Game review 04 October 2024, 00:00

author: Zbigniew Woznicki

Silent Hill 2 Review: Game Stuck Between Old and Newschool

Bloober Team undertook one of the most difficult tasks a developer can face. Remaking a legendary game is a difficult task and, unfortunately, playing Silent Hill 2 shows how much.

The review is based on the PC version. It's also relevant to PS5 version(s).

Creating a cult game loved by gamers is probably one of the developers' biggest dreams. Nowadays, remakes of legendary productions are appearing more and more often, which, modernized, allow contemporary gamers to familiarize themselves with beloved stories. The success of Resident Evil showed that there is room and potential for reviving other series in the survival horror genre.

One of them is Silent Hill, which, alongside the aforementioned Resident Evil, has a cult following, especially Silent Hill 2. Many gamers are probably familiar with James Sunderland's visit to the quiet lakeside town. That's why Bloober Team had an exceptionally difficult task. Ultimately it's alright, but it could have been significantly better.

Mix of old and new in Silent Hill 2

Bloober Team has experience in creating old-school survival horrors, as shown in The Medium. I'm not a big fan of this game, but the camera work and gameplay fit into what fans of Silent Hill, among others, are familiar with. However, the remake of the second game chose the approach from Resident Evil, which means permanently moving the camera over the hero's shoulder.

In my opinion, it was a very good decision. I understand artistic choices and building atmosphere by placing the camera in various locations, but I prefer the view from behind the back. The atmosphere is still there, and visiting some locations is still an intense experience at times. And the controls are simply much more convenient and intuitive.

This applies to both the keyboard and mouse combo as well as the controller, as I tested both control methods. I am usually a gamer who uses a mouse and keyboard, but in the case of Silent Hill 2, a controller seemed more natural and comfortable to me. Especially since all the action buttons are next to each other, and on the keyboard they are scattered across the entire device and without configuring the keybinds, it won't work.

An interesting move, which theoretically doesn't matter, is placing the puzzles in different locations than they were in the original. For example, the Coin Puzzle was placed in Wood Side Apartments, and the Clock Puzzle in Blue Creek Apartments. The remake even has new puzzles, for example in Eastern South Vale there is now a Jukebox puzzle which needs to be solved in order to get to Wood Side Apartments.

However, puzzles known from the original are now more developed, resembling those available in Extra Riddle mode, but they are not a literal copy one to one, so solutions from the original will not work. In Silent Hill 2, almost all puzzles are the main theme of a given stage and without solving them, it is impossible to leave the area and move on to the next one.

Solving these puzzles was my favorite part of Silent Hill 2. There is something satisfying about solving them, even if they are not complicated. However, their execution is good enough that it was enjoyable. The problem was solely the amount of running needed to collect the elements necessary to solve a given puzzle. There was just too much of that.

What I liked the most in the original and I'm glad it stayed, are the interactive maps of subsequent areas. James marks the important points and blocked walls himself. There is something satisfying about looking at a map filling up with marked areas and designations of various places. My "completionist spirit" is rejoicing.

A significant advantage is certainly the lack of prompting the player what to do. James doesn't mumble solutions to himself, as is customary for heroes of other modern games, and if Maria happens to accompany us, she also doesn't give any hints. This is a definite advantage of the game and a breath of not-so-fresh Silent Hill air among current mega-productions.

Long, long vacation in Silent Hill

The original Silent Hill 2 took just under 10 hours to complete, if you didn't rush. In the case of the remake, this time extends to as much as 20 hours. Bloober Team fulfilled their promise when they announced that there are many new rooms and buildings to explore. I would even dare to say that there is too much of it.

Running around all the locations, if we care about discovering secrets, notes and photos, will really take a lot of time. Silent Hill 2 Remake has a trophy/achievement for completing the game in less than 10 hours, but first, you need to learn the game. The first playthrough will be long and tiring. At the beginning, I didn't feel it at all, but after arriving at Brookhaven Hospital, I felt that I was slowly getting fed up.

