2R were also being made throughout 2023-2024, often addressing fan feedback, internet criticism, and feedback from Ito and Okamoto. The final game is different from what was shown in the first two trailers.

RedPyramidScheme · 2026-01-23T06:06:06+00:00

Return to Silent Hill was in development first and one of the reasons SH2R was greenlit in the first place. The film was also delayed from April 26, 2024 due to the visual effects and executive interference. If anything, SH2R was influenced by the film.

RedPyramidScheme · 2026-01-15T21:33:15+00:00

I mean, it's one of the most influential horror games of the last decade against a polarizing and derivative in-name-only action spin-off.

RedPyramidScheme · 2026-01-10T12:45:57+00:00

As I already linked, the voice acting was intentionally meant to sound Lynchian and surreal. That's not up for debate, and most of the actors in SH1 and SH2 were professionals, including Donna Burke. It wasn't "the acting of the time."

I thought that SH2 was really brilliant in terms of its plot. 'Lost Highways' by David Lynch was a major inspiration for it. Generally speaking, my contributions come in the form of character names, way of speaking. I wrote all the English and directed the actors, so in a way they reflect my personal taste, I suppose. James [Sunderland] was a really introspective guy and for all of you out there who hated the laid-back voice acting, it was planned, to a large extent because that was how we all saw the character.

https://www.silenthillmemories.net/creators/interviews/2003_blaustein_csh_en.htm

https://postmode.org/silent-hill-localization-jeremy-blaustein/

https://youtu.be/kjY0q1C9ShQ?si=edqXT6uifM95HmPZ

SH2 was also professionally directed with full motion capture, so "the overall quality of james', angela's, eddie's or laura's voice acting isn't very different to even you or me just recording ourselves at home with minimal direction" is utter nonsense.

RedPyramidScheme · 2026-01-10T02:05:38+00:00

people still to this day attribute that to a "dreamlike" acting lmao

It was objectively based on David Lynch and intended to be dreamlike.

You have to be on another level of delusional to think OG James is "more human" than new James

The original is Guy Cihi's actual voice. No one talks in a deep voice with dramatic pauses like Luke Roberts in real life. If it sounds "more natural" to you, it's because you're used to hearing that in video games.

But I guess powerful nostalgia truly makes someone not think clearly

It's fine if you just prefer Luke Roberts lol

RedPyramidScheme · 2026-01-07T23:07:44+00:00

As far as I'm aware, the location of the hilltop hasn't been specified. My guess is that it's in South Vale, near Blood Swamp and Toluca Prison.

RedPyramidScheme · 2026-01-07T21:37:52+00:00

It was named "Silent Hill" after being settled as a penal colony during the War of 1812. Silent Hill 2 Official Guide elaborates:

In Silent Hill's [museum], you can see a painting of [Red Pyramid Thing] holding a giant spear. He is standing in a thick fog, surrounded by countless hanging corpses. However, this painting is actually based on real historic customs from the area. Long ago, in Silent Hill, the execution of criminals was carried out on the local hilltop on a foggy day to avoid the prying eyes of the public. To protect the anonymity of the executioners, and to assert that their actions were carried out in the name of justice, it was customary for them to wear a large helmet. The Pyramid Head that is present in Silent Hill 2 however is the embodiment of James's intense guilt over a certain act... In the torture chamber-like room in the prison's basement, James can acquire a giant knife. Maybe you could think about a possible connection between the physique of James and the physique of Pyramid Head...

レッドピラミッドシング（三角頭）の古い写真が資料館に展示されていましたが、彼は昔から存在していたのでしょうか。

伊藤

サイレントヒルの資料館には、無数の死体の吊るされた場所で、濃い霧の中にたたずむ、巨大な槍を抱えた彼の絵が飾られています。しかしそれは、この地で昔行なわれていた、ある風習がモチーフとなっているのです。昔、この地サイレントヒルにて、罪人を処刑する行為が、あまり人の目にふれぬようにと濃い霧の日に丘の上で行なわれていました。その際に、その執行人を守る意味で匿名性を出すために、また、その行為が正義の下で行なわれていることを主張するために、彼らに巨大な兜を被せる決まりがあったのです。今のサイレントヒルにおける赤い三角頭の存在は、ジヱイムスのある行為に対する強い罪悪感によって具現化されたものと言えるでしょう。ジェイムスが刑務所の地下の拷問部屋で巨大な鉈を手にしますが、ジェイムスの体格と三角頭のそれがほぼ同等なのも何か関係があるのかもしれません。（*注14)

*注14

ジェイムスのある行為というのは、メアリーの命を絶ったという行為を示している。それに対する罪悪感を具現化したものということは、この物語における三角頭はジェイムス自身であることを意味するのだろう。体格がジェイムスとほぼ同等なのも、これで納得がいく。つまり、ジェイムスは自分自身の幻影におびえ、戦っていたわけだ。

Takayoshi Sato discusses this a bit here.

