2023 is shaping up to be a great year for psychological horrors. Silent Hill has announced several projects, including a Silent Hill 2 remake, Silent Hill: Townfall, and Silent Hill F. But The Game Awards 2022 has premiered a new game that might try to steal Silent Hill’s limelight.
New Horror Game Post Trauma Could Give Silent Hill a Run for its Money
Post Trauma follows Roman, a middle-aged train conductor caught in a strange and surreal world. For those who’ve played Silent Hill in the past, some parts of the trailer are immediately familiar. The protagonist awakens in a strange nightmare world from which he can’t escape. And there are multiple moments of him just staring forlornly off into the distance.
In terms of design, you have claustrophobic corridors, gray and brown palettes, black-streaked walls, rampant symbolism, likely thematic save points, and enemies with long, disjointed limbs. There’s even a fixed camera angle, puzzles, and riddles. The steam page recommends you keep a notepad with you.
But the similarities are likely intentional, as Post Trauma is meant to be a tribute and a modern take on classic horror games. For those worried that this Post Trauma skews too closely to Silent Hill, there are some stark contrasts.
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First and foremost is that massive alien growth that dominates a room, which is both awesome and vile. And while Silent Hill games are typically restricted to one area (namely Silent Hill), Post Trauma seems contained in one building that breaks into dream-like locations that stretch well beyond what they should.
As a long-time fan of psychological horror, and especially the aesthetic and symbolism that Silent Hill is known for, I’m optimistic to see more games follow in Silent Hill’s footsteps. While we don’t have a release date for Post Trauma, there will be a demo coming in the future.
