Now Bloober’s Silent Hill 2 Remake is out in the wild, the director of the original Silent Hill from 2001 has offered his thoughts on this reimagining of his work, and he’s full of praise.
In a series of tweets, Silent Hill 2 director Masashi Tsuboyama began by saying he is “very happy” about the remake and how a new generation will get to play the horror classic. “It’s been 23 years,” he said. “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.”
Tsuboyama went on to discuss the change in camera perspective from the original’s limited camera to the remake’s modern over-the-shoulder camera perspective. This change — debated by fans in the context of the original tank controls’ crucial role in Silent Hill 2’s famously oppressive atmosphere — has a “significant impact” on everything from combat to level design, and even art creation. “While the impact on the story may be relatively small, it brings a big change to the playfeel of the game,” he added.
It sounds like Tsuboyama has come down in favor of the switch, saying: “The over-the-shoulder view definitely adds to the sense of realism. In other words, it makes me want to try playing the even more immersive remake of Silent Hill 2.”
Tsuboyama, as he has done before, said he isn’t happy with the original game’s camera, but this time added some context as to why it had to be as constrained as it ended up being back in 2001 on the PS2.
“Games and technology are constantly evolving, resulting in significant differences in constraints and levels of expression,” he explained. “This is a common issue with media arts in general, but it is not easy to maintain and appreciate the environment of the time.
“To be honest, I’m not satisfied with the playable camera from 23 years ago. Depth and angle were limited by the processing load,” he said. “It was a continuous process of hard work that was not rewarded. But that was the limit.”
One aspect of Silent Hill 2 Remake Tsuboyama doesn’t sound thrilled about is Konami’s marketing for the game. He says “it seems like they’re [Konami] not doing enough to convey the appeal of the work to the generation that doesn’t know Silent Hill,” while pointing to the inclusion of the Mira the Dog Mask and the PS5 exclusive Robbie the Rabbit Mask DLC pre-order bonuses.
The original Silent Hill 2 had plenty of goofiness in among its horror, so Tsuboyama may be upset at the idea of players running around the game wearing the DLC masks during their first playthrough, rather than their second or third.
Either way, the Silent Hill 2 Remake is going down well with fans and critics, with IGN’s Silent Hill 2 Remake review returning an 8/10. Unfortunately, trolls are trying to ruin the fun — the Silent Hill 2 Remake Wikipedia page had to be locked down after its list of review scores from the press was edited to make them lower. Check out the Silent Hill 2 Remake’s global release times to find out when it’s playable in your region, and while you wait, check out the remake’s awesome Silent Hill 2 HD Collection Easter egg.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.