A playable teaser for the much-anticipated next installment of the Silent Hill action-horror franchise has been released, leaving players shivering in both fright and anticipation of the game.
Instead of just simply announcing to the world that they are making a new Silent Hill game, series creator Hideo Kojima and legendary director Guillermo del Toro instead released a playable demo for the PlayStation 4 entitled P.T., using the name of a non-existent 7780s Studio.
After finishing the decidedly frightening and difficult game will players learn about Silent Hills, the title of the next game in the series.
Kojima had previously used a similar marketing gimmick, with The Phantom Pain by Moby Dick Studios which turned out to be a revelation for Metal Gear Solid V.
Kojima used 7780s Studio as the fake name of the teaser's developer as that number refers to the size, in square kilometers, of Japan's Shizouka prefecture, which has a name that can be translated to "Quiet Hills."
Silent Hills will feature Norman Reedus, who shot to fame with his portrayal of the character Daryl Dixon in ABC's The Walking Dead.
While the reveal about Silent Hills is the most important aspect of the demo, players were treated to a game that is both fascinating and terrifying. The game's character wakes up in a room and goes through an endless loop of walking through a hallway and descending into the cellar, then waking up in the first room again. To progress, players had to look for or create the right trigger, which would lead to another go at the loop but with some things different.
In between loops are scream-inducing frights and eerie visuals, not to mention the insanity-inducing endless hallways where the player is seemingly trapped forever.
Kojima had said that he didn't expect P.T. to be solved as quickly as it was, which was just in a few hours. However, its marketing value of driving up talk for Silent Hills has undoubtedly been achieved.
The anticipation for Silent Hills will undoubtedly be fueled by the playable teaser. While P.T. reportedly has no actual connection to the game, the showcased potential of a del Toro-Kojima combination reveals a direction that will have fans of horror games looking forward to the future of the genre.
Kojima has said that Silent Hills "will not be out more than likely until 2016,″ as the game is still in its early development phases.
