Bloober CEO "dreaming that gamers will trust us" to deliver Silent Hill 2 remake
"We are very happy with the result."
Fans of Konami's original Silent Hill 2 have been sceptical of Bloober Team's forthcoming remake, but its CEO Piotr Babieno has called for fans to trust the studio.
Bloober is known for developing psychological horror games, but despite its confidence in the remake fans have been less forgiving in their criticism of trailers shown so far.
"I am dreaming that gamers will trust us," Babieno told Rolling Stone, "but I realise that trust is earned through actions, not through words. So that's why we have a policy of not commenting [on the specifics of the game] and raising hopes. We want to show our ambitions through our work, so we can't ask for anything more than 'give us a chance.'"
Babieno is sympathetic to the importance of the game to fans of the series. He too is a fan, stating playing the game "changed [his] life".
"Despite technological progress [in video games]," he said, "so many of us remember [visiting] the town of Silent Hill as one of the most important points in our lives."
The original game released on the PS2 back in 2001 and has proven iconic for its Pyramid Head and nurse enemies.
Thanks to conversations between Bloober and Konami, "we found a great balance of what we and our partner had in mind," said Babieno. "It took us a long time to get there, with a lot of creative discussions and hard work, but we are very happy with the result."
Constructive criticism from fans has been taken into account, which so far has been "invaluable in refining our project before its release", though the studio's developers also focus "on their creative work with peace of mind" by shutting out other voices.
"We tried to make all possible fans happy, but, at the same time, be very faithful to ourselves," said Babieno. "I really hope that when people play for the first time, they will understand that the choices we made were the best possible."
Further, work on Silent Hill 2 is ushering in a new era for the studio as it moves towards delivering horror through action and not just the psychological horror and environmental storytelling it's become known for.
Silent Hill 2 will therefore function as "a culmination of my work, but, at the same time, a gateway to the new," said Babieno.
The remake of Silent Hill 2 is set for release on PS5 and PC in October, as revealed at Sony's State of Play in May with a new trailer (see above).