P.T. makes it to VR in an incredibly in-depth mod for Half-Life: Alyx. Though Silent Hills may never see the light of day, one fan has brought the game’s teaser back to life.
Silent Hills was canceled by its publisher, Konami, back in 2015. Subsequently, Silent Hills P.T. was removed from the PlayStation Store. Only those with P.T. already downloaded on their consoles could play the game. This scarcity coupled with rave reviews hailing the game as one of the greatest horror titles of the generation led to wild speculation and an even higher demand for the final product. Unfortunately, Hideo Kojima has recently confirmed that he is not working on Silent Hills. That hasn’t stopped fans from pining after what could have been involved in the full game, and reinventing what little they were given in P.T.
Related: Silent Hills Would Have Haunted Players Even After Closing Game
Steam user AmbientDruth has recreated P.T. within Half-Life: Alyx. Every repeating hallway, cluttered dresser, and terrifying radio voice over is in its place. Ambient rain sound effects, Lisa’s unnerving audio, and red end-game corridors are among the many elements already included in this version with more on the way. Though AmbientDruth is not the first fan to render a faithful copy of P.T., they are the first to bring the experience to VR.
VR comes with an inherent level of immersion as players are placed “inside” the game. For horror games, this is especially advantageous as the tension is more difficult to escape. Valve’s well received VR release, Half-Life: Alyx, is the perfect choice for this P.T. mod not only because of their mod friendly approach but because of the game’s immersive pacing. Though it is slower than its predecessors, Half-Life: Alyx forces players to invest in their surroundings, walking tactfully through detailed settings and learning to manually reload each weapon. Similarly, Silent Hills P.T. is all about atmosphere. Players are meant to carefully explore each iteration of the repeated hallway searching for items and subtle changes that allow them to progress.
There is no doubt that the demand for P.T. in VR exists among horror fans. Fortunately, Half-Life: Alyx is already designed for players to be able to appreciate eerie, nuanced, environments like the corridors of P.T. As AmbientDruth continues to build out their recreation with additional sounds and triggers the game will only become more terrifying. While the news spreads however, there is a considerable risk of Konami stepping in. It would not be the first time that the Silent Hills publisher shut down a fan tribute. Until then, players will continue to port the legendary teaser on their own.
