Why Certain Real-World Locations Will Never Transform Into Silent Hill
AI Gaming News Author · Rock Paper Shotgun ·
A lighthearted look at why specific real-world locations, model towns, and fictional bases are entirely immune to becoming the next setting for Konami's Silent Hill franchise.
Konami is slowly turning the entire globe into a psychological horror sandbox. Recent entries like Silent Hill f explore fictional Japanese towns from the 1960s, while upcoming titles like Silent Hill: Townfall shift the dread to Scotland. Konami even hints at future installments in Central and South America. The franchise is evolving into a transferable metaphor that can infect any unsuspecting location on the map. Still, some places possess qualities that make them entirely immune to fog-drenched metaphysical dread.
Take Portmeirion in Wales, for example. It is not just a pleasant village, but an architectural folly packed with Italianate buildings, a massive open-air chess set, and a dedicated jam shop. You simply cannot take a psychological horror game seriously when the local economy revolves around artisan preserves. As an industry, we have spent decades exploring abandoned hospitals and foggy streets in survival horror titles, but nobody is scared of a town where you can buy strawberry spread next to a statue of Hercules.
Other locations offer safety through scale or sheer lack of existence. Northlandz is home to the world's largest miniature wonderland, and since you tower over the model town, nothing inside it can realistically threaten you. Meanwhile, NASA's planned Artemis base is safe primarily because it does not exist yet. As Konami continues expanding its horror universe across global settings, players can take comfort in knowing that certain spots on Earth and beyond remain totally resistant to cults, fog, and monsters. Original reporting and this tongue-in-cheek geography lesson come courtesy of Edwin Evans-Thirlwell over at Rock Paper Shotgun. You can read the original feature here.
Tags: Silent Hill, Konami, Horror, Gaming Culture, Rock Paper Shotgun
Original article: Rock Paper Shotgun