Bloober Team CEO Acknowledges Criticism from Silent Hill 2 Fans And He Asks Them to „Give the Studio a Chance”

Source: Bloober Team / Konami.

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Piotr Babieno, CEO of Bloober Team, asks fans of Silent Hill to give the remake of the second installment of the series, which his team is working on, a chance. The head of the Polish studio confirmed in an interview for the American magazine Rolling Stone that developing this game wasn't a piece of cake.

Sweet memories of Silent Hill 2

It's definitely an honor to have the opportunity to modernize perhaps the most iconic survival horror game in the history of video games, even though the series has somewhat been forgotten. This is one of the Konami series that hasn't received a genuine new installment in a long time. Mobile Ascension and free The Short Message decidedly didn't captivate either fans or critics.

Of course, there is also one small problem: the pressure from fans. Even developing a completely new installment would evoke emotions, not to mention taking on a remake of perhaps the most beloved part by the fans. Lovers of Silent Hill had doubts from the beginning whether the Bloober Team would be up to the task.

The release of further materials didn't alleviate those concerns. Some of the accusations were indeed countered by the fans themselves (including those regarding the appearance of one of the characters), but the game's reception speaks volumes, as the head of Bloober Team stated in response to criticism of the February trailer that it doesn't capture the essence of the game.

Bloober Team 3.0

This term is said to be circulating in the Polish studio in the context of Bloober Team's change in approach to game development. Babieno claims that the developer is now a "completely different team" than three years ago when The Medium hit the market.

It's not just about the size of the team, although that also makes a difference. The first Layers of Fear was developed by a team of 10 people, whereas Bloober Team now has over 250 creators on staff.

First of all, the studio wants its new projects to put more emphasis on action compared to the team's previous games. Therefore, Silent Hill 2 is intended to mark the peak of Babieno's previous efforts and the start of a new chapter in Bloober Team's history.

Chance from players is all that the developers hope for

However, working on SH 2 wasn't an easy task. Babieno admitted that finding the balance between "innovation" and "preserving" as much of the original as possible was quite a challenge for the studio. Also because of fans, some of whom criticized every piece of information and material, but also because of rumors about the new Silent Hill 2.

Babieno - who fondly recalls the shock of the psychological horror of the second Silent Hill - is aware of the nostalgia that fans have for this most famous installment of the series. That's why, the talks with the original devs were crucial for Bloober, and in the end, the team is supposed to be happy with the outcome.

Nevertheless, Babieno emphasizes that the new Silent Hill 2 is more of a "romantic vision of a game from 20 years ago" than a remake. In other words, the developers are emphasizing the evocation of nostalgia, aiming for the project to resemble the SH 2 that players remember, rather than the actual game from 2001.

Hence, the request to the players: to "give a chance" to Silent Hill 2. Babieno knows that actions speak louder than words and values constructive criticism. However, he admits that at times he needs to protect artists from the voices of players so they can focus on their creative work in peace.

Silent Hill 2 will be released on October 8 on PC and PlayStation 5.