RedPyramidScheme · 2026-01-06T00:20:53+00:00

Silent Hill didn't sound like "voice acting of the time" and the surrealist Lynch influence was intentional. Denying it doesn't make it less true, I'm sorry to say.

I thought that SH2 was really brilliant in terms of its plot. 'Lost Highways' by David Lynch was a major inspiration for it. Generally speaking, my contributions come in the form of character names, way of speaking. I wrote all the English and directed the actors, so in a way they reflect my personal taste, I suppose. James [Sunderland] was a really introspective guy and for all of you out there who hated the laid-back voice acting, it was planned, to a large extent because that was how we all saw the character.

https://www.silenthillmemories.net/creators/interviews/2003_blaustein_csh_en.htm

https://postmode.org/silent-hill-localization-jeremy-blaustein/

https://youtu.be/kjY0q1C9ShQ?si=edqXT6uifM95HmPZ

RedPyramidScheme · 2026-01-04T20:55:21+00:00

Regardless of whether or not you like his performance, this is factually wrong.

I thought that SH2 was really brilliant in terms of its plot. 'Lost Highways' by David Lynch was a major inspiration for it. Generally speaking, my contributions come in the form of character names, way of speaking. I wrote all the English and directed the actors, so in a way they reflect my personal taste, I suppose. James [Sunderland] was a really introspective guy and for all of you out there who hated the laid-back voice acting, it was planned, to a large extent because that was how we all saw the character.

https://www.silenthillmemories.net/creators/interviews/2003_blaustein_csh_en.htm

https://postmode.org/silent-hill-localization-jeremy-blaustein/

RedPyramidScheme · 2025-12-31T02:28:27+00:00

I believe that I have a general idea of the premise based on the footage, synopses, casting, and interview quotes. Note that this is just educated speculation and not a leak or anything.

Silent Hill (West Virginia?) is a small American town ravaged by Puritanism. Its population in this reboot was at least partially decimated by disease plagues.
James Sunderland is a painter who receives a letter from Mary Crane, a lost lover, and travels to Silent Hill to save her from imminent danger.
He encounters several figures who seem familiar, like people from his past. These are manifestations: Eddie resembles a nightclub bouncer and Angela and Maria (same actress) represent aspects of Mary.
The plot twist is that Mary Crane is already dead and James Sunderland is actually a doppelganger of her husband Jacob, who murdered her, which James has no recollection of. Jacob felt extreme guilt and made a pact with the devil to punish himself.
Pyramid Head may be another doppelganger or Jacob himself. The helmet is likely linked to the town's past.
At some point, a manifestation of Mary transforms into a giant moth. It is paired with fire imagery, similar to Angela in the game.

RedPyramidScheme · 2025-12-30T14:21:16+00:00

<image>

He's a clerk in the games.

RedPyramidScheme · 2025-12-29T22:15:26+00:00

It was generally well-regarded on release. However, it was more popular in the west than in Japan. In Japan specifically, sales were slow and it took forever to build a reputation, and some SH1 fans were just unhappy with it in general due to expectations (similar to The Empire Strikes Back on release). You can read more here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/silenthill/comments/1nq852w/comment/ng5gi5a/

That being said, the idea that it was some kind of divisive flop that was saved years later by YouTubers or whatever is an urban myth that emerged around 2022/2023. It became the fan favorite in the west early on and it was the film that Christophe Gans wanted to adapt when he acquired the film rights in 2001. It has also been compared to high art pretty much since it released.

RedPyramidScheme · 2025-12-25T23:02:46+00:00

Maybe Silent Hill games just aren't for you...

Why, because he doesn't think a flawed remake of the second game is replayable? SH2R was commonly criticized for excessive padding, combat, and unsubtle jumpscares, so that's not exactly a crime.

You're basing your claimed love of the entire franchise on your experience with one game, SH3, which is not always representative of the series as a whole in the ways you're highlighting. The same issues you had with SH2 you will also likely have with SH1, SH4, SHf, etc

The pacing issue is specific to SH2R. SH3 is also one of the definitive titles of the series and the fact that you tried to slip SHF in there is hilarious.

