Bloober Team’s Silent Hill 2 Remake has another brand-new trailer. While the latest gameplay showcase looks incredible, it continues to miss what made the phenomenal PS2 original so special.
Shown after the recent PlayStation State of Play showcase, the new 13-minute Silent Hill 2 Remake trailer feels like an HBO adaptation of a beloved niche property.
It’s flashy and hits all the major themes, but something key is lost in the new game’s usual PlayStation cinematic flair. The remake lacks the oppressive, almost indie nature of the original game’s subdued story.
Bloober Team’s take on Silent Hill 2 has been dreaded for a while, not because of any lack of skill on the side of a talented development studio, but because of what Silent Hill 2 is. It’s a game where every asset, character, and line of dialogue was perfectly matched to the story it was trying to tell.
That story was one of a thoroughly broken character that is grasping with creatures that are directly related to the horrific actions he committed.
Silent Hill 2 Remake’s latest trailer somehow seems more staged than the PS2 original. For example, the radio that alerts you of nearby enemies is no longer found at the end of a long winding path, but instead after following a creature into an abandoned house. Unlike the original, the sense of dread and loneliness while following this path is stripped away, and it embraces a more movie-like tone than the original was attempting to craft.
This continues with the few glimpses of combat we see in the trailer. James Sunderland’s combat experience is more akin to the police officer status of Resident Evil’s Leon S. Kennedy. In the original, combat was scrappy and clunky; now James can dodge to the side and swiftly take out nurses with a blast from a shotgun.
Finally, Silent Hill 2 Remake still seems to lack some of the grittiness of the PS2 original. Locations such as the hospital look too clean, failing to replicate the grime and decay of SH2. The iconic ghost town still looks abandoned, but it is substantially less decrepit than what fans are used to.
This isn’t to say that Silent Hill 2 doesn’t look like a good game, it looks like a great game. However, it’s not a perfect remake of what the PlayStation 2 original accomplished so well. Silent Hill 2 was defined by its rough edges and its execution of intention, and it obviously changes when placed in the hands of other creatives.
At the end of the day, Silent Hill 2 Remake isn’t a straight replication of the original. It’s not an offensive return, nor is it a perfect recreation; it’s just another version of Silent Hill for gamers to enjoy.
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