Tag: Konami

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Silent Hill 2 remake officially announced for PS5 and PC

After months of rumours, Konami has officially unveiled a remake of its beloved survival horror game, Silent Hill 2, for PlayStation 5 and PC.

As previously speculated, Polish developer Bloober Team (best known for last year’s The Medium and Layers of Fear) is handling the remake, simply titled Silent Hill 2. Konami says members of the original Silent Hill 2 development team, including monster designer Masahiro Ito and composer Akira Yamaoka, are also involved.

Originally released in 2001 on PlayStation 2 and Xbox, Silent Hill 2 follows James Sunderland, a man who goes to the mysterious eponymous town after receiving a letter from his dead wife. Silent Hill 2 has since received widespread acclaim for its narrative, atmosphere, monster design and music and is widely considered to be one of the greatest games ever made.

In the trailer, we get a glimpse of the game in action, although it’s primarily in the form of cinematics instead of gameplay. Pyramid Head, Silent Hill 2‘s most iconic monster, is also teased. No release window was provided, however. It’s also unclear how faithful this remake will remain to the original. In recent years, we’ve seen such dramatic re-imaginings of classic games as Final Fantasy VII Remake and Resident Evil 2, to more 1:1 recreations like The Last of Us Part I and Demon’s Souls. 

The Silent Hill 2 remake was revealed during the Silent Hill Transmission, a pre-recorded Konami presentation offering a look at the future of the long-running horror series. Other announcements include a Silent Hill game from beloved indie publisher Annapurna Interactive, a tease for the next Silent Hill movie and a mysterious project called Silent Hill F.

On the one hand, a lot of these projects seem a ways off, especially considering we didn’t get much in the way of release windows or gameplay. That said, Konami has built up a reputation for moving away from big-budget games, such as when it unceremoniously cancelled Hideo Kojima’s Silent Hills in 2015, and instead turning its wealth of IP into pachinko machines. Therefore, the Silent Hill Transmission was clearly a way for the Japanese gaming giant to show its commitment to Silent Hill.

Image credit: Konami

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Mobile Syrup

Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel now available on Android and iOS

Konami’s Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel has launched on Android and iOS.

The free-to-play competitive card game debuted on PlayStation 4/5, Xbox consoles, Nintendo Switch and PC on January 18th.

This is a notable launch for Android and iOS, given that the previous Yu-Gi-Oh! mobile game, Duel Links, features a streamlined version of the popular trading card game (TCG). Master Duel, meanwhile, plays exactly like the real game, featuring the same rules and cards (at least, 10,000+ of them). Unlike Duel Links, though, this isn’t based on the popular Yu-Gi-Oh! anime adaptations.

Master Duel also features cross-play and cross-saves between the different versions of the game. If you’re a new or lapsed player of the TBG, the game also offers various tutorials to ease you in.

Of course, as with most free-to-play mobile games, Master Duel features in-app purchases. Specifically, you can spend real money to buy in-game currencies used to unlock new cards and other in-game content. These currencies can also be earned over time.

Image credit: Konami

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Mobile Syrup

Konami working on revivals of Metal Gear, Silent Hill and Castlevania: report

Konami is developing new games in the Metal Gear, Castlevania and Silent Hill franchises, according to VideoGamesChronicle.

Per the outlet, the first of these titles is a “reimagining” of Castlevania that’s being developed internally at Konami Japan with assistance from local external studios.

The next Metal Gear, meanwhile, is expected to be a remake. However, while some fans had speculated that Demon’s Souls remake developer Bluepoint, which was recently acquired by PlayStation, was working on a remake of the original Metal Gear Solid, VGC notes that it will be a remake of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. Support studio Virtuous is said to be working on this. Eurogamer corroborated VGC‘s report, stating that the remake will use elements from Japan’s MGS3 pachinko machines. Ahead of this remake, Konami is planning to release remasters of the original MGS games for modern consoles, per VGC.

Finally, VGC reiterated its previous reporting that multiple new Silent Hill games are in development. One is said to be a more traditional Silent Hill horror experience from The Medium developer Bloober Team, while another is expected to be a more experimental title from a “prominent Japanese developer.”

VGC‘s report is particularly notable since all three franchises have been dormant for a number of years. The most recent Metal Gear game was 2018’s Survive, a poorly received offshoot of Metal Gear Solid V that featured zombies. Meanwhile, the last major Castlevania was 2014’s Lords of Shadow 2.

But the inactivity surrounding Silent Hill is perhaps the most painful for fans, as Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima and Oscar-winning director Guillermo Del Toro had been working on the promising Silent Hills game until its cancellation in 2015. Otherwise, the last Silent Hill was 2012’s Book of Memories on the Vita.

Instead, Konami has largely shifted focus to mobile games, its annualized Pro Evolution Soccer series and other businesses like casinos and health and fitness clubs. For these reasons, it has been unclear what — if any — premium AAA-quality console/PC games the company might have been working on.

According to VGC, the disappointing performance of recent in-house Konami titles like Metal Gear Survive and Contra: Rogue Corps have led it to become more willing to at least contract outside studios to work on its major franchises. The company’s recently restructured western publishing division is also intended to help with this, reports VGC.

Konami will reveal these projects sometime next year, according to VGC, pandemic permitting.

Image credit: Konami

Source: VGC