Silent Hill 2 is still the industry standard for psychological horror over two decades after its release. Silent Hill 2 immediately grips the player with an unnerving narrative and unsettling ambiance which is unmatched to this day. So, when Konami announced a remake for the next-gen consoles, die-hard fans and the newer generation of players unfamiliar with the dormant horror powerhouse were cautiously excited about what the end product could be. Silent Hill 2 is a masterpiece, doing it justice whilst attracting modern audiences is a massive undertaking handed down to the Bloober Team.
Fortunately for them, Capcom has been in the business of remaking its own horror franchise, Resident Evil. Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3 Remakes have both succeeded at re-inventing the franchise for modern audiences whilst keeping the games’ core identity intact. Both games have had their share of critical and commercial success and stumbling points. With that in mind here are a few lessons the Silent Hill 2 Remake can learn from Capcom’s efforts.
7 Stick To The Game's Roots
Both Resident Evil Remakes, like the upcoming Silent Hill 2 Remake pivoted to a third-person over-the-shoulder camera angle. This is a huge change and if done wrong could have alienated hardcore fans. Fortunately, it was executed to near perfection, and more importantly, neither remake changes much else from the core gameplay. Capcom kept intact and brought to the spotlight what makes Resident Evil a survival horror.
The Silent Hill 2 remake, having changed camera angles, shouldn’t try to change too much. With this being the first installment in the series for over a decade, Konami and Bloober shouldn’t get carried away. Silent Hill 2 was a success, graphical overhauls and slight changes are all it needs.
6 Keep The Atmospheric Horror In The Spotlight
Capcom’s recent iterations of Resident Evil have delved deep into atmospheric horror, filling the player with dread and fear at a slow burn and then slowly ramping it up. Cracking windows, whispers of the undead, and ominous breathing follow the player's every step and make for quality horror.
Silent Hill 2 was similarly known for its atmospheric horror. The game would fill players with dread for hours on end. The dense fog was sinister, following James Sunderland’s every move and teetering on the verge of suffocation, there was no way to know what waited around the corner. With modern technology, developers should focus on building this atmosphere to a new level rather than sacrificing it for realism.
5 Keep The Multiple Endings
Silent Hill 2 had a total of 6 possible endings, with three available in the first playthrough and a further three unlocked through subsequent replays with specific requirements. This added to the game's replayability, allowing players to trudge through the town of Silent Hill multiple times, exploring new avenues and changing their play style to get specific endings.
Each ending was unique and added to the game’s rich narrative. Resident Evil 3 Remake shelved its own multiple endings, much to the dismay of fans and critics alike, with multiple reviews focusing on this shortcoming. Silent Hill need not keep all the endings, but it should at least have some of them.
4 Enemy Variety
Silent Hill 2 has a host of iconic monsters and bosses including the famed Pyramid Head and the horrifying nurses and mannequins. But in terms of variety, it didn’t have much, there was only a handful of different bosses and monster types. While they still did the trick, it wouldn’t hurt to add in a few more that keep with the theme of the game.
Critically, enemy types should not be removed from the game. This was a mistake both recent Resident Evil remakes made and were criticized for. Removing iconic enemies and filtering the variety can potentially lead to the game falling into a pattern and getting repetitive, this was especially apparent in the second half of the Resident Evil 3 Remake.
3 Polished Gameplay
With the new over-the-shoulder camera angles gameplay defects are easily noticed and visible. Considering the game is over 20 years old the gameplay is dated, and Konami’s last Silent Hill release, Silent Hill: Downpour was criticized for the clunky and lackluster combat mechanics, this would be an area to focus on heavily.
The Resident Evil remakes were able to streamline their shooting and defensive combat and added variations to aim accuracy to reflect in-game situations. Similar adaptations and polishing for the upcoming remake would be very welcome.
2 Don’t Lean Into Scripted Gameplay Moments
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Scripted gameplay moments are one of the newer videogame crazes, they see massive success in action-packed series like Uncharted and God of War. However, they feel out of place and arguably lazy in a horror game.
The Resident Evil 3 Remake featured several of these, and they added nothing to it. Whilst Silent Hill doesn’t have a reputation for including scripted gameplay moments, the new remake would do well to not follow in the footsteps of its rival franchise in this regard.
1 Sound
This is more of a matter of reassurance if anything, Silent Hill as a franchise is known for its bone-chilling music that leaves players on edge. The original game had one of the best soundtracks in the genre.
As the recent Resident Evil games have shown, however, the sound design goes beyond that. The Silent Hill 2 remake would do well to focus on all types of sound: music, voice-acting, the groans the monsters make, the pattering of the rain, and the breaking of windows, etc. All of these minute details add up and can make or break a game.
Silent Hill 2 Remake is currently in development.