Silent Hill Meets Stranger Things In This New First-Person Horror

While horror fans have been starving for the better part of the past decade, the genre has seen a complete turnaround into a new renaissance, with beloved franchises like Silent Hill making their long-awaited return. Although Silent Hill‘s iconic horror formula is getting yearly releases, with a new game on the horizon already, more than we could ask for, there is never too much of a good thing when it comes to gaming releases.

Combined with the unique supernatural gap left behind by shows like the long-running Stranger Things after nearly a decade of dominating streaming platforms, your next horror fix could be coming far sooner than you think thanks to an upcoming project from a much smaller development team.

Black Lake Looks Genuinely Unsettling

Announced with a brand-new reveal trailer posted to Steam on July 22, the upcoming indie horror Black Lake looks incredibly promising, showcasing a unique sense of dread you would expectfrom a triple-A offering like the Silent Hill series.

Following its protagonist, Elena, returning to her childhood orphanage in search of her missing sister, the already ruined building “stranded in an endless black ocean” is hiding more horrifying secrets than should be possible. With abandoned classrooms, flooded hallways, secret passages, and more to fill up Black Lake‘s nightmarish environments as you slowly piece together a mystery that might be better left unsolved, at least for its protagonist, that is.

While the setting already feels like a great start to an ambitious cosmic horror experience that promises a story-driven first-person narrative, Black Lake also boasts several unique gameplay mechanics that seem to take inspiration from classic horror games to top off its unsettling aesthetics.

It’s A Great Time For Horror Games

The first of these mechanics comes in the form of using light sources like candles to make temporary safe spots during your journey into the haunting orphanage, allowing you a momentary respite before continuing on your journey. On top of managing these temporary breaks, you’ll also need to make use of your phone to see ghosts and solve puzzles similar to Fatal Frame, with your battery being an essential resource to keep track of if you want to survive.

Of course, you’ll also be given a gun in Black Lake, as evidenced by its gameplay trailer, but the developers have made it clear that you won’t be able to simply fight off the enemies you come across like in the Silent Hill games, as the already limited ammo can only be used to stun and get away from monsters in most cases.

Considering that cosmic horror franchises like Stranger Things have only gotten gaming adaptations in the form of collaborations or spinoffs like arcade machines in the past, upcoming games like Black Lake are the perfect way to scratch the itch left behind by their absence, while also offering something completely new to the genre.

While there are almost too many horror projects to keep track of these days, from a constant bombardment of genre-defining blockbuster movies and numerous sequels, remakes, and indie games on the horizon, the upcoming release of Black Lake is definitely one we’ll be keeping an eye out for in the future.

Video Game(s)

Silent Hill, Silent Hill 2, Silent Hill 3, Silent Hill 4: The Room, Silent Hill: Origins, Silent Hill: Homecoming, Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, Silent Hill: Downpour, Silent Hill: Book of Memories, Silent Hill 2 (2024), Silent Hill f, Silent Hill: Townfall, Silent Hill: Ascension, Silent Hill: The Short Message, Silent Hill: Orphan

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Keiichiro Toyama

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