Silent Hill 2 Remake Will “Faithfully Stick To The Traditional Story Canon”

Last year, the announcement of a remake of one of the most influential horror games of all time took gamers by surprise. A series that had remained dormant for the better part of a decade was given a sudden jolt back into life with 3 original projects. Silent Hill made a bold comeback to the spotlight once again. 

Major Takeaways: 

• Silent Hill 2 Remake will stay faithful to the original game’s story.
• Bloober Team is taking a “very safe approach to any changes” to remain as faithful as possible to the original game.
• Some of the scares in the game will be potentially altered to make it “more appealing to a contemporary audience.”

Since the announcement, however, there has been concern among many regarding changes to Silent Hill 2’s story. While certain changes were already confirmed such as the more action-focused combat and the over-the-shoulder camera. Little has been shown in way of changes to the original game’s story. 

These concerns were put to rest in a recent interview conducted by DreadXP of Chief Marketing Officer at Bloober Team, Anna Jasinska. Jasinska spoke to DreadXP where she briefly talked about the upcoming Silent Hill 2 remake. When asked about possible changes to the game’s story, she stated: 

We are focusing on bringing the distinct, visceral atmosphere back in the modernized SILENT HILL 2. Longtime fans shouldn’t worry about us “missing the point” while we’re livening up the title. We faithfully stick to the traditional story canon while remaking the gameplay and updating the graphics from the ground up. These are the reasons why Konami entrusted us with the remake in the first place. “

The statement about “missing the point” comes across as a direct response to many criticisms the studio has faced in the last few months. Particularly with their view on mental health and psychology in their games and whether that approach will impact the direction of this remake or not. 

Jasinska further expresses certain changes that will potentially be made to adjust Silent Hill 2’s peculiar brand of horror “more appealing to a contemporary audience.” Whether this means that we’ll see the additions of conventional horror tricks remains to be seen.

Silent Hill 2 is lauded for its reliance on atmosphere and ambiance to create a terrifying experience, in particular for its lack of more “direct” in-your-face horror elements such as jump scares. 

When asked if there were any intended changes for the story or some of the game’s cutscenes, in particular, Pyramid Head’s introduction cutscene. Jasinska denied a response only saying “we’ll save our answer for the future.” 

Bloober Team typically does not shy away from their love of Silent Hill 2. Many developers at the studio are huge fans of the game and Jasinska herself mentions that many of Bloober Team’s games have been directly influenced by Silent Hill 2.

The fact that we’re developing a SILENT HILL game is an honor and a dream come true. SILENT HILL 2 is a classic that shaped how our studio works on psychological horrors.”

In fact, one of the most prominent marketing details about Bloober Team’s last game, The Medium was that its music was composed by Akira Yamaoka. Sound designer and composer for most, if not every Silent Hill game. 

As such, she further expresses in the interview how important it is to stick with the vision of the original game and reinvigorate it for an entirely new generation of horror fans. 

As aforementioned, we take a very safe approach to any changes. We remain faithful to the original title. Nonetheless, we are applying adjustments to certain areas where things need modernizing due to the passage of time.”

While we are busy waiting for more Silent Hill, indie developers have taken the mantle to deliver stunning psychological horror experiences.

Rose Engine’s horror masterpiece (and my personal Game of the Year 2022) SIGNALIS is not only a fantastic tribute to Silent Hill but a psychological horror gem that deserves to be played by every horror fan.  

Silent Hill 2 Remake will launch exclusively on the PlayStation 5 and Steam on a yet unannounced release date.