The originalSilent Hill 2isn’t the timeless masterpiece we would all like to remember it as. The combat is clunky, the voice acting is campy, and the controls are constantly fighting against you in their tedious mediocrity. Yet beneath it all sits a psychological horror experience so effective all of its glaring flaws are forgiven.
Konamicreated a harrowing journey through an abandoned town where monsters roam and a small cast of characters gathers to confront their trauma, watching as their demons change into unknowable terrors that reflect the deepest parts of their subconsciousness. It puts you in the shoes of a normal man on what appears to be a heartfelt journey of reunion, trying in vain to reunite with a loved one even if it means walking through the gates of hell itself.
But there is more than meets the eye, and the brilliance of Silent Hill 2 doesn’t come from fighting monsters or collecting an arsenal of deadly weapons, but from walking the streets of this banal town and trying to figure out what exactly brought its streets to such despair. That is the mission statementBloober Teamsigned up for with this remake, and ever since the first trailer, it has been fighting an uphill battle. But after playing it, I can now say that it’s a fight it just might win.
Never Underestimate The Importance Of Fog
I was taken aback by how transparent my hands-on preview of Silent Hill 2 was. I was given a controller and asked to start a new game and play for three whole hours, stopping just as I finished a boss fight with the legendary Pyramid Head. Which mainly involved strafing about destructible objects until a siren blared in the distance and granted me safe passage. But the fact Bloober Team was willing to lay this game bare so intimately without a curated slice that the press are encouraged to consume does speak volumes about its confidence.
You can still adjust the combat and puzzle difficulty separately, allowing you to curate the gameplay experience to be challenging or forgiving in entirely different aspects.
The first thing I did after the opening cutscene and reading Maria’s cryptic note was, like anyone with a brain would do, run in the opposite direction of Silent Hill, if only to see how the game would react. Turns out this pops a trophy as you are greeted with a dense, impassable wall of fog. There’s plenty of it in the remake, grey clouds of omnipresent vapour floating over the streets as monsters scurry inside it, either waiting to strike or standing solitary in their own eternal misery.
But you won’t encounter them until you walk down a dirt path flanked by broken fences and poorly tended graveyards, suddenly finding yourself a handy map that represents the town’s labyrinthine dead innards. As in the original, James will mark points of interest as you come across them while making clear where you’re able to access, what doors are locked, and what you need to be doing in order to progress the story. Some will likely be taken aback by, at least so far, how utterly faithful this remake is to the original. While some of the puzzles and level design are changed alongside an all-new camera and combat system, so much else is completely untouched.
One thing I noticed immediately is how protagonist James Sunderland is more regretful in his body language and dialogue, like he is deliberately hiding a part of his identity instead of appearing like the largely dense everyman from the original.
I used my memory of the original to navigate part of town, noting that the sequence of events and even some cutscenes have been adapted with new dialogue and nuance, but the intention remained the same.Bloober Team said it was afraid to make changes suggested by the original development team, and I’m still conflicted about whether that stubborn authenticity is a good thing.
Overly Faithful Or Not, This Is A Very Impressive Remake
Whether or not it’s too reliant on the masterful original is irrelevant to how well Silent Hill 2 feels to play, which is surprisingly pretty damn good. Bloober Team has taken the control scheme of horror hits likeResident Evil 2andDead Spaceand put its own spin on things. James can dodge by pressing the circle button, do a quick turn with a tap of R1, and even instantly access handy healing items by pressing or holding triangle. It’s intuitive and makes combat and exploration far more enjoyable than ever before, even if some will miss how the cumbersome controls arguably helped heighten the tension back in 2001.
I found ammunition and resources to be sparse enough that I was still grounded in a state of perpetual anxiety, afraid I would walk into a room and be ganked by a group of faceless poo monsters or venture too far into a blanket of fog that wouldn’t hesitate to swallow me whole.
