P.T.

[JaySevenZero]

Here's where you can contribute your thoughts and opinions of P.T. for potential inclusion in the forthcoming podcast.

A friendly reminder to all that where feedback for the podcast is concerned, we love it - but self-editing (brevity) is appreciated. We do want to include a breadth of opinions where appropriate, but no-one wants a discussion podcast that’s mainly reading. Better to save yourself time and cut to the chase if you can.

[Ordinary Coalscuttle]

I bought a PS4 partly to play P.T. (and in hopes of playing Silent Hills on it when that came out... sigh). One thing I'll say is that it really showcased the power of that console's wireless controller, because within about 15 minutes of play, I was standing outside my bedroom, playing anxiously from the safe distance of the banister.

I won't pretend I figured out the more obscure puzzles myself, but I will say that it was a fascinating experience anyway; and one that finally captured what I love about Silent Hill -- that strange, creeping atmosphere; that Lynchian ability to take an ordinary location and imbue it with the most potent sense of dread... and without any overwrought cult stuff, or desperate invocations of Pyramid Head! Lisa is an excellent addition to the series: I even get a chill seeing her crop up in videos that take a look behind PT's programming (shout out to Lance McDonald's genuinely fascinating videos on this topic).

In many ways, it feels to me like how the third season of Twin Peaks would feel a year or so later -- a return to a classic and distinctive series that understands that capturing the original's spirit lies in taking risks, experimenting, and not basking in past glories. At the time of writing, I'm not sure how likely this is to actually happen - but I'd love to see what Kojima had planned for Silent Hills.

[milkerson]

Every day after school I would play video games and watch horror movies with my friends. Already being big fans of various horror games, we were thrilled to hear the news about a new Silent Hill coming. After Outlast I didn't think my brother and I would scream like children together ever again, but P.T. proved me wrong. It is so effective with the oddly familiar looping hallways and eerie radio broadcasts. Every time Lisa appeared we would scream, drop the controller, and pick it back up. I remember saying to my friends, "this is just the teaser! Imagine how scary the real game is going to be!". It turns out Silent Hills was cursed from the beginning, and the fact that it was cancelled makes it extra creepy. Even though we were permanently scarred, we cherished the experience. It's the only reason I will hang onto my PS4 for as long as it lives. This game will haunt me forever, and I will never erase the cry of that raw baby fetus from my head.

[Simply Wunderful]

Ode To The Demo I Should Have Never Deleted:

P.T. will always be somewhat of an enigma to myself and basically anyone who doesn't have a reservation to enter the mind of the combined might of Hideo del Toro.

Visually, it's dripping (at times literally) with a fear inducing aesthetic you'd find in any sort of horror, but for me the best thing about P.T. is what it does with it's sound design. I've never been so afraid of silence, and the moment I'm hit with something like a phone ringing, I immediately know I'm about to have an unpleasant experience. The odd snippet of distorted information you receive about the tragic events that may or may not have happened in this house begin to lay down the stepping stones of what this experience was leading up to. Would it have been linked to the plot of this games true nature? We will never know.

This mashup of Japanese and Western style of horror creates something very unique, but can be jarring in its execution. I love horror, but sometimes when something is meant to scary you, it simply doesn't. We all feel fear differently, sometimes you just don't understand what's supposed to be scary. I, for one, saw the fridge hanging from the ceiling, oozing blood, and thought, "cool", and continued to walk by. Sometimes you might not get it, which is fine, because it just makes the experience more personal. But as far as I'm concerned, there is only one scary fridge in all of pop culture, and it's the one from Requiem of a Dream.

Lisa, our tuck shop supplier of scares, is fantastic. I don't have a bad thing to say about her. So little is known about her, and the fact that we'll problably never know what she is and why she's here is the cherry on top of the already unsettling cake. Her jerky movement, her ominous presence at the end of a hallway, the sounds that slither out of her mouth, it's all handled so well. When she gets up close to the camera, I can't help but stare, but all I want. To do is push my TV off the table, burn it, and hope I haven't incurred some sort of demonic wrath from beyond the veil. Though you see her only a handful of times, she really leaves an impression on the players mind. And as if it couldn't get even more fun, it was discovered recently that manipulating the camera shows that she's never too far. Just because you can't see her, doesn't mean she can't see you.

