Star Wars Eclipse and Silent Hill 2‘s upcoming remake are both entering uncharted waters, despite both being parts of larger, well-known franchises. While each of these games are under a great deal of scrutiny, with Star Wars Eclipse suffering particularly bad press over the past few years, many hope that they will take their respective IP to exciting new heights, overcoming any potential obstacles in their way.
It’s interesting to look at the development teams behind both of these titles. Though originally developed by Team Silent, a subsidiary of Konami, the remake of Silent Hill 2 will be helmed by Bloober Team, a studio best known for its walking simulator horror games like Observer and Blair Witch, which leverage atmosphere and visuals more than complex mechanics or player freedom. Star Wars Eclipse, on the other hand, is being led by Quantic Dream, a company renowned for games like Detroit: Become Human and Heavy Rain, which may be even less gameplay-focused than the titles in Bloober Team’s portfolio. With these upcoming games, both Bloober and Quantic Dream will need to expand their creative capabilities.
Bloober Team and Quantic Dream Will Need to Cut Their Teeth On Gameplay
Silent Hill 2 Is More Gameplay-Heavy Than Other Bloober Team Outings
Although the original Silent Hill 2 is as much about atmosphere and storytelling than anything from Bloober Team’s oeuvre, it still places a premium on gameplay and robust interactivity. There’s reason to believe that Bloober Team will do at least a decent job of capturing the essential horror and unsettling nature of Silent Hill 2‘s setting, but recreating and, most importantly, modernizing the original game’s combat might pose some challenges.
Looking at the rest of Bloober Team’s games, it’s clear that many of them take clear inspiration from the Silent Hill franchise, but only when it comes to themes, narrative, and certain aspects of visual design; Bloober isn’t known for having combat in its games, and the Silent Hill 2 remake will be the most action-packed project from the studio by a mile. Then there are other survival horror staples, like resource and health management, that Bloober will need to contend with, meaning that the company will have to step beyond its realm of familiarity.
Bloober Team might be a bit more comfortable adapting
Silent Hill 2
‘s puzzles, as the studio’s previous games feature puzzle sections far more than combat encounters.
Star Wars Eclipse Could Have Deeper Gameplay than Other Quantic Dream Projects
Allegations of being in development hell aside, Star Wars Eclipse could run into issues with its gameplay formula. The game is described as an “action-adventure” title on its website, which is a seemingly obvious signal that there will be a greater emphasis on gameplay; Eclipse could be closer to a traditional action game than what Quantic Dream is known for. A focus on story, player choice, and branching narratives will surely factor into the final product, but the use of the term “action-adventure” hints at something far more interactive than the likes of Heavy Rain.
Of course, no Star Wars Eclipse gameplay has been revealed, so it’s hard to say just how great of a departure it will be from Quantic Dream’s modus operandi. However, a Star Wars game seems like an optimal venue to flex some game design muscles, implementing smoother, deeper mechanics instead of the quasi-visual novel format of previous QD releases.
These studios could be stepping out of their comfort zones with Star Wars Eclipse and Silent Hill 2, and one can only hope that this will lead to solid results. Bloober and Quantic Dream may not have the best reputations, but they have both demonstrated strong creativity and talent in the past, so this could carry over to their upcoming, high-profile titles, leading to a potential evolution of established formulas.
