Silent Hill 2
Quick Links
Bloober Team knows how importantSilent Hill 2is . Konami ’s 2001 survivor repulsion form of address , in the beginning develop by Team Silent , intend a lot of different things to a lot of different people . For some , it ’s the quintessential psychological horror experience , one so important and resonant in its melodic theme that even a variety in font styles on a painted planetary house could tarnish the whole experience .
For others , it ’s just that janky PS2 horror game that costsway too much money on eBay . For me , Silent Hill 2was the first truly chilling game I played , and while familiarity with the subject may mean I will never be as shocked or horror-struck while flirt Bloober Team ’s remake , it does n’t deflower the experience . If anything , it may actually enhance it , as I learned during my three - hour hired man - on preview with Bloober’sSilent Hill 2 .
There are two unlike but clear-cut ways to remake a plot . You could do a one - for - one remaster , changing nothing but the graphics and/or overhaul the controls but pull up stakes the original grade design , tempo , and gameplay entire . Then there ’s the Capcom method ( as run across in the most recentResident Evils 2 , 3,and4 ) , which altogether reworks the core experience but maintains the narration beats , themes , and vibraphone of the original . After roughly three hours withSilent Hill 2 , I can safely say this game falls into the latter class , and the last experience is skillful for it .
James And The Giant Elephant In The Room
Silent Hill 2 Is Bloober Team’s Dream Project, And It Shows
Silent Hill 2fans are outspoken . A lot of on-line randomness has been made about eccentric redesigns and scrap shown inSH2 Remake ’s pre - release trailers , and Bloober Team is aware of all of it . " We examine to look at every commentary we get , " Lead Producer Maciej Głomb allege to me in response to a doubtfulness about how the team has react internally to the on-line response .
" We realize it . Bloober Team consists of Silent Hill 2 fans . We are all hardcore fans . If we were not doing this game , if it were some other studio apartment , we would probably be those people on Reddit , on social media , just talking about and discuss the material that we ’ve seen . "
The Silent Hill 2 remake finally has a dismission date , with a newfangled lagger having debuted at the May 30 PlayStation State of Play . Here ’s what to anticipate .
Konami Digital Entertainment
It ’s also been 23 years sinceSilent Hill 2released , stand for thatfor many people this remaking will be their first - ever institution to the title . needs this means there ’s a motivation to equilibrise the experience , to ensure that it is just as enjoyable for someone who has never played the secret plan before as it is for those of us who never heal and keep checking Angela ’s knife in our armoury , just to be good . Bloober Team’sSilent Hill 2does feel more modern as a result , but combined with pacing , puzzle , and massive level innovation changes , this solve in its favour .
We knew we could not just re-create it one - for - one … Theflow of the levels , we reshape them and redesign all of them mostly from scratch . I think we found a good balance between the memory of the original biz , the standard pressure of it , the tone of what the actual story was , and observe a mode to storm long - time lover of the serial going into those levels , and give them more than they already experienced before .
AndSilent Hill 2’scombat , so derided when evidence off in videos , is n’t some monumental swerve from where it was before in any way that ruins the experience . Monsters still rack up heavily and James is still pretty feeble , and his ineffectual jive and clumsy dodge around foe attacks made me feel just as vulnerable as it should have .
Yes , James can get his torpedo now beyond simply stand in place and rotating left or veracious , but this is balanced well by a reduction in usable ammo and the behavior of the enemy themselves . fresh machinist , like being capable to break through glass and feeble spots in walls , give melee arm more use outside of armed combat , and when combined all these changes made up for a more unique experience than I was anticipating .
There Was Worry Here. It’s Gone Now
Silent Hill 2’s Remake Doesn’t Replace The Original
In the three hours I had withSilent HIll 2 , I played from the beginning of the game on through meetingRed Pyramid Thing(that ’s his actual name , wait it up ) and I was sunnily surprise by how surprised I was . Certain moments played out precisely as they did in the original , with the game ’s opening minutes remaining practically unchanged .
Not very far into the descent towards Ithiel Town , however , it becomes unmistakable that this is n’t just going to be the same game again . There are novel theatrical role of Silent Hill to explore , with both wholly new locations and familiar - but - expand one . There are blazing moments where the game hump return players are expecting one thing , and it give them something else instead .
This is n’t a bad thing , and I ’m aboveboard happy Bloober Team run in this direction . One affair we ’ve learned from the now - decades of video secret plan remasters and remaking is that they can often finger like you are just being resold the same experience again , often without the passion that made the original so challenging .
In myResident Evil 4 RemakereviewI spoke about this effect specifically , citing the want of eccentric areas like the Ganado Hart Crane machine and questioning why we needed this whenRE4was already promptly available . Konami’sSilent Hill 2remake deflect this effect both because the archetype is n’t nigh as easygoing to get your hands on and by delivering such a unlike experience that it feels like more of a fellow traveller piece than it does in any way of life appear as if it ’s claiming to be the " definitive " version ofSilent Hill 2 .
QuickSilent Hill 2remake facts :
Speaking diagrammatically , Silent Hill 2looks awing on PS5 . From the fog and wind on the streets to the apparition produced by James ' torch , this is definitely the most hauntingly beautiful Silent Hill has ever been . While I ’m still not entirely sold on the elephantine zipper that ’s been added to the straightjacket monster , everything looks appropriately disconcerting and grotesque .
I was n’t the biggest rooter ofJames’SH2 Remakeface redesignupon its first reveal , but it did n’t get to me at all while playing - nowhere near as much as hearing Angela correctly pronounce the word " mislay ? " did , at any rate . By the time I conform to Eddie , I was just excited to see what changed and what did n’t , and that ’s a feeling that stayed with me both while playing the game and long after .
We Live Inside A Restless Dream
What Do You Want Out Of A Silent Hill 2 Remake?
I ca n’t speak to what this game would feel like to someone who is n’t closely conversant withSilent Hill 2already , and I live I likely wo n’t be speaking for everyone who is when I say that I ’m really , truly aroused to play out the balance of Bloober Team ’s take . The deficiency of an easy accessible agency to act theoriginalSilent Hill 2is a games conservation issue , but it does n’t mean that game does n’t exist , and this remake is n’t trying to say it did n’t . If anything , playing the first few hours of 2024’sSilent Hill 2felt like a jubilation of the 2001 original , one clearly made by people with a thick respect for the source material .
The Silent Hill 2 remake has several bonus for those who pre - order the game or purchase its Deluxe Edition .
The phrase " subverting anticipation " come up with a great deal of amass meaning . To me , there ’s nothing faulty with profane expectations when it works and when it does n’t feel like it was done just for the sake of it , as long as you ’re approaching the subject matter with the right expectations in the first place . Don’t expect the sameSilent Hill 2again . Don’t recollect you know what ’s around the quoin , because it ’s a different nook now , and there ’s a desk where the corner was . There was a hole there , but it ’s gone , and I ’d rather see what come next in that world than check someone strain to just make the same thing all over again .
