Far from desecrating a classic, the Silent Hill 2 remake is being widely celebrated, with even the original game’s director joining in on the praise.
Despite being faced with the daunting task of remaking the legendary Silent Hill 2, it appears Bloober Team has come through for the win. Some vitriolic review-editing by certain unhappy parties aside, the game is being recommended by a wide variety of critics, with its engaging atmosphere and faithful recreation of the original story outshining small gripes around sluggish gameplay and pacing.
Now, ahead of the Silent Hill 2 remake’s October 8 release, the game has received the best stamp of approval fans could hope for. Masashi Tsuboyama directed the original Silent Hill 2 release, 23 years prior to Bloober Team’s updated effort, and the director has been broadly positive with regards to the new work.
🟥I think 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.#SilentHill2
— 坪山 優史/Masashi Tsuboyama (@tsuboyama2024) October 4, 2024
While some game directors may wish for their original creations to stay untouched, Tsuboyama doesn’t seem to be one of them. The director even went as far as to mention aspects of the new game that he felt improved on the original. Rather than treating it as an unassailable classic, Tsuboyama was clear-eyed about aspects of Silent Hill that he felt were lacking. He mentioned that he was unhappy with how the playable camera turned out in the original title, being constrained by the technology available at the time.
In contrast, Tsuboyama wrote positively of the horror remake’s over-the-shoulder camera angle, feeling that it added to the game’s sense of realism. In a true win for both the Bloober Team and Silent Hill fans, the director finished with “It makes me want to try playing the even more immersive remake of Silent Hill 2!”
If such a crucial member of the original game’s development team is willing to give the new Silent Hill 2 a shot, series fans have no excuse not to dive in and try it out when it launches on October 8.