Silent Hill 2 remake preview - back to that special place

Developed by Team Silent, the original Silent Hill 2 was released for the PlayStation 2 in 2001 and is widely considered to not only be one of the best horror games of all time, but one of the best games ever.

Offering a different version of survival horror to the likes of Capcom’s Resident Evil series, Konami’s Silent Hill focuses on a psychological horror that explores the psyche of the main protagonist (or antagonist, depending on your perspective). In Silent Hill 2, it is James Sunderland who ventures into the misty town after receiving a mysterious letter from his wife, Mary, who died three years earlier.

Check out the Silent Hill 2 story trailer below!

Now, 23 years later, Bloober Team, known for the likes of Layers of Fear, Observer and The Medium has taken on the gargantuan task of remaking Silent Hill 2. A task that even if perfection is achieved, may still not be enough for purist fans. Recently, I spent three hours with the Silent Hill 2 remake, and despite going in with cautious optimism, I came out feeling very excited.

I, like many, wasn't overly impressed with the previous gameplay trailers that I have seen for Silent Hill 2. It looked very combat-heavy and the redesigned Maria, a stripper that looked eerily like James’ dead wife looked notably different to the original and not for the better. While I never encountered Maria in the preview, we were treated to a yet-to-be-released trailer that was very reminiscent of an original Silent Hill 2 trailer where Maria is talking to James from a prison cell, and she looked a lot more like how we remembered her, which hopefully is replicated in the full game.

There was also an issue with some fans with the new design of Angela, a troubled young lady that you meet early on in a church cemetery. Yes, her new design took a bit of getting used to and it’s a personal preference at the end of the day but her character model does not look as bad in-game as what we had seen in a previous trailer and if anything, I felt her new design made her appear more vulnerable, which serves the purpose of the Silent Hill 2 story and world.

Konami

So how does the Silent Hill 2 remake look and feel? In short, it felt very much like the remake I hoped it would be. Whether it’s due to the support of Konami, Bloober Team levelling up its talents or a little bit of both, this remake may far exceed anything the studio has previously achieved.

James is a lot more mobile in this remake and the player is now aided by an over-the-shoulder camera inspired by Resident Evil 4 and offers complete rotational movement, aligning it with modern games, unlike the very respective camera of the original. Of course, this free camera runs the risk of removing dread of what may await around the next corner but Bloober Team have compensated for this by using the environment to the benefit of still being scared out of your wits, accompanied by the fantastic environmental audio and nostalgic soundtrack created by series veteran, Akira Yamaoka.

In terms of combat, despite being more advanced than the original James, it’s clear that modern James is still no combat expert. He will swing a weapon frantically and inaccurately if you’re not careful, which will likely result in you being surprised by a new attack from the likes of a Mannequin or Lying Figure enemies, which James can now counter by pressing circle. In terms of firearms, ammo is still very scarce and most of the time, you’ll only pick up one, maybe two bullets at a time.

Konami

At the most, I only had roughly 10 bullets in my possession and I was instinctively conserving my ammo, which hopefully bodes well. James will also sway a lot when aiming a gun, so smashing the shoot button will waste a lot of bullets in your possession. As with most survival horror games, the amount of resources you collect will be impacted by your chosen difficulty setting.

I played this preview on normal difficulty for gameplay and puzzles, so it will be interesting to see how much more scarce ammo is on higher difficulties come launch. With my Resident Evil 4 and Dead Space instincts kicking in, I found myself planting one or two headshots at an enemy, before charging in to clobber them with a plank of wood and then stomping them on the ground, something that would make Isaac Clarke proud.

As what was made clearn in my Silent Hill 2 developer interview, it’s clear that Bloober Team are very big fans of Silent Hill 2 and in the best way possible, this feels like a passion project. This is a very faithful remake that looks to be true to the original story, as well as the locations and characters. Reminding me of the 2002 Resident Evil remake, Silent Hill 2 was very familiar, but locations were redesigned, sometimes relocated and even extended without losing the vibe of what made the original game so great.

Konami

There is also more opportunity for players to explore the town of Silent Hill, with buildings being more accessible, whether it's via a door, an opened window, smashing a window with a melee weapon to loot for precious items or discovering world lore. You can even smash car windows, just in case there’s loot in there too.

Speaking of the world, I was pleasantly surprised to discover many more shortcuts that made it easier to backtrack and with the Silent Hill 2 remake having no noticeable loading screens during my preview, it feels very seamless and you’re not taken out of the immersion due to constant loading screens.

After my time was over with the hands-on preview which began with James Sunderland staring into a public bathroom mirror and ended with the iconic Pyramid Head and Mannequins cut-scene with James hiding in the closet, I left feeling exceedingly hyped. I will remain cautiously optimistic to a degree but for the first time, I have some confidence that Bloober Team might just be able to deliver the goods with this beloved classic.

Silent Hill 2 will be released on 8 October 2024 for PC and PlayStation 5.