Silent Hill 2 remake developer wants to be “the studio that defines the future of video game horror”

Following a recent interview with IGN, Bloober Team CEO Piotr Babieno talks all things horror and video games in the lead up to the remake of cult classic, Silent Hill 2.

First founded in 2008, Bloober Team is a Polish developer best known for horror titles such as Layers of Fear, Blair Witch, and The Medium. Now, the team is working alongside Konami to rejuvenate and remake one of the best horror games of all time, Silent Hill 2.

At the DICE Summit 2023, Piotr Babieno tells IGN that he wants to move past the mechanics used in “walking simulator” games, and to work on “more complex and involved gameplay mechanics on the level of other giants in the horror genre.” This is something Bloober Team’s prior games have been criticised for, so it’s positive to hear that the team is attempting to move away from that.

More specifically, Babieno wants Bloober Team “to be known as the studio that defines the future of video game horror.” He follows up with, “we still would like to make meaningful games, we still would like to keep our DNA to tell stories about things which are important to us.”

Ultimately, it makes sense that Bloober Team would work on the remake of Silent Hill 2, given their experience working with psychological themes of horror and focus on atmosphere within prior games. That said, Bloober Team’s prior work has been weak; both Layers of Fear and The Medium are your average, mid-tier horror game. They’re interesting and immersive, showing plenty of promise, but ultimately lacking any actively enthralling gameplay, if I say so myself.

Silent Hill 2 is the closest to a perfect horror game we’ll ever get, albeit quite old now. I have some faith that with the right supervision, Bloober Team could really nail this and put themselves on the map as an innovative horror developer.

When asked by IGN if Bloober Team would consider working on any other Silent Hill title in future, Piotr Babieno says, “I’m not going to say never.” That said, Bloober Team’s primary focus is understandably on Silent Hill 2 and its ongoing project with Private Division right now.

Babieno also notes the ire that Konami has received from gamers as of late, saying that, “Those people who are in charge of Konami Gaming right now, of course I can’t tell you all the details, but I believe that they do understand how gaming works.”

“I do understand that people are a little bit angry at Konami for the stuff which happened in the past, but I would like to say, give them the time, because they do know what they are doing,” concludes Babieno.

I sincerely hope Bloober Team’s Piotr Babieno is right, because it would be the darnedest shame to see Silent Hill officially kicked to the curb. Ultimately, if Bloober Team pull this off, this could be the greatest Silent Hill revival since… well… before Silent Hills was canned.