The trailer for the Silent Hill 2 remake by Bloober Team revealed a lot, but now we have some fresh news about what the game’s redesigned combat system will look like.

Mateusz Lenart, creative director and lead designer at Bloober Team, told PlayStation Blog about the changes. “One of the new elements that you could spot in the reveal trailer is the adoption of an over-the-shoulder camera. With that change, we want to immerse players even deeper into the game, make them feel like they are a part of this unreal world, and deliver them a more visceral experience across the board.”

While Bloober Team’s previous game, The Medium, uses a fixed camera, it’s no surprise that the Silent Hill 2 remake would opt for a perspective reminiscent of the famous Resident Evil 2 remake.

Of course, that’s not the only thing that’s changing. “One change often brings another,” Lenart said. “With a new perspective, we’re rebuilding the combat system and certain setpieces, among other things. Now that you see basically what James can see, we could find new ways to keep the player on edge.”

Lenart also mentioned the engine, “With the possibilities of the Unreal Engine 5, we’re bringing the foggy, sinister town to life in ways that were impossible up to this point.” This is reflected in the system requirements for the Silent Hill 2 remake, which are pretty demanding. (Plus, for some reason, Windows 11 is listed as recommended; maybe it’s DirectStorage?)

Lenart says two features of Unreal Engine 5 were essential to the remake: the Lumen global lighting system and Nanite rendering technology.

The latter allows developers to import 3D assets containing billions of polygons. “Lumen is a fully dynamic global illumination solution that immediately reacts to scene and light changes,” he said. “It means that the light interacts with the environment realistically, just like in the real world. The whole game environment is lit more naturally this way. The Nanite technology, on the other hand, is an amazing tool for level designers. With it, they can create incredibly detailed worlds and more realistic environments that look and feel almost lifelike.”

Meanwhile, several new Silent Hill projects are in the pipeline. Silent Hill F is a prequel set in 1960s Japan. Silent Hill Townfall is being made by Stories Untold studio No Code, and Silent Hill Ascension is an interactive live event with a storyline shaped by the audience.

Source: PlayStation Blog