Plenty of news was announced during Wednesday October 19th’s Silent Hill Transmission including new games, a new movie in development, and much more. One piece of news that had fans buzzing was the announcement that Silent Hill 2, one of the most beloved psychological horror games ever, would be receiving a remake over 20 years after the original’s release.
The first teaser trailer for the game was released, presenting longtime fans of the series with plenty of the game’s iconic visuals and locations but also included a few changes that has sparked new questions about the expectations and possibilities for the remake.
A New Perspective
One of the most notable changes is the camera angle itself. Silent Hill 2 originally used a 3rd person camera that could put the player in some tricky situations during fight scenes and boss battles if the perspective shifted suddenly. With the remake, there looks to be a fixed, over-the-shoulder perspective similar to what the popular Resident Evil remakes have been doing.
This switch should allow for smoother gameplay and even chances to use that perspective against the player with more opportunities for jump scares or suspense.
An Unreal Graphics Overhaul
With a projected release date of late 2023 or even early 2024, over 23 years will have passed between the original’s release and the remake. There have been lots of advances in video games in that time, specifically around graphics and environment designs.
Silent Hill 2 Remake was built using Unreal Engine 5, giving the characters and environments much more fluidity to their movements and more immersion into the world of Silent Hill.
Fight For Your Life
By updating the graphics and incorporating a 3rd person perspective camera, it looks like Silent Hill 2 will enjoy a more robust combat system. In one shot in the trailer it looks like one of the pivotal monsters struggle with protagonist James Sunderland using more dynamic mechanics, again employing one of the more popular features of the Resident Evil remakes.
Gone are the days of simply going around and defeating enemies, making it more of a struggle and likely meaning that players will have to incorporate new strategies and tactics to make it through alive.
Bloober Reel
Previously developed by Team Silent, Silent Hill 2 Remake will be handled by Bloober Team, who are no strangers to the survival horror genre themselves. However, many fans were a bit concerned that given Silent Hill 2’s status as one of the greatest horror games ever, Bloober Team may struggle to capture the tone and atmosphere that made it so haunting.
Publisher Konami has reportedly kept a short leash with Bloober Team regarding any new content or changes, which should have fans much more optimistic about the game.
James Looks A Little Different
Maybe it’s just technology that’s over 20 years improved but James Sunderland’s design in SH2R looks to be a clear example of what the new game will be capable of graphics-wise. The stunning graphics allow scenes of James in the trailer to carry much more emotion to them, including the iconic scene of James looking at his reflection in the mirror.
Combined with a more grief-stricken character design, it looks like the game may be able use James himself as an example of his deterioration and descent further into Silent Hill.
James Sounds A Little Different Too
Originally voiced by Guy Cihi, 2012’s Silent Hill HD Collection replaced Cihi with voice actor Troy Baker, much to the chagrin of fans who loved Cihi’s original performance. This led to an eventual agreement where gamers could choose between 2’s original voice cast or the HD version’s.
While casting hasn’t yet been announced for Silent Hill 2 Remake, it sounds like it will be a new actor stepping into the role, which fans will surely be watching closely.
So Much Room For Activities
Games are bigger than ever, not just gameplay length but open-ended worlds and interactive environments have given gamers dozens and even hundreds of hours of things to explore. While SH2R won’t be fully open-world, it does look like the map has been updated, adding in new buildings and locations.
It’s not known yet if these are strictly for design purposes or if they will be interactive, but if today’s games are any indicator, it’s more than likely that fans will have plenty of new locations to explore when the game is released.
Hearing Things Differently
Following the Silent Hill Transmission, Bloober Team revealed some hints of the technology behind SH2R and indicated that 3D audio will be used for the game.
While they remained vague on what exactly that means, in an announcement released after SH2R's trailer they suggested that this means the environments will sound more believable and that players will be able to “pinpoint the direction of sounds” which could make sudden scares or tension building in a scene that much more effective.
Seamless Transitions
With new gaming consoles come new technological capabilities and because of the PS5’s SSD, Silent Hill 2 Remake will feature no loading screens or downtime. Gamers will simply be able to explore Silent Hill at their pace and leisure from building to building.
While this may seem like a minor detail, seamless transitions can help keep the atmosphere and mood from being disrupted, which will help draw players into the world and story of the game even more.
Silent Hill In Your Hands
As a timed PS5/PC exclusive, Bloober Team has plenty of PS5 technology to use to their advantage and it sounds like they’ll be utilizing it all. A press release from Konami and Bloober Team revealed that the game will look to incorporate the controller’s adaptive triggers and haptic feedback capabilities to give players even more immersion in the game.
They also mentioned a surprise involving the DualSense controller, suggesting that Silent Hill 2 Remake could take the PS5’s capabilities to even greater highs.