The Silent Hill 2 remake will take a safe approach to bring the classic horror title to a contemporary audience, more than 20 years after its debut.
An official remake of Silent Hill 2 is currently in development by Bloober Team, which is working hard to safely update a classic experience. Bringing back the menacing atmosphere for which the Silent Hill games are appreciated could prove a challenge, its developers realize, but they earned the right to try.
The original Silent Hill released exclusively on the PlayStation in 1999. Silent Hill 2 followed in 2001 and arrived first on PlayStation 2, and the Silent Hill 2 remake was announced as a PS5 exclusive. Silent Hill 2 is often remembered for a pivotal scene wherein protagonist James Sunderland happens across a monster known as Pyramid Head that assaults distressed living mannequins while James hides in a closet and fires his pistol. Some players believe the scene indicates rape. Masahiro Ito, the game’s art director, took to Twitter a few years ago to dispute that characterization. He explained the scene was intended to showcase the internal conflict James was afraid to face at that time, though he admits to understanding the scene seems “sexual” and confirms he built the motions of the creatures to look that way.
In an interview with Dread XP about the Silent Hill 2 remake, Bloober Team’s chief marketing officer, Anna Jasińska, promised the studio is focused on bringing back the “distinct, visceral atmosphere” that many fans believe makes Silent Hill 2 one of the best PS2 horror games. She emphasizes the team’s intention to “faithfully stick to the traditional story canon,” which one might theorize includes darker elements of the memorable moment with Pyramid Head. When asked about that specific sequence, however, she notes that, “You see, we are now getting into the details, so we’ll save our answer for the future.”
Artistic intent and the player response won’t always align. Masahiro Ito debunked one popular fan theory suggesting Silent Hill 2‘s protagonist looks directly at the player during the famous scene with the mirror, for instance. However, his clarification doesn’t necessarily mean players will agree, either in that case or regarding the scene with Pyramid Head.
The Silent Hill 2 remake has been in development since 2019, when Bloober Team presented its concept for the remake at the Tokyo Game Show. Numerous developers competed for a chance to bring that concept to life as a final product, but Konami chose the Bloober Team design. Jasińska admits “the pressure is high,” but it sounds like the members of the development team are determined to do right by the original game. Only the final product will determine whether their “safe” approach has allowed them to successfully update the beloved game, but so far, the potential is there.
