Touching renowned classics is usually something that I’d considered a big “no.” Konami’s infamous track record doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence, especially considering that the last memorable things they’ve pushed out so far were the disastrous Metal Gear Survive and the not-too-impressive Metal Gear Solid ports. So reception with the announcement of the Silent Hill 2 remake was met with skepticism and some critiques.
Silent Hill 2 is developed by the Bloober Team who you may know as the creators of the Medium and Layers of Fear. I’ve played a few of their games before and have a bit of a mediocre impression of them as combat was generally absent for most of their horror games.
If you were to ask old-school survival-horror fans what the best game ever made was, there’s a pretty solid chance they’ll say it’s Silent Hill 2. And that’s for good reason. There hasn’t really been a major Silent Hill installment since Downpour so this remake could promise a comeback for a once-beloved franchise that’s been catching dust on Konami’s shelves.
Is this the return of a once-legendary title that fans have been waiting for? Or will the Silent Hill 2 remake cement the fact that this franchise should’ve stayed buried? For those who haven’t played the original and aren’t aware of the story, this review will contain no spoilers.
Silent Hill 2 tells the story of James Sunderland, the average everyman who goes to the titular town in search of his wife. After having received a letter from her that she’s waiting for him there, he makes the journey in hopes of a reunion. However, he’s skeptical because he’s quite certain that his wife has been dead for years.
I would describe the premise of Silent Hill 2’s story to be surreal and purgatory-like. There’s clearly something wrong with the titular town. There’s not a single soul roaming its streets and hostile monsters appear out of the fog to attack James. But with the hope of finding his wife somewhere in this mysterious town, there’s no turning back for James.
The story of Silent Hill 2 remains the same as the original even if the experience is different. Bloober Team did a really great job retelling an old classic in modern hardware. It’s not a completely one-to-one recreation. There are some notable changes from the original. For one, James no longer encounters his first monster underneath a bridge though the remake does make a reference to it. There are also some new areas that James goes through this time around.
Silent Hill 2 brings back its multiple difficulty options. There are separate difficulty settings for both combat and puzzle which hasn’t been present in many of the previous Silent Hill games bar Downpour.
Combat is brought back into the modern era. With the remake sporting an over-the-shoulder point-of-view, you’re no longer restricted to the awkward tank controls of the original. It’s still a bit challenging even with the dodge mechanic as enemies can put you close to death with just a few hits.
Bloober Team opted to use the DualSense PS5 controller to its full effect here. I’m not just talking about the Haptic Feedback and Adaptive Triggers which give you a deeper level of immersion. In the remake, the DualSense also acts as your life bar with the controller glowing green if you’re healthy and red if you’re in danger.
I really like the fact that the Silent Hill 2 remake features a minimized UI. You can edit it to your liking in the settings and there’s a generous amount of options, but so far the default remains the best way to play.
The Silent Hill 2 remake is scary. There’s always that sense of loneliness and claustrophobia that lingers whenever I explore the town. The entire place is rundown, abandoned, and incredibly dirty. There was never a moment where I felt comfortable or safe in the game even in save rooms.
One of the best designs in survival horror ever made makes its return. That’s the radio that goes off whenever there are enemies nearby and it’s just as effective in creating fear and anticipation as ever. Whenever it would go off, I’d always be on high alert especially if I couldn’t see where the monsters were. I would spend a good amount of time with my feet planted to the ground–back against the wall–and take a look around frantically panicking.
The titular town always felt dangerous to explore but it is rewarding. Some useful items can be found if you’re willing to take a look at every nook and cranny in an area before proceeding on.
The sound effects deserve a mention of their own. Aside from the radio, you get the disgusting welches of the monsters you have to fight. And you sometimes hear them long before you see them giving you ample goosebumps before the encounter even happens. Even when you’re alone, there’s always that wailing sound and sounds of what seems to be turning machinery that lingers when you roam around town never really makes you comfortable. Indoors, you’ll hear footsteps and groans nearby that you’ll feel paranoid about your next couple of steps.
