Following Resident Evil 4 and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth fallout, the Silent Hill 2 remake is avoiding 'yellow paint' trend
Konami and Bloober Team will avoid using the environmental signposts
Silent Hill 2 won't feature yellow paint around its environments to help guide players, though you will have a fully customizable HUD.
Yellow paint has been the focus of countless online debates so far in 2024. Modders attempted to remove the yellow paint from Resident Evil 4 remake, and the notorious yellow paint discourse then came for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. Some claim it breaks their sense of 'immersion' whereas some developers argue you can guide in more creative ways. For many, though, it's a handy accessibility feature for those who need it and non-consequential for those who don't.
Now, it's Konami's turn to speak on the matter. In a new Famitsu interview, Silent Hill series producer Motoi Okamoto reveals that Silent Hill 2's remake won't feature yellow paint to guide players around environments, and also shares that UI elements like the remake's heads-up display will be entirely customizable for the player.
If you're not familiar with the classic Konami horror game, you might not know protagonist James Sunderland's head would turn towards interactable objects around the environment, which at the time was a pretty novel feature. Silent Hill 2's remake will retain this feature, and add lighting and other environmental clues to direct players towards things they can interact with.
However, Okamoto tells Famitsu that because Silent Hill 2's remake has pivoted to a third-person camera perspective, rather than sticking with the original fixed camera and tank controls, it's more of a challenge to outline objects you can interact with. To counter this, a button prompt will appear over items that James can interact with, but it sounds like this too can be turned off and customized.
Silent Hill 2 remake launches later this year on October 8, exclusively for PS5, just in time for Halloween. Fans are already saying James looks "kinda meow" now after his slight redesign, and I'm going to leave you to figure out what that means.
Ignore the yellow paint detractors – visual cues are great for games.
Sign up to the 12DOVE Newsletter
Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more
Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.
The long-awaited next entry in the cult classic horror RPG series Pathologic is getting a free "prelude" game, and after 19 years we'll finally see the mysterious Capital
Death Stranding and Metal Gear Solid lead Hideo Kojima once said "everything I make ends up feeling somewhat like a movie" because he'd "grown up with them"