‘Silent Hill 2 Remake’ Review: A Trip Well Worth Taking
Two decades ago, audiences first met James Sunderland as he overlooked the town of Silent Hill. James was drawn to the town after receiving a letter from his deceased wife asking him to meet her there. What followed was a trip through hell so compelling that the idea of what a game could be would change. In 2024, we’ve been called back to Silent Hill to reunite with James in our special place. The world may have moved on, but James is right where we left him–lost in the fog.
From the opening moments of the Silent Hill 2 Remake, things are different. The changes are understated, almost insignificant, but this story has always been about the details. Our first meeting with James is less personal now; we’re no longer meeting him face to face. What we can see is more focused but darker than before. Gone are the Lynchian vocal performances of 2001, their dreamlike delivery now solemn and sober. It all feels fresh but still terribly familiar. For fans of Silent Hill 2, this is a promising start.
What developer Bloober Team did with Silent Hill 2 is simply astonishing. They produced a remake that illuminates the best aspects of the original while not being afraid to step out of its shadow. Although it’s a beat-for-beat retelling of James’s odyssey, there are enough clues, references, and additions to suggest that something more is going on here.Â
The concept of a “remake” is subverted to underline the more subtle, recurring themes introduced in the original. It’s the most stunning example of a developer “understanding the assignment.”
Visuals
Silent Hill has been completely rebuilt in the Unreal 5. Although the experience may look subdued, the game squeezes the engine for as much horsepower as possible. Everything remains as originally designed but with beautiful new textures and intricate models. Silent Hill has never looked so idyllic or corrupted. The monsters that call it home also glisten and move in new and disgusting ways. Even with a thick layer of fresh paint, all maintain the details that make them iconic.Â
The most impressive upgrade throughout has got to be the lighting. In a game about light and dark that’s explored mostly with a flashlight, it ends up being the most significant improvement. It’s not just the new rendering system—it’s how it’s used. The temperature of a light source can give clues about what’s being illuminated. A shift toward warmer tones can hint at a way forward, but pushed just a little further and the boundaries between cloth and flesh become confused. The lighting establishes a visual language of its own, indicating which spaces James can use for reprieve. But only until it betrays you.
Fog has always been a character unto itself but has never felt as alive and menacing as it does in the remake. It sits with a palpable weight in the distance, slowly rolling aside as James moves through it. Shambling “things” are revealed from the distant plumes and retreat to it for obscurity after a bonking from the 2×4.
Aside from James’s stiff in-game movement, the animations are great. Expertly rendered motion capture performances allow the cast to become more than caricatures. Angela now has enough range of motion to express her torment. Her pain is conveyed through her facial performance but also in details as faint as her fingernails. Eddie’s character arc is given new depth through his shift from passive nosher to agile menace. I doubt I’m alone in thinking that the most horrifying moment in the game is watching him eat ice cream like an absolute psychopath.
Audio
With all the improvements and changes to what we see, what we hear is just as haunting. Akira Yamaoka returns to the series to rework his original score. The rearranged music has a less ethereal quality, however the added clarity was needed to blend it with the more modern design.
Silent Hill 2 is a very quiet experience, most of what you’ll hear are creaking doors, distant winds, and muffled squishings of all varieties. Music slowly seeps through the background noise, often embedding itself in your brain before it’s even noticed. And when the ambiance is broken for combat, the soundscape quickly ramps into cacophony. Suddenly, distant echoes of dripping water are lost in the haze of grunts, wheezes, wet slapping noises, radio static, and discordant music. It’s pure anxiety and perfectly fitting.
Gameplay
Refreshing the artistic elements and retelling a fantastic story was never going to be the hard part. Gameplay is where things start to get more complicated. Part of what makes the original so impressive is that it achieved so much despite its uninspired gameplay. It’s an obstacle that Silent Hill 2 Remake doesn’t overcome.
The new controls and perspective draw heavily from recent titles like The Last of Us 2; to avoid sliding into action territory, adjustments are made to slow combat down. James still has a limited arsenal, moves more slowly, and has to land more hits, but the tension is still lost. Despite the visceral and desperate presentation, combat quickly falls into a routine. Fighting was never the focus of Silent Hill. But having to do so much of it strips the creatures of their impact and reminds us that we’re playing a game.
Where combat does work is the boss fights. Each boss has been completely recrafted into a set-piece showdown. While not especially difficult, they offer a broader canvas to flesh out the theme that each boss is meant to explore. The most notable embellishments were the increased difficulty of the freezer fight and the emotionally exhausting descent into obscenity to face “Daddy.” Whether the added spectacle of the latter is more effective thematically is questionable. But it certainly made for a memorable encounter.
Outside of combat, more of Silent Hill has been opened up for exploration. Most of what you’ll find in these new areas are collectible memos, easter eggs, and new puzzles. Most of the remake’s additional playtime, which adds up to hours, is almost entirely puzzle-related. All the old favorites return, albeit mildly tweaked, and can be tweaked further through the new puzzle difficulty slider. Some of the new challenges added interesting diversions from the original, but others seemed like little more than padding.
Verdict
The Silent Hill 2 Remake isn’t perfect, but it is exceptional. The game shines when it’s bringing new life to the characters and stories that made its predecessor unforgettable. It doesn’t solve the puzzle of how to make a Silent Hill game fun to play, but it did offer a beautifully crafted nightmare to explore. The core of Silent Hill 2 is not only intact but elevated. The revisit is overly long, but the trip is worth taking.
Summary
The core of Silent Hill 2 is not only intact but elevated. This is definitely a trip worth taking.
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