There isn’t any style fairly like horror. At its greatest, it is a lot greater than guts and gore, or drained tropes and torture scenes. It is self-reflection. It is catharsis.
It is coming into an implicit settlement with a piece’s creator: For those who spill your guts out to me (metaphorically or maybe actually), then I’ll wade by means of my very own, maintain them up, and be aware of what makes ours much like each other. Whereas there are actually qualities that make for a “good” work of horror, the transcendent selection is subjective; it depends by yourself fears, traumas, and beliefs to create resonance with what’s laid earlier than you. The extra susceptible a piece is, the better its alternative to attach with–or presumably alienate–its viewers. That is exactly what makes Silent Hill 2 such a memorable and pivotal entry within the horror recreation genre–it’s sheer vulnerability creates a recreation whereby even alienation feels like connection.
I say all this to emphasise that the upcoming remake of this 23 year-old recreation is an extremely thrilling prospect to me. Although the unique holds up nicely, there is no denying that it feels fairly dated–and not at all times in an endearing, “time capsule” form of manner. There’s additionally no denying that the sport is extremely influential; its DNA is woven into numerous horror video games and horror-adjacent titles, with final yr’s Alan Wake 2 proving that, even many years later, this continues to be true. This in the end elevates Silent Hill 2’s standing from “nice recreation” to a “style important,” albeit one that’s irritating to play–or even merely access–at the second. A remake, then, appears totally warranted.
Nonetheless, following Konami’s latest therapy of the Silent Hill series–and manufacturing accomplice Bloober’s personal perceived missteps–many have puzzled if the corporate really has a grasp on what makes Silent Hill 2 so particular and whether or not it could actually successfully remake it. It is a truthful query, particularly after a handful of less-than-impressive trailers. And it is one I saved in thoughts as I spoke to a few of Konami and Bloober’s lead builders and performed about three hours of the Silent Hill 2 remake at Konami’s Tokyo headquarters. Whereas temporary conversations and my jaunt by means of the sport’s opening hours (together with the notorious Wooden Facet Residences) cannot make for an entire reply, what I noticed left me impressed; assuming the sport’s tone stays in place and that what I performed is a correct indication of what is to return, the upcoming remake might be an distinctive and reverent expertise.
Reverence was a constant feeling all through my playthrough, as Silent Hill 2 is an extremely devoted adaptation helmed by a mixture of the unique recreation’s key developers–who repeatedly expressed their very own awe on the recreation a gaggle of younger, scrappy builders managed to drag off–and recent faces who cite Silent Hill 2 as amongst their biggest inspirations. I used to be happy to notice that the sport did not really feel totally reconstructed or reinterpreted as a method to fulfill perceived trendy calls for, nor does it really feel swayed by the urge so as to add in additional soar scares, viscera, or plain ol’ content material. The recreation begins the identical manner it at all times has , with James inspecting himself in a derelict toilet mirror and explaining, considerably chillingly, what brings him to Silent Hill. James’ new voice actor Luke Roberts nails the supply of this and each one among his monologues, managing to sound each Fully Regular whereas additionally barely… off. Breathy. Dissociative.
As he makes his manner down the winding, fog-drenched footpath that results in Silent Hill, he passes a well-known crimson symbol–one of these long-forgotten save factors that, sure, stay very important and are the one type of saving progress within the remake. James then presents the identical unusual, meta comment he did within the authentic recreation: “Taking a look at this makes me really feel like somebody’s groping round inside my cranium.” Although it appears a small factor to be excited by, the sport’s retention of those minor, surreal conditions. (“There was a gap right here. It is gone now.” is one other that involves thoughts and continues to be current) looks like proof that the workforce understands how these quiet moments in the end set up a extra excessive degree of dread than a high-fidelity Pyramid Head jumpscare would possibly.
The truth is, simply the sheer retention of the sport’s opening sluggish burn looks like a triumph. In response to Bloober Crew’s Maciej Glomg, the lead producer of Silent Hill 2 Remake, the workforce did try and develop a faster-paced opening to the sport earlier than realizing it merely did not really feel proper. Silent Hill 2 earns and depends upon the best way its opening minutes–and the grotesque creatures discovered inside them–crawl.
Equally, the workforce repeatedly famous that Silent Hill 2 is “not a combat-oriented recreation.” It isn’t fast-paced. It isn’t punchy. The similar may be mentioned for its remake, which improves upon fight by making issues a bit extra fluid and including an especially useful dodge button and an aiming reticle, however doesn’t essentially overhaul the general expertise. For some, this might be irritating, because it nonetheless has a lightweight dusting of PS2 jank, for lack of a greater time period, that one thing just like the Resident Evil remakes have roughly finished away with. Nonetheless, I discovered that the remake’s fight really feels completely in service to the remainder of the sport. A part of what makes Silent Hill 2 as terrifying as it’s are these small bursts of panic and rigidity that come up from its cumbersome fight; the remake appears to just accept and construct upon this, taking away the extra unruly and irritating features of fight whereas letting the sport retain its sense of friction. Fight feels stable in Silent Hill 2, but it surely’s not on the forefront.
