Silent Hill 2 Remake is a bloody .
Silent Hill 2 Remake reviewDeveloper: Bloober TeamPublisher: KonamiPlatform: Played on PS5Availability: Out 8th October on PC (Steam), PS5
I’ll explain why shortly, I promise. But there’s been so much noise around this remake, so much consternation and criticism, this needs to be upfront and centre from the outset. So, before we get into the nuts and bolts of it – before I break down why, exactly, Bloober Team has excelled this time – I need you to know that Silent Hill 2 Remake is not only the reboot its long-suffering fandom deserves but the one we’ve long dreamt of, too. Even in a world where Resident Evil 2 Remake has pushed the remake bar up exceptionally high, Silent Hill 2 Remake is sensational.
More than that, though, Silent Hill 2 Remake is so sympathetic to its source – yet confident enough to stamp its own identity on this long-spoiled, 23-year-old story – it is the perfect stepping stone for a whole new generation of fans who’ve never experienced the horror of Silent Hill before, too.
This is the part that impresses me most. Working alongside Konami and a couple of the game’s original developers, Bloober has masterfully blended expectation with surprise to weave this devastatingly bleak story into a modern masterpiece that should be terrifyingly good fun for both old and new fans alike. In many places, the dialogue is a word-for-word enactment of its source – in some cases, even the intonation is the same – but Bloober has confidently crafted new cinematics, too, and carefully revised the well-trodden layouts of places like Blue Creek and Brookhaven in a way that makes these places familiar, but nonetheless keeps even well-versed fans on their toes.
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And, look, I get it. Yes, I know I’m a Silent Hill fan. Yes, I know every single one of its games front and backwards, yes I am (insufferably) able to quote most cut-scenes word-for-word. I understand that that may not make me the most detached person in the room, but it does make me . It does make me wary. It also means I am hyper-aware of change Remake has made, from map tweaks to puzzle revisions to entirely new areas and cut scenes.