Silent Hill 2 Remake will have a ‘reworked’ soundtrack

The much-anticipated Silent Hill 2 Remake will be getting a “reworked” soundtrack from the game’s reprising composer Akira Yamaoka. Announced at a preview event, Yamaoka confirms that the songs have been made from the “ground up.”

“There are segments and bits and pieces of the original tracks that you can hear, but all of the tracks have been reworked from the ground up,” explained Yamaoka to GameSpot. “I understand that the soundtrack is very much beloved, but ultimately I composed over nine hours worth of music and I’m still wondering how in the world we are going to fit all of that into a soundtrack.”

GameSpot’s coverage of the Silent Hill 2 Remake preview was pretty positive, which should be reassuring for those holding out hope for the Remake. As the site reports in its preview: “While tracks I heard felt similar to what already existed, everything feels a bit deeper now, a bit darker. And it works incredibly well.”

Yamaoka said during the press event that it took a lot of self-counselling to create the new version of the Silent Hill 2 soundtrack as he previously worked on the original 25 years ago. He told reporters that he wasn’t financially stable while working on the original, so he tuned down his guitar to record bass rather than getting a completely new instrument.

Despite some awful Silent Hill 2 Remake trailers, the game has previewed well with critics. It’s a good thing too as the game’s under a lot of pressure to succeed.

“As with any Silent Hill game, atmosphere is king, and Silent Hill 2 immediately and consistently puts you into a state of unease,” said IGN’s preview. “A thick fog surrounds the town like the original, now benefiting from modern lighting and volume thanks to today’s technical improvements.” For the HD remasters of the Silent Hill games on PS3 and Xbox 360, the lack of fog was a huge issue, so adding it back is a huge improvement in the remake.

The Silent Hill 2 Remake launches on October 8 for the PS5 and PC.