Original Silent Hill 2 Director Says Difference Between OG and Remake Are “Mediocre,” But Admits Over-the-Shoulder View Adds to Realism

Starting tomorrow, Konami’s remake of Silent Hill 2 will be unleashed to gamers everywhere, and it so far, it’s faring quite well with critics, which includes us here on MP1st that mentioned how awesome it is in our review. However, original game’s director, Masashi Tsuboyama, has some mixed feelings about it.

Over on X, Tsuboyama notes that games and tech are constantly evolving, and how a new generation of gamers can now play it. Whether the remake is good or bad, it won’t affect the original. Tsuboyama does question the differences between the original and the remake, as the developer notes that 4K, photorealism, the bonus headgear are all “mediocre” and questions who this promotion is trying to appeal to.

We’ve screencapped the tweets, and included the entire chain as text for an easier read:

About Silent Hill 2 remake
Games and technology are constantly evolving, resulting in significant differences in constraints and levels of expression.
This is a common issue with media arts in general, but it is not easy to maintain and appreciate the environment of the time.

I think the value of the remake is that a new generation can play it. As a creator, I’m very happy about it. 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.

The differences between the original and the remake,4K,Photorealism,the bonus headgear, etc. are all mediocre. Who is this promotion going to appeal to? It seems like they’re not doing enough to convey the appeal of the work to the generation that doesn’t know Silent Hill.

Tsuboyama continues by admitting that he was not satisfied with the playable camera in the original version 23 years ago, and how the over-the-shoulder view adds to the game’s sense of realism.

The thing to note is the change in camera (perspective). 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.

To be honest, I’m not satisfied with the playable camera from 23 years ago.

Depth and angle were limited by the processing load. 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!!!

It is a bit odd that Tsuboyama questions the appeal of the remake, but also states how much he wants to play it as well. Perhaps something lost in translation? While Masashi Tsuboyama has long departed Konami and the Silent Hill franchise, the developer is still very active with his latest release being Princess Peach: Showtime! for the Nintendo Switch released this March.

If you’re unsure whether to pick up the remake or not, go read our review a go where we state, “The outstanding horror remakes started by Capcom’s Resident Evil remakes, EA’s Dead Space remake continues with Konami’s Silent Hill 2, and horror gaming fans should be delighted, as Bloober Team manages to make this horror classic better in every way, and in turn become a classic of its own. Hopefully, this very promising start means we’ll see Bloober Team continue to remake the rest of the series’ games in the coming years.”

Silent Hill 2 will be released on October 8 on the PS5 and PC. Those on Xbox, don’t expect it to be released anytime soon, as Sony’s exclusivity deal won’t expire until 12 months after.

Related Reading:

• Silent Hill 2 Day One Update 1.003 Released by Bloober
• Silent Hill 2 Best Console Settings
• Silent Hill 2 Remake Has “Replaced and Remapped” All Enemy Locations; Konami “Serious About Renewing Series”

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