Silent Hill 2 Review: Ominous, Sinister, Foggy Perfection

Few horror games have generated as much cultural impact as Silent Hill, but modern manifestations of the series have left a lot to be desired. So Konami’s decision to return to the franchise with a remake, understandably, raised a lot of eyebrows. It raised them even higher when it was revealed that Bloober Team would be walking us through a revisit to Silent Hill 2. 

It’s a PlayStation classic that set the bar for how unshakeable, and meaningful, horror games could be. One with iconography that has far surpassed arguably any horror game that came before, or after it. So I, like many others, had my worries about what a full remake would look like in 2024, and one handled by a studio whose games I’ve never quite gelled with. But credit where credit is due: Bloober Team’s Silent Hill 2 has undeniably been made from a place of love, and boldness. This is the same game we played back on the PlayStation 2 — almost.

I Have No Memory of This Place

I believe the best remakes are those made with the utmost respect for its original form, but with enough confidence to divert ever so slightly from the trodden path. Silent Hill 2 is a game that many of us know like the back of our hand, and this remake certainly hits the same beats enough to retain that familiarity. 

But with a few changes and reimaginings, even the most knowledgeable players will be kept on their toes. James Sunderland arrives on the outskirts of the town, recalling the letter he received from his late-wife Mary, just as we know he does. But as he begins his descent into Silent Hill, passing the cemetery and into the center of town, it becomes apparent that all is not as we remember it. 

James approaches a blocked off tunnel on his way into Silent Hill. In the original, this is where he picks up the radio and has his first combat encounter. But in the remake, this doesn’t happen. Instead, when James approaches the tunnel, we stop. Some light static fills the edges of the screen and we get a high-angle camera shot of the tunnel, but nothing else. James finds the radio and has his first encounter with a creature a little later on, in a completely different area. 

But this change is very intentional, and seemingly not without purpose. Throughout the game there are these moments of brief pause, as if we’re remembering something. That something being instances from the original game that aren’t here in the remake. Essentially, there was a plot point here. It’s gone now. 

The same occurs for the game’s puzzles and story beats, which often have different solutions or happen in different places. In the original, James enters Wood Side Apartment and makes his way to the third floor where he spies a key behind a metal fence. Reaching out in an attempt to grab it, Laura appears and kicks the key out of James’ reach. This beat still happens in the remake, but on the first floor instead of the third. Similarly, the clock puzzle now appears in a different building. All this is to say you won’t be relying on procedural memory to get you through. These slight changes are a little unnerving, which works in the game’s favor. Knowing that this isn’t a carbon copy replica, just with shinier and better textured horrors beyond your comprehension, is what makes this remake so intriguing. 

Where the game really excels is in its performances. James Sunderland, a man who is very much going through it, returns as our protagonist and lens into Silent Hill. Through the use of performance capture, extended dialogue, and overall much better delivery, James suddenly feels a lot more real. The nuances of his character feel present throughout the game, and those already familiar with Silent Hill 2’s story will hone in on every little glance and hesitation. This improvement extends to the supporting cast, too. Angela, Eddie, Maria… Everyone just feels that little bit more worldly. 

Fight or Flight

Silent Hill 2 isn’t a game known for its combat. James typically had a melee weapon to beat up creatures with, and a gun for which he finds a limited amount of bullets scattered around the town. This remains true in the remake, only now combat has been improved to fit more in-line with the new third-person perspective. James can react faster, and melee combat doesn’t always require pin-point accuracy. He even gets a little dodge to keep him out of harm's way. 

Ranged combat also feels more fluid. James can move while he aims, manually targeting appendages of enemies. Shoot the lower legs of the Mannequins and they should drop to the floor, giving you some time to close the gap and finish them off with a melee attack. The worry, especially with this new camera system, is that combat would feel too action-packed for this quintessential survival horror. And it kind of does. Enemy encounters rarely feel stressful, and it’s very easy to come out of 1v1 combat unscathed. Things step up in difficulty slightly when there’s more than one enemy to deal with, but it all feels very manageable. 

