Silent Hill 2 Remake

In 2001 Japanese developers Team Silent created "Silent Hill 2", a game that despite its outdated controls and graphics is considered a crown jewel in the survival horror genre. As do I, since I still replay it every year or so. Why? Because other than still being scary with its thick and oppressive atmosphere and creature design, it also has a story that gaming barely has come close to replicating, with its psychological horror and its dark and gruesome subject matters. Plus a mascot that has scared me ever since I was a child and who still gives me chills to this day. It's a game that I always point to when I tell people why I love video games, it's one of the many examples of video games as expressions of art.

Which is why the very thought of a remake terrified me. Remakes always have a risk of diminishing the source material (looking at you "Resident Evil 3" 2020), but there's also examples of those that work wonders, like "Resident Evil 2" and 4. It didn't help that the developers behind SH2R, Blooper Team, have a spotty track record with some seriously flawed horror games under their belt, like "Layers of Fear" (I gave the original a 4/10 in 2016) and "Blair Witch" (to name a few). Not to mention the irresponsible ending to their last game "The Medium".

Your mileage with these games may vary but it's safe to say that this looked to be another case of Konami handing "Silent Hill" to a western developer that doesn't fully understand the series, like with "Silent HIll Homecoming" and (to degrees) "Silent Hill: Downpour". This time however, "Silent Hill 2 Remake" might, ironically, look like a road to redemption (you know, as the score at the top of this page indicates).

As a remake, SH2R ops to keep its most famous feature, the story, intact while modernizing pretty much everything. Gone are the fixed camera angles of the old, replaced by a behind the shoulder camera. While that does rob this remake of the more cinematic qualities of the original (especially one iconic scene halfway through the game that feels less dramatic and scary because of this), Blooper still makes up for in many ways.

James Sunderland's trip to Silent Hill is fondly remembered due to its use of symbolism and its dark and mature subject matters. SH2R follows the story without deviation but instead adds new depth to it. Certain scenes are kept as they were while others have been rearranged to new locations. Others add new dimensions to the characters, like a scene with James at a strip club (you'll know it when you see it). And that's before getting into the environmental storytelling, that hides clues in plain sight in clever ways.

The acting has lost the awkwardness of the original, which for some will mean that the game has lost it's David Lynchian atmosphere; the feeling of being lost inside a world of nightmare logic with characters existing on their own plane of existence. Disconnected from each other.

But in grounding the characters in reality it gains more nuance. This is, of course, thanks to the wonderful performances from the entire cast. Especially from Gianna Kiehl (Angela) and Luke Roberts (James). Kiehl perfectly captures Angelas struggles, which on her own almost saves her final scene which has lost it's emotional edge thanks to some poor cutscene decisions.

But it's Roberts who's nominated for a Game Award for a good reason. While I still love Guy Cihi's original performance, Roberts makes the character more realistic, while also slowly turning you against him. All of James' struggles and flaws are on full display and most of it is achieved by Robert's facial acting. Often, the game will show James' face reacting to things without dialogue, adding an impressive amount of depth to him. This new version of James Sunderland is the best that the character has ever been, that perfectly captures every nuance, contradiction, imperfections that this man has. It's amazing to witness.

Exploring Silent Hill and its indoor areas feel more intimate as you're finally getting up close and personal with the areas and are able to search new objects like cars and cupboards for resources. The fog and the indoor darkness has never felt more dense or opressive, as enemies are now (mostly) more obscure than ever. Which makes the series stable Radio even more useful and unnerving. Whenever the Radio went off I was desperately looking everywhere to find the nearest enemy. But even without it, just the mere sound of them was enough to make me tense.

Combat has also become more personal. Not just because of the new camera but because of the enemies' newfound aggression. Compared to the original they attack more frequently, have a few combos and can grab you. They can even dodge or counter your attacks. To counter this, you can now dodge attacks but this also comes with a certain finesse. It's not on the level of Dark Souls, but you do have to pay attention to the enemies and you can't just spam the button. Combined with the fact that James never has a steady aim with guns and has to recover from attacking with a melee weapon and you've got a surprisingly tense combat system. Especially considering that the enemies can now follow you through doors.

There's also somewhat more enemy variety compared to the original game, which featured a measly 3-4 regular enemies. SH2R does reskin some of them but always provides a twist with them to keep combat interesting. Especially in the game's later half, which introduces a familiar enemy in a new, clever way.

