Silent Hill 2's Remake Aims for Evolutionary Leap in Horror

Bloober Team's successful Silent Hill 2 Remake has launched them into a new phase. Their next project aims to solidify their position as a major player in the horror genre, proving their recent triumph wasn't a fluke. Read on to discover more about their upcoming title and future plans.

Bloober Team's Continued Ascent

Building on Success

The overwhelmingly positive critical and fan response to the Silent Hill 2 Remake has been a significant boost for Bloober Team. Despite the substantial changes from the original, the remake was widely praised. However, the team hasn't forgotten the initial skepticism they faced, and they're determined to use this success to prove their capabilities.

At the Xbox Partner Preview on October 16th, Bloober Team unveiled their next horror title, Cronos: The New Dawn. Game Designer Wojciech Piejko emphasized a departure from their previous work, stating to Gamespot, "We don't want to make a similar game [to Silent Hill 2]." Development on Cronos began in 2021, shortly after the release of The Medium.

Director Jacek Zieba described Cronos: The New Dawn as their "second punch" in a one-two combo, with the Silent Hill 2 Remake being the "first." He highlighted the initial doubts surrounding their involvement with the Silent Hill franchise, given their lack of prior experience with survival horror.

Zieba commented, "Nobody believed we could deliver, and we delivered. That was a big honor, that we, as Bloober, could work with Silent Hill and Konami. As horror creators, we love Silent Hill, like, I think, most horror fans [do]." The studio even issued a statement urging fans for patience during development.

Ultimately, Bloober Team exceeded expectations, achieving an 86 Metacritic score. "They made the impossible possible, and it was a bumpy road because of all the hate on the internet. The pressure was big on them, and they delivered, and for the company, it's an amazing moment," Piejko stated.

Evolution: Bloober Team 3.0

Piejko views Cronos: The New Dawn as a demonstration of their ability to create a successful original IP. Players will take on the role of "The Traveler," a time-traveling protagonist navigating the past and future to save lives and alter a dystopian future ravaged by pandemic and mutants.

Leveraging the experience gained from the Silent Hill 2 Remake, Bloober Team aims to evolve beyond their earlier titles like Layers of Fear and Observer, which featured less extensive gameplay mechanics. Zieba noted that "the basis [for Cronos] when we started in pre-production was there [thanks to] the Silent Hill team."

The Silent Hill 2 Remake marks a turning point, representing "Bloober Team 3.0." Encouraged by the positive reception to the Cronos reveal trailer and the success of the Silent Hill 2 Remake, the team is optimistic about the future.

Zieba's vision is for Bloober Team to be recognized as a leading horror developer, stating, "We want to find our niche, and we think we found our niche, so now we just--let's evolve with it. [...] And how that happens is more complex, but it also happens organically in a way, like with [2016's] Layers of Fear, people in the studio were like, 'Okay, we made some shitty games before, but we [can] evolve.'"

"We gathered a team that loves horror," Piejko adds. "So I think, for us, it would not be easy to switch [to other genres], and we don't want to."