New Silent Hill 2 Release Date Trailer Signals Key Changes From Original

Why does James look like Leon Kennedy?

The long-awaited Silent Hill Transmission took place yesterday May, 30th at 7pm EST and Bloober Team (The Medium, Blair Witch) and Konami did not disappoint in showcasing more from Silent Hill 2 remake. The game officially releases on PlayStation 5 on October 6th, 2024 just in time for the Halloween season. There were a number of key things shown in the trailer which are sure to be divisive, namely a more conclusive look at the new dodge mechanic and character design that strays a little far from the original (let’s be real, the gaming community at large thinks James looks like Leon Kennedy.) While Capcom’s success with remaking their Resident Evil games surely inspired Konami to revisit their catalog, it’s safe to say this will be a great all-around experience for survival horror fans with its own potential deviations and gameplay improvements. Here are two key takeaways:

James Has Learned To Dodge

The dodge mechanic was something that was shown briefly back when Silent Hill 2 was first announced, but it wasn’t shown to the extent that it is in this trailer. Hardcore survival horror fans and religious fanatics of the original have voiced concern over this new mechanic, but the inclusion of dodging follows a trend that has been quite common in the industry for a while now. In Resident Evil 3 Remake, the inclusion (and fine tuning from the original) of the dodge mechanic was a welcome and necessary mechanic that worked quite well. In the new trailer for Silent Hill 2 we can clearly see James dodge through enemy attacks and back-step away from enemy attacks. This will greatly change the way the game is experienced compared to the original. There was a blocking mechanic in the original but being able to completely dodge enemy attacks will surely make speed-runners and modern gamers alike teem with excitement. The era of souls-like, dodging and enemy evasion is very much upon us.

Combat Style and Weapons

There’s no way a discussion about survival horror can happen without learning about the weapons one has at their disposal. In the trailer, James wields his trusty pipe and is also seen using a handgun and what appears to be a hunting rifle towards the end. The big takeaway here is that there appears to be a mechanic not so dissimilar to the QTE commands for Resident Evil 4 Remake where one can shoot an enemy and then utilize a prompt that is contextual to initiate a melee attack. It is not immediately clear if this is purely situational or mapped to a button at all times or both. Regardless, the addition of seamless melee after using a firearm is a welcome one and will create fluid and hectic combat. This trailer also showcased movement and combat mechanics that look less sluggish than the first trailer that was released, which is a great sign of things to come.

You can watch the full trailer here: