The remake for the Konami’s Team Silent classic, Silent Hill 2, in development by Bloober Team, has been the subject of much discussion since its initial announcement. Boober Team have faced a lot of criticism in their direction as they’ve documented their process in remaking one of the most beloved horror games of all time. One such criticism leveled towards them is the design of the protagonist, James Sunderland, whose face in the teaser trailer for the Silent Hill 2 Remake was the subject of many memes on the internet due to it being extremely over-exaggerated and sad looking, whereas that particular scene in the original game showed James as more stoic. Well, it seems that Bloober Team has listened to this criticism at least, as they’ve changed James’ face, at least in that shot as shown above.
This change is a small but important distinction. As noted, James’ face during that scene is one of stoicism, and the change to make him sad in the remake betrays the intention of the scene and his character at large. That Bloober Team listened to this criticism and were willing to change it may bode well for the remake, especially since this remake is held near and dear in the hearts of practically any person who played the original. Still, one has to wonder if its a bit too late in development that smaller changes like this are going to be enough to save the game in light of some of Bloober Team’s proposed changes, such as the “origin story” for Pyramid Head which makes no sense.
In any case, this is a positive change so that’s at least a small victory for Bloober Team and those hoping the remake is faithful to the original game. Only time will tell if this means the remake itself will live up to its predecessor’s standard. Silent Hill 2 Remake is set to release some time this year.