A Marvel Horror Game Like Silent Hill Basically Writes Itself

Generally speaking, in the modern age of superhero pop culture, Marvel is considered a fairly family-friendly brand, while DC is often generally believed to have the more mature content. But that’s not necessarily true. While the Marvel Cinematic Universe has remained PG-13 for pretty much its entire 15-year existence, Marvel’s comics have ventured into more adult-oriented grounds many times in the past, with many well-known comic runs and graphic novels leaning into horror and violence.

Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe, Old Man Logan, and Punisher Max are just a few of the best examples of Marvel’s most gory comic book outings, and while the 2000-2010s edginess of these books hasn’t aged too well, many fans are still hoping for faithful movie adaptations of these stories. Unfortunately, while the MCU seems to be experimenting with an R-rating for Deadpool and Wolverine, it probably isn’t going to full NC-17 anytime soon, but there might be room for that in the video game space, and there’s one Marvel character who’d be perfectly suited for a Silent Hill-like game.

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A Silent Hill-Like Marvel Game Has The Perfect Blueprint

Moon Knight Is a Character Haunted By His Own Mind

Debuting back in 1975, Moon Knight is one of the most complex heroes in the entire Marvel universe. Though his character changes slightly between comic runs and different artist interpretations, Moon Knight is often portrayed as a man who suffers from Dissociative Identity Disorder, unable to control when he shifts between one personality and another. While Marc Spector is his main identity, Moon Knight’s mind is also home to personalities such as the detective Mr. Knight, the violent taxi driver Jake Lockley, and the savvy entrepreneur Steven Grant.

No matter what version of Moon Knight the comics are going for, the common thread between them all is that Marc Spector’s mind is constantly self-destructing in one way or another. The 2006 Huston Moon Knight run is a great example of this dynamic and the perfect setup for a Marvel horror game featuring the Fist of Khonshu. At the start of the run, readers are introduced to Marc alone in his apartment, both physically and mentally broken, and abandoned by Khonshu, the Egyptian god who granted him his powers.

It’s soon revealed that Marc was crippled in a fight with his archnemesis Bushman, who he was forced to kill by brutally ripping off his face. Now disabled, Marc grows angry with the world, which slowly pushes all of his friends and loved ones away, leaving him completely isolated. With nothing left to live for, Marc begs for Khonshu to return to him, and the god obliges, but not before tormenting Marc by taking the form of a mutilated Bushman, and torturing him with images of his loved ones dying.

During the first volume of Huston’s Moon Knight run, he’s hunted down by the Taskmaster and the Committee. After murdering the Committee’s board members and terrifying Taskmaster into submission, Moon Knight returns home, where Khonshu reveals that he was the one who organized the entire thing in an attempt to force Marc to return to him. Marc destroys his statue of Khonshu, and the god retaliates by briefly killing him, and bringing him back to life, hammering home the notion that Marc is no more than a mere puppet.

A Moon Knight Horror Game Could Work Really Well

While the Marvel Cinematic Universe Moon Knight show wasn’t perfect, it did a really good job of setting up the character of Marc Spector and Moon Knight and left a lasting impression on many fans thanks in large part to Oscar Isaac’s incredible performance. Regardless of the show’s reception, Moon Knight is more popular than he ever has been, to the point where he could probably carry his very own video game.

Though it would still need plenty of action, a Silent Hill-like Moon Knight game could work surprisingly well. A series where the character’s inner psyche manifests as horrifying monsters, Silent Hill holds the perfect blueprint for a Moon Knight game, particularly one heavily inspired by Huston’s run, where Marc could be trapped inside the Othervoid, where he’s tormented relentlessly by Khonshu’s psychological attacks.

Silent Hill 2 Remake

Silent Hill 2 is a remake of the classic 2001 survival-horror game, developed by Bloober Team and published by Konami. It features an over-the-shoulder camera and gameplay changes inspired by other horror game remakes.