Unreal PT brings short horror icon back from the dead

Unreal P.T. is an unofficial homage to hit survival horror P.T., originally exclusive to the PlayStation 4. — AFP Relaxnews

A detailed fan recreation of Guillermo Del Toro and Hideo Kojima collaboration P.T. combines a rebuild of the original with a couple of fun Easter Eggs.

Hit survival horror P.T., originally exclusive to the PlayStation 4 and even then only available for nine months, has been remade and released for free for Windows PC.

Unofficial homage Unreal P.T. was created for a college portfolio and itself took nine months to complete and has been released for free through radiusgordello.itch.io/unreal-pt.

Very well received upon its August 2014 debut, P.T. is centred upon the unnerving events within a grotty, dimly lit corridor that loops back on itself in an increasingly intense manner.

Its existence was cut short when, in April 2015, publisher Konami announced the cancellation of full game Silent Hills and consequent withdrawal of P.T.

Silent Hills was to be a continuation of foundational survival horror franchise Silent Hill, made under the direction of game designer Hideo Kojima, considered something of an auteur thanks to his high concept, commercially successful Metal Gear Solid franchise, and filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro, well known for dark fantasies such as Pan's Labyrinth and The Devil's Backbone.

Extremely well received, P.T. in its original form remains available only to those who have not deleted it from their PlayStation 4s in the time since.

Unreal P.T. changes that, save for a shortened ending sequence, and even goes a step further in providing a VR mode, albeit in a very experimental manner.

Still, Unreal P.T. may not remain available for long. In 2018, Konami prevented independent programmer Qimsar from completing his P.T. For PC project – the teenage developer was offered an internship in recognition of his ability – though others, such as Artur Laczkowski's Playable Teaser, have remained available.

Kojima left Konami later in 2015 and is now working on PlayStation title Death Stranding, once more with the collaboration of Del Toro and P.T. character actor Norman Reedus.

– AFP Relaxnews