Friends, I am almost in TEARS at this news. After so much waiting and wondering whether or not this series would ever see the light of day again, we got some great news today: Silent Hill 2 is getting a remake!!!
I am … honestly in shock. I’ve never been so lucky as to touch a copy of this game, as it’s incredibly hard to find (unless you count the HD Collection, which I’ve been told not to touch with a ten foot pole), but I’ve still been a fan for so many years. The fact that it’s being revitalized is nothing short of incredible.
I mean, my god, look at how good it looks! Konami had to outsource to a Polish development studio, Bloober Team, who are known for various other horror game titles (such as Layers of Fear and The Medium). My understanding was that they really played the camp factor up in their games, but they really seem to be putting their all into this remake. The animation is stunning, the voice acting, while different (understandably so, considering some controversies surrounding the original voice actors), is phenomenal, and I mean my god, it’s just really cool to see such a beloved game get such a clearly loving makeover.
Of course, outsourcing to different teams is always a little bit of an iffy prospect, for fans and for the parent company, but I’m still pretty excited about this. I can’t even make it through the trailer again without tearing up.
The release info thus far
So far, there is no set release date for this game. All we know is that the team is hard at work, and that it will be a PS5 exclusive.
Which is … honestly, quite disappointing. The supply/demand ratio for the console is still wildly incongruous, and even if you’re able to find one, it’s way outside the normal price range for a game console. But I suppose that if this franchise has any hopes of surviving in the current market, they gotta do what they gotta do.
What changed vs. what’s the same
It would appear that the story is pretty much the same: James Sunderland gets a mysterious letter from his deceased wife, Mary, asking him to come to the town of Silent Hill, where they honeymooned so many years ago. As James explores this impossible situation, the town continually throws horror after horror against him and the other humans who happened to find their way there. Thus far, the only other such human we can see in the trailer is Mary herself; Laura, a girl that Mary met while in the hospital; and Maria, the “Otherworld” version of Mary.
Of course, everyone got a facelift, and I can only imagine how blorbified James is going to be once this game is released. I’d say that I called him my problematic white man fave first, but considering all the bad things he’s done, that’s probably not a win, is it.
Akira Yamaoka is returning as the music director, and he’s largely keeping the game’s original compositions, but adding a modern spin on them. Knowing Yamaoka, I have full faith that he’s going to pull this off and then some. In general though, I think it’s difficult to mess up modern adaptations of pre-existing soundtracks (the Final Fantasy 7 Remake soundtrack was a banger), so considering this remake is in the hands of the original composer, I’d say we’re good.
How we feelin’, girls?
Because I feel a little like this:
(featured image: Konami)
