As ex-Helldivers 2 devs prepare to launch a Resident Evil-inspired horror game, they reminisce on their past Metroidvania that was too "happy": "'I need to get to blow someone's head off with a shotgun in the next game'"

You might be surprised to learn, if you didn't know already, that happy-go-lucky Metroidvania Yoku's Island Express featured a pair of devs who contributed prominently to Helldivers 2. The pair, Linus Larsson and Mattias Syngg, are now working on something horror-flavored, but they clearly recall just how much they needed some democratic violence after shipping the former.

"So before we worked on Helldivers, Matthias and I did Yoku's Island Express, which is a very cute Metroidvania game," Larsson tells GamesRadar+. "And coming out of that, I remember vividly a conversation going, 'I can't make another game that's this happy. I need to get to blow someone's head off with a shotgun in the next game that I make.'"

Well, considering all the blood and dismembered limbs and explosions Helldivers 2 has, he got his wish. Larsson was world director on Arrowhead's sequel for a time, while Mattias had a spell as the art director on it.

Needless to say, constructing planets full of bloodthirsty bugs and mechanized killmachines provides quite the creative contrast to the pinball-pogoing of Yoku's Island Express. Much as I enjoy that game, I can imagine spending months upon months within that aesthetic would leave you wanting a different kind of challenge.

Now, they're combining the two wavelengths, in a manner of speaking, for Silver Pines, a Metroidvania-type spin on Resident Evil and Silent Hill. It involves making your way through an unnamed small town in America, taking on all manner of terrors while you solve a bizarre mystery.

There are guns, and from the look of the trailers, there'll be a few exploded heads. Larsson's clearly found his lane. Silver Pines comes from Wych Elm, and it's due out at some point this year.

"The more things that can break when you pull the trigger, the better": Helldivers 2 veterans stole Arrowhead's "fantasy approach" to action while making stunning new horror Metroidvania

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