Konami is putting Shattered Memories out there as more of a reboot to Silent Hill franchise over a remake, with only the setting and scenario remaining the same, however the demo certainly feels very similar to the original, but with more modern graphics, modern gameplay styles and more Americanized sensibilities.
Having the demo start out at a psychiatrists office, the game is established more as a flashback your telling the shrink over experiencing as it happens. When the adventure starts its at the exact same place as the original, with Harry waking up after a bad accident and discovering Cheryl is gone.
Like Silent Hill Homecoming, Shattered Memories breaks away from the traditional Japanese-style fixed camera approach, instead having the third-person perspective view tightly behind Harry. This allows much more freedom, but without the cinematic presentation of the past entries in the series.
The motion controls are, of course, the biggest departure from the original. While this adds extensively to the immersive experience, but it does make one of the old-standard to finding secret clues and objects more difficult. In the original Silent Hill you were tipped of that there was a secret item in the game by watching the direction your character is looking. Follow his gaze and it unveils information or something you can interact with. Now the direction Harry looks has nothing to do with finding items and info, but instead is simply the direction he is moving in.
While the gameplay retains the same overall feel of the originals, much has still changed. The emphasis on journals and notes has been replaced with more visual and audio based interactive items such as answering machines, video and still cameras the reveal clues and spirits.
While evading enemies over fighting them has always been a choice, and sometimes a preference, in past Silent Hill titles the ability for combat has also been an option. Shattered Memories is designed for the player to avoid and evade the enemies over fight them. The action is also more fast-paced, with enemy encounters far more intense as they chase you down. No more waiting for the triangle head to get board and leave, this time he's coming after you no matter what.