Unfortunately, we can't talk about this game without mentioning the obvious. If you know what P.T. is, you also know that it's the never to be seen cancelled game, Silent Hills. I love Silent Hill, to me, whole only played the first one a couple of weeks back, it's still scary. It stands the test of time like some games just do. The original Silent Hill Trilogy is some of the best and most atmospheric horror experiences to be burned to a disc. It's a real shame that we won't see this game, and that Konami will most likely release a new Silent Hill game under the guise of a Candy Crush clone or something like that, because it's Konami, I wouldn't put it past them.

Silent Hill has been losing steam for years. It hasn't seen a major release since since 2012 and people are frothing at the bit for any kind of new Silent Hill. I do fear, however, that people hold P.T. in too high a regard because of the pedigree of Silent Hill. Realistically, it isn't much more than it's namesake, a Playable Teaser. There isn't really much to do in this game but follow the gameplay loop while everything happens around you. That's fine, but when a game looks and sounds as good as P.T., all you want to do is feel just a bit more of that immersion, and it doesn't really give you the opportunity until right at the end of the demo. Even if you just walked close enough to a wall and your character puts their hand up against it, that would add so much more weight to this thing.

But maybe I'm thinking too much about it, like everyone else does. If there is anyway you can play it, do so. It really is something special, but it isn't as perfect as people would have you believe. Never the less, P.T. is a legend, and it will go down in history as one of the biggest missteps in not only Konami, but the industry as a whole. It's a lesson to those who want to make a full horror experience, that you can do a lot in an hours worth of gameplay. One day we might see Silent Hill again, we can hold onto that hope, but for now, I'm going to over analysis that sceaming kidney bean in the sink. Feel like I might have missed something.

[stvnorman]

PT is to horror games what Paranormal Activity is to horror films. Or horror for people that aren’t into horror, which doesn’t mean that fans won’t get something out of it too, but it’s all just a bit too superficial and a bit too telegraphed. For a proper creepy game, try Silent Hill or it’s sequel. That said, let’s not forget it was a free demo of sorts, however slick it was, and however mythical and iconic it’s now become!

[BadgerCatcher]

When it comes to building up hype for a product - I can't think of anything else before/after P.T. that had me so excited AND terrified in anticipation for the final product!
This teaser was just genius.

I'm a huge Silent Hill fan. The first 2 games hold some of my strongest/most vivid teenage gaming memories. So finding out that this crazy little "teaser" was in fact for the next installment in a beloved franchise, AND who was on board to create it - was the best possible news you could give me!
The problem was that playing P.T. truly unsettled me so deeply that I couldn't imagine playing a full length game like it! Inching my way through those looping corridors. Hearing Lisa's footsteps. Terrified to turn around. Curiosity pushing me ever forward until I had to have a break. I knew I'd have to buy Silent Hills on day 1, and I was excited to, but my animal instincts had me anxious about its release. Imagining coming home on launch day, psyching myself up to play it and then putting it in the drawer while I made some tea instead. Because how could I intentionally play something more psychologically draining than P.T?

But that anxiety and excitement was nothing compared to the disappointment I felt upon hearing of it's cancellation.
When I upgraded to a PS4 Pro, I even kept my original console because it still has P.T. on it. Telling my wife I'd sell it "next weekend" for almost 2 years! I couldn't quite convince myself to let it go, even though I'd never actually played it again. Just happy to know I still had it. Sitting quietly, and safely unplugged. Now with the new consoles looming, I know I'm going to have to sell my original PS4 to help fund the PS5. Inevitably deleting everything from it. Sadly un-haunting it and downgrading it to just another blank PS4

Even though we won't see the final product, at least P.T. gave me a couple more stomach knotting memories to sit with the ones that Silent Hill 1 & 2 forced into my psyche 20 years ago.
R.I.P. P.T.

[Tbone254]

P.T. was one of the first games that I downloaded when I finally purchased my PS4. While I had heard about the demo and knew that it was some sort of advertisement for a Kojima directed Silent Hill game, I was fortunate enough to avoid seeing any gameplay footage so I got to play the game blind. And what an experience it was. The tension is relentless. It gradually builds with each turn through the hallway, never relinquishing, until it is almost unbearable. It’s incredible. Each time I passed through the door at the end of the hallway I was filled with the most fleeting feeling of triumph that quickly turned to terror as I realized that this next trip down the hallway was probably going to be worse than the last. As a fan of survival horror games, I must admit, P.T. scared the pants off me. There are plenty of YouTube videos showing people losing their minds when they are attacked by Lisa for the first time, but for me, my moment of terror was the first time I made that right hand turn to find Lisa standing in the foyer, doing nothing other than looking at me. For whatever reason, her uncanny ghoulishness just hits all the right creepy buttons.