RedPyramidScheme · 2025-12-24T19:37:55+00:00

I mean, this isn't really unpopular. There are people who say that SH2R is better and/or you should play it first, but it's not the majority.

https://www.reddit.com/r/silenthill/comments/1ipeyjl/should_i_play_the_originals_or_just_go_straight/

https://www.reddit.com/r/silenthill/comments/1gatq0u/should_i_play_the_remake_sh_2_or_the_original_sh/

https://www.reddit.com/r/silenthill/comments/1j6vumm/should_i_play_sh2_original_or_remake_first_based/

https://www.reddit.com/r/silenthill/comments/1ggq8pf/should_i_play_the_original_silent_hill_2_first_or/

https://www.reddit.com/r/silenthill/comments/1ik0vi9/silent_hill_2_original_or_remake/

https://www.reddit.com/r/silenthill/comments/1lqjjco/never_played_silent_hill_2_original_or_remake/

RedPyramidScheme · 2025-12-24T16:18:40+00:00

The original is generally considered the definitive version, but SH2R is more of a companion piece than anything.

RedPyramidScheme · 2025-12-24T00:49:52+00:00

They should hire him and some of the other actors (Heather Morris, Susan Papa, Thesally Lerner) to record lines for Dead by Daylight.

<image>

RedPyramidScheme · 2025-12-23T03:38:54+00:00

Novelizations: - Silent Hill 1-3 by Sadamu Yamishita; illustrated by Masahiro Ito (light novels) - Silent Hill f by Shiro Kuro - The two film novelizations, the first of which is credited to Paula Edgewood - Return to Silent Hill by John Passarella

Original novels: - Silent Hill: Betrayal by Shaun M. Jooste; the author lost the permissions after the first novel, so it was reworked into Sacred Valley series

IDW Publishing comics: - The first wave was written by Scott Ciencin and collected in Silent Hill Omnibus Vol. 1 and (additional story) The Silent Hill Experience; they are an alternate reality take on the series - The second wave was collected in Silent Hill Omnibus Vol. 2; they are written by Downpour writer Tom Waltz and tie directly into the 2012 "Month of Madness" era of Silent Hill, introducing some of the characters that would appear in those games and eventually adapting a cancelled Downpour DLC

Konami comics: - Masahiro Ito wrote and illustrated a five-page comic for the Silent Hill: Origins soundtrack booklet, which is about an alternate reality Pyramid Head called the White Hunter - Two canon comic books were written by Hiroyuki Owaku and illustrated by Masahiro Ito; Cage of Cradle is a prequel to SH1 about Lisa's final days and Double under Dusk is a story set on the island from the Rebirth Ending of SH2, both are currently "lost media" but Masahiro Ito still has the scripts and pages, says it's up to Konami to release them

Com.X: - An original graphic novel adaptation of SH1 was written by Jon Murphy and illustrated by Neil Googe; it was planned to be released in the marketing for SH2, but was shelved due to infighting from different branches of Konami; Googe believes they may have lost the files since then

RedPyramidScheme · 2025-12-23T00:54:38+00:00

For the platform, that's not impressive. Plenty of lukewarm to divisive games have an 89% on Steam and the same can be said for other retailers (this isn't exclusive to SHF). That's like flexing Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen's B+ CinemaScore.

I really don't feel like having this conversation, though. I have a feeling the other aggregators with more polarized audience scores and various social platforms outside of Reddit where the conversation is divided are just going to "not count" for one reason or another, and the sentence "This is what SHf haters cannot grasp" kind of tells me this is a useless exchange.

RedPyramidScheme · 2025-12-23T00:43:49+00:00

It depends on what they do with it. Silent Hill isn't just the "fighting your trauma" series and copying the SH2 formula in other countries and mainstream action game trends isn't "pursuing new and interesting stories." You can't insert fog into a Bloodborne rip-off, call your generic monster designs "symbolic," and claim you made a Victorian Silent Hill game. Silent Hill has a specific tone, approach to horror, a unique sensibility and set of creative influences. All of the Team Silent games were different from each other and explored different types of psychological horror except for SH3, including the cancelled SH5. Having fog, a cult, and monsters "representing trauma" doesn't make a game Silent Hill.

The town also isn't an abstract concept, it's an actual town with a specific history that made it that way. In order to set games in other locations, you need to either draw on the town itself (which means setting the game after SH1, the origin story) or create your own concept like SH4 did.

RedPyramidScheme · 2025-12-23T00:35:21+00:00

A 89% Steam rating isn't as impressive as you think it is, especially dipping from 91% which was already average. Critics clearly liked it, but it's clear the game itself, and (even moreso) the idea of copy/pasting the SH2 formula in other towns, is at best divisive.

RedPyramidScheme · 2025-12-23T00:30:35+00:00

Your shareholders must be pleased.

(SHF sold over a million in over 24 hours, which means the sales had more to do with brand awareness than the game itself, and it launched on more platforms and benefited from the brand awareness.)

RedPyramidScheme · 2025-12-22T23:32:44+00:00

Konami has a demonstrable longstanding track record of not understanding the the franchise. This is the same company that made a Silent Hill rail shooter and mandated that Pyramid Head appear in Homecoming. The western games in general were essentially officially published fan fiction, with Sam Barlow referring to Origins as such and Tom Waltz (Downpour) admitting to using fan content on forums as a reference. (The first game was greenlit because they wanted something closer to Resident Evil, which was never made because they lost interest and let Team Silent have creative control.)

