⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Developer (Platform): Team Silent (PS3 as part of the HD Collection)
Publisher (Release): Konami (2001)
Length: 8-10 hours
Genres: Horror; Psychological; Survival; Action
❗️Disclaimers❗️:
played as part of the HD Collection (I know, I know)
strong scenes of violence, blood, and gore
major warning for psychologically challenging themes such as depression, sexual assault, and suicide (among others)
this review contains low-level spoilers
recommendation: must play
👍 Pros 👍
A harrowing tale of sorrow and regret
Tense, terrifying, and thoughtful across the board
Mechanically miles ahead of its contemporaries
👎 Cons 👎
Accessing the original is difficult; the simplest option being the inconsistent HD Collection
Voice acting, despite some bright spots, is monotone and unfit for such a spectacularly shown story
👀 Synopsis & Trailer 👀
Returning to the resort town of Silent Hill after receiving a letter from his dead wife Mary, James Sunderland faces unspeakable creatures in the futile hope his wife awaits him at the end of his hellish journey.
🛎️ Introduction 🛎️
Originally, I really, really wanted to nab an original copy of Silent Hill 2 and experience it in its purest form but, alas, the price of such a copy is just too darn much (come on, Konami, why make fun hard?). So, to prepare for the long-awaited remake, I picked up a much more reasonably priced copy of Konami’s ridiculously pathetic attempt at a HD Collection for games 2 and 3.
Sighs in poor game preservation
After managing technical issues, trying to better tailor the awful audio balance, and debating whether or not it’s even worth it, my need to have just a taste of that psychological horror nostalgia won out and off I went, returning to the broken town of Silent Hill.
🧩 Plots 🧩
The HD Collection? Not that bad (or should I say it’s not unplayable). The core experience is still there and Team Silent imbued the original with so much atmosphere that there’s enough to spare even for an inconsistent remaster.
Silent Hill 2 lets the mystery of the titular town stew as it pivots from its predecessor to focus more on its characters and their traumas. It’s a simultaneously harrowing and beautiful exploration of depression, regret, and abuse that’s so tastefully approached that the raw honesty is just as striking two decades later.
Should probably avoid that…right?
In direct opposition to the original, thankfully, Silent Hill 2 and its access to better technology better pushes the player to explore. The series’s iconic mapping system organically shows us how to progress while highlighting hidey-holes we can dare venture into for secrets and lore.
The core story following James’s search for his wife Mary slowly layers their relationship and what became of them before Mary’s apparent death, but the game hides some little details and mechanics that’ll influence the outcome that should give the player pause in their journey to evaluate their approach.
Maria! This is no time for a nap
Multiple endings await the player depending on their choices and outside of the more gag endings, they all feel right and plausible, even if they’re not all hopeful. Like the main plot’s progression, each finale is an honest portrayal of a potential outcome.
Silent Hill 2 is a horrifying and largely sad tale. Any sparks of hope are swiftly snuffed out and regardless of justifications or reasoning, the overall message is sometimes we can’t beat our demons…sometimes we just have to live with them. A variety of endings, however, lets the player make that decision for themselves, if they can figure it out, and make their ending as depressing or as hopeful as the narrative will allow.
‘…simultaneously harrowing and beautiful…’
🎭 Characters 🎭
Sticking with the Everyman formula started in its predecessor, Silent Hill 2 follows an initially bland protagonist in James Sunderland as he comes to Silent Hill in search of his dead wife. Affable if short tempered, James’s scramble to survive with whatever he can find as his nightmares become reality mirrors the player’s own sense of being out of their depth.
As the story builds, James himself becomes more solid, becoming better realised in our minds for better and worse. His is a story of love, heartbreak, and regret, of impossible decisions borne from unspeakable situations.
What do you mean babysit you?
Joining him is an eclectic cast of characters with their own stories to tell. Each individual has been ‘called’ to Silent Hill to face their demons in a horrifically deadly therapy session, and I really appreciate how full they feel as individuals rather than passive vehicles to push the protagonist’s story. You really get the sense that, while you’re exploring, they’re out there suffering their own hell as well and will be markedly different when you meet them again.
Angela, by far, is the most interesting and heartbreaking. The slow-burn reveal of her trauma and the way it’s shaped her mannerisms and personality carve themselves into the player’s heart. In contrast, it pushes fellow Silent Hill-er Eddie down by quite an expansive margin. His is arguably the weakest element of the game, with simplistic development that doesn’t have the strongest support.
Do I LOOK like your mother?
I debated for a few minutes whether to opt for the modern voice cast or the original before settling to keep things as close as possible to first release. It’s…not the best. There are some moments where the voice actors shine, delivering every shred of emotion they can muster, but, largely, Silent Hill 2’s voice acting is uncomfortably monotone, with James himself being the worst offender.
‘…impossible decisions borne from unspeakable situations.’
👾 Gameplay and Graphics 👾
Welcome back to the bygone era of third-person tank controls and fixed camera angles…and watch as Silent Hill 2 makes it work wonderfully. The creativity in the camera’s position and the way Team Silent managed to instil dread into every angle is an art form in and of itself.
Many a time did I 180 because I’d stepped through a door only for an enemy to be skulking, heard but not seen, in the shadows. The panic, the scramble to choose the best of limited and scavenged weapons is palpable from beginning to end. Silent Hill 2 masterfully never lets the player experience peace or complacency.
Interesting residents you have there, Silent Hill
It’s difficult to fully appreciate every detail when so many are missing from the HD Collection but the fact their absence can still be felt gives major credit to the developers of the original game. The thick, foggy atmosphere hiding untold dangers is still there, still tense, and still incredibly daunting. Sound design is solid but audio balancing between the soundtrack and voice acting is truly terrible.
What the FUCK are you!?
Like its predecessor, Silent Hill 2 nails its little details and pushes new ones to place it ahead of its contemporaries. Having James physically look at intractable items is a nice, organic note that subtly benefits the player’s exploration while only allowing the player to read the map in well-lit areas adds a check to balance. It’s an undervalued skill in the genre that needs more attention; a more thoughtful hand to challenge the player through mechanics rather than just sheer difficulty while always providing them with what they need to succeed.
‘Silent Hill 2 masterfully never lets the player experience peace or complacency.’
🧠 Final Thoughts 🧠
Silent Hill 2 is arguably the best psychological horror game to ever grace the gaming landscape. Harrowing, tense, and dripping in an atmosphere of existential dread and trauma, our second trip to the titular town plays host to a variety of heartbreaking stories that are as honest as they are painful.
The series’s signature blend of scrappy, clunky combat and riddle-infused puzzles creates a strange addiction to exploration that is rewarded and punished in equal measure.
Overall, Silent Hill 2 is a classic of a bygone era that richly revels in regret and the very human tendency to get ourselves stuck in cycles of self-destruction. It’s terrific, thrilling, and my only real negative note would be over how darn difficult it is for casual gamers to access and experience, especially as a sequel that outshines its predecessor by miles.
The Phoenix Project 
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