Silent Hill: Ascension, the long-awaited revival of the classic Konami franchise, is now available for pre-install on Google Play, and is slated for a Halloween release.
The Silent Hill franchise revolves around the eponymous town, who’s visitors and inhabitants risk being dragged into a twisted otherworld, either due to outside machinations or to overcome their traumas. The franchise’s psychological bent has made it among the most iconic in survival horror history, but the series has been dormant since the release of SIlent Hill: Downpour on consoles in 2012.
Developed by Behaviour Interactive, Bad Robot Games, and Genvid Technologies, Silent Hill: Ascension follows a cast of characters around the world being tormented by monsters that threaten their lives and families. How the titular town itself will come into play is still unknown.
Rather than being a traditional game, Ascension is being touted as a massively interactive live event (MILE), where people worldwide can watch events proceed and vote on what happens next. The game will be available on a variety of platforms on the same day, but Google Play’s listing is the first confirmation of a release date so far.
Big screams on small screens
Ascension was first announced at the Silent Hill Transmission on October 19 2022, alongside three other games and a film adaptation of Silent Hill 2. However, details of the revival have been relatively scant since then. Of the upcoming projects, Ascension is the only title to receive significant promotion, placing mobile firmly in the spotlight of Konami’s attempts to revitalise the franchise.
It’s unclear at present exactly how the title will work, or to what degree mobile will play a part - for example, whether players can experience the whole title natively on phones, play minigames, or simply use them to facilitate interaction with the broadcast.
More information on the title - and the franchise as a whole - is thin on the ground, but with the release date just weeks away, it’s seemingly only a matter of time until we find out more.
Konami’s latest financial report indicates that another popular Konami franchise, Metal Gear, may also be making its way to mobile.
Update
Following the Google Play listing, Genvid released an official premiere date reveal with more information regarding the seires.
SIlent Hill: Ascension will see daily episodes over six months, airing live at 6PM Eastern Time/9PM Pacific Time. Players watching during this period will be able to influence the story through their decisions, while those who miss the stream will be able to watch the day's episode on demand. Additionally, every Sunday the week's streams will be compiled into a single episode for convenience. Viewers can participate either by visiting Ascension.com or on their phones, with pre-orders now available on the App Store.