So yeah, I loved playing through P.T. and I was eagerly awaiting the full Silent Hills game. Then tragedy struck. Kojima and Konami split, and Silent Hills was cancelled. I was devastated. While I am a fan of the survival horror genre, I absolutely adore the Silent Hill series. Given the state of the past few releases (pretty much everything after 4) I was excited to see the series back in the hands of a Japanese developer with Konami, especially with Kojima and Del Toro involved. But it was not to be. Of course, I can’t help but wonder what could have been, and hope that maybe one day Konami will come to their senses and let Kojima finish his work.

At this point though, I’m not sure that Silent Hills could ever live up to all the hype created by P.T. and the Konami-Kojima drama. And the more I think about what the game could have been, the more I wonder how suited Kojima would have been for a Silent Hill game. I think he would have done a great job with the gameplay aspect. He is a master at creating these little sandboxes and intricate systems within his games that allow the player to experiment. He also loves to use fourth wall breaking techniques, which I think would have been especially fitting for a horror game. I have read rumors about the game possibly sending the player text messages or emails. I can only imagine playing the game in the dark and getting a message on my phone that says “204863” or “Look behind you”. I’m getting goosebumps thinking about it. But Silent Hill also requires good storytelling and Kojima has a particular style of storytelling. I say this after just having completed Death Stranding so maybe I’m a little biased, but the last thing I want from a Silent Hill game is for the last 3 or 4 hours to be filled with endless exposition that overexplains and regurgitates the same abstract themes multiple times. The man is not known for his subtlety. I don’t mean to imply that I think there is anything wrong with his storytelling style. It has worked very well for the previous games he has made, but Silent Hill requires subtlety and nuance in its storytelling. I’m not sure I want to see Kojima attempt to handle something like the Abstract Daddy (the weird bed monster that is fought in front of Angela in Silent Hill 2), or concepts like sexual frustration and abuse. I also think some of the scares in P.T. are a bit on the nose. Walking back and forth between the phone and foyer to see the word HELL spelled out on the wall isn’t exactly groundbreaking material. Frankly, I’m surprised I never came across the numbers 666 written in blood on the hallway wall.

It is unfortunate that the game was never completed, and even more so that P.T. was pulled from the PSN store. I guess I can understand that Konami doesn't want an advertisement available for a game they are no longer making, but at this point P.T. has become so well known that Konami should just do everyone a solid and re-release it. Silent Hill is one of my favorite game series, and I think Silent Hill 2 tells one of the best stories in videogame history. While other games at the time were using violence and sexualization to create a “mature” rated game, Silent Hill 2 told a truly mature and contemplative story that touched on some difficult topics, and without being exploitive of the subject matter. After all the greatness this series has achieved, it is sad to see it end because of some ugly corporate drama.

[The Baboon Baron]

I never got to play PT- At the time I had very little money, and was PS4-less. By the time my ship came in it was long gone. I've watched some play though's, but it'll never be quite the same as the brown trouser requiring, first hand experience.

the kicker is its gone completely, but praise those clever souls who work on ways to preserve unique pockets of video gaming history like this, maybe one day i'll get to give it a go despite its cancellation and removal.

PT's demise always reminds me of a quote from Jim Sterling "Because Konami is Konami, and Konami is the worst" pretty much sums it up.

[Alex79]

I really hope there's a chance this might be rereleased one day. I never got to play it, but always wanted to.

[jamesmccaul]

To get straight to the point PT scared the crap out of me. I managed to finish it a couple of times, not sure how, I’m putting it down to pure dumb luck. For the way it successfully bamboozled the internet and thoroughly scared so many people, PT I salute you. Great, weird, maddening and terrifying.

[InsrtCoins]

When I upgraded to a PS4 Pro, I even kept my original console because it still has P.T. on it. Telling my wife I'd sell it "next weekend" for almost 2 years! I couldn't quite convince myself to let it go, even though I'd never actually played it again. Just happy to know I still had it. Sitting quietly, and safely unplugged. Now with the new consoles looming, I know I'm going to have to sell my original PS4 to help fund the PS5. Inevitably deleting everything from it. Sadly un-haunting it and downgrading it to just another blank PS4

I hope I can save you some heartache -- you can actually transfer P.T. to your PS4 Pro or, by the sounds of it, your PS5. That way, you can wipe and sell your old PS4 with a clear conscience, P.T. safely stored on your newer hardware.

