Silent Hill 2 Remake Review
Silent Hill 2 Review
How one of the best horror games of all time got better
Giving Bloober Team, a studio with a fairly uneven track record, a chance to remake, objectively, one of the greatest horror games of all time, sounds like a recipe for failure. Going even farther, it’s also a very high stakes proposition and one that could’ve potentially tarnished the legacy of Silent Hill 2.
Defying the odds, not only does Bloober Team not screw up Silent Hill 2, but somehow they have also made one of the greatest horror games of all time, even better by focusing on three keys aspects.
OUR 2001 Silent Hill 2 Experience
Before jumping into how Bloober Team was able to reinvent a classic, it’s important to talk about our experiences with the original. In 2001, the gaming landscape was different when Silent Hill 2 first released and rental shops were thriving.
One of the downsides of renting games, is that you only had them for a few days. The shop we rented at, had a deal on Monday, where you got two games for 3 days for the price of one. The problem is with having responsibilities and renting two games at once, is that you often never had time to finish many of them and sadly Silent Hill 2 was one of them. Being able to revisit what many consider the best in class is a welcome opportunity.
OLD AND NEW
This new version of Silent Hill 2 allows you have your cake and eat it too. The core structure of the 2001 entry remains in place with key plot points and elements intact, but it’s between these moments, where Bloober Team spreads their wings, improving Silent Hill 2 in many ways.
The additions are smart and there are a plethora of modern touches including an expected massive visual overhaul, accessibility options, improved audio, better camera control, but they have also kept many retro elements that feel like a time capsule like save rooms being a red sheet of paper.
THE BIG THREE
All three major ways that Silent Hill 2 Remake improves on the original are all driving towards the same goal, which is to increase immersion, which is ultimately where it overtakes the original. The voice acting and dialogue, the visuals and the audio.
You play as everyman James, who is trying to find his wife, who has been deceased for three years, but somehow sent him a note telling him to come to Silent Hill. The new character design of James feels more relatable, voice acting has been drastically improved across the board, the dialogue has been tweaked to provide a more authentic feel of an actual conversation, and is littered with clues about what’s really going on, but still respects the players intelligence to piece things together by yourself.
All of this allows you to be more in sync and immersed with the experience James is having. The terror doesn't come from cheap jump scares, but from slow burning tension that is persistent and oppressive. There are still jump scares, but their use is so rare that it elevates the whole experience as you dread what is around every corner. When combined with the scarcity of ammo and health items, the dread is constant.
On a visual level, the game looks drastically better than the original, which is a given, but it’s things like lighting and cinematography that deserve a special mention. The camera is much closer to James this time around, which leads to a more intimate experience as you are going through what James is going through.
The little details truly immersive the player like the gas spill when filling up a Jerry can, how friendly NPC’s cover their eyes when your flashlight shines their way, or how your fingers look slightly pink and translucent when in front of the flashlight.
Finally, the audio is a masterwork, which in this case is aided by the DualSense. The static that comes through the controller constantly sends shivers down your spine and increases immersion in the way that few games have done. Nothing else comes through the DualSense and this is a perfect case of less is more. The score is constantly droning, never allowing you to become at ease and knows when to ratchet up the tension and the environmental sounds are full of disturbing noises, some that are only to be heard once and never again.
Problems
Despite drastically modernizing Silent Hill 2, there are still archaic remnants of days past that feel more frustrating and less nostalgic. Needing to be exactly on an item to pick it up or even more frustrating ones like the inability to walk over small items like curbs.
Drawers and cabinets open by themselves as they used to in games without any character movement. When Bloober did such a good job of modernizing Silent Hill 2, it shines a light on elements that could have been improved. There was the occasional visual glitch, which would mostly happen when you would climb through a window or crawl though tight space.
On a more problematic note, there were a handful of occurrences during game that the character would get somehow stuck in the geometry of the world. Sometimes is was a car, or generator that would trap the character from escaping. Luckily, every time, we were able to spam buttons like dodge, aim and move to wiggle out, but if not, it would have required a checkpoint restart, which at times can be few and far between.
Verdict
The Silent Hill 2 Remake nearly doubles playtime of the original release landing somewhere between 15-20 hours for most people, but never overstays its welcome
As much as Silent Hill 2 altered the horror genre back in 2001, the remake stands to change the landscape just as much again today. It’s a stark reminder to everyone that horror isn’t just cheap thrills and hiding in closets. There is so much more to it as it can tap into deep emotions and tackle difficult subjects.
Silent Hill 2 is disturbing on many levels, but you never want to look away and it stays with you long after you put down the controller. Maybe timing wasn’t right, but I never felt hooked to go back and rent Silent Hill 2 for a second time in 2001, but the Silent Hill 2 Remake is one of the greatest horror games i’ve ever played.
SILENT HILL 2 SCORE
9/10