Konami has shared a very impressive trailer for the Silent Hill 2 remake.
The trailer gives us a good look at some of the game’s main characters. I actually starts us off with a look at Mary, and Mariah, before giving us James Sunderland. We also get to see James interacting with Laura, Eddie, and Angela. As you can imagine, we’re dropping names very briefly to avoid spoilers, but if you’re an old fan, you know who these are. Subsequently, we got a very good look at the game’s famous locations, demonstrating not only technical proficiency in rendering, but an eye towards creating an eerie mood.
Bloober Team has made artistic decisions to differentiate their remake from the original, and it certainly looks like they have thought out how to better tell the same story with everything they have at their disposal now. This doesn’t just mean the old production materials Konami had in storage, or the advancements in technology. That also includes the knowledge of two decades of horror game design, as well as entering an industry where cinematic games are now a refined, critically acclaimed genre.
We would point to two things you can see in the trailer. One, they chose to depict Mariah as a fairly realistic woman with a normal appearance. Her creepy, untrustworthy tone is matched by her body language, something that Bloober Team clearly put effort, so much so that it seems natural. Eddie also demonstrates the facial and speech tics of someone with poor mental health, and we feel the need to commend Bloober in pulling this off in a way that’s believable, and also doesn’t feel insulting.
In a preview on PlayStation Blog, Sony’s Sachie Kobari shared a small preview of what we can expect on the gameplay front. The over the shoulder perspective matches how modern gamers experience games, and 3D audio enhances that experience. Fog, which on the PlayStation 2 was a visual trick to allow the console to load textures easily, is now used solely to establish mood. James can clearly see buildings in the distance, but when he gets closer, the fog actually gets denser.
The houses and rooms have more detail than in the original, so if you still remember that title fondly, there’s reason to keep looking around here. Puzzles remain complex, but there is a separate difficulty slider for them if you prefer to focus on combat difficulty. You will also have to find these puzzles, and in-game items, in different locations now. So older players are not guaranteed an easy time.
Speaking of combat, enemies will now fight back, and you have to learn to dodge and time attacks now. On the PlayStation 5, loading screens are a thing of the past, so be prepared for proper jump scare fight scenarios. Pyramid Head is a fittingly terrifying opponent, and this description makes it seem to be a FromSoftware worthy combat scenario. Pyramid Head moves slow but deals serious damage. We don’t think this is a fight like Great Grey Wolf Sif, but you’ll have to master timing to dodge and managing distance nonetheless.
It all adds up to a properly updated version of what is now regarded as one of the greatest video games of all time. For sure, this is a vastly better tribute to the 2001 original than the botched HD rerelease from 2012. And it certainly looks like it could be this year’s GOTY. It’s definitely one of its strongest contenders.
The Silent Hill 2 remake is coming to the PlayStation 5 and Windows via Steam on October 8, 2024. You can watch the launch trailer below.
