OK, so during the Sony Gamescom press conference they announced the immediate availability of something called “P.T.” on PS4. Well, people have been streaming the first person horror game on Twitch and if you make it to the end it turns out to be a stealth announcement for the next Silent Hill game from Hideo Kojima and Guillermo Del Toro. It also appears to star Norman Reedus of Walking Dead fame.
Here’s a playthrough. Skip to 1:16:27 for the reveal.
I’m playing it now, but seem to be stalled. I have a creepy baby crying off in a hallway that I can’t access, and none of the buttons do anything, so far as I can tell.
Creepy factor is sky high.
This is about as weird as it gets. Thanks, Japan.
All right. I had to dive into YouTube, but the key seems to be that you have to look at various things while using R3 or R4 or the X button. I got the next event to trigger, but this is as opaque as hell.
My interest in the actual game is definitely piqued. This strange thing is really getting to me. The sound effects and general ambience are stellar. Two bloody thumbs up!
Why did they have to make the character look nearly identical to Norman Reedus!? It’s a game, not movie/tv. Instead of playing an original character, you play as Norman Reedus acting like a character.
This teaser is like the coolest way to announce a game that I’ve ever seen.
The teaser in itself is kind of amazing. The atmosphere is phenomenal. I guarantee if you play this with headphone by yourself at night you will have a heart attack. People complain about the “gameplay” but for me it’s just how it all plays into the most horrifying scenario.
Any horror fans should absolutely try this P.T. teaser.
Yes, the whole thing is just plain cool and creepy vibe is off the charts.
Can’t wait to see how the game turns out.
I can’t get on board with this thing. It felt like a hidden objects puzzle where even the method for interacting with them was hidden from you. I’ll grant that the noises were good and creepy, but hammering every controller button against every possible object in the one hallway for an hour while a disembodied entity wheezed was more tedious than scary.
Yeah, as a clever tease it worked well and it was supposed to be difficult to figure out.
I don’t think the actual game will play the same, or at least will have more meat to it.
I got as far as the point where
"
you’re suddenly moving faster, all the hallways are red, and it’s apparently just an endless repetition without ever finding the “door” again.
I was playing with my roommate watching, and even with the two of us commenting occasionally, we were both really freaked out. It was incredible, right up until that frustration set in where I was stuck, and suddenly the atmosphere was replaced with YOU ARE PLAYING A VIDEO GAME AND YOU ARE BAD AT IT.
I’m not sure what this means for Silent Hills, but I assume it can’t be good.
A fallout between Kojima Productions and its owning publisher, Konami, has led to senior staff at the studio being restricted access to corporate internet, emails, and phone.
Power struggles between Kojima Productions and Konami have convinced the publisher to make drastic changes, including amending the employee status of its Metal Gear team. Some senior staff at the studio, including Kojima, now essentially work as contractors, not permanent employees.
Konami has begun removing the Kojima Productions logo from all official Metal Gear art, and it has removed Kojima from its executive team. Meanwhile, Kojima Productions’ branding has also been removed from Twitter, the official Metal Gear website, and even the LA office listing.
I think this is dead.
Why has the image of Norman Reedus disappeared from the official website?
This is because our contract period with him has expired.
Why is “P.T.” no longer available on Playstation Network?
Because the distribution period has expired.
What will happen with regard to “SILENT HILL”?
Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd. will continue to develop the “SILENT HILL” series.
What will happen with regard to “P.T.”?
P.T. was purely created to be a playable teaser for “SILENT HILL.”
What do you mean by “playable teaser”?
The playable teaser was a trial edition of “SILENT HILLS” intended to give players an idea of the game concept.
Yeah given Del Toro and Reedus’ announcements it would take a miracle to bring that project back.
This is the most upsetting news I’ve heard in a very long time.
P.T. was the most innovative and refreshing horror experience to come in years. Anyone who has any interest in Horror and either has or plans at some point to have a PS4 should save the P.T. game in your PSN library. You can “purchase” the free demo on a PC and hopefully it will still be there when you want to play:
(US Link)
And here’s the official statement from Konami PR:
Konami is committed to new Silent Hill titles, however the embryonic ‘Silent Hills’ project developed with Guillermo del Toro and featuring the likeness of Norman Reedus will not be continued.
In terms of Kojima and Del Toro being involved, discussions on future Silent Hill projects are currently underway, and please stay tuned for further announcements.
Awesome demo gets giant press and outpouring of excitement. Let’s not do that.
Konami can just fuck right off.
Konami isn’t really doing games any more, seems like. Right? Besides the upcoming MGS what else are they even working on? And with the Metal Gear guy leaving (I can’t remember his name off the top of my head, anyone in this thread probably knows who I’m talking about) it makes you wonder what they have planed for the future, right?
They seem to have moved on to pachinko games, slot machines, and spa components.
Kojima is the same guy that was on Metal Gear and Silent Hills.
It’s amazing how much mileage PS4 gamers got out of P.T… I still see people streaming it. Instead of spending millions of dollars and several years making a full-length game, why not make more PT’s? Charge $5 for 'em. It’s the perfect length for an intense “haunted house” experience.
Can’t they do it without Kojima?
This is kind of a bummer. I loved that P.T. thing and had a great (if terrifying) time trying to solve it alongside neogafers, twitchers and youtubers. P.T. and especially the reveal of Silent Hills and the people involved at the end was one of the highlights of gaming for me in 2014. While the Silent Hills ip might be resurrected at some point, the fact that Kojima and Del Toro were both involved was most of the draw I feel. Silent Hill seemed like such a good fit for some of Kojima’s clever and I dare say subversive gameplay ideas and coupled with Del Toro’s mind for creepy weirdness Silent Hills was the most interested I’ve been in that franchise since the first three games.
Thanks for the video link MrTibbs. Nice to at least get some idea of what the hell is going on at Konami that they would jettison something so promising so abruptly.
It was a great short game and I would absolutely be willing to spend money on a similar experience, but I’ve played enough horror games to know that it isn’t easy to make good horror experiences that don’t just devolve into a series of jump scares. I’d still love to see other developers try though.
