"The notion of creating a prequel for Silent Hill, according to its designer from Origins and Shattered Memories, is dubious. The original game told its captivating story effectively through flashbacks, and there were no major loose ends left unanswered."
In 2007, British work-for-hire studio Climax took over the Silent Hill series, picking up the pieces of a misdirected prequel for the PSP. The franchise was in a decline following the disbandment of Team Silent and weaker sales, with the future of Silent Hill uncertain.
Climax, a studio that had recently opened a Los Angeles office to enter the West Coast market, was given the opportunity to handle one of the most auteurial horror series. Despite initial reservations and challenges with the prequel concept, Climax leveraged this opportunity by delivering a reimagined Silent Hill game that honored the original’s essence but refreshed the formula and presentation for a new audience and platform (the Sony PSP), helping to breathe new life into the series.
The development team faced challenges due to the bright office space and the game's dark setting. However, Climax UK made a case to take over the development of Silent Hill: Origins and defied the industry trend towards action horror by opting for semi-fixed camera angles that recreated the intensity of the original game.
Silent Hill: Origins was released on the PSP in November 2007. The game maintained the series' atmosphere and delivered old-school survival horror outside the genre's heyday. Climax UK is proud of the turnaround job they did on Silent Hill: Origins.
The UK team of Climax saw fundamental problems with the idea of making a prequel to Silent Hill and spotted red flags. Konami Japan had given up on the Silent Hill series by the time Silent Hill 4: The Room came out, and Team Silent was disbanded. Despite Konami approaching Climax about a possible sequel to Silent Hill: Origins, it was rejected by Climax's boss.
After the success of Silent Hill: Origins, Climax accepted an offer from Konami to create a new game in the series. The premise of Shattered Memories was to retell the Silent Hill story of Harry Mason searching for his daughter, Cheryl, but without the cult and paranormal activity. Akira Yamaoka, an original Team Silent member, contributed to the score of Shattered Memories. However, limited communication led to some strange misunderstandings.
Shattered Memories anticipated several genre trends before they became popular, such as combat-free walking simulators and fight-or-flight horror. The game was released on the Wii and PlayStation 2 in 2009.
During the development of Shattered Memories, Climax had to keep the character The Butcher in the game due to his appearance in the marketing assets, despite having reservations about his design and backstory. The studio also created some of the most menacing creatures in the series, including the cow-like Carrion abominations and the biggest creature in the series, Caliban.
Climax's work on Silent Hill: Origins and Shattered Memories helped to revive the Silent Hill franchise and solidify its place as a cornerstone of the survival horror genre. The studio demonstrated its ability to adapt and deliver quality games despite challenges and industry trends, earning it a reputation as a reliable partner for game development.
- Climax, having identified problems with the prequel concept for Silent Hill, successfully tackled the challenges and delivered a refreshed formula for the series, breathing new life into it on the Sony PSP.
- Climax UK defied industry trends by opting for semi-fixed camera angles in Silent Hill: Origins, recreating the intensity of the original game.
- The UK team of Climax saw fundamental problems with a possible sequel to Silent Hill: Origins and rejected the offer from Konami.
- Shattered Memories, developed by Climax, anticipated several genre trends before they became popular, such as combat-free walking simulators and fight-or-flight horror.
- Despite reservations, Climax had to keep The Butcher in Shattered Memories due to his appearance in marketing assets, and they also created some of the most menacing creatures in the series.
- Climax's work on Silent Hill: Origins and Shattered Memories helped revive the Silent Hill franchise and solidify its place as a cornerstone in the survival horror genre.
- The studio demonstrated its adaptability and ability to deliver quality games despite challenges, earning it a reputation as a reliable partner for game development in the entertainment industry, including movies-and-tv, games for console, and action RPG titles on TV, like the Nintendo Switch.
