Konami recently announced a Silent Hill 2 remake promises to rebuild the beloved title from the ground up, but modern graphics risk spoiling the experience rather than enhancing it.
The original Silent Hill was released on PlayStation 2, and it made full use of the console's hardware to build upon its predecessor. The console allowed the creation of more realistic fog, which is useful for hiding enemies and has become a staple of the franchise's psychological horror aesthetic. Improved lighting systems also made shadows in Silent Hill 2 much more dynamic, which can lead to tense moments as enemies approach. Silent Hill 2 also employed fixed camera angles, similar to the rival Resident Evil series, which also makes enemies harder to spot and reflects the limited technology of the time.
Konami's Silent Hill 2 announcement video shows off what the 2001 classic will look like on PlayStation 5. The video recreates the title's iconic opening scene, which sees protagonist James Sunderland gaze at his own reflection in a filthy bathroom mirror. Fans are then given a glimpse at some gameplay, with James wandering the foggy streets of Silent Hill and encountering horrific foes like the Nurses and the iconic Pyramid Head. The remake strives to preserve the atmosphere of Silent Hill 2 while making big changes like an over-the-shoulder camera angle, motion captured animations and improved lighting and sound. While these changes certainly sound great, they risk ruining what made the original Silent Hill 2 so intensely terrifying.
Silent Hill 2 Thrives On The Unseen
Silent Hill 2 puts an emphasis on psychological horror over visceral scares, and Silent Hill remakes may ruin that tension if players can see every detail around them. Due to hardware limitations and fixed camera angles, the original game was forced to leave many of its scariest elements up to the player's imagination. Getting a quick peek at an enemy through the shadow and fog was absolutely terrifying, and dated graphics actually helped make these bizarre creatures even more unsettling. In the Silent Hill remake players will instead spot monsters from a third-person perspective, and they'll be able to see every inhuman detail of their foe thanks to the power of Unreal Engine 5.
While modern remakes can breathe new life into old games, survival horror titles often specialize in doing more with less. Silent Hill 2 made masterful use of the PlayStation 2's limitations, with fog and shadow covering up both unspeakable horrors and low-quality textures. Bloober Team's Silent Hill 2 remake will no doubt create a gorgeous modernized version of James Sunderland's journey through Silent Hill using Unreal Engine 5 and PlayStation 5. However, in the case of Silent Hill 2, gorgeous may be a detriment rather than a benefit.