Thankfully Silent Hill 2 doesn’t really rely on jumpscares. A lot of its scare tactics are dependent on the atmosphere and build up long before you even reach the encounter itself. I found that the anticipation of horror was more effective than having it in front of my face. Bloober does a good job in this aspect thanks to their good implementation of the sound effects.
The weird voice acting of the characters in the game is back. But instead of sounding awkward, they sound appropriately lost. James’ voice actor does a wonderful job of portraying him as an ordinary guy stuck in a situation where he has to be more. It also helps that he’s much more expressive this time around compared to his original PS2 appearance.
When you encounter monsters in the game, there’s usually the option to run away even if you’re tempted to fight back. This is especially the case when you’re fighting more than one opponent at a time and in tighter spaces with no room to dodge.
I found myself having to think on my feet to make each encounter to my favor. If it’s too dark to fight and with no room to dodge, I’d usually run out of the room until I reach an area where I could see better.
You have to pay close attention to the animations of the monsters if you do pick to fight them. They’ll usually do something predictable before making an attack so you have time to dodge. However they can also counter attack immediately during your relentless attacks so mindlessly swinging away in hopes of stun locking them isn’t going to work.
Health items in Silent Hill 2 are limited so you’ll want to take as little damage as possible. This can be difficult even on Standard as a single encounter had me almost emptying all of my health restoration items when I was full of them moments ago.
Unlike the previous Silent Hill entries, Bloober has thankfully opted to tone the combat down. While weapons don’t degrade and there are still guns, it’s no longer as action-packed as Homecoming, Origins, and Downpour. However, you’re not so defenseless that you can only run away.
Silent Hill 2 is a game where you can easily feel lost. The town has a lot of dead ends, passageways, and maze-like locations. The map does a good job of telling you where you need to go so there’s rarely the chance of you not knowing what to do next. The only issue if how to get there.
I wouldn’t recommend Silent Hill 2 for the faint of heart. And I’m not talking about the scares. James sometimes has to do squeamish things such as putting his hand through something unsanitary in order to proceed. It’s about as uncomfortable as you’d expect.
The enemies you fight here are disturbing. Monster designs remain faithful to the original and are as unsettling as the uncanny way they move. They’re also a challenge to take down, especially in larger numbers. Even though they have a tell for when they’re about to attack, it can be hard to keep track of when there’s more than one enemy and you’re fighting them in a dark area.
Puzzles in Silent Hill 2 can be challenging and take a bit of work. Some of them are simple enough such as finding the correct order of items to move. Others require you to look around the environment and interpret cryptic clues.
It’s worth noting that while you can change the combat difficulty at any time the same can’t be said for puzzles. You’ll have to start the game over to change the difficulty so be careful with what option you pick.
That being said, I found the puzzles to be great fun especially the ones that require I think outside of the box in order to solve. There was a particular puzzle where I spent about an hour because I had to correctly interpret the writing on the wall.
The PS5 offers two modes for Silent Hill 2. You can either play on Quality or Performance. The latter keeps the game at a stable 60 FPS and there was never a time I noticed it dropping even during combat or on open areas. Playing the game in Quality mode gives you a higher resolution but keeps the game on 30 FPS. Choosing to play Silent Hill 2 on Quality mode actually makes it feel closer to the original due to its lower frame rate.
My experience with Silent 2 was pretty smooth on the PlayStation 5. The game is well-polished without noticeable issues. There was one time where a monster I killed wouldn’t stop spewing acid but I wasn’t sure if that was intentional or not. Besides that, I had no issues.
The Silent Hill 2 remake is one of the best horror games I’ve played to recent date. I couldn’t find a single thing I disliked about it. With the use of the PlayStation 5 hardware to deliver a more immersive experience, I found playing this Silent Hill 2 remake to do justice to the original and then some.
