Team Silent is no more. The team spear-heading one of the most influential horror games of all time, Silent Hill, officially broke up in 2007, shutting the doors on any possibility of a franchise revival, especially with how quick fans are to react these days to any slight changes to the source material. So when Konami confirmed that Bloober Team was responsible for developing a remake of Silent Hill 2, one of the best horror games in video game history, there were equal parts doubt and hope.
Although Bloober Team created one of the more memorable horror titles in recent memory, Silent Hill 2 is untouchable—many put it on a pedestal. It doesn’t help that Konami and Bloober Team had communication issues earlier this year, and they didn’t seem to see eye to eye.
Fast forward to this past weekend ahead of the game’s release on October 8, the players who got early access of Silent Hill 2 and critics have nothing but praise for the game.
According to Metacritic, the Silent Hill 2 remake has received 50 positive reviews, and 5 mixed ones, good for an “87” score. While not as high as the leading Game of the Year candidates this year, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and Astro Bot, the score is enough for it to generate discussions of a potential Game of the Year nomination at The Game Awards in December.
More than the potential accolades—despite having a lower score, TIME awarded Alan Wake 2 its GOTY award last year over Baldur’s Gate 3—the expected commercial success of the Silent Hill 2 Remake is a big deal for Konami.
After going on a hiatus from the video game industry for the past decade, one of the largest Japanese video game companies started creeping its way back into its former playground with eFootball. Unfortunately, this didn’t go well, which led to concerns that Konami might be out of touch, especially after it revealed a slate of Silent Hill video games, including a pair of critically panned releases in Silent Hill: Ascension and Silent Hill: The Short Message.
The Silent Hill 2 remake marked the midway point of this revival tour, but it’s the most important project. Everyone will give up on Silent Hill f, Silent Hill: Townfall, and the upcoming Silent Hill movie, if Bloober Team botched the release, and thankfully, it didn’t.
With both critics and players on Steam saying positive things about the Silent Hill 2 remake, Konami has finally scored a win after several attempts in recent years, and this is a big deal.
Financially, Konami needs its remakes and new titles to do well in order for its return to the video game industry to make sense amidst the increased costs of AAA video game development. In terms of public perception, their performance in the eyes of a more critical audience means that every game Konami will release going forward will be met with a renewed sense of hope.
Team Silent may no longer be at Konami, but the early success of Silent Hill 2 proves that other developers are just as capable of carrying the torch. Don’t be surprised if Konami trusts Bloober Team for a shot at another Silent Hill remake, possibly of the first game this time around. Better yet, Bloober Team might get a chance to work on its own entry in the franchise or maybe even both.
It’s unclear when Silent Hill f and Silent Hill: Townfall will be released, but with the Japanese company organizing another equally ambitious remake attempt with the Metal Gear franchise—it’s believed Konami is approaching this remake project in chronological order, starting with Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater—a win like this is a confidence booster.
Considering Konami is sitting on a treasure trove of beloved properties, it could easily ride the hype generated by the Silent Hill 2 remake by adding Castlevania into the mix, which we could argue they’ve already started re-introducing to the modern gamer piecemeal via the animated adaptation on Netflix and various remaster attempts.