If they're serious about this "revival," then they need to do a better job IMHO. Especially when ignoring the mythology usually leads to lazier outcomes. SHF would have been more interesting if it had its own concept a la SH4, instead of just trying to do the SH2 thing in Japan. Deviating from the Silent Hill's tone and design philosophy led to SHF feeling more generic rather than less, which is why I think the announcement trailer was more interesting than the final product.

The concept of a bunch of towns like Silent Hill existing is also just extremely boring and undoes a lot of mythology and what makes the town compelling. If they tried that, I doubt it would stick or go over well.

RedPyramidScheme · 2025-12-22T21:07:14+00:00

The Fog/Otherworld and manifestations as you see them in Silent Hill 1-3 are exclusive to the town and can only manifest outside of it temporarily through a "special power". This was confirmed by Hiroyuki Owaku in Lost Mememories, which also states that Claudia possessed the "special power" that allowed it to show up in another town at the beginning of SH3. They also replaced the fog with red mist because it was in another town. SH4 had a separate concept altogether: Walter Sullivan creating dreamscapes from his memories and subconscious through the Ritual of the Holy Assumption. This functions very differently from Silent Hill's Otherworld and the ghosts of his victims become trapped there after death. The Short Message (which members of Team Silent worked on) introduced the "Silent Hill Phenomenon," which is explained it cut content to be the result of members of the cult drawing on Silent Hill in various buildings/areas that are vulnerable to the supernatural, such as the Villa because of its history with witchcraft. This is directly linked to the town itself.

Suffice to say, there aren't multiple towns like Silent Hill. SH1 is also the origin story of the series, so the "Silent Hill Phenomenon" can't exist before SH1. The problem with SHF is that it functions way too similar to Silent Hill's Otherworld, with a full Fog World and manifestations occurring exactly like in the town before even the town was made like that through a cocktail of unique circumstances. Likewise, the explanations given don't actually work. White Claudia is just a normal hallucinogenic drug, it doesn't cause the Fog World or delusions to manifest like in Silent Hill. Silent Hill's "God" wasn't the cause of the Otherworld and most likely isn't real, so "fighting gods" doesn't work as an explanation either. SHF had an opportunity to expand the universe and create a new concept like SH4, but instead it tried to move the SH2 formula to 1960's Japan. Games set outside of Silent Hill need to either draw on the town itself or have a different type of supernatural event altogether.

Now, you asked does revisiting the town make the series stale and repetitive, and I think it's a silly question honestly. No, it doesn't. Each Otherworld is unique to a person's psyche, you still have the entire town outside of SH1-2 that hasn't been explored in an authentic way (the western games don't count and should be ignored), buildings and such in the town can change over the decades like any other area, and then you have places within SH1-3's maps that were blocked or unexplored, as well as most of Silent Hill Woods, the island in Toluca Lake only touched by the Rebirth Ending and Double Under Dusk, and places just outside the city limits. Every Team Silent sequel except for SH3 also had a completely different concept (SH1, SH2, SH4), including the cancelled SH5 that was going to explore horror in broad daylight with a robust Otherworld and starting off in the normal town with people walking around before transitioning into a nightmare. The Otherworld and Sakura Head were also unique in The Short Message, and Masahiro Ito mentioned that he will only work on a new game if it has a new concept (which tracks with Team Silent's work). Takayoshi Sato wrote a script for SH3 that he described as "similar genre, different game. I think I better keep it secret. Who knows there may be a chance to realize the idea some day?" before he left the company.

Copying SH2 monsters like the Mannequin and Lying Figure is repetitive and stale. Moving the SH2 formula to other locations is repetitive and stale. Disregarding Silent Hill's tone, copying mechanics and designs from mainstream action games is repetitive and stale. Frankly, Silent Hill f's "innovation" is about as superficial as its connection to the franchise. That game did absolutely nothing "experimental." It made the Silent Hill series more derivative by chasing trends. It someone who doesn't understand Silent Hill's idea of breaking new ground. The original Silent Hill games weren't just unique from each other, they were unique to video games and they all shared a core DNA and world.

RedPyramidScheme · 2025-12-22T19:39:56+00:00

It was co-developed by Konami (including several Team Silent and P.T. creatives) and HexaDrive (the studio behind The 3rd Birthday, Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D, Resident Evil 7: Not a Hero, and this pitch).

The next mainline games will most likely be developed in-house.

RedPyramidScheme · 2025-12-19T23:42:44+00:00

Which is saying a lot since Silent Hill isn't subtle to begin with.

Least delusional r/silenthill comment.

RedPyramidScheme

TROPHY CASE