There was a rumor here. It’s gone now. That’s right, the Silent Hill 2 remake rumors have faded into the fog and become reality. The cult classic title that, to this day, tops many “best horror games of all time” lists is getting a complete remake. Unlike the disappointment that was the HD Collection, this time around, the game will be completely recreated from the ground up for modern hardware. Still, with such a beloved game and Konami’s troubling track record in recent years, fans may be more worried about this announcement than the immediate excitement.
Aside from a new graphical overhaul, remakes can mean many different things. For Silent Hill 2, the question of what exactly will change and, more importantly, not change, is on the minds of the dedicated fanbase that holds the original so dearly. While Konami didn’t completely clear the fog of what Silent Hill 2 will be this time around, we turned on our radios, checked every locked door, and managed to make it out alive with everything you need to know about the Silent Hill 2 remake .
Note: There will be very minor spoilers for the plot of Silent Hill 2, but nothing beyond the basic premise.
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Publication date
Announcements can be hit or miss when given release dates or even windows, and unfortunately the reveal of the Silent Hill 2 remake was deafeningly loud to not give us any kind of time frame for when we can return to this city. This usually means that the developers aren’t quite confident yet when they expect to finish production, so we’re guessing there’s at least a year’s wait on this game, if not more.
platforms
The remake of Silent Hill 2 was revealed as a true current-gen exclusive, but also a console exclusive for the PlayStation 5. PC players will also be able to experience the game at launch, if that’s the case, but the Xbox players will have to wait until the end. the exclusivity agreement ends, which can be as short as six months or as long as a year.
trailers
Silent Hill 2 – Trailer | PS5 games
The announcement trailer for the Silent Hill 2 remake is technically called a teaser since there’s no actual gameplay footage, but it still gives us a nice, long look at the creepy town of Silent Hill.
It opens in the same dirty bathroom as the original game, only this time, James looks a lot more bewildered. He looks in the mirror and wonders if Mary could really be there waiting for him, knowing that she’s already died of “that damn disease three years ago.”
James steps outside, passes the family map of the city next to a restaurant, and heads down a street as Mary’s voice comes in with the iconic line, “In my restless dreams, I see that city. Silent Hill.”
We cut to the haunting scene where James first witnesses Pyramid Head in the apartments, as well as seeing Laura outside the hospital. Some endgame scenes are even shown, such as with the noose.
What appears to be a new scene of James attacking a nurse only plays for a moment, but it may hint at more additional scenes like this.
Before the title drop, we see James and Maria meeting and Pyramid Head coming in from the rain.
Much more was revealed thanks to a post on the PlayStation Blog featuring Konami producer Motoi Okamoto and Bloober Team’s lead creative director and designer. It was mentioned in the trailer but reiterated that both Masahiro Ito and Akira Yamaoka, the original creature designer and composer respectively, will be joining the Bloober team to develop this remake. Many attribute much of the original game’s success as an enduring horror masterpiece to the original Team Silent, so having two of these members involved may put some fans’ minds at ease.
Bloober Team’s main goal with the Silent Hill 2 remake is to “preserve the atmosphere that made Silent Hill 2 so exceptional while modernizing many aspects of the game’s overall gameplay.”
While they don’t explicitly mention how they will or won’t change the story, this is probably the part that most fans are curious about. While some shots look new, we’ll have to wait to see if there are any substantial changes in that department.
game
The trailer didn’t show any gameplay, but again, the blog sheds light on how they intended to modernize Silent Hill 2.
The original Silent Hill 2 used a semi-fixed camera that tracked and panned as you dynamically moved through environments. I had some control over it, but it was mainly meant to frame things in a specific way.
With the Silent Hill 2 remake, the team has decided to adopt a more traditional third-person, over-the-shoulder style, just as Resident Evil 2 Remake switched from the fixed cameras of the original. This change aims to make the game more immersive and visceral, leading to a new combat system.
The original had a hand-to-hand combat system and basic shooting gameplay (perhaps intentionally so). We don’t know how mechanically different it will be, only that the team says they intend to use the new perspective and combat system to rebuild set pieces and ways to keep the player immersed.
The team also notes that the Silent Hill 2 remake will run on Unreal Engine 5, and specifically point to the Lumen and Nanite features. Lumen is their dynamic lighting system that makes light interact with environments realistically to allow for more natural lighting. Nanite, on the other hand, is what was used to create highly detailed environments and levels.
Being a PS5 console exclusive, there will also be features that take advantage of that specific hardware. 3D audio was highlighted as a way to bring players closer to the titular city, as well as using haptic feedback and adaptive controller triggers.
Multiplayer
No. Staying true to the original, the Silent Hill 2 remake will be a lonely, lonely, and foreboding experience that can only be tackled solo.
Pre-order
The remake of Silent Hill 2 is a long way off. While we’d love to tell you how to reserve a spot in this picturesque tourist town, it’s not ready yet. As soon as the pre-order info is released, we’ll update you with all the gory details.
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