Silent Hill 2 Remake Review – Silence Is Golden (PS5)

When the Silent Hill 2 remake was announced two years ago in late 2022, it was met with a great deal of skepticism. Believe it or not, this wasn’t down to the usual cliché of gamer cynicism, there were actually a handful of good reasons to be trepidatious about this project.

First off, there was the fact that the Silent Hill franchise had been left out to dry by Konami since the release of the spinoff title Silent Hill Book of Memories in 2012, (besides 2014’s PT, but that is a different beast),  and public opinion of the Japanese company had also soured a great deal since then. Add to that the fact that the Silent Hill 2 remake was being handled by Bloober Team, a studio whose track record has been rather spotty at best.

Finally, there is also the small factor that Silent Hill 2 is a timeless masterpiece that is particularly beloved for its very specific tonal oddity that felt impossible to replicate in the modern era. Thus, many presumed that this was nothing more than a project announced to cash in on the trend of modern-day remakes of survival horror classics that would only anger fans of the treasured original.

Despite all of this, Bloober Team has somehow managed to defy all odds and deliver an incredible experience.

The reason that this Silent Hill 2 remake is already finding its way into GOTY conversations and deserves to be praised alongside projects like last year’s Dead Space remake and Capcom’s recent Resident Evil 4 remake is because it does exactly what a great remake needs to do. It manages to recapture that magic that made the original such a classic, while also updating the game’s more antiquated elements in a suitable way.

To someone who hasn’t put as many hours as I have into researching what made the original Silent Hill 2 so great, the amount of effort that has gone into this remake may go unappreciated. On the surface, the fact that so much of this remake is a 1:1 replication of what was released 23 years ago may seem lazy or uninspired.

If you are new to the series though, you have got to understand that it was such a specific concoction of bizarre elements that wouldn’t have worked on their own being thrown together that created a truly memorable and unique player experience. It felt otherworldly and timeless in a way that nothing ever has before or since.

So yes, a lot of the praise I have for this remake pertains to elements that were present in the original. However, the fact that Bloober Team was able to recreate these for a modern day audience and present them in a cohesive manner that captures that lightning in a bottle that Team Silent produced over two decades ago is truly impressive.

The first element is one that feels seemingly easy to replicate; the game’s iconic fog effects. Given that this was originally included as a workaround to the technical limitations of 2001 tech, (the fog was used to hide poor draw distance) one would presume that with more advanced tech, this is a simple thing to get right.

If you feel this way, then the Silent Hill HD Collection would like a word. This remaster of Silent Hill 2 and 3 was released in 2012 and somehow managed to mess up the fog effects to an unprecedented extent. Thankfully though, Bloober Team was able to remedy that issue this time around.

The second major factor that was a concern was the game’s voice acting. The original featured purposely poor delivery of lines that gave an off-kilter feel to every scene that only added to the unsettling tone overall. David Lynch fans reading this will know exactly what I am talking about, as it is a technique that the legendary director loves to make use of.

Somehow, despite the vocal performances being completely redone from scratch, that disconcerting delivery remains intact and yet never veers too far into being overly cheesy or laughable. Mark Estdale is credited as the game’s voice director, so huge credit needs to go to him for working with the voice talent to achieve that.

Combat is another feature that required specificity to work and has been absolutely nailed here. Just like the vocal work, it is about striking a balance; there is a lot of combat present in Silent Hill 2, but it isn’t necessarily supposed to feel fun. James Sunderland isn’t a trained soldier or combat specialist; he is just an average Joe trying to survive.

Therefore, the fighting mechanics had to feel better than the original but still maintain a level of jank and lack of smoothness. Somehow, this has been achieved impeccably and adds to the miserable tone of the game without ever feeling broken or tiresome.

For my money, the single most important element of Silent Hill 2 is the audio. Between that iconic, spine-tingling soundtrack and those guttural, deeply unsettling sound effects, the audio from the original game is the one element that unequivocally stands the test of time.

At the very top of the game, as James is heading into Silent Hill, the ambient audio coming from the town is far more subtle than it was in the original. This gave me immediate concern as it lacked the foreboding nature present in the past version. Thankfully, these concerns were quickly quelled once I got into the meat of the game.

I believe that one of the major reasons that experiences like the first Metal Gear Solid and Silent Hill 2 are so memorable is because of the way that they make the player feel. Aside from the specifics of what is playing out onscreen at any given time, the one element that the human brain holds onto over time is the way that an experience makes you feel.

Ultimately, this comes down to the tone being set, and a huge part of that is the audio. It has been a very long time since a horror game has caused me to feel nauseous due to a feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach, and the Silent Hill 2 remake manages to do this using audio alone. It is masterful to witness and really gets the player’s adrenaline going in a way that almost feels nostalgic.

Beyond the aspects that have been brought over from the original game, the new content here is also welcome. The fact that puzzle difficulty can be tweaked will aid in accessibility for players who may lack the patience of a 2001 audience. The two new endings are also cool, although I hesitate to speak any more on them for fear of spoilers.

The handful of new gameplay segments are also fine. I’m not sure I’d say that they go a huge way to enhance the plot of the original, but they certainly don’t hinder the way things play out. The pacing also isn’t affected in any negative way, which is surprising given that the remake is double the length of the original Silent Hill 2, yet it never drags.

Overall, what Bloober Team has pulled off with this remake is nothing short of a miracle. This is a fantastic remake of an incredible game, and I am very glad I can recommend the Silent Hill 2 experience to friends who don’t want to dig out the 2001 version via this release. In fact, it is so great that it ALMOST makes up for Silent Hill Ascension!