“‘My name is Maria’ the woman smiles, just like my late wife’”.
Shapes in the fog.
Initially it began back in October of 2022, Konami’s Silent Hill transmission outlined what fans could expect from the Silent Hill franchise in the years to come. SH2 would receive a remake, a Silent Hill film from Christoph Gans (the director of the 2006 film), Ascension – an interactive livestream ARG and Silent Hill F – a new title in development. Amidst this also came the Short message, a brief two hour experience developed by Konami, akin to Hideo Kojima’s PT (playable teaser) back in 2014.
Now Ascension has passed like a disdainful wind, meeting to damning critical reviews and abysmal audience reception, the Short Message met with middling to positive reviews and the aforementioned projects remain in development.
The remake for Silent Hill 2 was revealed to be helmed by Bloober Team, a Polish Developer studio known for Observer, the Layers of Fear instalments and The Medium. Titles which detail Bloober Team’s eye for environmental design, narrative-driven horror and consistently beautiful and immersive worlds.
It’s worth noting that Silent Hill 2 is slated to be Bloober’s first shot at a remake. Whilst their psychological approach to horror, wedding that with diegetic inferences into their ailing or distorted psyche – a remake is a whole different beast for a studio to tackle.
Silent Hill 2’s approach to horror, whilst also firmly rooted in the psychological/ Freudian dream-logic stance, differs greatly from Bloober’s own vision. Their title predominantly fall into the category of ‘walking-simulator’ games. Divorcing the narrative from combat interjections, instead relying on sparse chase sequences and boss-lite encounters. Silent Hill 2 however falls more in line with Resident Evil’s lineage of survival horror combat.
The density of mechanics at play in Silent Hill 2 greatly outweigh those of the Bloober titles. Inventory management, ammo scarcity, enemy placement and healing item balancing are at odds with the puzzle solving, atmospheric horror of their own titles.
The initial trailer.
Whilst you can approach this remake dubiously, it’s worth noting that every studio can learn. With such a juggernaut to remake though, and a legacy of influence and originality to preserve, and simultaneously live up to, Bloober faces an undeniably steep metric to surmount – or at the very least, meet.
Then came the initial trailer. A CG outline for the game to come, addressing player expectations for artstyle, score, returning faces and tone. Bloober’s eye for detail is highlighted here, showcasing their ability to utilise cinematography, environmental detail and character designs to convey narrative elements.
Its colour palette, environments and character models all remain fervently truthful to the game’s initial vision. The fog swirls with wraith-like dynamism, the encroaching florae grasps at the moulding architecture and the protagonist, James Sunderland, bears the virile wrinkles of a regretful and broken man. The culmination of this resulted in a trailer that was met with a resoundingly optimistic, if not cautious response from the audience. Things were looking good.
Even returning stars Akira Yamaoka (soundtrack and sound design) along with Masahiro Ito (Enemy, boss and environment design) return, sparking hope in the fanbase. The gestures towards a faithful, permutational remake were all here.
Combat trailer:
Then came the combat trailer. It’s astounding how bitterly the ensuing trailer can undermine this initial showcase. Bloober’s vision is evident in the first peek, and subsequently eroded by the second.
Behind the scenes, particularly during the precursive months leading up to its reveal. Bloober team sent out a tweet addressing a user who had inquired about receiving further news. In response Bloober replied “Konami is the publisher of the game and communication is definitely part of their job”.
There’s been no evidence to indicate any signs of the game entering the dreaded phase of ‘development hell’, though the hallmarks of a strained publisher-developer relationship are present. Furthermore, in an interview for inwestorzy.tv, CEO of Bloober team Piotr Babieno claimed that the combat trailer did not “capture the spirit of the game”.
The maligned trailer itself featured vaulting nurses, lack of combat feedback, anaemic weapon sound effects and the presence of on screen button prompts. Beyond combat, there were notable shortcomings in the attack animations and James’ movement.
The reception was lukewarm at best, the top comment on the Youtube video, with seven and a half thousand likes goes “I feel like Konami took a look at the RE remakes and said, ‘We could do that for less’”. Fans and spectators alike took aim at Konami for their mishandling of the franchise in the past, citing the aforementioned flaws which swiftly became recurring talking points in the Silent Hill subreddit and the ensuing Youtube reactions which followed.
