Silent Hill rumors are as out of control as its iconic Otherworld right now, and the series movie director has only exacerbated that.
Silent Hill 2 remake rumors have been bubbling for well over a year now, as IP owner Konami entered a partnership with The Medium developer Bloober Team. Now Christophe Gans, director of the (surprisingly good) 2006 Silent Hill movie, looks to have confirmed the remake’s existence in an interview with French publication Movie & Game, while stating that its developer is indeed Bloober Team.
“There are several games in development as we speak,” Gans said on the topic of Silent Hill, adding that he thinks Konami was “really impressed of the success of the remakes of Resident Evil that are evidently exceptional games.”
Gans working with Konami again on Silent Hill checks out, as the director is currently making a sequel to his 2006 adaptation. Though it’s a little harder to pin down what these “several games” could be. The most prominent possibilities are the Silent Hill 2 remake and one subtitled ‘The Short Message’ discovered on the Korean ratings board.
In my restless dreams…
It’s not the first time Bloober Team has been tied to a potential Silent Hill 2 remake, and I’m sure it won’t be the last. The possibility has always left me feeling anxious, though, as, despite the Polish developer’s background in horror, I don’t think they’re a good fit for Silent Hill.
I wasn’t particularly impressed with either Layers of Fear or The Medium. And while the latter was a perfectly fine game, its lack of scares and a goofy performance from Troy Baker as the game’s antagonist definitely left me feeling disappointed.
Another reason I’m shy to the idea of a remake is how the original PS2 game used hardware limitations to its strengths. Silent Hill 2’s iconic heavy fog was used not just because it’s unsettling, but also to mask sudden texture pop-in. Similarly, the game’s often claustrophobic environments and camera angles helped save on resources and keep gameplay smooth.
Now Bloober Team – or whoever ends up working on a Silent Hill 2 remake – doesn’t have to adhere to those same hardware limitations, given the power of current-gen consoles like PS5 and Xbox Series X. That means key elements of Silent Hill 2’s revered atmosphere could be stripped back. There’s even precedent for this, with the disastrous Silent Hill HD Collection.
One aspect I did like about The Medium, though, was its remarkable attention to detail in its environments. Sans all the supernatural kookiness, the game’s asylum setting nonetheless felt like a real place at times. Similarly, the town of Silent Hill feels like a place that was once lived in. In this sense, I think Bloober Team is at least up to the task of crafting a convincing modern interpretation of the lakeside town.
In any case, it really feels like Konami won’t be able to contain these rumors for much longer. If a full reveal for at least the Silent Hill 2 remake isn’t on the cards soon, then I imagine it won’t be long before the Japanese publisher dismisses the rumors entirely.
