No matter how I much I fumble and strain for the proper vocabulary, I can't quite stress my love for Silent Hill 2 eloquently enough. It was the game that made me decide that horror games were giving horror films a run for their money, not to mention the first game that was not an RPG that affected me enough to warrant tears. It's a truly perfect gaming experience, and normally I'd want for that to remain untouched, as a crystalline milestone of my gaming history.

At least, until this morning. I got an email from our own Dtoid community member Fana7ic, innocently titled "Silent Hill 2 NES style". While this sounds cool, I get a lot of emails about remakes (or "demakes", as they are called) and honestly, a lot of them aren't as cool as the idea sounds. Still, my interest was piqued, and it was free, so I downloaded the file that would allow me to play.

I quickly discovered that Soundless Mountain II is fantastic, but it has a lot more going for it than just novelty. From the opening scene to the descent into Silent Hill, this demake wordlessly communicates a devotion and love to the original game that is not only stunning, but something any devotee of the game can relate to directly. The sound is of special mention, as it manages to recreate the eerie atmosphere to perfection, which is no small feat for a demake.

Creator Superflat talks briefly on the TIG Forums about what he used to bring the project to life:

It's using my usual framework in BlitzMax (includes animation, tile-editor, scrolling, zooming, collision etc.).  I chose the 160x120 to fit on a 640x480 screen, in some ways it's more of a GBC with NES palette.

While the game does have an actual ending, it is a work in progress and is currently being discussed in a TIG Forums thread. I shamelessly encourage you to check out the game, join the thread and give support and feedback if you have it. This is a truly inspired project, and I can only hope to see more like it in the future (although I might actually pass out if this kind of game was made on a regular basis).