Tuesday, November 7, 2023 A statement to PCGamesN from Konami confirms that the information in the Best Buy listing was incorrect, and that it has now been updated.
If you’ve seen talk of a Pyramid Head origin level coming to Bloober Team’s Silent Hill 2 remake and rightfully been concerned about what that means for the direction of the Konami game, fear not, as this all looks to have been a misinterpretation of a store listing, and a misinterpretation of an old quote as well.
To get you up to speed first, the Best Buy listing for the Silent Hill 2 remake has been doing the rounds for its questionable mention of Pyramid Head – the original game’s iconic villain – as it appears to outline how a new ‘playable origin’ for the character is coming to the horror game.
The quote reads: “Fan-favorite character, Pyramid Head, makes a return along with a special origin story for fans to play through.” The wording of this sentence does make it sound like some sort of special playable origin story for Pyramid Head will be added to Silent Hill 2, a character already explored as much as possible in the original game.
While I won’t spoil the original Silent Hill 2 story here, discussion across the community has been at a fever pitch since this listing went viral. Is it actually a new Pyramid Head origin, or is it just weird wording describing the Born From a Wish side story in the original SH2?
Well, it’s neither. This Best Buy listing seems to have just been rewording a quote from concept artist Masahiro Ito that was released back when the Silent Hill 2 remake was announced in October 2022.
“Pyramid Head is coming back,” Ito says. “A new journey for those who know the original, and his origin story for those who know that character. And… the most memorable journey of the man most closely associated with that monster.”
Here Ito is referring to how Pyramid Head is an iconic horror monster, and how the original Silent Hill 2, and the remake by extension, explore where he comes from and his ties to the main character James Sunderland.
I completely understand why the Best Buy listing raised some red flags, as playing as Pyramid Head completely undercuts the point of the monster and its ties to the narrative, but I wouldn’t worry about that being added to the game. Even so, the listing lifts Ito’s words and presents them in a slightly confusing manner.
I’ve reached out to Konami to be sure, but I don’t think we need to start raising the pitchforks and torches just yet. In fact, developer Bloober Team’s CMO Anna Jasińska has already said the team wants to remain faithful to the original Konami sequel (via DreadXP).
“Longtime fans shouldn’t worry about us ‘missing the point’ while we’re livening up the title. We faithfully stick to the traditional story canon while remaking the gameplay and updating the graphics from the ground up.”
With the dreadful Silent Hill Ascension debut not far in the rear-view mirror, I can see we’re concerned, but I’d just wait for Silent Hill 2 to come out.
While you wait for the remake we’ve put together a breakdown of the Silent Hill 2 system requirements, alongside some of the most exciting upcoming games to be released in the near future.