When you’re outside, roaming the streets of Silent Hill, the regular Lying Figure enemies are easy to avoid. They’re slow, and even in close quarters James’ dodge mechanic allows you to slip by them pretty easily. You find yourself avoiding them not out of survival, but simply out of laziness. Ammunition and health items are fairly abundant, so you’ll rarely find yourself in a pinch unless you’re reckless and trigger happy. If you do feel the game is too easy, or too hard, there are three levels of difficulty to choose from that can be changed at any time. Combat was never the main focus of Silent Hill 2 but rather a means to engage in its enchanting narrative. The game never feels unfair or unjustly frustrating because it wants you to learn James’ story. You just have to stomp on a few monstrosities before you do. 

In My Restless Dreams, I See That Town…

I had my doubts about Silent Hill 2’s new over the shoulder perspective, that it would detract from its atmosphere. There’s a certain vibe you get from the original’s dynamic camera angle, looking at a low-poly James Sunderland sprinting through the equally low-fi, fog-filled streets. But it’s different, in its own haunting way, and enough to make you cautiously reconsider every action. Silent Hill still looks wonderfully unsettling. James is barely able to see a few feet in front of him due to the thick fog, and enemies emerging from it look especially creepy at eye level. You’ll spend a decent portion of time outside, and just when you think you’re getting used to its weird sounds and unpleasant inhabitants, something will happen that throws you through a loop. Forget cheap jump scares and sudden audio stings. This world exudes uneasiness, which is horror at its best. 

The interior locations have also been given an overhaul. Corridors feel tighter and confining, hiding potential horrors behind every corner. With the added anxiety of never quite knowing what’s going to change, something as simple as retracing your steps has you sprinting down the hallways as if the creatures are already at your heels. The ambient sounds are enough to ensure you never quite feel safe. Thuds and scrapes echo from unknown origins and, in the case of the Blue Creek Apartments, the audible reminder that Pyramid Head is shuffling around is particularly nerve-racking.

Then there’s the Otherworld; the rusty and nightmarish alternate dimension of Silent Hill. Each protagonist’s Otherworld is a reflection of their fears and vices and, in Silent Hill 2, James’ is less visceral than Harry’s in the first game or Heather’s in Silent Hill 3. It’s depressing and ominous, and feels particularly effective with the game’s graphical improvements. Dark, decaying rooms paired with rust-eaten corridors — though I’ve seen worse from London’s rental market. Going into this remake, I was worried it wouldn’t feel like Silent Hill, but this is truly the best it’s ever looked. At the very least, I’m now more certain than ever that I wouldn’t last more than five minutes in this nightmare. Sorry, my dead wife has somehow returned and is waiting for me in a monster-infested representation of all my sins? I’m good, actually. She can stay there. 

More Than a Love Letter

There’s a lot to be debated about the necessity of remakes and remasters, how best to handle them or whether there’s merit in making one at all. But Silent Hill 2 is very much an argument for the cause. Here’s a game over two decades old that’s become difficult to play on modern systems, with its now-retro format serving as a barrier to entry for newer players. Seeing it revamped and reimagined adds a new level of enjoyment. New players now have a modern avenue to explore an iconic story and setting, while returning fans can now experience the game they know and love with intriguing new additions and changes.

With the utmost respect for the source material, and the fans that hold it in such high regard, Bloober Team has won me over with Silent Hill 2. It feels like every step was taken to ensure that this is a remake worth playing. It’s scary without ever feeling cheap, and never sacrifices its tone to morph it into anything other than Silent Hill. The game is held back only by its breach into action-combat territory. With a modern overhaul and more fluid controls, defending yourself against horrifying creatures is pretty easy, actually. But then again, it always was. Plenty of health and ammo serve to ensure you make it to the end of the story, and while you can up the difficulty, realistically you won’t be faced with much of a challenge.