[KarlDaFrog]

Hi All,

Long time listener, first time poster.

I was the Web Master at The Museum for Art and Digital Entertainment (MADE) back in 2017-2018. While I primarily contributed by working on the website, the whole operation is volunteer run and we had a lot of freedom in how we wanted to participate in the conservation of video games. One of my pet projects was to build an exhibit where people could play this extremely hard to play "Playable Teaser".

I was lucky enough to have a very generous friend ship his PlayStation 4 across the country so that others could experience this bizarre and terrifying game. We set up the PS4 and a monitor in a giant black cabinet we had lying around, affectionately nicknamed "the murderbox" by the volunteers. We had to disable a couple settings to ensure no one purchased anything on his PlayStation account, ran the headphone and controller cables through a hole we cut through the box, and padlocked the cabinet, both for visual effect and to ensure that nothing happened to his PlayStation.

Because I helmed the exhibit, I often gave l presentations about PT and the "PT Lineage" (Silent Hill, Layers of Fear, the many fan remakes of PT). As a result, I got relatively desensitized to enduring the haunting hallway and Lisa's terrifying wails. One day, a group of school children came into the museum on a semi-impromptu tour. Without really thinking, I just launched into my usual spiel: "Video games are still an early art form.... most early silent films have been lost... this game's completely unavailable for anyone to obtain... blah blah blah".  I gave a brief warning about it being rated M, but the kids were all eager to see what was in "the murderbox". I walked through a couple loops on autopilot while chatting, until a boy said "what's that?" and I said "well it's a fetus... kind of". No one volunteered to put on the headphones.

PT is such an interesting case for preservation, because of it's modernity and the tumultuous developer/publisher relationship. I copied that PlayStation 4 hard drive, and hopefully somebody someday will

Spoiler: show

be able to crack the PS4's security

 figure out an ethical way to access the game and allow people to play this masterpiece again.

[ratsoalbion]

Hi KDF, it’s only a shame that you posted this after the podcast recording!

[Alex79]

I found it kind of funny how over the last couple of weeks one minute we were getting stories of how PT will be backwards compatible on the PS5, based on quite literally nothing, it was just one site guessing it 'probably would be', then loads of other sites ran with it, to it now being confirmed that no, it won't be backwards compatible.

Not funny as in haha people won't be able to play it, but funny how one site just took a wild guess, and all of a sudden loads of sites were running a story saying it'll be backwards compatible.

[InsrtCoins]

Konami's de-confirmation reads to me like them saying "we won't be offering it as a download", but not specifically ruling out WiFi transfer. They want people to move past it and forget about it, so the case isn't closed until next month.

[KarlDaFrog]

Hi KDF, it’s only a shame that you posted this after the podcast recording!

Yea this is the second time I've been too late for a recording! I always hear "Next week's podcast will be [game I've played and I want to talk about]" and then 3 days later I get around to writing in the forum, and it's too late! Oh well.

[raisinbman]

I found it kind of funny how over the last couple of weeks one minute we were getting stories of how PT will be backwards compatible on the PS5, based on quite literally nothing, it was just one site guessing it 'probably would be', then loads of other sites ran with it, to it now being confirmed that no, it won't be backwards compatible.

Not funny as in haha people won't be able to play it, but funny how one site just took a wild guess, and all of a sudden loads of sites were running a story saying it'll be backwards compatible.

you beat me to it, but i think all the speculation was the pandemic and Sony's weird-anti-marketing for next generation making people restless.

Sony did just kind of shrug and say yeah, it's probably backwards compatible. They discussed it a bit on KFGD, and there is a fee to host stuff on the PStore, and I'm guessing konami was all too happy to cut the cord there

[BadgerCatcher]

Oh man... I only read this message and heard the episode AFTER I had wiped my PS4!
Thanks for the warning, but it was unfortunately too late. I'm a fool for not googling that first though!


I hope I can save you some heartache -- you can actually transfer P.T. to your PS4 Pro or, by the sounds of it, your PS5. That way, you can wipe and sell your old PS4 with a clear conscience, P.T. safely stored on your newer hardware.