Silent hill broadcast:
The broadcast, premiering at Sony’s May 29th state of play, had managed to address the prior woes of the combat trailer. Blood effects appear on wounded enemies, James’ animations have undergone tweaks which convey his combat inexperience whilst retaining animation fluidity and weighty attacks and a deeper insight into the environmental density and character designs of Laura, Angela and Maria were all revealed – along with a release date, October 29th 2024.
The trailer also featured brief segments taken from the first half of the game. James, alone at first, encounters a lying figure – now placed in a different location, whilst encapsulating the spirit of the original through cinematography, combat and emotions elicited in the player. Then James walks through the hospital with Maria, a fine segment showcasing Bloober’s attention to detail and diegetic storytelling. Maria herself has undergone slight changes, having discarded her leopard-print skirt and donning a more subtle cloth or dark denim. Both her and James take a more active role in the interactions with one another and James’ interaction with the scheming Laura. After she claims she met his deceased wife at the hospital “last year” James’ short-temper appears, and he retorts with “stop lying!”, evidencing a shift from his more mild-mannered character, played by Guy Cihi, into a more desperate figure as portrayed by Luke Roberts. He barks enough at her to be branded ‘fart face’ by Laura – ouch.
Enemy reactivity was also displayed this time round. The infamous bubble-head nurses now fall to their knees as James places a well-aimed shot to their kneecaps. A thundering pistol and rifle have taken the place where the anaemic weapon sounds once held counsel. Having centred the trailer around the audience’s grievances with combat, Bloober team had evidently been listening to feedback.
Mateusz Lenart, creative director and lead designer at Bloober Team shed light on the alterations made to combat. “Fighting against monsters is prepared in a more tactical form and is mainly based on the varied designs of the enemies”, the loop of the original game also incorporated this style, albeit to a more primitive extent. Lenart also provided clarity on the reworked style of James’ combat ability, “James is not used to fighting, so his arsenal of attacks is limited. Adapting your approach to the situation will be the key to success”. The approach from the original has evidently been retained. In spite of the original combat trailer which ran in direct juxtaposition to Lenart’s claim, the development has progressed and Bloober’s approach to the melee and ranged options lies more in line with the haphazard swings and untrained aiming of the 2001 original.
Bloober, in spite of their leaps in design philosophy and tackling of a combat system, has remained transparent in their development journey. Monika Chmura, senior combat designer at Bloober Team appeared in the transmission, stating that “The hardest part was designing combat. We want to be as faithful as possible to the original game, but also we want players to feel satisfaction while playing, remembering that we need to fit in the horror genre standards”. Her quote hints at their contemporaries of the modern era – a la Capcom and EA Motive. Both of whom had gone to great lengths to retain the original ‘feel’ of the game whilst making it approachable for a modern audience.
The aforementioned redesigns had also fallen more in line with characterisation for the likes of Laura, a once vacant-faced child scampering around in the mists now resembles a scheming younger girl with a malicious twinkle in her eye. Angela also resembles a 19 something as opposed to her original design which depicted her as a more mature looking teen (a 19 going on 30 something). Paired with their reworked voice acting, the two retain their uncanny elements from the original which strove to conjure this bizarre Lynchian intonation and line delivery. James and Angela’s exchange in the graveyard and the ensuing points throughout the game were briefly evidenced which detail a more fervently desperate and vulnerable girl who is lost in the miasma of past traumas. Barbara Kciuk, lead narrative designer for Bloober team spoke on the usage of facial animations and the reworking of the character models and how this will aid the game’s ability to convey character emotion and thought. Claiming, “for the narrative, this is very visible in facial expressions. We can tell so much through just the subtle changes on character’s faces”
Certain locations, notably Angela’s ‘piston room’ which contained the ‘Abstract daddy’ a grotesque yet effective depiction of Angela’s trauma, has also been expanded in scope and appears to be a looming corridor of tangerine hues and tenebrous looming walls. Acting more so as a stoic watcher when contrasted against the claustrophobia of the original.
