The trailer for Bloober Crew’s Silent Hill 2 remake recreated a number of scenes from the unique recreation, solely with higher-res faces and floppier hair. We noticed James himself in a public restroom mirror, hiding in a closet as Pyramid Head murdered a pair of mannequins, and reaching between bars to seize a key. However we additionally noticed James from behind as he walked round, suggesting the adoption of a contemporary third-person view moderately than the fixed-camera perspective of the unique recreation.
Mateusz Lenart, artistic director and lead designer at Bloober Crew, advised the PlayStation Weblog (opens in new tab) that was certainly the case, saying, “One of many new parts that you would spot within the reveal trailer is the adoption of an over-the-shoulder digital camera. With that change we need to immerse gamers even deeper into the sport, make them really feel like they’re part of this unreal world, and ship them a extra visceral expertise throughout the board.”
Whereas Bloober Crew’s earlier recreation The Medium used fastened cameras, it is not stunning {that a} remake of Silent Hill 2 would possibly go for a perspective harking back to the favored Resident Evil 2 remake. It isn’t the one factor that is altering, in fact. “One change typically brings one other,” Lenart stated. “With a brand new perspective, we’re rebuilding the fight system and sure setpieces, amongst different issues. Now that you just see principally what James can see, we may discover new methods to maintain the participant on edge.”
Fight is not one thing we have seen a lot of in earlier Bloober Crew horror video games, which have virtually solely centered on stealth and chase sequences. Blair Witch was the exception, with a first-person fight system that concerned aiming your flashlight at no matter creature your canine was barking at. That does not encourage numerous confidence, however then Silent Hill 2’s fight was by no means its standout function. Swinging a plank with nails ultimately typically resulted in by chance hitting a close-by wall and even your NPC companion.
Lenart additionally talked about the engine, saying that, “With the probabilities of the Unreal Engine 5, we’re bringing the foggy, sinister city to life in ways in which have been inconceivable up so far.” That exhibits within the Silent Hill 2 remake’s system necessities, that are fairly demanding (and for some motive record Home windows 11 as really useful; perhaps for DirectStorage?).
In response to Lenart, two options of Unreal Engine 5 have been necessary for the remake: the worldwide illumination system Lumen and the rendering tech Nanite, which lets builders import 3D property with billions of polygons. “Lumen is a completely dynamic international illumination answer that instantly reacts to scene and light-weight adjustments,” he stated. “It implies that the sunshine interacts with the surroundings realistically, similar to in the true world. The entire recreation surroundings is lit extra naturally this manner. The Nanite expertise, then again, is an incredible software for degree designers. With it, they will create extremely detailed worlds and extra life like environments that feel and appear virtually lifelike.”
Lastly, Lenart gave a shout-out to the PS5’s SSD, saying that, “The superfast knowledge streaming means gamers will not see any loading screens as they seamlessly discover everything of the Silent Hill city.” Presumably that’ll be the case on PC too.
In the meantime, there are a number of new Silent Hill tasks within the works. Silent Hill F is a prequel set in Sixties Japan, Silent Hill Townfall is being made by Tales Untold studio No Code, and Silent Hill Ascension is an interactive stay occasion with a narrative formed by the viewers.
