Silent Hill 2 Remake is almost here, with the release date set for October 8, so it’s not too far away. As the game enters the final stages of development and is being given the finishing touches, previews are already well underway.
Although I discussed this at length in the preview, I didn’t have high expectations for Silent Hill 2 Remake. Frankly, I was terrified. However, I am pleased that Bloober Team has put their heart and soul and considerable resources into this massive undertaking.
While speaking with lead producer Maciej Glomb and creative director Mateusz Lenart, I asked a few questions about how they were able to portray the original game so authentically while also catering to modern audiences, and what difficulties they might have faced.
“The biggest challenge was keeping the game authentic because we were changing so much. But we knew we had to do it,” Glom told me. “Obviously, the move from a fixed camera to a front-facing camera impacted a lot of our decisions in creating the monster AI, as well as creating levels and making them fun for the player to explore.”
When you first hear that Silent Hill 2 is being changed, your heart might break – “Isn’t this a 1:1 remake?!” you’ll scream in disbelief. But rest assured, Bloober Team has made sure the storyline remains intact. Instead, the studio has enhanced it with commentary, puzzles, and expanded locations, making it a rewarding experience for both new and returning fans of the series to explore.
“We’ve always been fans of the book, and we didn’t feel it needed any major changes,” Groom continued. “We added a few things here and there, mostly to flesh out the story further and give some characters a little more exposure that maybe weren’t given as much exposure in the book. […] We might improve one or two things, but we never intend to change anything.”
Lennart agreed, sharing one of the changes the developers made to illustrate their point. “For example, the layout of the apartment only has one corridor. Creating gameplay in such an environment was impossible. So it was definitely a challenge to keep the memory of the original location, and I hope we did it. So, the feeling is the same, but the latter is much more complex in structure.”
I later asked them if they could elaborate on how Bloober Team altered the dialogue to provide more nuance, and while they couldn’t share specific examples, Lenart did explain that it was important for the developer to hire professional actors to breathe life and emotion into the characters of Silent Hill 2. “We knew from the beginning that we wanted to use professional actors to play the characters because the game is about emotion, the game is about the characters and their stories. This is a crucial part of it. With this approach, we were able to expand on the cinematic feel of the game,” the developer told me.
Bloober Team says that finding these actors wasn’t easy, but they managed to do it, trying to make the backstories of the actors other than James Sunderland even more exciting than before. This is certainly something I welcome with open arms, and although I only saw Angela and Laura briefly in the trailer, their voices and appearances are great. The chilling feeling of James and Angela’s first meeting in the cemetery is still there, but the facial expressions do a lot to enhance the scene.
I want to talk That Konami’s combat trailer, what Bloober Team thinks of it, and how combat may have changed since then. “Obviously, combat has changed. Mainly in terms of balance, because that’s usually the last thing you think about, right? You first focus on fleshing out all the monsters, all the AI, and making sure all the mechanics are in place. And then you start playtesting,” Glomb detailed.
Gloom went on to explain, “Essentially, [combat] It’s probably similar to what’s depicted. I mean, Feel Same, but not in the same amount as portrayed. That trailer had a lot of combat, and even though Silent Hill 2 isn’t a combat game, combat is still an integral part of it. It’s more about exploration and puzzles, in my opinion.”
But of course, you can’t show too many puzzles and exploration in a Silent Hill 2 trailer, or you risk ruining the experience for players. “During marketing, we can focus more on, for example, combat or cutscenes, or sell the feel of the game – the atmosphere – but not spend too much time on actual exploration and puzzles,” Glumb continued, which is why the combat trailer doesn’t quite portray what fans might expect.
“As Glom said, this is definitely not about combat, but everything can be presented in a misleading way. Especially, showing this specific part of the game without context can be tricky,” Lennart added.
Last, but not least, I asked Glom and Lennart what’s next. Bloober Team is currently working on a second project, Silent Hill 2, but they say internally they can’t wait to release the game. “We’re very confident that we’ve done the best we can,” Maciej said at the end of the interview, and so far, I have to agree.
