I realise I’m probably in the minority here, but I don’t love Bluepoint’s approach to remakes. Sure, they’re pretty, they’re technically accomplished, and mechanically faithful to the originals, but the studio’s artistic liberties too often rankle. I admit I’m a purist and grumpy old man in the making who hates change, but I still think remakes should, fundamentally, play within the boundaries of the original’s creative vision. A colour palette shift – swapping the bleached-out ethereal hues of Shadow of the Colossus on PS2 for a more natural lighting, say – might add a bit of beautification, but it can radically alter the intended tone. More egregiously, Bluepoint’s decision to redesign chunks of Demon’s Souls using a completely different architectural style isn’t just an artistic choice, it has significant ramifications for world-building.
Not that I’m trying to specifically single out Bluepoint; we’ve seen plenty of different studios take plenty of different approaches as remakes have become increasingly popular, and I’m equally unconvinced by those that settle for a fresh lick of paint, exposing an ageing, unwieldy core to modern audiences that only mega-fans could love. As for why remakes are on my mind, that’s easy: survival horror classic Silent Hill 2’s exemplary do-over finally hit Xbox Series X/S last week, calling me back in for another go. The original has remained one of my favourite games – if not my actual favourite game – since I first played it all the way back in 2001. And I can still vividly recall where I was when sad James Sunderland’s search for his apparently no-longer-dead wife suddenly clicked into place for me (if you’re curious: sat on a sofa cushion dragged onto the floor of my Hackney flat, being harassed by insistent feet dangling from the ceiling of Brookhaven Hospital.)
So when it was announced Silent Hill 2 was getting the remake treatment, I was nervous. Not that I was particularly worried about its developer – I’ve long enjoyed Bloober Team’s horror games, the creative ambition shining through despite some inarguable flaws – but rather because Silent Hill 2 is such a finely hewed creation, the potential for calamity was immense. To repeat something I’ve written before: every step, every rhythm, of James Sunderland’s oppressive journey through the infamously foggy town is so imbued with underlying meaning, so key to understanding the larger picture, meddling with it too much is liable to bring the whole thing crashing down. But somehow Bloober navigates those pitfalls magnificently.
Yes, I can already see the old-school Silent Hill 2 fans lining up behind the Bluepoint fans with their tomatoes primed and ready, but for me Bloober’s Silent Hill 2 is exactly what a remake should be – evolving and expanding on the original’s essence without turning it into something else. It modernises the beloved survival horror with intelligent mechanical finessing and a beautiful but faithful makeover, managing to expand and enrich the original in genuinely additive ways – and without, from my perspective at least, compromising that original vision. Yes, the switch from cinematic camera angles to an over-the-shoulder perspective is radical, but I’d argue the change, like most of the remake’s big shake-ups, is a positive, enabling the whole town to envelop you without losing the claustrophobic ambience at its core.
There’s a lot of this stuff. It’s a remake of incredible balance, fiercely reverent to the original but unafraid to be bold – slavishly hitting every story beat, every iconic moment, except where there’s room to surprise. While dialogue is barely changed, for instance, stellar performances by a brilliant cast find new emotional depths. Sure, I get the argument the original’s strange, stilted performances from a less polished cast lent proceedings an ethereal, otherworldly air absent in the remake’s more grounded approach, but with a few exceptions I’ll gladly take the new over the old. Angela’s reorchestrated staircase scene, for instance, is devastating. Elsewhere, some of the original’s more undercooked moments are reworked into unforgettable crescendoes (I could write about Bloober’s expanded, and genuinely chilling, Abstract Daddy sequence for ages) and the remake brings clarity without ever losing its sense of mystery. The way the hotel section is framed from boat ride onward, for instance, makes it far more apparent Silent Hill’s Otherworld isn’t just a malevolent hellscape but a malleable reflection of emotion.
What’s more, Bloober manages to do all this with a gentle sense of fun. I adore those quietly hilarious jumpscare mannequins, for instance, turning each tentative venture through new territory into a game of ‘ohmygodmustlookforthelegs’. And I love how the remake casually updates the Lakeview Hotel’s grand staircase, switching the original – inspired by the Overlook Hotel in Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining – to one based on the Stanley Hotel in Colorado, used in the TV adaptation of Stephen King’s book. Then there’s the fact it cheekily canonises an age-old fan theory – heavily implying that, in the 25 years or so since the original, James has, well, I don’t think I’ll spoil it – allowing this new version of Silent Hill 2 to harmoniously coexist alongside the 2001 game in the same timeline. It’s fantastic stuff, skilfully exploring new spaces within the original’s immovable structure, all while masterfully maintaining its spirit and tone.
That’s not to say I think the remake is perfect. By expanding strictly within the existing narrative boundaries, there are times you can feel the structure ready to break at the seams. The long Otherworld stretch from Brookhaven to the Silent Hill Historical Society, for instance, might exist through narrative necessity, but it’s oppressive to the point of exhaustion – and pacing is something Bloober never quite manages to resolve throughout its expansion of familiar sequences. But then comes a bit of reimagining as brilliantly, horrifyingly conceived as the prison – perhaps the scariest area I’ve ever endured in a game – and the remake rights itself again. All of which is to say, it’s fantastic; a magnificent example of getting a remake right. And if you’ve been holding off for its arrival on Xbox Series X/S, you should run to your nearest video games emporium immediately – you’re in for a treat. You may now unleash the tomatoes.
