With a release expected for 2024, Silent Hill 2 fans are becoming increasingly restless about the upcoming remake. The latest trailer that was released has sparked new concerns, which even the developers share.
It's been a few weeks since the latest gameplay trailer of the Silent Hill 2 Remake was unveiled during the State of Play. The long-awaited remake of the survival horror classic was already announced at the end of 2022, with speculation about its development circulating even earlier. Since then, fans have been waiting for news and, of course, a confirmed release date. The trailer they saw during Sony's live stream event elicited many disappointed reactions, not only among gamers.
Devs Agree: Silent Hill 2 Remake Trailer Failed To Capture The Core Of The Franchise
In the comments under the trailer in question, you can clearly see how the community feels about its content.
In the trailer, presented as a 'Combat Trailer,' we see action-packed scenes of the protagonist James Sunderland fighting a series of disfigured creatures, using melee weapons and various firearms. A Quick Time Event (QTE) scene was also shown.
Users expressed their discontent under the video, describing the Silent Hill 2 remake as a cheaper version of the Resident Evil remakes. Other sarcastic comments highlight that this game seems to miss the actual spirit of the original. "Ah yes, James Sunderland the famous action hero," alluding to the fact that Silent Hill 2 originally focused much more on psychological horror than action. One user sees the shown QTE prompt as "the scariest thing in the trailer."
The fans of the iconic horror franchise don't seem to be alone in this view. Piotr Babieno, the president of the studio (Bloober Team) behind the remake, addressed the negative feedback in an interview with a Polish news channel, which was transcribed by Eurogamer Poland. He starts his response with a joke.
I wrote these negative comments myself. Quite seriously, we are not responsible for the marketing side. Our partner [Konami] is entirely responsible for this.
The developers also seem to have a different vision for Silent Hill 2 than what the trailer suggests. Babieno continues, explaining that he can see where the negative reactions come from.
This trailer certainly does not reflect the spirit of the game. This is neither the spirit of what once was nor of what we are creating now. We are trying to fully reflect this romantic vision of the game that debuted over 20 years ago. We think that when players see real gameplay, a real game, they will evaluate it in a completely different way.
With this interview, the president of Bloober Team was hopefully able to alleviate some concerns.
Silent Hill 2 is considered by many fans to be the best installment of the series, which includes a total of 7 main titles and several spin-offs. The remake has the unique opportunity to bring the 23-year-old game into the modern era and present it to a larger audience. It would be a shame if it couldn't capture the beloved look and feel of the original.