Series designers and Konami/ Silent Hill producer Motoi Okamoto appeared to shed some light on the design of the game and address fan expectations. Okamoto claimed that “we are rebuilding the game to deliver an even more immersive and enjoyable experience”
Whilst members of Bloober team addressed and detailed their approach to the reworking of the original game. Barbara Kcuik placed emphasis upon the utilisation of new technology to bring life to elements that were previously unseen or left to be expanded upon. “In the remake, the story remains largely the same; however, with the magic of modern technology, we’re able to expand on some of its aspects”. Later going on to claim “The change for the third person perspective was… a challenge. That being said, it’s a chance for us to expand this world, show the players new elements which were previously inaccessible, and just make this game richer”. Whilst retooling the camera may shake some players’ preconceptions of the game, modern remakes have strayed from the fixed camera angles of old. Bloober has been stalwart in their promise to preserve the horror of old, even with this fresh facelift. Judging by the contemporaries in the genre, this will simply shift the focus of the horror, without dampening it.
Konami’s transmission also went on to reveal the varying editions of the game which range from the standard edition to the deluxe. Preorders of the standard edition will include a Mira the dog mask (from the alternate UFO ending) and a Robbie the rabbit mask – a Playstation exclusive. The deluxe edition will come with a digital artbook containing illustrations by Masahiro Ito and a digital soundtrack of the game featuring the works of series composer Akira Yamaoka. Pre-orders of the deluxe edition will arrive with the aforementioned bonuses and will also include a Pyramid head pizza box mask for James – furthermore, pre-ordering the digital deluxe version will grant players a 48 hour early access period for the game.
There was a hole here, now it’s gone – What other remakes can it be compared to? What is to be expected?
Prestigious titles of old have reinstated themselves in the modern era – a la Resident Evil, dead space and the reboot of Alone in the dark. All of which stemmed from the late nineties/ early noughties era, undergoing fresh new facelifts and renewed cultural relevance, courtesy of their remakes. Capcom kick-started this with their critically-lauded, hit remake of Resident evil 2. Revamping the aesthetics and gameplay to fall in line with the modern expectations. And now we find ourselves in the era of the remake. Bloober team’s prowess as story-led psychological horror developers put them at odds with this notion. It’s a critical flaw that can’t be overlooked. Despite their success with their previous works, nothing in their catalogue hints at an ability to recapture the nature of what has previously occurred. Their status as a AA developer further hampers the scope of this remake. Indeed, they have the might of Konami behind them, though for fellow AA developers, Pieces interactive, this also proved to be a tribulation step.
Alone in the dark has always been and (sadly) always shall be a particularly niche title. The financial performance tells us that. After being unable to recoup its development budget, Embracer Group has begun laying off staff, setting a bleak precedent for any further entries into the series. Alana Wake 2, despite achieving the status of becoming a critical darling has also underperformed. Konami, like any sound-minded business, is inherently profit-oriented. This is important due to the fan hopes (including mine) that further, and prior entries in the series also see remakes or remsters. Largely in part due to the obtuse ways you’ve gotta access these titles on modern consoles – the sole option being the maligned HD collection, a bug-riddled mess hauled from old code. Silent Hill 2 faces a difficult challenge. The competition, more so than ever, is exceedingly intimidating and I’m sure Bloober are feeling the pressure.
There’s a few core areas for them to hit, if they’re to remake the game in the same vein as the Capcom and EA motive. Combat, movement and the obvious sign being the graphics. The graphics aren’t the element which worries me, despite the abysmal combat trailer, rather it’s the combat. Silent Hill 2, for all its strengths, is lacking greatly when it comes to combat. The series has been plagued by this since its inception. Bloober’s developer history doesn’t do much in terms of providing hope for this either. Granted this was never Resident Evil 4, though there were signs of combat ‘complexity’ (strong air quotes there) sighted in later entries. This is the central mechanic, beyond graphical improvements, that cries out for a revamp.
Keeping in line with the trailer info and the horror remake contemporaries, Silent Hill 2 must sway from this borderline turn-based combat to one of dynamic, haphazard fight or flight interactions – something Bloober has endeavoured to address. Their way of conveying this was seen in the initial combat trailer, (less said about that the better) and was iterated upon in their ensuing 13 minute gameplay reveal in the recent Silent Hill transmission. Resident Evil 2 also employed button prompts but relied largely on spacing, risk-mitigation and combat avoidance. Branching further than on-screen prompts, and entering into the realm of modernised survival horror gameplay. A template that has endured, permeating the recent slew of remakes.
Though the modern space for horror remakes and fresh IP’s may seem financially bleak (unless you’re Capcom), Silent Hill 2’s remake is set to enter the colosseum on October 29th 2024. The template of greatness is there, the mantle now rests upon Bloober – in who I place both my faith and my cautious optimism.
