Silent Hill 2
Developer(s)Bloober Team
Publisher(s)Konami
Director(s)Mateusz Lenart
Producer(s)Motoi Okamoto
Designer(s)Mateusz Lenart
Programmer(s)Mariusz Szaflik
Composer(s)
SeriesSilent Hill
EngineUnreal Engine 5
Platform(s)
Release2024
Genre(s)Survival horror
Mode(s)Single-player

Silent Hill 2 is an upcoming survival horror video game developed by Bloober Team and published by Konami. It is a remake of the 2001 game of the same name, originally developed by Team Silent, a group in Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo (KCET). It will be the first major installment in the Silent Hill series since Silent Hill: Downpour (2012). Like the original game, it follows James Sunderland (Luke Roberts), a widower who returns to the eponymous town of Silent Hill upon receiving a letter from his deceased wife Mary, who claims to be waiting there for him.

The remake of the game was officially announced in October 2022[1] following months of speculation and leaks, and is the first game in an ongoing initiative by Konami to rejuvenate mainstream interest in the franchise, which hadn't seen a new major entry since the release of Silent Hill: Book of Memories (2012) and the subsequent cancellation[2] of Silent Hills from former internal studio Kojima Productions. The remake is being led by Bloober Team creative director Mateusz Lenart, while it is being produced by Motoi Okamoto from Konami.[3] Masahiro Ito and Akira Yamaoka, who respectively served as creature designer and composer for the original game, will return to reprise their duties for the remake.[4]

The game is set to be released in 2024 for PlayStation 5 and Windows.

Gameplay

Silent Hill 2 will feature an "over-the-shoulder" third-person perspective, similar to the recent remakes in the Resident Evil franchise, with a revised combat system.[3]

Development

In June 2021, Polish developer Bloober Team announced that they had embarked on a "strategic co-operation agreement" with Konami that would involve "jointly developing selected contents and exchanging know-how" with the publisher. Bloober Team CEO Piotr Babieno commented on the deal, asserting that "The fact that such a renowned company as Konami has decided to strategically cooperate with the Bloober Team means that we [have] also joined the world leaders in gaming and become an equal partner for the leading players in this market".[5] Konami issued a separate statement, with the publisher remarking, "We don't have any specifics to share at this time, but we can say while Bloober Team will continue to produce their own original content, we’re excited at the chance to collaborate with them on potential projects across our various IP".[6]

In September 2022, a series of leaks revealed purported images sourced from a planned remake of Silent Hill 2 to be developed by Bloober Team, adding to substantiated reports that Konami was supervising an initiative to revive the series by outsourcing future games to collaborative developers.[7][8] An internet leaker with the username "Dusk Golem" alleged that the images were taken from an internal test demo Bloober Team developed to pitch the project to Konami, and as a result did not represent the final title.[9] The leaked images were subsequently taken down by Konami representatives.[10] Another leak alluding to the game appeared the following month, through a YouTube description for a trailer accidentally made public by Konami themselves.[11]

The game was officially announced by Konami during their Silent Hill Transmission presentation in October 2022, alongside the games Silent Hill f, Silent Hill: Townfall and Silent Hill: Ascension, as well as the film Return to Silent Hill.[12] It was confirmed at the presentation that creature designer Masahiro Ito and original composer Akira Yamaoka would return to contribute to the remake. Bloober Team creative director and lead designer Mateusz Lenart cited the importance of "preserving the atmosphere that made Silent Hill 2 so exceptional, while modernizing many aspects of the game's overall gameplay" as a key factor in the decision to remake the game. Lenart additionally revealed that the original third-person combat system and certain story set pieces were completely rebuilt.[3][13]

Release

Silent Hill 2 is set to be released in 2024 for Windows and as a timed console exclusive for PlayStation 5 at launch, before being eligible for release on other platforms following one year.[14][15]

References

  1. ^ Gurwin, Gabe (October 19, 2022). "Silent Hill 2 Remake Officially Announced". GameSpot. Archived from the original on January 27, 2023. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  2. ^ Crecente, Brian (April 27, 2015). "Silent Hills canceled, Konami confirms". Polygon. Archived from the original on June 22, 2023. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c Okamoto, Motoi; Lenart, Mateusz (October 19, 2022). "Silent Hill 2 remake revealed, first gameplay details and design changes announced". PlayStation.Blog. Archived from the original on October 19, 2022. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  4. ^ Parijat, Shubhankar (January 5, 2023). "Silent Hill 2 Remake – Masahiro Ito and Akira Yamaoka Have 'Taken an Active Part in Development'". GamingBolt. Archived from the original on June 22, 2023. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  5. ^ Scullion, Chris (June 30, 2021). "Konami and Bloober Team announce partnership amid Silent Hill links". Video Games Chronicle. Archived from the original on February 27, 2023. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  6. ^ Goslin, Austen (June 30, 2021). "Horror developer Bloober Team partners with Konami, the studio behind Silent Hill". Polygon. Archived from the original on February 27, 2023. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  7. ^ Robinson, Andy (February 18, 2021). "Bloober Team hints it could be working on Silent Hill… but it's not the only one". Video Games Chronicle. Archived from the original on February 18, 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  8. ^ Kinnun, Maria (August 3, 2021). "The Rumors and Possible Revival of Silent Hill". Couch Soup. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  9. ^ Blake, Vikki (September 4, 2022). "Silent Hill 2 Remake screenshots allegedly leak online". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on February 27, 2023. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  10. ^ McWhertor, Michael (May 13, 2022). "Rumored Silent Hill reboot images leak, get pulled offline by Konami". Polygon. Archived from the original on February 27, 2023. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  11. ^ Wright, Steven T. (October 19, 2022). "Silent Hill 2 Remake Leaked Ahead Of Today's Reveal". GameSpot. Archived from the original on February 28, 2023. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  12. ^ Kim, Matt (October 19, 2022). "Silent Hill Transmission: Everything Announced From Today's Big Showcase". IGN. Archived from the original on December 27, 2022. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  13. ^ Stuart, Keith (October 19, 2022). "Silent Hill 2 remake announced as Konami exhumes hit horror series". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on November 10, 2022. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  14. ^ Croft, Liam (October 19, 2022). "Silent Hill 2 PS5 Remake Announced as a Console Exclusive". Push Square. Archived from the original on October 20, 2022. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  15. ^ Stewart, Marcus. "Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, Silent Hill 2 Remake Launching This Year". Game Informer. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
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