Following rumours that we would soon be getting new trailers from various Silent Hill projects, the first out of the gate is Silent Hill: Ascension. Although the game was initially slated for release in early 2023, the trailer confirms that it is still on track to launch this year. While fans eagerly await for the release of this long-awaited addition to the Silent Hill series, Ascension is already shaping up to be a highly interactive game. According to a press release, it will “expand the Silent Hill universe, explore intergenerational trauma, and give the audience the power to impact Silent Hill canon forever.”

The streaming series features multiple main characters around the world as they confront appalling horrors unleashed in their communities. The main hook of Silent Hill: Ascension is that millions of people will be able to help these characters survive and change their fate. The series will also have daily live story moments that change based on the audience’s actions. As of now, it is being dubbed as a “streaming series,” but the trailer indeed looks like a game, and so it’s fascinating to consider how it will establish a new interactive, streaming narrative genre.

For years Konami’s Silent Hill has been dormant, following a long history of well-received horror games with a fiercely loyal fanbase. The long-awaited series revival began with a flurry of activity last October, with Bloober Team’s announcement of a Silent Hill 2 remake. Bloober Team, the studio behind The Medium and Observer, had been rumored to be involved with Konami in this project since June 2020, when it announced its partnership with Konami to create a new game.

Bloober recently confirmed that the Silent Hill 2 remake would be “faithful to the original title” with a “safe approach” to changes. While we welcome the return of Silent Hill, we can’t help but wonder if it’s too much too soon?