Making Silent Hill 2: Remake was a real headache for the developers, as the real challenge of survival horror was “dealing with the memory” of the original game. Bloober Team realized they couldn’t simply reuse the mechanics from 2001 if they wanted to recapture the essence of the original Silent Hill 2.

Bringing back one of the greatest survival horror games ever made is no easy task, and Bloober Team faced a massive challenge in developing Silent Hill 2: Remake. Fans were skeptical from the moment the project was announced, and while the final result has won over many, the developers initially feared that “there might not be a good way to create a remake for that game.”

Creative director Mateusz Lenart discussed these challenges at the Game Developers Conference (via GamesRadar+). The team quickly realized they were “dealing with the memory of the original game, and if we wanted to be successful, we had to bring that back to players—not by copying what was there, but by reimagining those elements for modern audiences.”

“From the beginning, we knew that the story was the most important part of the game, and we didn’t want to change it too much. At the same time, it was clear that presenting this story in a modern era would be difficult without updating the mechanics or combat.” As a result, Bloober Team had to remove certain mechanics from the 2001 version to make the experience more appealing today. “One of our first decisions was to switch to a third-person, over-the-shoulder camera perspective,” Lenart continued. “We knew that with that change, we would lose some of the original game’s signature style. […] At the same time, we couldn’t recreate nostalgia using outdated mechanics.”

“Fear Slowly Turned Into Excitement”

Because of this, Bloober Team approached the project with some initial hesitation. However, over time, they began identifying elements from the original game that could shine even more in the remake: “Step by step, we began to see the potential and the room for improvement. And, because of that, fear slowly turned into excitement,” Lenart concluded.

Source: 3DJuegos