It’s that time of year where everything is all spooky and scary. Nothing gets you into the season more than settling down and being terrified while playing a video game. This year, Konami returned with the help of Blooper Team to bring back one of the most iconic survival horror games of all time with the remake of Silent Hill 2. With many of the iconic horror games being remade over the course of the last few years, let’s see how Blooper Team was able to bring one of the classics to the modern age.
The remake of Silent Hill 2 follows in the foot steps of the recent Resident Evil remakes where it foregoes the classic fixed camera angles for a modern over the shoulder camera angle. Like those games, this makes the game feel more immersive as we follow James Sutherland as he goes to Silent Hill after receiving a letter from his wife who supposedly died three years prior to the events of the game.
The story of Silent Hill 2 is still just as good as it was over twenty years ago. The psychological aspects will keep you guessing at what is really going on within the town, and the little bread crumbs it leaves will have you wanting to figure it all out. The characters that James encounters throughout his time in Silent Hill have just as many issues as he does, if not more. Watching them delve into the insanity of what’s going on around them is wild, and the cinematic nature of some of the conversations James has with specific characters were so engaging to watch.
Then there’s the gameplay. While James isn’t as trained a Leon Kennedy, even though he looks strikingly similar, nor is he as adaptive as an Issac Clarke, he does have a good arsenal of weapons to take on the multiples of enemies he’ll encounter throughout the game. The game, while not heavily action focused, does have more combat than the original does with plenty of enemy encounters to deal with (or run away from). Though, with how much combat there is, I do wish there was a bit more enemy variety to deal with than just the few there are. Like any good horror game, there are still plenty of puzzles to solve, and there are new ones added here as well as new solutions to older ones so it gives a fresh experience to returning players. Some puzzles and their solutions do change depending on what difficulty you play on, so you won’t just be able to breeze through a second playthrough on a harder difficulty thinking you know everything already.
One of the best things about the remake of Silent Hill 2 is the expanded scope of what the original game was. The town Silent Hill is far more explorable with you being able to access more rooms and buildings than the original. James will mark the map to highlight specific rooms, buildings, or routes that can be accessed or not. Thus, in the slower moments, it’s optimal to explore as much as you can to be able to find maybe another health drink or syringe to keep James in fighting shape or an extra bit of ammo that’ll come in handy when you need it most. The town itself isn’t the only thing expanded as there are now new endings added in the remake bringing the total number of endings up to eight. Thus, allowing for even more of a replayability factor than the original. While the expansion of the original is mostly a delight, the near double the length of the original, my game clocked in at around 21 hours, does cause the game to feel like it drags in some spots.
Where the game really shines is how much it completely nails the atmosphere and sound design. The town is nearly blanketed in a thick layer of fog making it hard to see what all is around you. Luckily, you have a radio that gives off a static sound when an enemy is within a certain distance. While a helpful tool, this made me feel so insanely tense every time it would go off, and, with the static coming through the DaulSense’s speaker on PlayStation 5, made it so much more of an intense feeling. Though the radio also gives false signals as insects can cause it go off or the devilishly sneaky mannequin enemies don’t trigger it until they move, so you can easily get ambushed if you aren’t aware. If you decide to wear headphones though, you hear so many small ungodly noises that’ll creep you out, and the eerie silence that will come and go will keep you on edge.
The remake of Silent Hill 2 is a solid horror experience that’ll keep you on the edge of your seat the entire time. The sound design is top tier and the psychological aspects of the story are sure to enrapture you if you don’t know where the story is going. While the expanded scope allows for more in depth exploration and makes the town of Silent Hill feel every bit as eerie as it should be, the near double the length of the original game may not be for everyone. Overall, Konami and Blooper Team did a great job in their handling of updating a classic game for modern audiences.
Score: 8 out of 10
Reviewed on PlayStation 5