Silent Hill 2 (2024)

Note: This review contains spoilers for Silent Hill 2.

In the decades since its release in 2001, Silent Hill 2 (SH2) has earned and maintained a reputation as one of the greatest survival horror games ever made thanks to its powerful storyline that tackled taboo subjects in a mature way. Fast forward to today and ten years after the 2012 release of Silent Hill: Downpour, Konami announced a full series revival, which included two SH2 projects: a remake also called Silent Hill 2 (SH2R), developed by Bloober Team, and a film adaptation, Return to Silent Hill, directed by Christophe Gans, who had previously directed the original Silent Hill film adaptation. Despite involving former Team Silent members Masahiro Ito and Akira Yamaoka throughout development, SH2R fought an uphill battle. Although Bloober Team had experience with horror titles like Layers of Fear, Observer, Blair Witch and The Medium, these titles usually had a mixed reception at best. Add to that the lack of pre-order bonuses for physical copies and the negative reception to early trailers, which included some differences in presentation and character models. Fortunately, confidence grew as the October 8, 2024 release date grew closer and the game released on PS5 and Steam to positive reception, as well as selling 1 million copies within the first three days.

Personally, I had faith in SH2R from the moment of its announcement, as I could sense the team’s passion behind the project, though I followed the development with more cautious optimism. When it released, I also had a hard time finding a physical copy on day one, but I fortunately found a store that still had a number of them left. Throughout the following playthrough, I felt impressed by what Bloober Team had accomplished and, when it ended, I took a little time to process my full opinion before writing this review. As of this post, I can confidently say that while SH2R isn’t a flawless masterpiece, and neither is the original, I think Bloober Team knocked it out of the park and made me even more excited about the series' future.

James Sunderland has traveled to Silent Hill, Maine after receiving a letter from his wife Mary, who had died three years prior, that tells him that she’s waiting in their “special place”. In his search for answers, he crosses paths with others who were drawn to the town: Angela Orosco, a teenager in search of her mother; Eddie Dombrowski, who fled to the town after an incident; and Laura, an innocent eight-year-old girl who knew Mary when she was alive. James also meets Maria, a mysterious woman who looks exactly like Mary.

James begins his journey to Silent Hill.

Since I have already reviewed the original game in-depth with my honest thoughts from a first playthrough, this review will largely discuss the differences the remake brings.

As with the original SH2, SH2R’s greatest strength is the well-written and powerful, psychological story. Those who enjoyed the original or those just experiencing the story for the first time would be happy to know that SH2R doesn’t make any significant changes, meaning that everyone will get a very similar experience. I won’t lie and say it doesn’t change anything, and the script isn’t exactly 1:1 with the original, but, if anything, the changes enhance the existing story and sometimes the difference is just saying the same lines but in a slightly different order. For example, Maria has more dialogue while exploring with James, but it still feels in-character. On two separate occasions, the park adds new scenes, one that fleshes out Angela’s character a little more and another where Maria tells James a legend that mirrors his own journey. The most noticeable change was James’ second encounter with Eddie, which now takes place in Revere Theater instead of Pete’s Bowl-O-Rama. Though the dialogue is different here, it doesn’t change the intent of the scene and even adds to Eddie’s character, plus the iconic “pizza” line is still referenced in all of its glory if you go to a certain spot in the bowling alley (you can also still find ammo around the same spot as the original). Also, certain optional events are now mandatory, which includes wielding the Great Knife for a couple minutes.

The "pizza" line in all of its glory.

 

Now, it would be wrong if I didn’t mention that while the script is almost exactly the same, the cast is characterized a little differently. It’s not too significant a difference, but you do walk away feeling a little differently about them. For instance, Eddie feels more sympathetic in his portrayal up until his psychotic break while James comes off as well-meaning but cold. A lot of this has to do with the new voice acting and mocap, with decades of advancements allowing for more subtle movement and physical/facial acting than before. Although I have played the original several times and understand what it went for with the performances, I ended up mostly preferring the more natural delivery in the remake, which doesn’t sound as stilted as the original game, but also doesn’t sound arguably overacted like in HD Collection. That said, some of Maria’s dialogue doesn’t have the same punch as before, in particular the Labyrinth scene, and Mary’s letter reading in the “Leave” ending didn’t have the same emotional impact.

