Review: Silent Hill 2 Remake
Featuring one of the deepest and most layered stories told in a videogame, Silent Hill 2’s nightmarish exploration of guilt casts a shadow (and much fog) over other horror games. Originally announced in 2022, Konami recenly released a new version of the game, developed by Poland’s Bloober Team.
For all the nervous anticipation over Bloober taking on the Silent Hill 2 remake, the Polish developer has turned out a fantastic take on the classic game that manages the delicate balance between paying tribute to the original and providing a new experience.
“In my restless dreams, I see that town.”
For those uninitiated, Silent Hill 2 is a story about a man, James Sunderland, who receives a letter from his deceased wife telling him to meet her in their special place, Silent Hill. He heads there on short notice, hoping to somehow see her again. When he makes his way there, the player encounters a nightmarish dreamscape where monsters are just the beginning of the horror. The town is covered in thick fog that never dissipates and several locations give way to another world that lies just beyond ours.
As the story progresses, more about James Sunderlands’ own demons are brought to the fore. There are hints that the town is cursed, and that those who visit meet their own personal demons face-to-face, literally and otherwise. These include ‘Pyramid Head’, a red figure with a bizarre mask who randomly attacks anyone who gets too close.
James also encounters strange people who seem to know him and his late wife Mary, including Maria, who may or may not be an alternate version of her. There are hints that he had more to do with her death than he lets on, and that there were other horrendous actions along the way. Through James’ actions and several revelations, our usual reactions to the protagonist are inverted, and we find ourselves questioning him and his motives.
When the original title first appeared on the PlayStation 2 all the way back in 2001, Silent Hill 2 initially flew under the radar. The title received tepid reviews initially, but over time became praised as a must-play title that approached its horror in an abstract way. One of the harder games to ‘read’ and interpret, Silent Hill 2 took players on a scarring but memorable journey through grief, guilt, and punishment. Taking on board such a popular and beloved title is a big responsibility that would be daunting for any team.
“This town called you too”
Thankfully, Bloober Team have kept Silent Hill 2’s original storytelling mostly intact, opting for a more modern approach to the game’s puzzles and combat engines. The new puzzles fare well, giving even experienced players a new experience. Those who loved the first game will find joy in revisiting Silent Hill, even as the game finds new and inventive ways to terrify them. The graphics are nicely polished and the framerate rarely drops, although Insights encountered some minor glitches, these were rare.
The Silent Hill series does not rely on excessive jump scares, instead creating a longer-lasting feeling of suspense and a slow burn feeling of creeping menace. In much the same way that they did with Medium, Bloober have replicated this in the remake, with the few jump scares standing out as effective.
Music was a big part of Silent Hill 2’s worldbuilding and the remake thankfully retains the various songs that made the original soundtrack stand out. ‘Theme of Laura’ remains the game’s signature theme (and a great tune in its own right). Insights also encountered the song ‘Promise’ a few times, among others. Encountering these again brings back memories of playing through the original, but sits well enough so as not to feel like a forced revisiting.
The enemies pack more of a punch than their original counterpart. The emphasis is squarely on survival here, as players will need to outwit and outpace Silent Hill’s creatures to get by. Even on the easiest settings, players do well to conserve resources like health and weaponry, knowing they will need these later.
Complaints are few, but Bloober Team have on occasion made some baffling creative choices in how they approached the game’s narrative. Avoiding spoilers dictates that this review does not go into specifics, suffice to say that long-term fans of the game may grumble about certain details, but will find themselves satisfied with the way things have been handled.
One of the substantial changes Bloober made to the game comes from its change in perspective. The original’s fixed camera is now gone, replaced instead by an over-the-shoulder approach, like that found in the Resident Evil remakes. The new approach takes no time at all to get used to and is preferred by even the original’s designer.
While Silent Hill’s location has sometimes been interpreted as hell-on-earth, and the game’s story has aspects that may commend this, the game’s story eschews obvious and literal approaches that are so easily explained.
“There was a hole here. It’s gone now.”
As all this no doubt suggests, Silent Hill 2 is a disturbing game, but its psychological horror approach explores real and important issues like domestic violence and suppression of guilt. The game features some depictions of suicide (that fit its overall narrative and intent well). Anyone who is not a horror fan or finds these issues to be too confronting may do well to avoid the game. Thankfully, the team responsible have included a warning and a website with resources for fans to access.
With the Silent Hill 2 remake now earning near-universal acclaim from critics and players, Bloober Team have carved their name into the series’ lore, proving they can be trusted with fans’ expectations and the weight that comes with the games’ legacy. As the series’ resurgence continues, Insights hopes that Konami rewards the developers’ efforts with more titles, such as a remake of the original Silent Hill or their own original story.
Silent Hill 2 Remake is available now on PlayStation 5 and Steam PC
Jonathan Foye is a freelance journalist
