Konami Silent Hill 2 is often cited as one of the greatest achievements of the survival horror genre, with many calling it one of the best video games of all time. Due to its reputation, developer Bloober Team, known for games like Layers of fear and Mediumhe was absolutely brave to try oa Silent Hill 2 remake. Anyone who was worried that the Bloober Team wouldn't make it Silent Hill 2 justice may rest because the remake is a phenomenal survival horror experience.
The Silent Hill 2 the remake has a much larger scope than fans of the franchise may even realize. While it hits all the same beats as the original, each location is bigger than before, with more puzzles to solve and enemies to fight. There were fears that Silent Hill 2 a remake would be too heavy on the combat, and while there's certainly more of an emphasis on combat, it never feels like an action game. The Silent Hill 2 the remake is pure survival horror through and through, with the combat improving the game more than expected.
There is a closeness and a personal audacity Silent Hill 2's combat that makes every encounter intense. Silent Hill 2 hero James Sunderland has some cool new tricks up his sleeve as he takes on the various monsters of the titular city, mainly manifested through the clever trickery that is an integral part of melee survival. Every monster in Silent Hill 2 the remake has an attack pattern, and it's important that players learn exactly when to dodge and when to go in for a quick melee strike if they hope to survive.
James also collects several weapons during the game, so it takes place Silent Hill 2's monsters much easier. The catch is that, like most survival horror games, supplies are extremely limited. Players must be careful when spending ammo or using healing items, and this fact adds a lot of tension to the game's combat encounters. Some hardcore fans may not approve of the frequency of combat, but I personally found that they made the game scarier. While it's still possible to outrun enemies in some cases, the remake often forces players to use up their resources, so every time the DualSense speaker started spitting static, my stomach dropped.
The Silent Hill 2 the remake is a genuinely scary game that doesn't rely too much on jumping. Instead, it uses its incredible score and heartbreaking sound effects to create a suffocating atmosphere of sheer dread. This is exacerbated by the interior areas of the game, which are particularly unnerving.
While the streets of Silent Hill are explored, the meatiest and scariest parts of the game take place in dark, isolated buildings that are like giant puzzle boxes. Solving puzzles gives players the tools they need to explore deeper, uncovering more of the story and exposing themselves to all kinds of unspeakable horrors.
Silent Hill 2 Remake lets you play the way you want
I played through Silent Hill 2 remade to standard difficulty for both her puzzles and combat. Standard provided a challenging experience that never became frustrating, thanks in large part to conveniences like well-placed save points and the fact that James records a lot of useful information on the maps. I got stuck on the puzzles a few times, but while examining the map I realized there was something I was missing in another room that would then lead me to the solution. Those who want even more challenging puzzles and combat can increase the difficulty, but easier options are also available. Mix-and-match is also possible, which is a great quality-of-life feature that helps players customize Silent Hill 2 customize the experience to your liking. Someone who wants hard puzzles but easy combat can do that and vice versa.
Silent Hill 2 The remake's puzzle-filled world comes to life with truly stunning graphics that make fantastic use of the PS5 hardware. The character models are highly detailed and well animated, especially James Sunderland and Silent HillMonsters have never looked scarier. The environment is photorealistic in many places and delivers all this without sacrificing performance. I haven't encountered a single graphical glitch, frame rate drop or glitch during my time Silent Hill 2 remake. The bones of this game are impressive to say the least as Bloober Team releases what is quite easily their best work to date.
One of the few complaints I have about it Silent Hill 2 the remake is that all too often it makes it hard for players to see and really appreciate its beautifully detailed areas because it's so oppressively dark. A flashlight will definitely make things better, but even so, there are times when the game overdoes it with a complete lack of light. This was clearly a design choice to make the game scarier, though I think so Silent Hill 2 the remake achieves that goal, but it would still be nice for things to be touch better to see.
The Silent Hill 2 remake is much longer than the original, but that's not necessarily a good thing
I think so Silent Hill 2 in some cases, even an extended runtime remake works against it. Later in the game I started to feel like things were repeating themselves. There aren't many enemies, so inevitably the fight stopped beating like before. And while a lot of backtracking is perfectly normal for a survival horror game, Silent Hill 2 The length of the remake makes it so that the backtracking starts to slow down the pace in a way that similar titles don't. There's a reason why the vast majority of survival horror games are on the short side, and I think even the most die-hard fans of the genre will start to feel Silent Hill 2's runtime by the time they reach the end credits.
It doesn't help that players essentially have to go through each area twice Silent Hill 2is “Another World.” The Silent Hill 2 The Otherworld remake takes players to alternate, rust-colored versions of the areas they've already explored, but with new puzzles and challenges to overcome. The thematic reasons for Otherworld prevent these sections from feeling like filler, but combined with how long the game is, it can get a little tedious at times. This also leads to the idea of going to the other ends of the game (I won't spoil the exact number, but know that Silent Hill 2 the remake has more endings than the original) a daunting and not necessarily appealing idea.
It took me 14 hours to finish my first playthrough
Silent Hill 2
. I also opened the map 1211 times according to the endgame stats.
Otherwise, the Bloober Team did a fantastic job on the remake Silent Hill 2. The new game retains the core feel of the original while expanding on it in brilliant and surprising ways. Bloober Team upped their game with Silent Hill 2 redesign and deliver what is simply one of the best Silent Hill games to date. I sincerely hope that Bloober Team will continue to work with Konami and we will see remakes of each other Silent Hill games with the same level of care as Silent Hill 2 received
Final score: 9/10
Silent Hill 2 releases on October 8 for PC and PlayStation 5. Game Rant was provided with a PS5 code for this review.