If someone belonged to the group complaining that the remake of Resident Evil 3 is too short, then Silent Hill 2 will make them feel something completely opposite. Halfway through walking down the successive corridors and city streets, it simply starts to get boring. I mentioned Brookhaven Hospital here for a reason, because three different floors and a basement of the regular version of the building and its Otherworld version are a bit too much.

Sometimes it doesn't make sense to forcefully extend the game just to boast about a larger number of hours needed to complete it. Silent Hill 2 required the perfect amount of time to finish the game and you can fell this in the remake, which is stretched to almost 20 hours. The gameplay loop is too repetitive for exploring the city to be satisfying for such a long period of time.

How long can one keep breaking walls to find a passage, stacking boxes and looking for ways around. It's funny for a while, because of how many hours you needed to complete the original. However, it gets more and more boring and at times I felt like I had to take a longer break.

Fights in Silent Hill 2 are tedious

Switching the camera over James's shoulder in Silent Hill 2 allowed the developers to gain flexibility in terms of the combat system. Comparing to the games from the last few years, the combat in the remake reminded me of The Callisto Protocol due to the ability to dodge enemy attacks in various directions. The execution is very good, but it works only in a 1 vs 1 fight.

If there are more opponents, avoiding one can still lead you into the arms of another monster. The narrower corridors inside the building are also a significant obstacle. However, apart from different combat system, the difference in the remake is that the enemies are much more resilient. Just like with exploration, this didn't bother me either.

After all, it's supposed to be a survival horror, so the combat should be challenging. However, there is also significantly more of it than in the original game. Sometimes you can't simply walk down a corridor without encountering new enemies. After long hours of performing the same activity, and there is an exceptionally large amount of fighting here, everything becomes boring, and yet Silent Hill 2 doesn't offer much more beyond battles.

What surprised me the most were the boss fights, which are not very innovative compared to the original. The prime example is the first fight with Pyramid Head, which takes place in a different location than in the original, but is based on exactly the same principle. You need to run around and avoid the boss who is trying to hit you with a sword or grab James.

I tried to fight him hand-to-hand, which is possible, but using a firearm is much more effective. You just need to prepare enough ammo, because I needed about 30 on the normal difficulty level to win the battle. This was my first moment of frustration, as Pyramid Head only needed three hits to kill me.

With changes in the combat system and the camera placement, the duel could have also been redesigned. Instead, we received the same thing for the second time, which comes off as bland and after leaving Blue Creek Apartment, I felt disappointed because I was expecting something more. This approach also suggests that Silent Hill 2, like the titular city, stands on the border of two different worlds.

There are neither drastic changes completely transforming the gameplay, nor is there strict adherence to the original. It's as if the developers wanted to attract new players, but didn't want to scare off the old ones. However, because of this approach, the remake may not be appealing to both groups, because one will see too few changes like the clumsy boss fights, and the other will notice too many new elements like the changed movement system and camera.

Don't get me wrong - the subsequent boss fights are done better. But they are at best correct. In addition, on hard difficulty level, it's more annoying because enemies simply have more health and hit harder, which just prolongs the whole sequence. The emotions associated with fighting the boss fade away, to be replaced by thoughts of "when will it end?".

Another problem is how heavily scripted the game is. Walking through the corridors, I repeatedly passed by the bodies of opponents lying on the ground. Beating them preventively, however, is meaningless. Blood may be shed, but if the game later decides that it's their moment to rise and attack, they will do it. The game doesn't reward the "gamer sense" of those who predicted that this is not a decoration, but an enemy that is ready to attack soon.

Character models are one of the weakest points of Silent Hill 2 Remake

The most characteristic feature of the entire remake is, of course, the new graphic design. The difference is so big that everyone will notice it. The fog is no longer used to cover up the technical imperfections of the console, but to build atmosphere. The game definitely looks best in narrow corridors, where it builds an atmosphere of horror and unease, something that I associate with the original.

