Laucnhing for everyone on Tuesday, the Silent Hill 2 remake from Bloober Team and Konami is a very well-made recreation of the original horror game. However, while some fans are complaining about certain changes made in the remake, the original game’s director is praising these tweaks online.
The Silent Hill 2 remake (which is out now for people who paid for “early access”) is one of 2024’s best horror games. And that makes sense. The OG Silent Hill 2, which released on PS2 back in 2001, is still considered by many to be the best horror game ever made. But some of these fans aren’t happy about changes made in the remake, like the new over-the-shoulder camera. The original game used a somewhat static camera that roughly followed the player as they moved around. While some hardcore fans believe this camera is superior to the easier-to-use system found in the remake, it turns out that the original director behind Silent Hill 2 on PS2 disagrees.
On October 4, OG Silent Hill 2 director Masashi Tsuboyama shared his thoughts on the new remake and its changes in a Twitter thread, explaining that “games and technology are constantly evolving.” This leads to what Tsuboyama called “significant differences” in how creators today are constrained compared to devs back in the past.
“The thing to note is the change in camera perspective,” said Tsuboyama. “The change in playable camera has a significant impact on many aspects, combat, level design, art creation, etc. While the impact on the story may be relatively small, it brings a big change to the playfeel of the game.”
He then admited that he was “not satisfied” with Silent Hill 2‘s camera 23 years ago. “Depth and angle were limited by the processing load,” said the director. “It was a continuous process of hard work that was not rewarded. But that was the limit.”
“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,” added Tsuboyama.
Of course, not all the changes were received as positively by the original game’s director. He added that the bonus headgear, featuring a dog mask referencing a famous secret ending and one based on villain Pyramid Head, were “mediocre” and asked, “Who is this promotion going to appeal to?”
Still, it’s clear that unlike some fans, Tsuboyama is feeling good about the remake and is happy that a “new generation can play it.”
“As a creator, I’m very happy about it,” said Tsuboyama. “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.”
Silent Hill 2 (the remake) will launch on PS5 and PC on October 8.
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