The fog is thick, heavy in ways that only grief can burden.
The town of Silent Hill calls, beckoning, taking on a familiar name and face to entice us closer. What motivates us forward: regret, hope, fear? It won’t matter, you’ll soon come face to face with these demons, metaphorically and literally.
To say that the Silent Hill games are important to me is an understatement. I grew up with the series — literally. It terrified me in ways other survival horror games, to this day, still can’t; so it’s incredibly near and dear to my heart, and fans of the series likely carry that same sentiment.
Fans of Silent Hill tend to be hungry for more horrifying games similar in style — maybe with the fog not included.
So, when Konami announced the Silent Hill 2 Remake, reactions were mixed, equal parts excited and skeptical. Fans are still sore from the cancelation of Silent Hills (AKA, P.T.), and many were worried that this game would be a blatant cash-grab, another tragic entry in Konami’s extensive history of bad decisions.
But Bloober Team seems to have proved us all wrong with the release of this remake, reigniting the fire that fans have been hungry for all these years.
The remake had big shoes to fill and a significant weight of fandom expectations. Fortunately, this game surpassed every single one.
Silent Hill is separated into two main worlds: the foggy town of Silent Hill, and the Otherworld. The atmosphere is distinctly different in both worlds, but both offer unique, heart-palpitating scares relevant to the location.
The Otherworld’s horror is a lot more direct: near-complete darkness and monsters accompanied by the soothing sounds of composer Akira Yamaoka‘s washing machine. The town, however, is creepy and almost invokes paranoia.
Growing up playing the Silent Hill franchise, I have a very high tolerance for fear — and yet, there I was, petrified and questioning whether I could truly brave another step deeper into the fog.
To put it bluntly, the Silent Hill 2 Remake is scary. There’s no better way to describe it; it’s dripping fear from every corner of every map.
The horror in this game is built fantastically — and surprisingly, this includes the jump scares. Normally, they’re cheap methods of scaring people, but if anything, the jump scares provide relief in this case. The atmosphere sets you up for constant tension and fear, like a coiled wire strung way too tight; it has to snap.
One enemy in particular, the Mannequins (two sets of mannequin legs stitched together), doesn’t set off the radio, as it can hide and enter an inanimate state.
This makes them perfect ambushers. Plus, as the game progresses, they learn to crawl up walls and across ceilings, the sounds of their pitter-pattering footsteps ending up making your skin crawl.
These monsters are amplified by the looming dread in the atmosphere, especially once they start to make noises of their own.
The Bubble Head Nurses, for example, frequently twitch and moan, which can be heard in the long, dark, empty hallways of Silent Hill’s hospital.
The sounds are enough to stop you in your tracks and make you second-guess whether you really want to move forward (and then you do, see them creepily twitching, and then hit them with a Steel Pipe).
True Survival Horror
In true Silent Hill fashion, resources are limited, especially in harder difficulties — but be sure to heal as soon as you need to, otherwise you may get one of the game’s bad endings (thanks, Resident Evil instincts).
Silent Hill 2 Remake does have a few issues with gameplay: the first thing being that there were some frame drops, lag, and bugs when there was a lot of motion on the screen.
Any instance where there’s a lot of wind affecting the scenery, an army of insects crawling on the wall, or anything similar will be met with a frame drop. Normally, I’m not too picky about this kind of thing, but this was played on a PlayStation 5 in Performance Mode, so it shouldn’t run into these kinds of issues.
Additionally, the game is dark. Not just dark in theme, but it’s also just blatantly hard to see. On the game’s recommended settings, it was pitch black in many places, where the flashlight was basically useless.
Sure, there’s terror in that, but there’s also frustration. Especially when you have to hug the wall to tell where you’re going, and in some areas where you don’t get a map right away. If you want to be able to see anything and navigate with some ease, it’s best to adjust the settings a little brighter than what’s suggested.
This Silent Hill 2 fan-made LEGO game has players craving for it to be real.
Unfortunately, the over-the-shoulder camera does not help with the lighting or the bugs. It’s really close to James and in very tight, cramped spaces. Sure, it adds an air of claustrophobia, but it causes many visual glitches from the camera trying to maintain position but being stuck in a wall.
The Unreal Engine also exacerbated these effects, especially with its size and camera movement limitations. At times, it makes Silent Hill 2 Remake look like a fan game. A very well done fan game, don’t get me wrong, but a AAA game published by a studio like Konami shouldn’t look like a passion project from fans.
