By horses Silent Hill 2 is often referred to as one of the greatest achievements of the survival-horror genre, and is considered by many to be one of the best video games of all time. Given its reputation, developer Bloober Team, known for games such as Layers of fear and Averagewas quite brave to try a Silent Hill 2 remake Anyone worried that the Bloober Team wouldn't be able to do it Silent Hill 2 justice may rest easy as the remake is a phenomenal survival horror experience.
The Silent Hill 2 the remake is much bigger than fans of the franchise can imagine. While it follows the same beats as the original, each location is bigger than before, with more puzzles and enemies to fight. There were fears that Silent Hill 2 a remake would be too action-heavy, and while there's definitely more focus on combat, it never really feels like action. The Silent Hill 2 the remake is pure survival horror through and through, with combat that enhances the game more than expected.
There is personal cruelty Silent Hill 2Combat that makes every encounter intense. Silent Hill 2 James Sunderland's character has some fancy new tricks as he confronts the titular city's various horrors, mostly demonstrated through the handy dodge that's an integral part of surviving hand-to-hand combat. Every monster in Silent Hill 2 remake has an attack pattern, and it's essential that players know exactly when they should dodge and when they should land a quick melee strike if they hope to survive.
James also collects several guns throughout the game, doing a dispatch Silent Hill 2with monsters is much easier. The catch is that, like most survival horror games, supplies are extremely limited. Players have to be careful when using up 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 fights, but I personally noticed that they make the game more scary. While it's still possible to run past enemies in some cases, the remake often forces players to use up their resources, and so every time the DualSense speaker started spewing static, my stomach dropped.
The Silent Hill 2 remake is a genuinely scary game that doesn't rely too much on jump scares. Instead, it uses its incredible score and stunning sound effects to create a suffocating atmosphere of pure dread. This is compounded by the interior areas of the game, which are particularly annoying.
While exploration takes place on the streets of Silent Hill, the meatiest and scariest parts of the game take place in dark, isolated buildings that look like giant puzzle boxes. Solving the puzzles gives players the tools they need to delve deeper, unraveling more of the story and exposing themselves to all kinds of unspeakable horrors in the process.
Silent Hill 2 Remake lets you play the way you want
I played through Silent Hill 2 a remake on standard difficulty for puzzles and combat. Standard provided a challenging experience that never disappointed, mostly thanks to conveniences like well-placed save points and the fact that James writes tons of useful information on the maps. A few times I got stuck on puzzles, but as I looked at the map, I realized there was something I missed in another room that led me to the solution. Those who want even more challenging puzzles and combat can increase the difficulty, but easier options are also available. Comboing is also possible, which is a great quality-of-life feature that helps players adapt Silent Hill 2 customize the experience to your liking. Anyone who wants challenging puzzles but easy combat can do it the other way around.
Silent Hill 2 The puzzle-filled world of Remake comes to life with truly stunning graphics that make fantastic use of the PS5's hardware. The character models are highly detailed and well animated, especially James Sunderland and Silent HillMonsters have never looked so terrifying. The environments are photorealistic in many places, and it delivers on all of this without losing an iota of performance. During work with Silent Hill 2 remake The dice for this game are impressive to say the least, as the Bloober team has produced their best work to date.
One of the few gripes I have about it Silent Hill 2 the remake is that too often it's hard for players to see and really appreciate its beautifully detailed areas because it's so dark. A flashlight certainly improves the situation, but even then, there are moments when the game goes off the rails with a complete lack of light. Obviously this was a design choice to make the game more scary, and though I think so Silent Hill 2 the remake achieves that goal, it would still be nice if everything was a touch easier to see.
The remake of Silent Hill 2 is a lot longer than the original, but that's not necessarily a good thing
I think that Silent Hill 2 the extended runtime of the remake also works against this in some cases. Towards the end of the game I started to feel like it was getting repetitive. There isn't a huge amount of enemy variety here, and so inevitably the combat doesn't feel as punchy as it used to. 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 going back starts to drag the pace in a way that similar titles don't. There's a reason why the vast majority of survival horror games are shorter, and I think even the most die-hard fans of the genre will begin to feel Silent Hill 2of running time until the final titers are reached.
It doesn't help that players have to go through each area twice thanks Silent Hill 2's “Another World”. The Silent Hill 2 remake's Otherworld transports players to alternate, rust-colored versions of areas they've already explored, but with new puzzles and challenges to overcome. The thematic reasons for Another World keep these sections from feeling crowded, but combined with the length of the game, it can get a little tedious at times. It also brings up the idea of going to other endings of the game (I won't spoil the exact number, but know that Silent Hill 2 the remake has more endings than the original) is a difficult and not necessarily appealing idea.
It took me 14 hours to complete my first playthrough
Silent Hill 2
. According to the endgame stats, I also opened my map 1211 times.
Otherwise, the Bloober team did a fantastic job on the redesign Silent Hill 2. The new game keeps the core feel of the original while expanding on it in brilliant and unexpected ways. The Bloober team upped their game with help Silent Hill 2 remake and delivered what is quite simply one of the best Silent Hill games to date. I sincerely hope Bloober Team continues to work with Konami and we get remakes of others Silent Hill games with the same care as and Silent Hill 2 received
Final score: 9/10
Silent Hill 2 out on October 8 for PC and PlayStation 5. Game Rant received a PS5 code for this review.