I only ever picked up a few bullets at a time, and enemies take several of the buggers to stay down, while you’ll be stuck with a measly plank of wood for the first couple of hours anyway. There were moments where I wandered into courtyards and saw upwards of six monsters all roaming around aimlessly, knowing I could take them out one by one, sneak past, or run for my life. But there will come a time to confront them, and Silent Hill 2 so far has done quite an excellent job making these situations feel surmountable, yet always an unfair struggle.
Dead Space especially comes alive in the stomp that James can apply on downed enemies. It is disgustingly visceral, and perhaps provides a window into a more violent side of our main character the narrative will soon make clear.
Survival horror is strongest when it puts you on the backfoot, making even the simplest of actions an anxiety-inducing nightmare. After obtaining a flashlight in the apartment section, the reality of having to tackle its pitch-black corridors dawned on me. Yes, I can now see a few feet in front of me, but that isn’t far. Turn it off, and you’re surrounded by darkness that proves impossible to see through, your only clues to nearby monsters being a hostile buzz emanating from a rusted radio James keeps on his person.
I was scared Bloober Team was destined to dilute Silent Hill 2 into a generic shooting gallery while forgetting all the bleak psychological underpinnings that make it special, but that doesn’t seem to be the case at all.
You’ll still be stumped by puzzles for several minutes as you look around gross rooms for a solution, with one teaching me that I might just have a phobia of moths. You’re also free to explore Silent Hill with a nervous walk or a panicked jog as you try to get in and get out as quickly as possible. One thing that did disappoint me was how static parts of the game feel in comparison to other horror titans. I tried to destroy objects in the environment or walk past them to see if James would nudge dynamic parts of the world in his path, but nothing ever happened. you may smash windows to find extra resources, but that’s honestly about it.
Part of me wishes Bloober Team actually put its own spin on things. I wouldn’t have said no to a somewhat expanded town, new enemy types, or even a crafting system. Past horror titles have shown you can still be terrifyingly authentic with these new ideas.
It lends itself to Silent Hill being a nightmarish figment of our imagination, and how there is always a constant doubt that the people you encounter and the monsters you battle are real, or if James is creating all of this in his mind to deal with his wife’s passing. Not once is this feeling in doubt, and despite knowing the original so well, I still felt my pulse quicken as I struggled to survive in such dire circumstances. If Bloober Team can keep on nailing that for the entire experience, it could pull off what many have long deemed impossible.
Nothing is ever going to top the original Silent Hill 2, and I think the legions of fans dragging Bloober Team through the dirt over this one are abundantly aware of that. It has been given an impossible task, and from a few hours with the finished product, it looks to be living up to it in ways I never could have anticipated. I’m unsure how the combat will evolve over the course of the game or whether it will make any needless changes to the narrative - new endings are now confirmed - but right now, this is about as good as I hoped this remake could be. If anything, it’s much better, and points towards a revival that Silent Hill has been needing for decades.
Silent Hill 2
WHERE TO PLAY
Investigating a letter from his late wife, James returns to where they made so many memories - Silent Hill. What he finds is a ghost town, prowled by disturbing monsters and cloaked in deep fog. Confront the monsters, solve puzzles, and search for traces of your wife in this remake of SILENT HILL 2.High-end Graphics and SoundWith ray tracing and other cutting-edge technical enhancements, the world of SILENT HILL and its unsettling ambiance is even realer than before.And with the inclusion of new, immersive soundscapes, you’ll feel like you’re standing in the thick of it.Larger EnvironmentsExplore locations and buildings that were once inaccessible, or are newly added in the remake. Enjoy the same acclaimed story, even while you experience the town of Silent Hill with fresh eyes across an expanded map.Over-the-shoulder CameraThe remake moves from the original’s fixed-camera viewpoints to an over-the-shoulder perspective, putting you closer to what James sees, for a more thrilling, more immersive experience as you explore the town and come face-to-face with monsters.Evolved Combat GameplayFamiliar weapons like the steel pipe and handgun make their return, but now with an updated combat system. Avoid attacks with carefully timed dodges, aim down sights, and more, making monster encounters more engaging and nerve-wracking than ever.