Happily, the workforce being so forthcoming about that implies that fight is handled really as a secondary half and would not really feel awkwardly pushed to the entrance and promoted just for it to really feel much less polished than your common survival horror recreation in 2024. One other manner they emphasize this throughout the recreation is by retaining the remaster’s option to separate the fight and puzzle problem settings, permitting you to fine-tune your expertise and choose what degree you want to have interaction your mind or brawn. It is also value noting that the principle menu comprises a powerful quantity of accessibility choices; we’re speaking pages of them. Whether or not a participant has visible, auditory, or motor impairments–or merely likes to have the ability to tweak a sturdy quantity of playstyle preferences–the possibility to take action most likely exists in Silent Hill 2’s remake. You’ll be able to change the colour and boldness of your reticle, alter the sport’s shade palette to regulate for a number of forms of shade blindness, set textual content to account for dyslexia, and extra. That is simply one other manner Silent Hill 2 emphasizes fixed, significant upgrades quite than embracing full AAA modernity at any price.
After all I am unable to gloss over essentially the most drastic of all these adjustments: the sport’s visuals. With the latest and ongoing wave of remasters, remakes, and the like, the primary factor I ask myself when enjoying one among them is, “Does this really feel like an try and make issues glossy and trendy, or did they efficiently create the bridge between what was as soon as there and the way my creativeness expanded it after I performed it years in the past?” The Silent Hill 2 remake does the latter, and it does it exceedingly nicely. And this was a welcome shock, contemplating how tough a few of the trailers printed by Konami and Bloober look.
The Silent Hill 2 remake is a beautiful recreation that does not abandon the grime, grotesquerie, and sure, fog, that made the unique recreation so mesmerizing. The truth is, it usually amps it up. Places are expanded upon, with a handful of latest buildings and eerie retailers to stroll by means of and loads of smaller particulars and objects that make the world appear extra grounded in reality–even if that actuality is one among horrific isolation. Neely’s Bar, for instance, now not looks like merely a small, derelict dice, however seems like an precise deserted bar. And, as you come upon notes from off-kilter former residents, these areas rework into locations with better that means.
And but every thing nonetheless feels the identical. It nonetheless feels like Silent Hill. Suffocating. A spot the place the air feels tainted by a tangy, metallic scent and its folks, hellish cerebral forces. Although there was some uncertainty across the recreation’s character fashions, these I encountered–while not on the identical degree as the sport’s environments–looked surprisingly good. Although Angela’s look in trailers appeared a bit off, to place it flippantly, I discovered that her actions and VO weren’t notably jarring in recreation. And but, what impressed me greater than something I’ve listed up to now was the sport’s music and audio.
In response to Silent Hill 2 composer Akira Yamaoka, creating a brand new but reminiscent soundtrack for Silent Hill 2 Remake was extremely necessary to him; nevertheless, doing so proved to be not solely a tough course of, however an unattainable one. Yamaoka mentioned he tried repeatedly to enter the identical mindset he was in when he composed the unique title’s music; mid-20s and “financially unstable,” he added with fun. He recounted how he did not personal a bass guitar on the time of recording, that means he was resigned to tuning his guitar extraordinarily low to create the identical impact.
Yamaoka admitted that there was no going again to that house; that that youthful model of himself felt overseas to him now. And but, none of that was obvious after I listened to his new tackle the long-lasting soundtrack. Although the sport’s music has been reworked, it feels acquainted, with its iconic motifs wrapped in all-new layers of dissonance, static, synth, and depth. And together with the brand new music is a deal with 3D “depth-oriented sound route,” that means steps, scrapes, creaks, moans, and shrieks feels much more unsettling (although remarkably extra useful, as nicely).
Whereas tracks I heard felt much like what already existed, every thing feels a bit deeper now, a bit darker. And it really works extremely nicely. As hazard encroaches out on the streets of South East Vale, sharp, abrupt, and dissonant chords get your coronary heart beating sooner. In particularly tense conditions, the sound takes on a lifetime of its personal; it looks like it’s respiration alongside you. As you method Pyramid Head for the primary time, his hulking body staring blankly from behind a set of bars, the synth and accompanying static are horrifying. Regardless of him doing nothing, it was the scariest portion of the already scary preview.
Briefly, I used to be extremely impressed by the point I spent with Silent Hill 2 Remake. It’s surreal, cerebral, horrifying, and grotesque–all of the issues that made the unique title such a exceptional title not just for Konami, however for the horror style as nicely. Contemplating I used to be resigned to the sport’s starting hours (and it is value nothing right here that I might estimate we’re a 8 or so hour expertise in whole primarily based on what I managed to perform throughout the three or so we got), it is arduous to inform if the sport will nail its tone and message; if sure plot twists will stay as vile and unnerving and the studio will absolutely decide to making a suffocating, psychological hell above all else. However after my time with Silent Hill 2 Remake–and after months of witnessing the web (and myself) hem and haw on whether or not or not this Remake even has the capability to be great–I’m now not on the fence. I’m thrilled the watch for the total expertise is sort of over, and will probably be brushing up on my bravery till the sport launches on October 8.