Silent Hill 2 - Review

In my restless dreams, I see that town. Silent Hill. You promised you’d take me there again someday… But you never did. Well, I’m alone there now, in our ‘special place’. Twenty-three years later, and its time to revisit Silent Hill, through the eyes of James Sunderland.

Silent Hill 2 has been remade for modern day audiences, twenty-three years after the genre-defining and game changing title first released. Bloober Team were given the unenviable task of remaking one of the greatest horror games ever created, in one of the most iconic series of all time. Not only did they succeed in successfully bringing the titular title to the modern day, but they’ve gone and exceeded all expectations. Silent Hill 2 Remake is more than just a simple re-telling of the story. It is a brand-new way to experience the amazing journey.

Silent Hill 2 Remake is a pretty faithful take on the original story. There is a significant number of changes and additions that make it feel like a brand-new experience. The original game stands as a unique entry into the Silent Hill franchise. A title more focused on the individual journeys of tortured persons, rather than the more cult driven religious feeling of other Silent Hill games. A heavy focus on psychological horror and an introspective journey into dealing with guilt, punishment and depending on who you ask, sexual repression. Bloober didn’t shy away from these themes, and in fact, does a tremendous job of exposing these further.

There is a care put here to ensure that people understand what they are stepping into, but a refusal to simply ignore things for the sake of comfortability. Changes in the way that James’ story is told, and the accompanying characters in Eddie and Angela, put a less subtle nature on the reasons for their time in Silent Hill. Angela in particular has been given a much bigger and defined role, without a seeming refusal to acknowledge what her true story is. These changes add a deep lore and insight into the world and challenge you as the player to deal with them. To understand why these people have been called to Silent Hill, and why they are being tortured by their own minds for their actions, and that of others around them.

In addition to defining the stories and themes further, Bloober has gone and made the world of Silent Hill feel more oppressive and destructive. There is more buildings to enter, more environments to explore, and in turn a more comprehensive Silent Hill to enjoy. Changes to the way you explore the environments, streamlines some of the areas more to be less obnoxious and obtuse to enjoy. Changes are evident as early as first entering Silent Hill. Instead of bumbling through the town looking for a way into the Bluewater apartments, the game shows you what to expect. It takes you from iconic location to location, making you explore the town with a guiding hand, and even adds a new small apartment section to explore.

On top of the changes to the way you explore and advance through Silent Hill, some good changes were made to the way that you approach the puzzles within the environments. For the sake of simplicity, these can be referred to as dungeons, or enclosed environments. The iconic puzzles still exist, but they’ve been moved within the dungeons to be more incorporated with the journey that the game is making you face. Rather than running around blindly in the apartment or looping through jail cells. You are made to use pieces of new puzzles, to unlock sections of these areas, to get items for the more iconic puzzles. Be that the hangman’s noose, or the clock hands. The puzzles are ingrained into the transitions between the real world and the otherworld, and in turn make them feel far more natural.

Bloober Team has put their own mark on the game. This much can be seen almost from the word go, but there is a care to preserve what it is that makes Silent Hill 2 the game that it is. The changes don’t alter what made Silent Hill 2 great but add to it. The environments are more enjoyable to explore, the characters are somehow even deeper, and the performances that are behind them make them feel even more alive. The puzzles are integrated and made relevant to the overall narrative for the most part, and every action feels like it has impact in the grand scheme. Even small things like flashback moments when looking at ‘easter eggs’ of items or locations from the original that have been altered or moved, make the eeriness of the game more prominent.

Which leads to the atmosphere building in Silent Hill 2 Remake. The atmosphere is oppressive, nerve-inducing and simply, scary. Very, very rarely do I find myself feel tense or scared when playing games. Silent Hill 2 Remakes blending of environmental storytelling, suffocating fog and incredibly poignant and dangerous enemy placement. Alongside a plethora of additional features, make the game feel horrifying. There is a foreboding sense of dread at all times, and there is very few moments where the game gives you peace. These moments of peace are always anxiety inducing, because you never know when to expect things to change. Which is wildly impressive with a game that is so faithful to the original, and the expected beats are all hit.

Perhaps the most major improvement in the remake are the boss fights. Each one has been overhauled and dramatically changed, and all of them for the better. In particular the Abstract Daddy and Eddie fights are much improved. The Abstract Daddy is horrifying in the remake, and it shows exactly what Bloober Team wanted to do with their changes. They wanted the game to feel more intense, to feel more horrifying and to not shy away from the horrible parts of the themes of the game. Eddie’s fight feels more involved, and more connected to the character. These are just two of the major examples, but every boss fight is expanded in ways that makes them more enjoyable and super important to the overall story.

The combat is going to be somewhat divisive I feel. For the most part, it feels generally good. On higher difficulties, it can be brutal and punishing. The game has streamlined the melee weapons so as not to have superfluous items in your inventory (and so that they didn’t have to add an extra weapon swap button). The dodge mechanic is… floaty at best. For Bloober’s first real attempt at combat, it is fine. Overall, however, the combat feels less Silent Hill 2 and more Silent Hill Homecoming, which is not a good thing. It’s not egregious by any stretch, but it isn’t the best either. At best, the combat is serviceable. Which is a shame, being that every other addition, change or amendment is so much improved. The combat feels very modern Silent Hill but may have benefitted from being more akin to the combat of the original. Focus more on the positive story, and environment changes, and less on the ‘updated’ combat.

Further to the updated combat, the health drinks are bound to a button. On top of that, instead of having to go into a menu to check your damage, the PS5 controller changes colour around the touch pad to represent your damage level, as well as a growing red outline on the edges of the screen. The visual indication is nice, but it does make it hard to see at times when you don’t heal straight away. It’s also somewhat disconnecting from the world around you. Simplifying the combat more and staying more traditional probably would’ve been the right decision here, but this is a matter of opinion at the end of the day.

The changes to the way the enemies behave is an interesting thing. Each enemy feels unique in the way they interact with you as the player and how they move around the world. The Leg Mannequins not setting off the radio and pretending to be statues in the world. Playing a cat and mouse game, makes them feel more representative of what they are meant to imply. The nurses are inherently super dangerous, and the initial enemy type spitting acid every upon death and being more aggressive is an interesting if somewhat irrelevant change.

Finally, the voice acting. The voice actors absolutely killed it here. James’ VA in particular does a terrific job of getting across the seemingly detached, self-hating and self-punishing man that is James Sunderland. Angela’s VA gets the nuances of the switches in mental states of the character across really well, and feels super dangerous at times. Laura feels like an actual child, but is definitely the weakest of the bunch. Eddie feels super psychotic, and Maria whilst sometimes having awkward deliveries of iconic quotes, feels like a whole character. She’s not just playing up a stereotype here, but is a fully rounded character.

Silent Hill 2 Remake is a fantastic approach to the game. Bloober Team were set with an impossible task, and somehow have managed to meet and possibly exceed expectations. Silent Hill 2 Remake is a great way to experience this iconic title, and for those who are unable to engage with the original this is a fantastic experience to have in that place. A beautifully true telling of the story, with fantastic changes to the story, characters and the world itself. The combat is a bit sloppy, but it doesn’t detract from everything good the game does.

The Score

9.5

Review code provided by Konami

The Pros

New puzzles are far less obnoxious and genuinely enjoyable

New Boss fights are infinitely improved over the original

The Voice Acting work is tremendously done

The Cons

Combat feels a bit floaty at times

The red ring of damage on the screen can be frustrating.

Health Drinks didn’t need to be bound to a button.