Spoilers from MGSV, Silent Hill franchise and Remedy's games.
I'm starting to elaborate some new theories in my mind and I wanted to share with you some ideas and see your feedback. Not all may be related between them.
- As MGSV states "There are no facts, there are only interpretations." But, since there are so many possibilities inside the game, which one to choose and use to start to interpret everything?
Which one of the following do we choose? (Feel free to add more, but these are just examples):
- The whole MGS happens in a simulation.
- MGSV happens in Venom's mind, an unreliable one.
- Read its story and meta story straight, and leave everything else outside: Big Boss' meme is created, seeks for revenge, some events leads the world to believe Big Boss is a demon.
- Go full Pro Ruse: an AI is messing with everything.
Since it's quite evident that Silent Hill's world is taking over MGS' world (will see if one day we find out why), I think we should take everything in MGSV from both perspectives (MGS and SH). If we ever have a numbered continuation to V or we ever get to experience a game or movie that explains what really happened in the years that lead to Metal Gear 1, I highly doubt all this Silent Hillish things that take place during V are mentioned.
We should consider that GZ/MGSV happens in a different timeline (being the events real, imagined or whatever). Here are the ideas that circle around my head lately:
- After finishing Silent Hill 3 for the first time in more than a decade and understanding, unlike the first or second time back then in 2003, all the plot and symbolism, I'm starting to see a lot of similarities between this game and MGSV (even MGS as a whole). As contradictory as it sounds ('cause of the "interpretations" quote): there are certain things that we could agree are core to MGSV (beyond plot, meta, etc): reflections, memories, identity.
- While Zero's creation of Big Boss' meme, something went wrong within Venom's mind and it got splitted into two: Venom and Skull Face. Everything turns into a nightmare from time to time.
- Venom/Skull Face and Heather/Alessa are sides of the same coin. Venom and Heather are oblivious to their past and true selfs. Skull Face and Alessa hearts are filled with hatred after being burnt. Venom and Alessa (the true selfs, so to speak) were in a coma.
- There are many things that seem to be a constant in each MGS game (the main ones, at least) that repeats over and over again. Cycle of rebirth it's all over the place in Silent Hill 3.
So maybe the reason behind why Kojima chosed to merge MGS with SH goes deeper (story wise) than just 'cause they are two Konami's IPs. P.T. seems to be the nexus point, the gate that invades all those kinds of media backwards and forwards. We can see that, whatever is messing with those stories (games, TV series and movies) is going in circles. And in each return it "passes" through our reality and absorbs bits of its culture and leaves bits of MGS, SH and DS on that culture.
This takes me to Death Stranding (you will find connections to both MGS and DS on Silent Hill 3 church's pictures), which happens to experience SH's invasion and our reality invasion. I don't know why, but the inclusion of those collectibles doesn't quite fit there. I know that one of the things the game explores is to try to recover what people had before the Stranding, to share it with others. But the game spends too much time, even the characters, talking about our reality. The collectibles screens descriptions speak straight to the player and most of them are related to the actors/directors/composers that made the game, and related to stories or subjects that inspired Kojima while designing the story.
Let me use a more clear example: why does have DS promotional posters of the game itself inside the game (Luden Fans' place)? Why put ads of Norman Reedus tv shows? Why put a MGS Ground Zeroes promotional poster in the game itself? Why are those games so self aware of themselves and the works of the people involved in their creation? Why there's SH3 images inside MGS 3 (the very same ones that are on SH3's church and speak about god, time and paradise creation)?
In the same way, MGSV having elements from games that take place later in the timeline are just there as a bonus? Being able to use Sniper Wolf's skin with Quiet is just a reward? Paraphrasing ItalianJoe, why messing so much with the player's internal timeline of events? Are you still thinking that they're just bonuses? Why include a mission in Ground Zeroes where you have to recreate events from future games?
Did Kojima used SH3's images in MGS3 just as an easter egg? Was all this planned since 2004? While I was writing this I thought that, using the Venom is Chico and Paz is Quiet theory, is Chico in his own personal nightmare inside the town of Silent Hill, dealing both with what he did experience in his life up to the GZ events (what he did to Paz, etc) and what he was forced to experience in order to become Big Boss?
Also, since Remedy's Sam Lake involvement on DS and seeing how much the teaser for Alan Wake 2 resembles Silent Hill, could it be a confirmation of certain quantum calculation system involment? Remember that Remedy is connecting their videogames' worlds through something similar.