The environment is not static. It happens that our progress in puzzles affects the world around us. Certain passages open, others close, or the entire layout of the rooms undergoes transformation. This enhances the feeling of progress, which players sometimes need to feel motivated to continue playing. Bloober Team definitely had an idea and vision of how to build the world of Silent Hill.

The monsters models are also done very well, because you can see that the developers tried to faithfully recreate the enemies from the original Silent Hill 2. My biggest problem is with the main characters, probably because they are humans and the developers couldn't let their imagination run wild. Maria comes off the worst, because in some shots it seems as if her head is too big compared to the rest of her body, and the wrinkles appearing on her face give the impression that she is approaching her 50s, not being James's fairly young deceased wife.

Eddie also looks quite strange and the first meetings with him also suggest that he has an oversized head, because his fat face does not match his slimmer body. Later, in the places like the cinema, it is much better. However, the main character comes off the best, as he seems to be the least plastic compared to the original.

Controversy of Silent Hill 2

Maria's model, or rather her outfit, was one of the more controversial issues already at the time of Silent Hill 2's marketing. However, I believe that the change in the game's narration will cause much more discussions between fans. A large part of the dialogues has been changed. The meaning is the same, but they have a different tone due to the way they are spoken or which words are used. For example, Maria is much less promiscuous towards James.

This does not mean that he is not attracted to her, because you could see this from the very beginning. However, it seemed to me that this time Maria wanted to feel an emotional bond with James, not a physical one, and she treats Mary as competition in the fight for the heart of the main character. The biggest difference, encompassing all characters, concerns their reason for appearing in Silent Hill.

In the remake, you can almost immediately feel that something is wrong with everyone, they have some trauma or something on their conscience. In the original, it was more subtle, hidden. As if innocent people ended up in this city and dark forces were holding them here for no reason. The remake is not afraid to strip away the mystery of aspects related to the character of the people James encounters, as well as James himself.

The question is - why was this done? I doubt that Bloober Team made the decision about changes in the game's narrative development on their own. Konami had to oversee it and in my opinion, the most likely scenario is that the order to implement changes came from above. For Konami, this is a chance for a certain reset and building the Silent Hill brand anew.

Silent Hill 2 Remake works smoothly, sort of

Silent Hill 2 Remake has smooth gameplay, but you have to prepare for one important fact: without using upscaling like FSR or DLSS, you have to prepare for poor game stability. Framerate drops will be the norm. However, with upscaling enabled, smooth gameplay at 60 frames won't be a problem.

Even on a weaker configuration, it will be satisfying, as the game looks good even on the lowest details and with ray tracing turned off. The textures are not blurred, the shadows do their job in creating the atmosphere, and only the characters' hair reveals that the graphic settings are set to low. However, at the highest graphics settings, we are dealing with a visually pleasing survival horror.

The problem is the optimization done specifically for upscaling technology. Even if using it is currently the norm, it was originally supposed to be a solution for weaker machines, not a requirement for the game to work properly at all.

The best way to enjoy Silent Hill 2 is to do it in parts

The story and character models are something I can live with. Unless someone is a purist, then the game will certainly make them lose interest very quickly. In my opinion, however, the biggest sins of Silent Hill 2 are the extensive exploration, which eventually becomes tiresome, and the untapped potential of combat. Perhaps Bloober Team was afraid of turning a survival horror into an action game, but this is how we get a not quite ready mix of elements.

Fortunately, people buying Silent Hill 2 are not buying it for making a review and do not have to complete it within a certain time frame. They can do it in parts and that is the way I recommend playing this game. If you start to feel overwhelmed, it's best to put Silent Hill 2 Remake aside and rest. There is too little to do here for 20 hours of gameplay. It could have even 10 hours less. Such a condensed adventure, just like in the original, wouldn't be a bad thing.

However, this does not change the fact that this game may turn out to be for no one. There was a lack of a decisive decision to create a full-fledged remake with sometimes larger changes or to stick to the original. Silent Hill 2 Remake is decent, but survival horror should not be boring or encourage taking a break. It should keep you on edge and motivate you to continue playing. This happens here, but too rarely.