The remake of Silent Hill 2 is coming this October. However, after last night’s State of Play and Silent Hill Transmission, fans are being critical of the character models in Silent Hill 2.
The gaming news website Kotaku did a great job rounding up the internet’s reaction to characters like James, Angela, and Maria. First, the positives: many gamers are in agreement that James looks much better than his initial reveal, though some believe he now looks too much like Resident Evil 4‘s Leon Kennedy. Contrast the two images below:
I do think James looks a little more untrustworthy, which lends itself to the twist ending.
Next, we have the tragic character, Angela. People either like her design or are neutral about it. However, as X user Sarah Miles points out, many bottom feeders are complaining about her looking fat or like a man:
Finally, we have the character whose new design players seem to hate the most — Maria. Check out this comparison shot with the original model:
As true fans have pointed out, there is a reason Maria’s new outfit is terrible besides its blandness.
Spoilers for Silent Hill 2 if you’ve never played the original game, but Maria is a manifestation of James’ imagination. She is a sexy version of his dead wife, Mary, and a representation of James’ desires for his partner who deteriorated from a mysterious illness. Maria’s original design is very important to the narrative of the game, and the folks at developer Bloober Team seem to have missed the nuance completely with Maria’s redesign. Maybe the original outfit will be DLC.
Personally, I think I only reject Maria’s new look. James and Angela look fine. As my significant other pointed out, in the original Silent Hill 2 on PS2, everyone except the heavier-set character, Eddy, looks like they have the same face model, so these new models are an improvement. The bigger issues with the Silent Hill 2 remake, I feel, are the heavier focus on combat and the new voice acting. There is something charming about the original game’s stilted dialogue and the fact James isn’t a trained combatant, both of which seem to be absent here.
Silent Hill 2 will be available on PC and PS5.