Prithhis Bose
Oct, 01.2024
There is a strong indication from a recent leak that Siren will be re-released later this month in the PlayStation Plus Premium classics catalogue. This comes after rumours of a potential Siren revival were sparked by the PS2 survival horror game's Korean rating, which was recently discovered.
Developed by the now-defunct Japan Studio, Siren made its debut in 2003 and quickly gained notoriety as one of the hardest horror games available for the PlayStation 2. The complex storyline of Siren revolves around a group of strangers who are connected psychically and who end up together in the enigmatic Japanese village of Hanuda. Sneaking around Hanuda, players must battle eternal monsters while trying to figure out what sinister ailment is afflicting them. After two more Siren entries were released in the following years, the brand was eventually discontinued due to poor commercial performance.
In recent years, there have been cries for a Siren rebirth due to the incredible popularity of the Resident Evil series. Some fans of the brand have expressed anticipation for a prospective reboot after learning last week that the title has a Siren rating in Korea. However, a listing for a PS5 version of the original Siren was just released on the website PSdeals, suggesting that this isn't the case. Since the PlayStation Network backend is where these listings are sourced from, it seems clear that the Korean Siren rating was implying a PS5 re-release rather than a complete relaunch or remaster.
Though the game was previously playable on the PS4 and PS5 through the former's PS2 emulator and was also accessible through the PS Plus Premium classics catalogue, this enhanced version of Siren is still an odd case. It appears that Sony is now using the more recent PS2 emulator, which made its debut alongside the June 2024 PS Plus Premium classics lineup, instead of Siren. This is further confirmed by the new Siren listing's description, as it mentions features like up-rendering, rewind, quick save, and custom video filters, all of which align with other emulated classics on PS5. The listing also indicates that Siren will launch for PS5 on 15th October, 2024.
Fans of the PS2 horror classic Siren may be disappointed by this announcement, but at least it shows that Sony is working to enhance the PS5 emulation experience. Fans may have been hoping for a new entry or a more updated version of the game. In addition, Siren's PS5 re-release coincides nicely with Halloween season, providing an additional exciting choice to the extensive lineup of horror games coming out in October 2024.