Players warned Silent Hill 2 remake will ‘upset’ fans of the original
Though Resident Evil 4 is finally here and treating long-time and new fans alike with its return to Leon S. Kennedy's European excursion, there are still more survival-horror remakes to come this year. The headliner is a remake of one of the most iconic ever made.
Silent Hill 2's remake has been a long time coming, and players have been itching to get back to the horror icon to explore that tormented town all over again. But as it turns out, it might not be exactly what we expect.
Silent Hill 2 fans issued a stark warning
Click to enlargeThe lead designer of both Silent Hill: Origins and Silent Hill: Shattered Memories has come forward to suggest that some fans of the original Silent Hill 2 game might not be too happy with the final product they'll be getting in its remake.
Speaking with PCGamesN, Sam Barlow has said that remasters and remakes are a tricky thing to nail, and that not everyone is going to meet the new version of Silent Hill 2 with love.
"Personally, I'm less excited about playing a remaster," he says. "It's also like the biggest poison chalice in video games, doing a remaster of Silent Hill 2. I mean, good luck to them because I don't know how you can do that without upsetting people."
It's a fair point, as we've seen some immensely disappointing remasters in recent years - but apart from that, Barlow is pretty excited about the franchise's future.
Sam Barlow is excited for the future of Silent Hill
As the series won't be ending with Silent Hill 2, and we've got Silent Hill: Townfall to see, Barlow has suggested that the Silent Hill name is heading in a very exciting direction.
"The version of Silent Hill that I would love – which it sounds like they're pushing – is that 'we use this as a platform to have a range of interesting psychological horror games,' right?", he adds. "And actually, can we see a breadth of gameplay?
"You know, Twilight Zone, and those kinds of anthologies give you a sense of what you're getting yourself in for but you're also excited to see the different ways in which they can be explored." Of course, this is just one man's hope and not that of Bloober Team or Konami.
It's certainly a nice thing that even those decrying the idea of a remake of Silent Hill 2 are still excited for the future. Then again, Barlow's points are pretty valid about the dangerousness of bringing an iconic title back to life. We'll be cautiously optimistic.
