Last week, Silent Hill 2 remake developer Bloober Team launched a mysterious teaser site, with a countdown clock set to expire just after Valentine's Day. There's no obvious clue as to what this teaser is all about, but a rose image on the site gave some horror fans hope that a remake of the PS2 cult classic Rule of Rose was on the way. Today, Bloober's CEO crushed those dreams.
"Nice guess, but no," Bloober CEO Piotr Babieno says on LinkedIn (via FRVR) in response to the Rule of Rose rumors. "It definitely doesn't refer to any remake."
But wait, even if it's not a remake, could it be some other Rule of Rose follow-up or revival? "This is not in any way related to that brand," Babieno adds in a comment.
Rule of Rose launched for the PS2 back in 2006 to pretty dismal reviews, but it's most notable for generating a moderate moral panic ahead of release. Exaggerated descriptions of the horrors visited upon the game's cast of characters – mostly children – led to calls for it to be banned among European officials, and ultimately, its release was canceled in Australia, New Zealand, and the UK.
Despite – or maybe because of – all that, Rule of Rose has built a cult following of fans who praise its moody visuals and atmosphere despite the clunky gameplay. These days it's an infamous collector's item, with complete US copies regularly selling for well over $700 secondhand.
Given the positive reception to Bloober's Silent Hill 2 remake, it's no surprise that horror fans would latch onto that rose imagery and hope that the studio would next work on a far more obscure horror revival, but it seems that's not to be.
What Bloober's actually working on is the more pertinent mystery. The teaser site has the message "Some things never leave the walls. They only learn to wait." A bit of audio creepily recites William Blake's poem, The Sick Rose. Beyond that, well… I guess we'll have to wait for the countdown to expire on February 15.
Bloober has announced several upcoming horror games that are in development. There's the Silent Hill 1 remake, as well as a mysterious Nintendo-exclusive horror title currently known as Project M. Another title, developed by Bloober subsidiary Broken Mirror Games, is currently in development under the name Project F. Both mystery projects are scheduled for some sort of reveal this year.
Rule of Rose, flaws and all, is still one of the best Japanese horror games out there.
