A fantastic remake of a horror classic

Silent Hill 2 is gloriously dirty, dark and full of dread. In a world of stellar remakes, it stands alongside the best and raises the bar – recreating the source material with a level of passion that can only come from fans of the series, while still having the courage to expand upon it. ways this will no doubt be explored in the coming years.

As a franchise, Silent Hill has been lost in the fog for decades. We had the iconic PT demo, but it seemed almost certain that we would never see new entries in the survival horror beast.

It appears that Bloober Team, however, has been auditioning to take the helm on a new Silent Hill experience for some time now, despite a fairly back catalog that’s been hit and miss in terms of fan reception.

The developer’s last full-length release, The Medium, served, at least in the eyes of many survival horror fans, as a showcase for what could be done with Silent Hill with the weight of new technology behind it.

Related: Silent Hill 2 Remake Deals

Fast forward to today and we finally have a new Silent Hill release from Konami and Bloober Team.

Sure, it’s not an entirely new title, but remaking what’s widely considered the franchise’s best makes sense, in an era of remakes and studios holding on to the purse strings as they test the waters to see if their long-running franchises can still make a difference. impact.

Fortunately, it’s clear from the start that Silent Hill 2 really is something special, not just in terms of being a successful remake that faithfully rejuvenates the original story and mechanics, but as an experience confident enough to do what it wants.

To the uninitiated, it may seem like a strange decision to remake the second entry in a franchise that has been in obscurity for so long. However, avoiding the cult storyline at the heart of Silent Hill 1 and 3 means that Silent Hill 2 is actually the perfect standalone starting point for newcomers.

It follows the story of James Sunderland, who came to Silent Hill in search of his wife after receiving news that she was waiting for him there. The problem? She died three years ago.

After what are now some extremely iconic opening moments, you’ll quickly discover that Silent Hill isn’t quite what it seems, as you encounter other residents searching for something or someone and also unhinged. You won’t be able to pinpoint why, but you will feel it.

The visuals are stunning and really heighten the tension of exploring Silent Hill’s abandoned buildings and streets – each sensation is enough to heighten the tension as you delve deeper. Not quite abandoned but not yet fully inhabited, there is an eerie, valley-like feel to every sheet-covered scaffold and rust-affected surface.

The slow-building dread feels so good that we often find ourselves breathing a sigh of relief when a door we tried to open is locked, knowing we’ve had a respite, however brief, from the horrors our radio static was warning about.

Thanks to a masterfully subtle audio design created by longtime series composer Akira Yamaoka, playing Silent Hill 2 with headphones is truly a must for the mounting anxiety that builds with every step you take.

During our run, we often pause to take a breath before continuing, letting the fear-inducing sound effects wash over us.

The static from your radio is back, playing through the PS5 controller’s internal speaker, meaning that whenever an enemy is anywhere nearby, the sound will rise and boom, creating that extra layer of panic – mimicking the confusion and the inability to think that James must be going through every time he encounters the disgusting faces of his inner demons.

Combat has been refined a bit from its original iteration. Many fans initially expressed discontent with the changes prior to the remake’s release based on what was shown in the trailers, feeling that the way combat was in the original was an intentional design point, rather than a technical one, dictated by the era. the game came.

Now, while the combat is beefier than anything in the original, James is by no means an action hero akin to Chris Redfield in Resident Evil 6.

James can shoot a gun and swing a board, with a few dodges here and there, but ultimately, if you face any of Silent Hill’s monsters, you’re going to get your ass kicked to some degree – even more so if you try to face several at a time. same time.

Related: Silent Hill 2 Remake Achieves an Impressive Metacritic Score

The changes to combat feel like an update and a rebalance, and do nothing to eliminate the tension and fear of exploration.

Of course, you could use your radio static to avoid as many enemies as possible and simply run from point A to B, collecting important items from crude holes in the wall and working out security codes in bizarre puzzle rooms that wouldn’t otherwise be visible. . of place in Saw. You would be missing out on a lot, however.

Silent Hill was designed to be explored deeply. It will challenge your courage and make you uncomfortable. But get past it and you’ll realize there are great things to be found on the other side of the fear.

Fortunately, you can adjust the difficulty to suit your playstyle based on your combat skills or ability to crack codes and solve puzzles. Each can be adjusted individually, so whatever your skill level, there’s an interesting experience as the story slowly unfolds.

Resident Evil this is not. As the ever-weary James comes to the end of his dark and emotional story, Silent Hill 2 will still throw at you some darker side stories that deal with some intense themes.

The Silent Hill 2 remake is proof once again that Team Silent has not only created one of the best survival horror experiences of all time, but also a story that stands the test of time. You have to experience it to understand why fans clung to the franchise for so long, looking for any scrap of life left in it.

A remake of the first game in the series would be great, so check it out, but we honestly hope that the success of the Silent Hill 2 remake gives Konami the confidence to greenlight a new entry in the franchise.

“There was a hole here. Now it’s gone.” And just like that, we’re ready to get hurt again.