While fans of theSilent Hillseries are still waiting for the upcoming remake ofSilent Hill 2, a newly released Steam indie game might be able to capture the appeal of the series' classic games. Despite being one of the premiere horror franchises in the gaming industry,Silent Hillas a whole has largely stagnated in the last decade — from the time ofSilent Hill: Downpourand theinfamously delistedP.T.in 2014, the series received essentially no new games untilSilent Hill: A Short Messagelaunched in 2024.
WhileSilent Hillitself has been mostly dormant, it’s also heavily influenced the whole horror genre, with plenty of games in both AAA and indie spaces taking inspiration from the series — in some cases becoming nearly as highly-regarded as the originals. Aside from the various “P.T. clones” that seek to emulate the delisted teaser for the canceledSilent Hills, games likeSignalis, which are heavily influenced by classicSilent Hillentries, have become some of the most prominent and highly praised horror games to come out in recent years.
Hollowbody Is Silent Hill’s Newest Successor
Indie Title Hollowbody Takes Heavy Inspiration From Silent Hill
As of September 12, though,a new game calledHollowbodyhas become the newest indie game to fill the void left bySilent Hill, with a 94% positive review rating on Steam at the time of writing. Released by solo developer Headware Games, whose previous release,Chasing Static, was also positively received,Hollowbodyis a self-described “tech-noir survival horror short story,” distinguishing itself from others in its genre with light sci-fi elements and a dystopian setting.
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Hollowbody’s main protagonist is Mica, a black market smuggler who starts the game chasing her missing partner Sasha to a dangerous exclusion zone with the intent of bringing her back — only for Mica herself to end up stranded there after a crash landing. Mechanically,the game takes after classicSilent Hillgames and other PS2-era horror games, making use of fixed camera angles, resource management, limited save points, and a basic combat system.
Hollowbody Is The Most Hyped New Horror Game On Steam
Hollowbody Debuts At The Top Of Steam’s New And Trending List With A 94% Positive Rating
Sitting near the top of Steam’s “New and Trending” tab,Hollowbodyhas gotten off to an especially good start for a relatively niche indie title, with several reviews praising the game’s story, atmosphere, and faithfulness to its PS2-era horror influences. If there’s a common complaint to be had aboutHollowbody, it would be that the game’s solo development status, while impressive, leaves it notably limited in scope — but for its standard price point of $16.99 USD,Hollowbodystill seems like a worthwhile investment for survival horror enthusiasts.
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Though the state ofSilent Hillin 2024 is debatable, with some fans especiallydoubtful of the upcomingSilent Hill 2remake, the series' influence on the horror genre as a whole continues to hold strong, inspiring standout indie titles likeSignalisand the newly releasedHollowbody. While it remains to be seen ifSilent Hillitself will ever reclaim its former glory, there are still plenty of games that can carry its torch.
