4/5 ★ – Kalle_Deimos's review of SILENT HILL 2.

TLDR: I went to Silent Hill and all I got was this suprisingly well-made and faithfully recreated t-shirt Gameplay: Silent Hill 2 is probably the best case scenario for the outcome of this remake. It was made with care, talent and respect for the original while knowing what they had to modernize. HOWEVER, The OG Silent Hill 2 was more of an experience than a game. The Silent Hill 2 remake is more of a game than an experience. Problems I did not experience in OG I experienced in Remake. Chief among them? Enemy variety is lacking. I really thought there was more than 3 enemies in the original. But in the remake you will be fighting a simple combination of these three enemies for most of your playtime. Sure they have variants that slightly change behaviors but it still is the same enemies so certain stretches of gameplay can feel repetitive. Except the Mannequins get me EVERYTIME. Mannequins are all about hiding and ambushing you, they do not trigger the radio and they are everywhere and I never got used to them and they were AWESOME. Any dark room full of dark corners and objects to duck behind became a true fear. Very frequently the sound of a mannequin popping around a corner and smacking me caused me to full body jolt and cause my girlfriend to laugh at me :( Which in turn caused me to absolutely decimate the mannequin with a club. The gunplay isn't particularly interesting enough to talk about but the melee combat is impactful (if not simple). Enemies have combos, grabs, counters. And you get up close and personal with a pipe and go to town. So many times I have been jumpscared and in retaliation I furiously destroy the enemy like I'M the one in Silent Hill, not James. Puzzles are good, I felt stimulated but never had to look anything up. I was never really lost or didn't know what to do. Gameplay-wise it is a consistently good time, although certain stretches got me pretty tired. Spending several hours exploring the hospital got a bit boring even if we swapped to the otherworld halfway through. But the gameplay is not why you play Silent Hill. Story: This could have been SO bad. Like Troy Baker and Laura Bailey voicing characters type of thoughtless casting and development. But it's good, it's really good. Every cutscene is magnetic, I love the performances for all of characters. Especially for Eddie, as I found his portrayal endearing to his character while effectively showing us that he is far gone. The "surrealness" of the scenes are gone without the strange acting and updated script. But it's replaced in real captivating character moments. There were a couple of changes that didn't land as hard as the OG tho. James screaming in anguish at the end is fairly cringe. When James realizes the truth he doesn't have as much as a character breakdown I was expecting. Actually he didn't really change much at all. I thought it'd be a much bigger deal here but he's just like "fuuuuck i forgot about that". And some lines directly lifted from the original probably could have been done better. The ending letter didnt destroy my life again. Also no "reality check" hand in the beginning is so whack. Graphics: Those cutscenes, MAN. That opening shot of James grabbing his hand and pushing down on it, I went DAYUMMM!!! THAT LOOKS GOOD!!! And the rest of the game also looks really good. Visual design of areas are gorgeous and intimidating. Especially their use of light and colors. The Otherworld has never been so detailed and "alive". The Otherworld Hospital is totally crimson, blackened windows and cielings that stretch on into nothing with chains dangling from them on the edges of the shadows. It's phenomenal. However, lots of times those cool lighting effects are gone when you enter cutscenes and you'll get pretty generic lighting when just a second ago the lighting was the coolest thing you've ever witnessed in your life. Sound: Most of the soundtrack seems to be lifted from the original and I was concerned it wouldn't fit in the remake but all of the tracks did. I'm not even sure if they made new music. They didn't really have to as the OST is already pretty GOATed. What isn't cool however, is the music that plays during many scenes. Silent Hill 2 and 3 had this thing where most scenes were played with some light rock song as background music, typically a character theme. And it fit for those games but for the remake it kind of ruins the moment for many scenes. One in particular is the truth being revealed to James. I think that whole scene would have been way more impactful if it did NOT have that music playing. Extra: There are 8, EIGHT, different endings to find in SH2. Many being dictated by slight behaviors you demonstrate throughout the game. I do not think the game is replayable enough to warrant more playthroughs than 2 but if you want to find 8 endings then. There you go. You can find all of the strange photos and looks into the past for some trophies but other than that, there isn't too much extra to seek out. Favorite Thing: The entire Abstract Daddy sequence is the best part of game. Not My Favorite Thing: James going "dduGHHH" at the end Just fall to the floor slowly like before