Then there's the boss battles, which has been massively improved from the original. They now include multiple phases and require you to read them in order to defeat them. Which is a massive step up from trying to randomly hit them and tanking damage. Only exception is a late boss fight in a freezer, that just feels unfair to a degree. An enemy that can easily kill you, doesn't give you many chances to hit it and limits your vision too much. Plus it renders its mechanic of locating enemies by sound useless. As much as you listen for the boss' steps, it will capture you off guard due to the low visibility. Which became a frustrating minor roadblock for me.

Another problem is enemy ambushes. Frequently you'll spot one type of enemy either hiding from you, or you'll see them running away to hide. At first it's genuinely tense, but this trick is so overused that it eventually loses all of its appeal. Said enemies are even aware of this later on, as they get worse at hiding themselves. As if Blooper realized their mistake too late, and tried to compensate by making them easier to spot. It's saved by its atmosphere to a degree, but it still stands as a flaw in its otherwise amazing gameplay design.

Speaking of the atmosphere: this is the scariest "SIlent Hill" game to date. The fog and darkness is effective on its own, but it's the sound design that elevates the game. Be it sounds from monsters, metallic ambiance, doors closing or whatever. If you can imagine it, this game has it. It makes you paranoid, constantly wondering what's around the corner or behind you. Which is one of the many ways that a third person camera enhances the horror.

What's most impressive about this is that even when you've realized that the game can only throw these enemy types at you and how to fight them, the atmosphere is still intimidating. Together with the dark, metallic, worn down environments makes you think that anything can happen at any time. Sometimes it'll play visual tricks on you, like seeing things in the background that might or might not be something unfriendly. Sometimes you'll see bodies on the ground and not know if they'll ever get up or not. These are just two examples of its most effective tricks.

And this is where I really want to congratulate Blooper Team. They understand why the first four games are still scary to this day. Sound and level design that intimidates and wears down one's psyche so much that one is afraid of trusting anything. Where, even though you figure out its tricks, it doesn't matter because the way it wears you down simply defies everything. It's truly an impressive and scary experience, especially with 3D headphones.

This, combined with the new gameplay and graphics already makes this the best "Silent Hill" game in decades and one of the best games in 2024. In fact it makes me forgive the flaws with some enemies that I just mentioned a few moments ago. Because once I got past it, it didn't sour the rest of my experience in any way.

All of these positives even helped me forgive the length of the game. The original is around 6 to 8 hours long, while my playthroughs usually take between 4-5 hours. SH2R took me 16 hours to beat, although I shaved off around ten hours on my second playthrough. Does the game drag? Sure. It gets tiring that most levels revolve around getting three items for a main puzzle, and the labyrinth is too long. But the atmosphere keeps everything in check and always finds new ways to startle you. Mileage will vary but for me, the atmosphere was more than enough.

What the game lacks however, is replayability. While there are eight different endings (which includes two new ones that are worth seeking out), there's not much to keep you coming back. Sure, you unlock a gloriously overpowered chainsaw on the second playthrough but that's it. And if you know what you're doing, you can get all endings across two playthroughs. This can also be said about the original, but at least thát game ranked your performance and had another unlockable weapon if you did impossibly well.

The soundtrack is also a mixed situation. Series composer Akira Yamaoka returns to the foggy town but somethings off. Melodies of old are referenced a plenty but often sound out of tune. A deliberate choice, but at times it doesn't fit what's actually happening. Such as a moment where James meets a strange woman, where the jazzy drum beat and general prog like lack of rhythm ends up distracting. On paper it fits but that's also part of the curse, considering how perfect the original soundtrack was. And while there's plenty of amazing ambient tracks during gameplay, the music often misses its mark during the cutscenes. Just listen to the two officially released soundtracks, which together run for at least six hours, and you'll see how little of it is actually memorable afterwards.

At the end of the day: "Silent Hill 2" is still a remarkable achievement, even if it doesn't get everything right. The enemy ambushes grow stale, one boss fight fucking sucks, replayability is limited and the soundtrack is disappointing. But the game makes up for that in every other area.

This is a scary game that gets under your skin like few other games, or movies, manage to do. It made me imagine the worst around every corner, scared me with its implications and often refused to leave me with a pay off thus maintaining intensity. While providing a story that's still as thoughtful, complex and daring as it was in 2001. With great revamped gameplay, some of the best sound design ever in a horror game and fantastic acting from especially Gianna Kiehl and Luke Roberts.

With "Silent Hill 2" Remake, Blooper Team shows they might have mastered psychological horror. As a remake, it's incredibly faithful while adding its own flourishes to make the experience fresh and scary. While retelling one of the greatest stories in video games to almost perfection. Like the 2001 original, this is peak psychological horror that stays with you long after the credits roll.