With Kojima leaving Konami, everyone is talking about what this means for Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain . If I might be a little brash for a second, I don’t really care what happens to Metal Gear Solid V. The game is pretty much complete at this point. It’s been fully playable for months now and any extra work that needs to be done can pretty much be wrapped up without Kojima and his team. Maybe his departure will affect the plans for future DLC, but the game is pretty much ready and it won’t be lost in the horrible ether of non-release.
But there’s another game that I’m worried about actually never coming out. That game is Silent Hills , what appeared to be the first seriously good Silent Hill sequel since, arguably Silent Hill 2. It had an incredible cast and staff featuring Guillermo Del Toro and Normal Reedus, and unfortunately also Hideo Kojima.
At the time, everyone thought this was awesome. One powerhouse of game storytelling teams up with one powerhouse of horror storytelling to deliver you a game with a star studded cast. It was going to be great!
Except Kojima is pegged to part ways with Konami in December, and the game has barely started development. Now THIS is a game that will likely be put into release limbo.
You see, the rights to Silent Hills are completely and utterly owned by Konami. The current release date was set well beyond 2015, in some vague time in the 2016-2017 range, i.e., well after Kojima Productions was supposed to part from Konami and supposedly split. Which means we are likely to see Silent Hills left without a director.
And I wouldn’t exactly call Konami’s track record with the Silent Hill series a glowing one. Konami has a tendency to farm out this IP to whoever will produce it on the lowest dollar. So instead of getting the love and care we expect this acclaimed horror franchise to get, we get wonky mechanics, glitchy environments, and paper thin plots that don’t do the IP justice at all. Then we have to head back to playing Five Nights at Freddy’s, and nobody wants that.
Without Silent Hills , what IP does Konami have left? Zone of the Enders was a Kojima IP. Castlevania has been receiving poor reviews. The last great Contra was made by Arc System Works, and I don’t think we are going to see another Gradius, Suikoden , or Bloody Roar any time soon. Without Kojiima, it feels like their lineup is incredibly weak, and if Silent Hills goes down with him, I’m not sure they will have anything to offer in the coming years.
Silent Hills has a lot of potential, and many gamers were hoping to see more of the game at this year’s E3. We will be at the convention this summer, and will bring you all the information we can.