Speaking of endings, fans will be happy to know that not only does the game include all six of the original endings (“Leave”, “Maria”, “In Water”, “Rebirth”, “Dog” and “UFO”), but also two new ones (“Bliss” and Stillness”), with the returning endings having similar requirements from the 2001 version. It’s also possible to get multiple endings in the same run and have them all count towards your total number of endings, which means thankfully fewer playthroughs to see everything. For example, I was able to view every ending across two runs, as five of them required New Game+, and found them all worth the effort, including one speedrun where I shaved several hours off my previous time. I thought that “Bliss” and Stillness” fit in perfectly as alternate endings and found the new version of the "UFO" ending just as hilarious as the original for its unique twist that shows Bloober Team's love for the series (I suspect that the lack of "UFO" in the black label PS2 release is why it doesn't count towards the "Party Like It's 2001" Trophy/Achievement despite its status as a "Classic" ending).

The real differences, however, are in the gameplay. When starting the game, you get a splash screen with a content warning, as well as a URL and QR code for mental health resources. While the original didn’t have this, I appreciate the added awareness, as some of the subjects can hit close to home for some players. At the actual main menu, you can adjust a wealth of accessibility options and even turn off some modern design elements so that SH2R plays closer to, but not exactly like, the original game.

The additional mindfulness is appreciated.

During an actual playthrough, the changes start with the shift from an isometric fixed camera view to over-the-shoulder. While this means the game doesn’t follow what some might consider the “traditional” Silent Hill style, one born from technical limitations, it doesn’t diminish the horror one bit and, in some places, enhances it. Environments feel more immersive, including the shift to the more industrial Otherworld, and exploration and combat take on a different feel to compensate for the added movement. James also looks at and marks his map in real time now, which encourages finding a safe place before planning your route. Interestingly, the player can still set the Combat and Puzzle Challenge levels separately, as well as change the Combat level mid-game (but not the Puzzle level). With a twenty-year difference in technology, players can expect some additional quality of life changes like a cleaner inventory system, an easier and more intuitive method of combining items, modernized controls, a dedicated dodge button (useful both in and out of combat) and the ability to use Health Drinks and Syringes with the press of a button.

While SHR2 improves significantly on the clunky combat of the original, bypassed almost entirely with the lowest Action level, I did feel mixed about it. I loved that while all of the same weapons appear from the original, each one felt a little different to use than just raw damage output. You can easily find ammo and healing items when you know what to look for, as well as when you notice them behind smashable glass, but the early game can feel a bit rough with the item scarcity and limited combat options at the time (just a plank of wood). Enemies are also more intelligent and aggressive than in the original, even on Light Combat, which necessitates getting used to the game’s emphasis on both attacking and dodging. There’s also an interesting touch where even if you have the radio turned off, James will signal nearby enemies when he automatically pulls out his weapon.

Classic enemies return.

Although I didn’t mind putting more effort into dispatching enemies, combat encounters feel repetitive after a while due to a lack of variety in dealing with the few regular enemy types the game has, especially when the encounters seem designed and placed in a way that makes you burn through the resources you just worked so hard to gain. Not to mention how Mannequins went from an absolute joke in the original to a frustrating and slippery enemy that hides in places you wouldn’t normally expect, plus having the ability to crawl along walls and ceilings later on. It can help when you know that shooting enemies in the knees opens them up for a strong melee attack, or the unexplained stealth mechanic in which approaching an enemy from behind with the flashlight off can let you kill them in one strike. All of the combat knowledge in the world, however, can’t alleviate the frustration of fighting or running through areas absolutely infested with enemies, especially in Toluca Prison or certain forced combat encounters in the Labyrinth.

The one strict improvement, however, would be the boss encounters. Most encounters in the original had little strategy, often boiling down to firing a few shots while in a small space. Not only do environments feel larger here, but bosses now take full advantage of the space, with new strategies that take more advantage of the updated combat system, often incorporating multiple phases. For instance, you may only fight one Flesh Lip this time, but it does far more than slowly moving along a track, instead stalking James from the ceiling and using parts of its frame as appendages for long range stab attacks. The biggest improvements, however, are in the Abstract Daddy and Eddie fights. Abstract Daddy now moves a lot more and much faster, capable of bursting through walls as the environment transforms and adds more depth to the context surrounding it. Eddie’s fight also feels more like a deadly cat and mouse game where he hides within the environment and strikes from the shadows.

Pyramid Head is an early upgrade.

