October is arguably the scariest month of the year, which makes it a good time to announce that after 21 years, Silent Hill 2 – one of the scariest games ever made – will receive a full remake, exclusively on PS5 … at least for a while. . Plus, the entire Silent Hill franchise looks ready to return.
The presentation was made by Konami producer Motoi Okamoto, who took the official PlayStation Blog (opens in a new tab) to share the good news.
Okamoto introduced the blog post, then passed things on to Mateusz Lenart, lead designer of Bloober Team. For gamers who don’t know it, Bloober Team is a Polish developer that has made a name for itself as something of a boutique horror game creator, with titles like Layers of Fear, Blair Witch, and The Medium.
Lenart outlines his plans to keep the spirit of Silent Hill 2 intact while optimizing some dated mechanics:
“One of our main goals is to preserve the atmosphere that made Silent Hill 2 so great while also modernizing many aspects of the overall gameplay of the game,” he said. “We are working closely with the original creators, including [composer] Akira Yamaoka e [art director] Masahiro Ito, to make sure we keep that unique Silent Hill feeling intact ”.
A hill worth dying on
For those who have never played Silent Hill 2, it’s a survival / horror game that debuted on PS2 in 2001. The story follows James Sunderland, who receives a letter from his wife, Mary, stating that he should meet her in the mysterious city of Silent Hill. This seems particularly unusual, as Mary has been dead for three months. James embarks on a terrifying quest, during which he learns dark secrets about both the titular city and himself.
We don’t have too many details on the remake yet, aside from a cinematic trailer, some screenshots and the fact that it will run on Unreal Engine 5. We also know that the Silent Hill 2 remake will begin as a PS5 console exclusive, which means it will also be available on PC. The trailer claims that console exclusivity will also expire after 12 months, so Xbox Series X players could possibly get that too. It would be similar to what happened to Bloober Team’s previous game, The Medium, which originated on Xbox and later migrated to PlayStation.
The Silent Hill 2 remake is just the beginning of Bloober Team’s plans. Later, Lenart states:
“The revival of the Silent Hill series does not end with Silent Hill 2. We have announced not only the remake of a classic from the past, but also more titles with completely new stories. Creating new games is what really brings the franchise back ”.
Perhaps it is worth noting at this juncture that Bloober Team games are not universally loved. All of its recent games have debuted to mixed reviews, with criticisms aimed at everything from gameplay, to writing, to the general sense of vibe. Whether Bloober Team is ultimately suitable for the beleaguered Silent Hill franchise, we’ll have to wait and see.
The Silent Hill 2 remake doesn’t have a price or release date yet, but Tom’s Guide will keep you updated as we learn more about the game.
