It’s finally the best time of year and no, I’m not talking about Christmas. My favourite part of Halloween is how we collectively normalize the celebration of spookiness by dressing up without being judged, eating an unfathomable amount of candy, and my personal favourite activity: running into the impenetrable fog. 

If you’re not familiar with the Silent Hill franchise, this may not be on your list of spooky activities but, if you’re reading this article, I doubt that’s the case. In honour of the classic 2001 game originally released by Konami for the PlayStation 2 having had its remake released earlier this month, I’ve wanted to address something: Why is everybody obsessed with old horror games?

Horror movies have dominated halloween culture for years, merchandise and online memes and promotion make that very apparent. So my question is, what is it about retro video-games of the same genre that are resonating with the younger generations? The shift in pop-culture is fascinating, as these are not necessarily new titles, nor do they have the same marketing as their horror movie counterparts.

While nostalgia no doubt plays a factor, I would argue that it is more of a generalized nostalgia of the time period  in which the games were released rather than first-hand experiences with said game. Of course that is just a generalized statement, but a lot of late gen z were not playing these games when in their prime. 

Lately, many remakes and remasters have been coming out, and niche online communities have been keeping these games not only alive but even popular within the cultural mainstream.

As someone who falls under this category  but cannot offer my review of the renewed game as a broke student (much like my fellow readers), I would instead like to discuss the rise in popularity of this title and ones like it, such as Resident Evil 4, which also just had a remake released last year. 

The Silent Hill 2 remake has sold an impressive 1 million copies within one week of being out. As a remake of a game about 2 decades old, that is a lot of traction.  

For those who are not familiar with Silent Hill 2, here is a brief spoiler free synopsis.

Silent Hill 2 follows protagonist James Sunderland who visits a small town called Silent Hill. Grieving the death of his wife, he is drawn to this secluded town where they had gone on vacation once before; James feels that she is still there waiting for him. James is an odd protagonist, not questioning things that any rational person would strike as unusual. Driving up to the ghost-town, he runs into a blockage on the road. Rather than questioning the barricade or showing concern, he enters the town on foot. He is not clear on what his intention is in setting foot into Silent Hill, knowing that he is searching for someone who is dead. But he continues this journey anyway.

Silent Hill is no ordinary town though; filled with horrors that appear different for every individual that visits, what lies within the secluded fog is yours to discover at your own risk.

Now, about the remake… 

The original game had a gritty, dreadful appearance. The fog that appears in the franchise is very significant both to the story and experience but unfortunately, the remake lacks that same atmosphere offered in the original. Being a re-creation though, it makes sense that some of the immersion is lost with the improved graphics. Rather than being jumpscared by what lurks in the fog, players can now see what mysterious beings loiter ahead of them (that being said, the monsters in this new version are animated in a much more threatening way). That seems to be the main criticism people have. 

Again, I haven't played the remake myself, so I cannot comment too much on this. From my familiarity with remastered games though, improved graphics really do enhance the experience. Being limited to the technology of the time made it difficult to portray settings and characters, back in the ‘olden days’ (1990s-2000s) that is. Although the weak graphics were an advantage in some ways to the game’s fear factor, it is made up for with the more detailed appearance of the game’s enemies.

Aside from nostalgia, the remake offers an enhanced experience of the original with improved voice acting and character models allowing for a realistic entry into the Silent Hill world.

Now, that still raises the question that I proposed earlier: Why are people so obsessed with these old games? I’m sure you at least know of one person who is dressing up as a horror video-game protagonist for halloween, and I feel like it is not a coincidence that this collective attraction to the genre has grown in popularity post 2020. Captivating in both aesthetics and nostalgia, it appears that the pandemic played a role in the resurgence of these games, going from niche to mainstream (at least online). 

A game that is dedicated to trauma and loneliness; the fear of the unknown that everyone feels but experiences differently is scarily similar to that infamous shared experience we all faced four years ago (yeah, it’s been four years). I don’t think you need to hear the dreadful pandemic talk—it’s no secret that it was an incredibly isolating and difficult time for many of us, which made Silent Hill resonate with so many people. 

No mainstream horror movies seem to have this same personal resignation. They propose more physical, unnatural threats, (supernatural slasher movies…) whereas these games incorporate those external fears with psychological ones. Being able to resonate with media on a personal level is impactful. 

Not only are the themes relatable, but nostalgia raises the significance of popularity. Somewhat contradicting what I said before, many Gen Z people have grown up playing these low-poly games on their old consoles, and that alone can be quite appealing. Nostalgia for the time period is the more universal sentiment though. There is a certain charm to the vintage esthetics that make reminiscing about old games bittersweet. I know that personally in 2020, I spent a lot of time recollecting memories while cooped away in my room with nowhere to go and nothing to do but play childhood games.

Relating the abandoned zombie-town in Silent Hill 2 to the shared experience of the pandemic raising its modern popularity made me think of Capcom’s Resident Evil, which similarly is very popular right now. 

Some Resident Evil games being released on the PS2 around the same time as Silent Hill 2 fits the franchise well into this conversation, which is why I will be using it as another example.

Restating what I said for Silent Hill 2, there is something specific in the way that Resident Evil relates to a collective shared fear that I find interesting.  

Resident Evil is a much bigger franchise than Silent Hill. The most popular game of the franchise, Resident Evil 4, just had a remake come out in 2023. The series concerns  the discovery of a virus known as ‘Progenitor’and the unethical virologists that cultivated it from a rare flower found in West Africa known as the ‘Stairway to the Sun.’ The virologists co-founded a pharmaceutical company called Umbrella, whose ulterior motives developing biological weapons the series is ultimately about..

Maybe you’re just reading this and thinking “No one cares about the lore, Resident Evil is only popular because Leon Kennedy (the most popular protagonist) is hot” and, well, you’re not entirely wrong. Not everyone’s captivation is super deep, sometimes an attractive protagonist in an interesting world can be enough to appeal. However that alone does not seem like a sufficient enough reason for the spiked rise in admiration.

It is interesting to think of how games  about isolation and  viruses leading to corrupt governance have been popular since the pandemic. It's nice to have a shared affinity over these games which allow us to explore difficult feelings that are easier to suppress. There is no denying, however, that these games continue to influence new developers eveident in modern titles such as Hollowbody released by Headware Games this year, and Tormented Souls released by Dual Effect Games in 2021. Perhaps these games will age well and be looked back on fondly like the old console classics that are beloved today. 

With all that being said, it looks like spooky season is going to be exciting. The foggy forests here on campus have been reminiscent of Silent Hill 2, and personally this atmosphere has been making me really look forward to this autumn season! Hopefully I see at least one Silent Hill nurse or Leon Kennedy this Halloween, or I will be very disappointed.