Despite sharing the same map as the original game, the town itself feels easier to navigate, with less fumbling around and getting lost even as a first-time player, though without necessarily holding your hand with unnecessary HUD elements and relying more on subtle environmental cues and the markings on the map (even then, I admittedly still felt lost a couple times until I paid more attention to the map). Still, the game encourages exploration, especially since Key items are now in more clever or more natural spots (no opening a tin can for a light bulb anymore), and usually rewards you with useful items, with fewer useless rooms in the Apartments and Brookhaven. If you look hard enough, you can also find Strange Photos or view Glimpses of the Past, the latter of which are Easter eggs that reference the original game in relevant spots. The only thing I didn’t like was that James could get stuck on certain spots in the Labyrinth, but fortunately not anywhere critical.

As for the puzzles, not only do many of the same puzzles from the original game return alongside a few new ones (like the opening Jukebox puzzle), they are expanded or reimagined (like the Hangman puzzle) and often involve exploring the environment for certain items, but with different solutions from the original SH2. I didn’t necessarily mind this, as it exercised my brain a little and on the Light Puzzle level, I didn’t feel the need to look up a guide at any point. However, I did find the amount of exploration required for codes a little much in Brookhaven and found the process for obtaining weights in Toluca Prison a little long compared with the original game. What saves this, however is that once you know the codes and puzzle solutions, they don’t change between playthroughs on the same difficulty settings, opening up plenty of room for shaving your final time by several hours on subsequent runs.

A reworked puzzle that you can skip 2/3 of in subsequent runs.

SH2R also impresses on a technical level thanks to its higher graphical fidelity. Silent Hill has never looked this good and the photorealistic approach works wonders with Unreal Engine 5, not to mention it maintains some stylization present in SH2. There’s realistic lighting without disrupting the player’s sense of direction and the fog looks very impressive without feeling too weak or too voluminous. In fact, the game has a great sense of natural signposting in general, relying less on the dreaded “yellow paint” and more on cues like white cloth, open doors and light fixtures, the last of which really help when navigating the South Vale Overworld. Additionally, James looks at items of interest, a subtle cue that maintains the original’s lack of handholding. Not everyone will like the updated character models, which, from my research, seem based on older concept art from the original game, but I didn’t mind them too much and enjoyed seeing certain characters and monsters in the updated style.

I also appreciate the subtle details on the maps.

I also loved how SH2R increased the immersion through the DualSense. While not to the same level as Resident Evil 7: Biohazard or Resident Evil Village, and especially not on the same level as Astro’s Playroom, there are some impressive details apart from the controller light tracking your health. The most noticeable features were radio noises coming out of the controller speaker, a subtle heartbeat when James’ health reaches a critical level and, during rains, subtle vibrations that feel like raindrops.

As with the original SH2, SH2R has great music thanks to the talent of Akira Yamaoka. Most of the music sounded just like the original and maintained the intended effect while exploring the town and overcoming certain obstacles. Some newer pieces may not have stuck with me as well, but they didn’t sound out of place either. I will mention though that some of the tracks were shuffled around, specifically the unique music that plays for each ending, like how "Angel’s Thanatos" was moved from “In Water” to “Maria”. Not a deal breaker, but worth knowing for veteran SH2 players. I personally also liked that although the sound effects weren’t exactly the same as the original game, they still sounded similar enough that they felt familiar.

Although I didn’t have many issues with the technical aspects of SH2R, I did still have a couple. The subtitles didn’t always match 1:1 with the dialogue, at least during my playthrough before patches, which may matter for those who rely on them. Although the over-the-shoulder camera works very well for a more intimate style of horror, I did find that the camera could stutter when walking through a door frame and at least once got the camera at an odd angle that made the moment unintentionally hilarious.

Apart from that, I did find myself disappointed that the Born from a Wish campaign didn’t make it into the remake. The closest we get is an interaction near the Baldwin Mansion where if James walks through the entrance (he cannot go inside the house, however), Maria will refuse to go inside. Considering how this campaign fleshed out Maria in the original, I’m hoping we see a future release as DLC, which would oddly fit in with its original distribution (absent on the black label PS2 release, but present on the Xbox and later Greatest Hits label PS2 releases).

Whether or not you’ve played the original Silent Hill 2, this remake is worth playing and does an incredible job at maintaining its legacy as one of the greatest survival horror games of all time. It’s a little rough around the edges, as was the original release, but the powerful story makes it all worth it. I’m now looking forward to what future Silent Hill titles will bring, as well the possibility of further remakes down the line, especially if they can all be as high quality as this one.