“Silent Hill 2” composer Akira Yamaoka announced that the remake’s soundtrack will bring a “new, redesigned” experience. Yamaoka revealed the news to GameSpot and multiple outlets during a recent preview event for the upcoming psychological horror game. The longtime composer went on to say that while he knows the soundtrack is a “beloved one,” he ultimately wants to make sure all players get a “fresh experience.”
“I remastered all the tracks. You can hear bits and pieces of the original tracks, but all the tracks were remastered from scratch. I know the soundtrack was very popular, but I ended up creating over nine hours of music, I still wonder how on earth we fit all of this into the soundtrack.
While this news may be disappointing for fans of the critically acclaimed soundtrack, rest assured, based on the time we spent with Silent Hill 2 Remastered and some additional comments given by Yamaoka, the soundtrack still seems very familiar. . The composer explained that he referenced and sampled tracks from the original score when creating the new score. During our three-hour hands-on preview, we noticed that the game’s music was a perfect fit for the new experience and retained many of the themes and styles of the original.
Later during the event, Yamaoka detailed the upcoming soundtrack and its production process. According to the composer, the project required a lot of “self-counseling” as he tried to reconcile who he is now with who he was when he recorded the soundtrack nearly 25 years ago. Yamaoka said he tried to reflect on his “mental state” and how he “approaches life.” He then laughed and told reporters that he was “financially unstable” at the time and had to take “extreme measures” to unleash his creativity. He recounted how in the past he had to tone down his guitar to record bass tracks because he didn’t have enough money to buy a bass guitar.
“I had to be very creative because I had the passion to do something great. But now, unfortunately, I don’t remember that part of me very clearly,” Yamaoka said. “I can’t replicate what it was like 25 years ago. But I still want to bring something fresh to the table for existing fans and new people.”
In addition to chatting with Yamaoka, GameSpot also had the opportunity to play around with the Silent Hill 2 remake for about three hours at the Tokyo preview. While the trailers for the upcoming psychological horror game may have been a little underwhelming so far, we’re impressed by the game’s opening hours. We also interviewed Masahiro Ito, the art director of Silent Hill 2 and its upcoming remake, and he revealed that he almost turned down the offer to work on the remake. The “Silent Hill 2” remake (referred to as “Silent Hill 2”) is scheduled to be released on PC and PlayStation 5 on October 8.
