The franchise is one of the classics of the horror genre, with four main games released nearly 20 years ago. While the graphics and controls have aged badly, this is absolutely not the case for the impact and aura of the games. In order to honor their memory, and to introduce them to a whole new audience, Konami took on the challenge of producing the remake of Silent Hill 2.
Two months before its release, Konami and Bloober Team invited us for a preview session, controller in hand, of more than 4 hours. During this event, we were able to play Silent Hill 2 from the beginning of the game. We find James, looking for his wife, three years after her death, following the receipt of a mysterious letter. She arranges to meet him in Silent Hill, a place as dangerous as it was once peaceful.
The scene is set, and it's still the same plot. This new version of Silent Hill 2 is a remake, not a reboot, which means that we'll still follow the same story, with the same characters. The graphics and visual elements are obviously reworked from A to Z, and some narrative elements may be added along the way.
Check the price of Silent Hill 2
Even more immersive
The first thing that strikes us about this version of the game is its apparent modernity. Bloober Team has succeeded in transposing a hit from the 2000s to our time, with a certain assumed realism, but still as much love for gore, monsters and the strange. The task may have seemed easy, but the studio has thought of all the details.
In addition to having beautiful settings, the latter gain in immersion. Modern technology has the advantage of being able to excel on this point and Bloober Team takes advantage of it. The view goes from above to an almost subjective view, behind the protagonist. In this way, the gameplay is dynamic, humanized, and this angle allows an even more pronounced feeling of anxiety. Added to this is a completely reworked, thicker fog that only lets enemies be seen at the last moment.
We can still hear them, and the spatialized sound helps to locate them… while increasing this latent anxiety that follows us throughout the game. Silent Hill 2 is known for playing on the psychological aspect more than on the screamers and this is primarily due to the sound.
In addition to the disturbing noises or the threatening silence, the composer Akira Yamaoka – who worked on the original game – gives us a familiar, reworked and sometimes completely new score. We must admit that the instrumental music has been able to play on our perception more than once. Unlike the first version of the game, the soundtracks blend seamlessly together and the transitions are smooth between each location/atmosphere/part.
Good old Silent Hill
The enemies are well worth mentioning. In this regard, nothing has been reinvented or added in the remake of Silent Hill 2, but everything has been perfected. Monsters no longer lack textures or bite. The game includes a new dodge mechanic which has the gift of energizing the fights and giving them more substance. You will have to think a little more about your positioning, your speed and your rhythm to get out of it without damage. The third-person view is sometimes a hindrance to mobility during fights, and it is a flaw that is also found during the exploration phases.
A classic exploration in the sense that nothing differs from what we already know. We go through several stages, first the city, then a series of buildings, each area can only be opened by having completed the previous one. The developers emphasize with this remake the fact that an object guides each quest. In each new environment, you will have to find rooms, explore, understand puzzles and unlock passages, then return to this central object to complete it and move on to the next chapter. The only collectible items outside of the main mission are care and ammunition. During our time playing, we have to admit that searching the rooms was starting to get repetitive, but who knows what the rest of the game has in store for us.
Silent Hill 2 is therefore not intended to be an open world. The game thrives on this “corridor” system which also promotes immersion in the story, although the narrative itself still needs to be revived. The idea of keeping exactly the same plot, with the same characters in the same places and with similar dialogues is reassuring for long-time fans, but it is so surreal and sometimes incoherent that we would have appreciated some subtle changes.
An excellent remake
We would be tempted to believe that Silent Hill 2 is only a remake, old players will have nothing to discover, think again. You are facing a completely new game. In addition to the placement of the enemies and main confrontations which are no longer the same, you will not have the same puzzles either. Bloober Team has successfully succeeded in its remake challenge by completely rethinking the thinking process and the mechanisms that allow you to progress through the story.
Some elements are familiar, others are almost identical, like tributes to the original game, but absolutely nothing is exactly the same. Everyone therefore starts more or less on an equal footing, and players have the same pleasure in playing as James whether they know Silent Hill 2 or not. For old players, it's as if they were given access to the feeling of rediscovering their favorite work for the first time.
The question that remains is this: will the remake of Silent Hill 2 manage to rival the extraordinary character of the first? To mark its history? This is a question that will only be answered at the time of release. 4 hours on the game allowed us to attest to its potential on several subjects, but gray areas remain.
0 Comments