Silent Hill 2 Review – EMBRACING THE FOG

Considering that Silent Hill 2 is one of the most revered horror games of all time, my doubt metre was fully maxed out when Bloober Team announced that they’d be handling the long-awaited remake. But to my surprise, they’ve handled this project with the utmost care and passion you could ask for. Fans and first-timers will almost certainly adore this game for how it respects the source material, while still sprucing things up for today’s audience.

Weird Yet Wonderful

For those who don’t know, the town of Silent Hill summons specific individuals that are experiencing some sort of trauma or strife in their life. In the case of our protag, James Sunderland, he heads on down to the town upon reading an important letter from his late wife. Pardon the rhyming, but it’s clear from the start that things are NQR (not quite right). A mysterious fog shrouds the streets in a mysteriously spooky veil, while the inhabitants (or lack thereof) speak in this weird, off-kilter manner that is brilliantly balanced in terms of seriousness and strangeness.

You’ll quickly realise that the NPCs and monsters are masterfully written or designed to mirror James’ character in various subtle (and not-so-subtle) forms. Even though they have their own issues to deal with, the restrained aspects of James begin to reveal themselves through them during this remake’s expanded 16-hour runtime—and it is still amazing.

This version includes a selection of brand-new scenes and re-written dialogue too, so there’s even more of an incentive to jump on board here. Most of the scenes are better represented in this version as well. Albeit, two or three of them don’t quite have the same impact as the original, particularly the very last one.

Contemporary Polish

To combat the clunky tank controls of the original, Silent Hill 2 has opted for a modern, over-the-shoulder camera view and dual stick button layout, similar to the latest Resident Evil remakes and Alan Wake 2. However, since protagonist James is just a regular old dude, he can only bust out simple 3-hit melee combos and gunshots. But the way this remake uses darkness, ambience, geometry and monster placement makes the tension and gameplay feel freaky fresh throughout.

The creatures of this game love to camouflage and contort themselves between the gaps of doorways, or lurk behind innocuous walls and furniture. A few may fast-crawl over to James, drop down from above or spike him from below, as the threat is ever-present, even outside! Spooking someone in broad daylight is a feat, and this remake certainly achieves that.

Silent Hill 2 features a give-and-take approach to melee combat, where James trades blows while dodging, ducking and weaving out of the way. But don’t fret, it’s not the same as The Callisto Protocol’s Punch-Out!!-like fighting. Thank God. Instead, enemies will steadily block or deflect attacks in succession, cleverly encouraging players to plan out their assaults and swap between melee and ranged attacks on the fly. Once several monsters start moving towards James, that’s when things can get dicey, since there isn’t much available ammo on ‘normal’ and ‘hard’ difficulty. That being said, sometimes it’s best to avoid conflict in the first place—just don’t forget where the enemies are!

Realistic Rummaging

Similar to The Last of Us Part II, James is able to scrounge around for limited resources like health drinks and ammo by smashing windows or opening up boxes and cabinets. Combined with the series’ signature fog and sickly, rotting interiors, it helps to make the game even more realistic and unsettling than the original. There are also references to other Silent Hill games that further flesh out the titular town, all while making the franchise seem like it’s tied to one central locale.

Said locale has been noticeably expanded, with several newly accessible buildings and spots that weren’t explorable in the original. This includes a remixing of puzzles and item locations as well, with some of the more awkward solutions being rightfully wiped out of existence. 

Speaking of puzzles, the latest brain teasers are immaculately crafted and neatly labelled on each area’s map for later viewing. If we combined this map style with the blue/red checked areas of the modern Resident Evil remakes, it’d be objectively perfect! Though that’s just me nitpicking. In terms of difficulty, depending on the three puzzle settings, the wording or clues given can be quite different. But thankfully, you don’t need to be a Shakespeare aficionado like in Silent Hill 3. However, you’ll still be in for quite a riot on the higher puzzle difficulties.

Accessibility Hill

The moment the game boots up, players are hit with a barrage of handy accessibility options. From fully customisable controls to extra-large icons and colour-blind settings, I routinely found myself using these when tackling the game’s many thought-provoking puzzles and exploration segments. To fully immerse yourself in the experience though, don’t crank up the gamma too much! The less you can see in the darkness, the better.

That said, I wish the performance mode maintained a solid 60FPS on PlayStation 5. While the graphics look super-special awesome on both the performance and fidelity settings, it seems to mostly hiccup whenever James starts running around large open areas. Not as much in combat or extremely detailed areas for some reason.

Original composer, Akira Yamaoka has brought the bangers yet again. The original soundtrack was pure gold, and this remade OST is virtually just as good as the original. But because I’m so used to the 2001 album, a small portion of tracks don’t sit quite right with me in terms of their remixed melodies and newly recorded instrumentation. Though rest assured, they’re few and far between.

Decision

I cannot believe how well the Silent Hill 2 remake turned out! Bloober Team definitely don’t have the best track record ever, but the way they modernised this game whilst keeping the original’s spirit intact is mighty impressive. In terms of story, I still think this is the most exceptional narrative in horror game history, and the balance of Silent Hill 2’s serious and dreamlike voice-acting does not disappoint. The puzzles are mega fun to solve and easy breezy to keep track of as well. The sound design and Akira Yamaoka’s score is yet again, incredible. Although, if I had to nitpick, the performance mode could use some TLC to stay at 60FPS on PS5. Plus, certain lines and music do hit harder in the original, especially the very last scene. But still, if you’re even the slightest bit interested, go and pick this up ASAP.

By Anthony Culinas – Reviewed on PS5

Must Have

Bloober Team have triumphantly maintained the essence of Silent Hill 2, all while adapting its gameplay and graphics for today’s audience. With its expanded exploration, tense combat, great puzzles, gripping story, music and atmosphere, this remake has fully realised the original’s true potential.

This game was reviewed using a download code provided by Konami. The Beta Network uses affiliate partnerships, however, this does not influence reviews or any other content published. The Beta Network may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links that are on the website.