If you’re worried about whether the Silent Hill 2 remake might affect how you feel about the PS2 classic, the original director has this to say: don’t be.
The thing about remakes, particularly when it comes to games as beloved as Silent Hill 2, is that the conversation can be muddied around the original version. Some people might say that a remake replaces the original, others might say the same thing but negatively, but if you were to ask the director of the PS2 original version of Silent Hill 2, he’d tell you that the quality of the remake won’t do anything to the original. On his personal Twitter, developer Masashi Tsuboyama wrote that he thinks “the value of the remake is that a new generation can play it. As a creator, I’m very happy about it. It’s been 23 years! Even if you don’t know the original, you can just enjoy the remake as it is. Whether it’s good or bad doesn’t affect the original.”
It’s a pretty positive spin on the situation, and at least says to people who have a deep love of the original that you can just keep doing that even if you end up hating the remake. That isn’t to say Tusboyama had only positive things to say, as he continued, “The differences between the original and the remake,4K,Photorealism,the bonus headgear, etc. are all mediocre. Who is this promotion going to appeal to? It seems like they’re not doing enough to convey the appeal of the work to the generation that doesn’t know Silent Hill.”
Even still, he did go on to compliment the remake’s use of an over-the-shoulder view, saying it “adds to the sense of realism,” and “in other words, it makes me want to try playing the even more immersive remake of Silent Hill 2!” Apparently Tsuboyama is “not satisfied with the playable camera from 23 years ago,” though in the game’s defence, as jank as it can be occasionally, it does also make for some incredibly atmospheric moments.
Silent Hill 2 Remake is out tomorrow, October 8, and our own Kelsey gave it a full 5/5 stars in their review.