No matter how nicely the Silent Hill 2 remake does, you’ve bought at hand it to Bloober Staff for turning round a scenario that killed so many different video games.
Following the preliminary optimistic response to its announcement and its first trailer, subsequent gameplay footage was met with a lot negativity that Bloober Staff’s president really needed to come out and say it wasn’t chargeable for the sport’s advertising and marketing, and that it didn’t signify the sport.
We’ve seen this story play out quite a few occasions earlier than, the place the web decides a recreation’s destiny earlier than it’s even launched, the thumbs down icon on a YouTube trailer performing as the trendy day equal of the identical gesture that condemned Roman gladiators to demise.
And but, Silent Hill 2 hasn’t gone the way in which of Metroid Prime: Federation Pressure, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League and Harmony, all of which had been basically destined to fail following on-line consensus. As a substitute, Bloober Staff has managed to show issues round, by way of a mix of optimistic press preview protection and a few genuinely sensible trailers.
If the sport finally ends up performing worse than Konami anticipated, then, it received’t be due to any ill-will among the many gaming group. The place as soon as there was concern about Silent Hill 2 – the fight, the character designs, the pedigree of the studio behind it – there’s now pleasure. And for probably the most half, we will fortunately verify that pleasure is justified.
For those who’ll forgive our instant reference to Silent Hill’s long-time rival, this new tackle Silent Hill 2 is extra just like the Resident Evil 4 remake than the Resident Evil 3 remake. Whereas the trendy Resi 3 took the sport in a wildly completely different course to the unique, the Resi 4 remake caught so much nearer to its supply materials, and it’s this street that Silent Hill 2 additionally goes down.
Whereas the puzzles are completely different, and there are further scenes that aren’t discovered within the unique – it’s not like you may carry up an previous 2001 walkthrough from GameFAQs and use it right here as a result of it’s removed from an entire facsimile – for probably the most half, the Silent Hill 2 remake follows the identical story beats because the PS2 model, that means long-time followers will get a kick out of seeing their favorite scenes being reimagined.
Most of the key moments from the unique are recreated right here, typically virtually precisely. That anguished scream you hear coming from room 208 is simply the way you remembered it earlier than, and Pyramid Head continues to be ready for you, standing calmly behind the bars for that first uncomfortable sighting. A lot is completely different, however a lot is reassuringly acquainted too (nicely, as reassuring as one thing so macabre could be).
It ought to go with out saying – and but right here we’re saying it – that Bloober Staff has finished a rare job in making Silent Hill 2 look extra fantastically disgusting than ever.
“Bloober Staff has finished a rare job in making Silent Hill 2 look extra fantastically disgusting than ever.”
It’s that traditional scenario the place the staff has managed to make a recreation that concurrently seems to be precisely the way you remembered the unique in your head however is, in actuality, considerably extra detailed, to the extent that whenever you put them side-by-side, these three console generations of distinction, actually do shine starkly by in each doable approach.
It sounds even higher, particularly for those who can collect the braveness to play it with headphones on. Akira Yamaoka’s reworked soundtrack is a factor of magnificence, whereas the otherworldly noises that create a continuing buzzing, squirming, whispering and screaming stress make it unattainable to sit down comfortably whereas enjoying (in the absolute best approach).
The trademark Silent Hill radio noise is again too, and do you have to resolve that enjoying with headphones isn’t fairly for you, you’ll get the radio noise by your DualSense too, including to the immersion. It hits that excellent stability of constructing dread – as earlier than, when the static will get louder it means an enemy is close by – whereas additionally creating excellent leap moments when it intentionally stays silent for sure baddies.
When mentioned creatures arrive, fight is slightly higher than it was earlier than. Melee weapons are given extra oomph, making it extra satisfying to take down weaker enemies together with your wood plank (or later your metal bar), whereas the addition of a dodge transfer provides you the additional confidence to remain shut and save your ammo for extra harmful beasties.
It’s nonetheless not solely clean – the character of survival horror video games means there at all times must be some form of clunkiness in there, so you may’t swiftly dive your approach out of any tough conditions – so encounters the place you’re dealing with even three of the extra fundamental enemies can get slightly bushy for those who don’t method it rigorously, however by and enormous the fight nonetheless feels extra satisfying than within the PS2 model.
If it seems you’re simply rotten at preventing the enemies, the remake has the same double-difficulty setting to the unique, with the flexibility to set separate issue ranges for the fight and the puzzles. Turning down the previous lessens enemy respawns and allows you to take them down with fewer hits, whereas the latter impacts how summary and sophisticated the sport’s quite a few item-based puzzles are, that means you may both have them virtually spelled out for you, or make them brain-itchingly tough.
Whereas the remake is usually a hit, there could also be some gamers who bounce off sure components of it, a few of that are partly out of Bloober Staff’s management. The supply materials has some repetitive components, and these are carried over right here too, however a lot of that’s all the way down to the sport’s setting.
Silent Hill’s trademark fog is again – now for atmospheric causes fairly than technical ones – but it surely does make exploring the streets fairly a samey affair when you may solely see a couple of ft in entrance of you and may’t see the buildings both aspect of you whenever you’re standing in the course of the street.
What’s extra, massive chunks of the sport are set in sure buildings – condo blocks, a hospital, a resort – which by their very nature are multi-floor environments with plenty of lengthy corridors resulting in rooms which principally look the identical by design.
“Giant chunks of the sport are set in sure buildings – condo blocks, a hospital, a resort – which by their very nature are multi-floor environments with plenty of lengthy corridors resulting in rooms which principally look the identical by design.”
At occasions all through your 16-20 hour playthrough there might be prolonged sequences the place you’ll consistently be mentioning the map as a result of the mix of regularly darkish areas and an absence of various room designs means you may’t actually use your environment to find out the place you might be.
While you’ve seen one condo with slightly sq. kitchen, a lounge and separate rest room and bed room areas, you’ve seen all of them, and it might be practically unattainable to recollect what distinguishes every one, had been it not for the way in which the sport makes notes in your map to remind you which of them have key objects or puzzles in them.
None of this might be a brand new drawback for followers of the unique Silent Hill 2, and in a way that needs to be the right reassurance that Bloober Staff has ensured its remake is an genuine tribute to the 2001 model, grotesque humanoid warts and all.
It could have had its doubters, however the Silent Hill 2 remake proves most of them incorrect with a brilliantly atmospheric take that skilfully walks the road between the 2 worlds of latest and nostalgia.
The studio’s love for the sequence was already clear in previous video games like The Medium (which feels prefer it might have handed as a Silent Hill spin-off), and with this providing, it’s made an ideal case for being given the keys to take it for one more drive, ought to it need to.
Whether or not that will be a remake once more or a model new title, who can say – all we all know is that we’ll be there, wood plank in hand, able to as soon as once more “see that city, Silent Hill”.
