Silent Hill 2 Remake Review (PS5)

Silent Hill fans have been starved for years. Ever since the tragic cancellation of PT/Silent Hills, fans have been craving for a new entry in the franchise that isn’t another pachinko machine. Rather then move forward with the franchise and develop something new and original, Konami decided to move backwards and revisit the magnum opus of the series: Silent Hill 2.

With Polish studio Bloober Team at the development helm, they were tasked with remaking Silent Hill 2 for a new generation of gamers. Since the first gameplay trailer people have been skeptical to say the least. Will they keep what made the original so iconic? Will they break it? Will they ruin it? Thankfully, I can put everyone’s minds to rest and say that the Silent Hill 2 remake isn’t just a great, suspenseful horror game, but probably one of the best video game remakes of all time.

There was a hole here

Silent Hill 2’s gameplay takes on a much more modern approach. Gone are the fixed camera angles and tank controls, now we have a third-person perspective and smooth controls, albeit sometimes a bit jittery. The combat has also seen a massive overhaul too. Whilst it still retains the melee and gunplay from the original, Bloober has improved on the originals often boring gameplay. Melee weapons have a powerful feeling with every hit you land, whilst the guns are good for both offense and defense. The combat also allows you to combine both of these elements during gameplay. For example, you can shoot an enemy in the leg temporarily stunning them and then close the gap with a barrage of melee attacks. It doesn’t hold your hand or be restrictive and allows you to be as creative as possible with your attacks.

However, the combat only works when you’re in a one on one fight. Occasionally the game will throw two or even three enemies at you at a time, and it’s here where the cracks start to show. You’ll always find yourself being attacked from every angle, sometimes even getting stun-locked, with your only method of control being to simply run away. This is especially feels frustrating when you’re in tight corridors or small rooms. The lack of space to move around, coupled with the darkness and the enemies all over you can very quickly make you grit your teeth in anger. The game’s dodge button helps with this a little bit, but it’s very hit and miss. Whilst it can be handy to get out of these tight spaces it can alternate between fairly easy to use and weirdly precise with no real consistency. All of these problems slowly takes all the fun and skill out of the combat in 1 fail swoop, and makes enemies like the creepy mannequins go from being a tense encounter to a chore to fight. The remake’s combat may be an improvement over the original, but it could have done with a bit more fine tuning.

For me, it’s always like this

Silent Hill has some of the abstract and disturbing set pieces in any horror game franchise, but still manages to show off some truly beautiful moments. Silent Hill 2 has a lot of these iconic set pieces — the dark Brookhaven hospital, the rusty haunting prison, and of course, the grotesque other-world. The remake retains everything that made these location so memorable. Each location still has that disgusting feel to it as well as the grim atmosphere that only Silent Hill games can expertly pull off. Fans of the original will notice that a couple of moments from said game take place in a completely different location. For example, instead of the first monster you encounter being under some bridge this time you fight it in an abandoned house. Bloober have obviously changed it to make it feel like a completely unique experience instead of just remaking it frame by frame.

But fear not, the developers do pay homage to these events in the form of these glimpses of the past which show key items and locations that were included in the original game. However, that isn’t the only collectible you can find. You can also collect these strange photos with writing on the back of each one, and a lot of memos which provide lore to the player. Once the game has been completed you’ll be able to go through new game plus where you can find new items needed for secret endings, and the most powerful weapon in the game: the chainsaw. However, new game plus doesn’t let you carry over all of your first game’s weapons and you’ll start all over again if you want them back in your arsenal. It is quite disappointing, but it’s a small price to pay in order to get that lovely destructive chainsaw.

In my restless dreams

Silent Hill 2’s story is special to a lot of people. It’s not just a story about a scary town with horrifying monsters, but is also about people and the trauma within them. The story resonates with a lot of people, and Bloober Team undoubtedly knew this going into the remake as it’s handled with a massive amount of respect. Instead of going back and changing things to make it better they pretty much keep everything intact, even all the way down to some of the originals corny dialogue. A few mew scenes are also thrown in to add onto the story.

There’s a really nice scene with the character Angela towards the beginning of the third act that builds on her character in a way that doesn’t feel forced. A few subtle changes made to the cutscenes might disappoint a few fans, but Bloober has kept everything intact whilst treating each scene with the upmost respect.

But a story and writing is nothing without actor’s performances to bring it to life, luckily most of the actors bring their A-game when inhabiting their roles. The characters still manage to feel exactly like their PS2 counterparts, but with a nice fresh coat of paint. Take our lead James for example. The new actor for James is a lot more realistic compared to his PS2 counterpart. I could tell that there was a lot of pain in this man, and the way that his face shows this is a testament to how great of a job the actor did. The same can be applied to the actors for Angela, Eddie and Laura, but not so much for Maria.

Throughout my playthrough I found this version of Maria to be strangely stiff. There was something about the lack of emotion on her face and the delivery of some of her line deliveries that I found felt extremely flat. The biggest example is during the iconic “Anyway, what do you mean anyway?!” scene. The original scene had so much anger and pain that you could feel it radiating off of her, whereas the new version just comes across as a minor inconvenience. No actor is objectively bad, there’s just a few that are more comfortable in their roles than others, but they still mostly manage to capture the characters of the original in a satisfying way.

I See That Town…Silent Hill

The Silent Hill 2 remake is an absolute marvel. It’s ability to remain faithful to just about everything about the original whilst also feeling fresh and exciting is astounding. A few things do hold it back from being an amazing game, but what it lacks in some areas doesn’t distract from what the game truly is: an extremely good remake. It won’t resonate with everyone, especially die-hard Silent Hill fans, but what Bloober Team have managed to pull off here is incredible. Hopefully this is the start of a resurgence for Silent Hill and Konami will finally dust off the cobwebs to give us more exciting content. Only will time will tell, but after this I have a feeling the mist is starting to clear.