It’s not the whole game that looks like this, thankfully, but there are definitely noticeable elements.
All that said, the gameplay is still loads of fun.
The enemies have move sets, which are easy to memorize and dodge, then counterattack. That said, they hurt when they hit you, so dodging should be one of the first things you practice and master, because the last thing you need is to be hit frequently and then fly through the limited health supplies you have.
Get comfortable with melee combat, too. Bullets are found only a few at a time, so saving them for bosses and emergencies is ideal.
As far as the puzzles, they provided a light challenge on Standard difficulty. Maybe I’m just used to Silent Hill-type puzzles, but they weren’t too tough to think through, and were quite creative.
A few encounters and puzzles were also ripped straight from the original game. For example, in the original game, during the first boss encounter with the iconic Pyramid Head, players only have to avoid him until the sirens begin to sound again. In the remake, his first boss plays the exact same way, rewarding veteran players for implementing old tactics.
Bloober Team says “Silent Hill 2 opens our portfolio of big games,” including Projects C and M.
Speaking of rewards, this game is incredibly rewarding for players who are thorough in their exploration. If you’re like me and scan every single element in a room for anything to interact with, you’ll find lots of treats and surprises that make the exploration worthwhile.
One example concerns all the locked doors in the game (get ready, there are tons). By trying to fully flesh out my map and checking every door, I found additional resources and even got a trophyafter 50 attempts. It’s nothing top secret, but it is a nice reward to reinforce that all your effort isn’t for nothing.
At least, that’s what James is telling himself throughout this ordeal.
Wholly Authentic to the Original
Bloober Team understood the assignment perfectly.
Silent Hill 2 is full of layers upon layers of symbolism and imagery, and the remake doesn’t peel any of these layers away. If anything, more is added, significantly improving the story that unfolds. The characters are much more memorable and engaging, even the problematic Eddie (who has a much more fun boss fight).
The themes in Silent Hill 2 are intensely heavy, to the point where they can potentially trigger new players, so an official warning is shown when the game is launched. It’s quite tasteful:
Thankfully, the remake pulls no punches with the game’s themes. I’m so glad it didn’t; I was genuinely worried that the messages and darkness would be watered down. If anything, though, they have more of an emotional impact now with the improved voice acting and graphics.
One death scene in particular comes to mind. In the original game, this character’s death was quite melodramatic, with screaming and yelling and a hand reaching out to James like something out of a soap opera.
Yet, in the remake, it’s a quiet panic, breath sucked out from their lungs from the death blow, and a solid minute of shock, of staring, of watching the life and light drain from their eyes until we know they’re gone.
It was harrowing.
This doesn’t even consider other deaths and tragedies that this game shows. There was a charm the original game had, no doubt about it, but the remake displays the pain and suffering of these characters in ways not previously felt.
The impact of these cutscenes is intensified. I obviously knew the spoilers going into this game about what happened in each area and with each character.
While this game is authentic to the original nearly beat for beat, it consistently surprised me. The emotion is heightened while maintaining the uncanny, dreamlike flair the cutscenes tend to induce.
Of course, Akira Yamaoka‘s soundtrack is perfect, elevating each experience while being genuinely lovely to listen to. Some songs are basically the exact same as their original counterparts, but most of them are re-composed, and they are beautiful. It adds to the atmosphere and emotion, but it’s also just stunning to listen to on its own.
As Halloween draws closer, it’s a great time to explore underrated horror gems, including games. Here are some indie games that could use more love.
My biggest complaint, however, is that the Born from a Wish bonus chapter isn’t included in the remake. For a game that improved so much and introduced so many additional details that uplifted the story and characterization within it, developers skipped out on a crucial story that would have made this game a masterpiece.
Even still, this game is fantastic. It was powerful and poetic while offering a horrifying experience all around.
As hinted earlier, I got the game’s In Water ending from being too resourceful with healing items. Funnily enough, the way to achieve the In Water ending is true to the original game. Even though it was technically a bad ending, the ending was still satisfying and lingers in your head long after the credits are gone.
Closing Comments:
The Silent Hill 2 Remake is a masterclass in psychological horror with an unforgettable atmosphere. The improved graphics, acting, and soundtrack create an authentically horrifying experience that brings pride to the original. Despite some performance issues, new and veteran fans will genuinely love the Silent Hill 2 Remake — it’s absolutely stellar.
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