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Silent Hill 2, Running Through The Fog

Silent Hill 2 (2024) is a remake of the original game that modernizes the gameplay to be less clunky while also adding more content, and endings and fixing a lot of the original's flaws. Even with all the changes, Bloober has made sure to respect the original vision and keep the essence of the game intact, as the town is as scary and unsettling as it always has been.
This remake doesn't have anything to be jealous of the Resident Evil ones, as the technical level of the game is impressive, resulting in a redemption arc for the developer, that managed to make a game of this caliber after numerous failures. 23 years later, we get the best version of the game there is as we revisit James Sunderland and Silent Hill.

What Makes It Worth Playing?

The remake doubles the duration of the original game, lasting around 14 hours on average while the original would be around 8 hours, giving more content to enjoy and digest. The details in the game are also a nice touch, as being able to break windows of cars and stands for ammo and healing items makes you look at the scenery with more attention. Other details like Maria reacting to James' flashlight, or Eddie's breath being cold due to his version of the Otherworld being colder, are subtle but add a nice touch to the immersion.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3349313591
The game also introduces new endings, making a second playthrough more enticing, and the speedrun challenge of beating the game in less than 10 hours (which I got ;3) adds replayability to the adventure once one finishes the core of it. With the gameplay being reworked to feature a more fluid experience that packs more action and strategy regarding movement, Silent Hill 2 ends up being a remake that gets you hooked, always wanting to play "one more area" before putting the controller down.

Bloober Doesn't Cut Corners, Improving Upon The Original

Bloober has improved upon the game by adding tension to it, something that the original can be missing at times. Bosses now have more room to move around, resulting in high-paced action where foes don't let you breathe. For example, Pyramid Head encounters in the original were mostly a small empty room, but in the remake, the room is bigger, has rain and there are objects James has to use to avoid being sliced by Pyramid Head, resulting in more action and strategy for the encounter.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3349314102
Puzzles have been revamped too, becoming at times a bit easier but generally harder, and answers from 23 years ago in the original won't work in the remake. In addition, each difficulty has its solutions to the puzzles that are different, and some of them even have randomly generated ones, adding to the challenge. The map no longer pauses the game either, making exploration and solving of puzzles nerve-wracking as you are in a dark corridor trying to get your beatings. Sometimes, Pyramid Head will chase the player in some area like Resident Evil 3 Nemesis, making it worse!


More Action Means More Horror

I know some of the readers and those on the fence might be like "More action, less scared!" but is the opposite. By adding more enemies, there is always a sensation that something can (and will!) jump from the darkness to attack you. Being wary of the fact that foes can appear at any moment, adds tension to the atmosphere of the game! Certain areas such as Toluca Prison felt confined and crushing to me, as the entire area is dark, with timed switches that bring light for a few seconds in long corridors, and when the light goes out halfway through, the enemies will jump from everywhere, walls, ceilings, etc. The fact that Toluca Prison is a long segment makes for a more tense experience where one wants to get out of the complex ASAP.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3349314933
The sound design is so impressive that I doubt there will be a game with a better sound design in 2024. Enemies move around and noises in the background result in "Did that come from the game or real life?" giving more immersion. Pyramid Head dragging his big knife is something that keeps me awake at night, and some enemies make noises that are either disgusting or disturbing. Let me add real quick that finding enemies in the game is a nice detail that is tricky, the flashlight will blink when a foe is close by, but it will also count little spiders, giving a false alarm of sorts. If you have the controller on vibration mode, the rain can mimic that of enemies, resulting in the rain providing cover for them not only visually, but in gameplay as well.

Price Point Analysis and Replayability

For 70 bucks, you are getting your money's worth (did that rhyme? Hopefully not). The game is a technical marvel that does an excellent job when it comes to visuals, sounds, atmosphere, and gameplay, resulting in one of the best titles of the year 2024. The only thing holding the game back a bit is that we are missing the Born From a Wish Maria chapter, which could perhaps be added as a DLC, and that the game can crash, resulting in a loss of progression (especially in Lakeside, it crashes more than usual!) During my experience, I suffered 7 crashes, not a lot per se but frustrating having to redo certain segments. Oh well! I didn't crash in Toluca Prison at least, phew!

Conclusion

To anyone who said Bloober couldn't do justice to the game, I am expecting an apology now (I jest but seriously the devs have proven themselves). The game ended up in good hands with the team, and Silent Hill 2 ended up being an improved version that is unpredictable, unnerving, and exciting! It finds a careful balance between keeping the original vision and adding new changes that reinvigorate the experience. Silent Hill 2 couldn't be in better hands, and I am hoping we get a remake of the first title, Silent Hill, with this team.


The Good
The Bad




Doubles the duration of the original game.
New endings, achievements, and content add replayability.
Action and fear feed each other, action-packed and scary!
Best sound design for a game in all of 2024, huge immersion.
A survival horror where the goal is surviving, bosses and foes can be quite deadly and feature impressive fights!




Born From a Wish, Maria's section of gameplay is missing.
Not well optimized, crashes sometimes, especially in Lakeside.




10/10 MASTERPIECE
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