>>719840226
In terms of lore, alternative dimensions exist. Silent Hill is just a place with a higher proclivity for those dimensions to collide with the real world. But with the proper rituals, any other place in the world can become similarly affected. Besides, setting the game in 1960s Japan isn't a coincidence. Japan is close to Russia. Picrel is Groznyj Grad in 1964.
However the OG first 4 games are strictly Japanese in terms of design. Team Silent was 100% Japanese. And that is why their games stand out from any other game. They took western tropes, mixed them with Japanese horror and then created a game world under a distinctly Japanese perception of reality.
That's why I think the concept of SHf is a meta-tribute to the franchise. It started as "Japanese horror in a Western setting viewed through the lens of Japanese people" which then devolved to "Western action-horror in a Western setting viewed through the lens of Westerners" and now as a reaction it becomes what SHf is at least trying to represent which is "Japanese horror in a Japanese setting viewed through the lens of Japanese people"
However, the game is being developed by NeoBards which is from Taiwan. So in reality SHf is more like "Japanese horror in a Japanese setting viewed through the lens of Taiwanese people" which makes me wonder how different would the game look and play if actual Japanese developers were designing the assets and mechanics.
In any case, at least the core idea of "Japanese horror in a Japanese setting" is mantained. A meta-tribute to the franchise. A meta-reaction for outsourcing it to the west. And also a meta-bridge for eventually returning to its real roots. It revives the IP with something new and stylish just like Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil 7 did in their day. Then after a few entries returning to the actual town will seem like an exotic novelty just like RE9 is doing now with Raccoon City. A meta-bridge. A meta-reaction. A meta-tribute. A metal-gear.
