Silent Hill 2 (2024)

Looks like we are getting a run of the mill, paint by numbers remake, and not something that could have potentially been genuinely new and interesting.

Silent Hill 2 Remake Devs Resisted Changes From Original Creators

When asked why the original developers wanted to change so much in the remake, Okamoto thinks that it was partly a desire to have players experience something new, as game creators don't want to "make the same thing they created all over again."

He even claims that if the development team for Silent Hill 2 Remake had been formed in Japan with developers of the original on board, it could potentially have been "a completely different remake." Unfortunately, it seems as though Bloober Team was adamant on a faithful remake, so we'll never know what the original creators wanted to do with Silent Hill 2.

Maybe Bloober was afraid that they’d get it wrong if they couldn’t cheat off Konami’s homework 🤣

Looking forward to that quality Bloober design!

The game seems fine but man I hate remakes as a concept. A team put all their passion and energy into a work of art which became a classic, and now that it's old it just gets replaced for the sake of conforming to modern standards ? Are people unwilling to get out of their confort zone and play something different, or are companies making games seem obsolete ?

Probably a bit of both, but Silent Hill 2 is a product of its time, the 2000's graphics, the menus, the limitations, the gameplay, the jank, all of those make the game what it is. It was conceived to be a specific experience. Remaking the game implies the gameplay and graphics it aren't good enough and the story deserves better, but I think they are integral to the storytelling and experience as a whole.

Most of all, I'm afraid the work of the original creators will be brushed off by general audiences now that there is a new version. I would love a world where every game is preserved, respected, made officially available on current hardware, and where more people are willing to explore artworks of all kind. I know fans will still consider the original as the better version, and the remake will probably push a few people to try and play it, so there are benefits to all this, but my problem is with the way older games are treated. Because honestly, seeing people saying that while SH2's story is great the gameplay sucks always drains the life out of me.

As for the remake in itself it seems like a fine game, I wish it was its own thing instead tho. I find the character models really good (James is unfathomably hot) although I still prefer the original. I think the game looks gorgeous, the lightning, contrasts, environments are wonderful, maybe it's too pretty. The original's graphics helped the creepy aesthethic and I think they still looked beautiful. Even the menus added a feeling of their own. I don't know how to feel about the gameplay, it looks cool but to me the surreal world of Silent Hill fit the older game better. The gameplay and awkward combat made you feel clumsy. The game design, going from one room to the other with a fade to black, the enemy placement and them moving in a robotic manner gave the game a logic of its own. The remake feels cinematic, realistic, coherent, more like a regular zombie/monster movie.

Anyway, I'm still a Silent Hill fanboy and I'll probably buy the game and try to borrow a PS5 as soon as it comes out