Featured Image Credit: Konami
Topics: Silent Hill, Konami, PlayStation 5, PC
Update 7 November 2023 20:12: Konami has confirmed to Eurogamer that the Best Buy listing in relation to the potential origins story for the Silent Hill 2 remake is incorrect. Konami states that the listing has now been updated with the correct information.
Original story follows... Konami’s Silent Hill franchise is one of the best in the horror genre and fans are eagerly awaiting the remake of the second numbered entry. To say that Silent Hill 2 is an iconic game, would be an understatement. Not only is it full of visual scares, but the psychological scars of its protagonist James Sunderland have left a lasting impression on fans since the original was released in 2001.
Check out the Silent Hill 2 remake trailer below!
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Following months of speculation, in October 2022, Konami finally announced that a Silent Hill 2 remake is in the works. The remake is to be developed by Layers of Fear, Blair Witch and The Medium studio, Bloober Team. Whether this studio has the knack for creating a remake worthy of such a legendary game remains to be seen.
What’s more, it was also seen as somewhat of a strange decision to jump straight into remaking the sequel, rather than the first game in the series that was released for the original PlayStation in 1999. I know, we had the reimagining Silent Hill: Shattered Memories for PS2, PSP and Wii in 2009, but I think it fair to say that it wasn't greeted with high critical acclaim and neither was it played by as many fans as the original trilogy. For that reason, I personally think a remake of the first Silent Hill should have been the catalyst of the Konami remakes, but it is what it is.
That being said, it will be interesting to see how the Silent Hill 2 remake turns out. Being one of my favourite games of all time, I hope that it’s an instant classic despite the doubts that I may have about Bloober Team handling the project. Moreover, I’m intrigued to see what new elements the studio might incorporate into the remake, without changing the identity of the source material.
However, if a recent listing from US retailer Best Buy is to be believed, it seems that the Silent Hill 2 remake will be getting new content in the form of an origins story for the Red Pyramid Thing aka Pyramid Head. In a tweet by Twitter user Bobvids, the listing states: “Fan favourite, Pyramid Head makes a return along with a special origin story for fans to playthrough.”
Depending on how we interpret that line, it could mean that Pyramid Head will be getting an origin story (which would be strange considering that he’s a manifestation of James Sunderland’s guilty conscience”). Personally, I’d prefer it to be a new take on the side-scenario ‘Born from a Wish’ which featured Maria as a playable character prior to the events of James arriving in the town of Silent Hill.
At this time, the Silent Hill 2 remake does not have a release date, but it is expected to be released on PC and PlayStation 5 sometime in 2024.