Silent Hill 2 (2001)

After my huge disappointment and even anger with Silent Hill f, I approached Silent Hill 2 Remake with some hesitation and even doubts, but my concerns quickly disappeared. From the very first hours, the atmosphere and gameplay completely drew me in and never let go. The gameplay reminded me of Resident Evil in some ways, and I genuinely enjoyed exploring every corner of the game and reading everything I could get my hands on. All of this, combined with the story and wonderful characters, gave me an unforgettable experience that I thoroughly enjoyed from start to finish. This masterpiece is worth every penny. Bravo! This is how remakes should be made. The game also features an incredible soundtrack that can truly touch your soul and stay with you long after you hear it. Silent Hill 2 Remake deserves all the huge success it has received.

Personal Rating: Very Positive (90%) I got Silent Hill 2 alongside Silent Hill f in a bundle, so I'm gonna compare this to Silent Hill f, as it's the closest thing to it. (I might expand this review as I progress further) Horror feels less prevalent and grotesque agaist SHf, but the tense scenes last longer on average here than in SHf. That being said, both games have their moments where they shine. The monsters are pretty wild by their design tho. The fog here REALLY makes you think what lurks in it. Both games could be described as ''Beautiful in Terror'' Upsides: The story here is much more linear and better grounded than SHf's story. The missions go well by themselves, but you can get stuck if you don't pay attention. The graphics look nice, but the game sometimes gets to 60 FPS, even with DLSS enabled. I know that this game has optimisation flaws with the lack of ANY Level of Detail. (Same problem is in Silent Hill f) Downside: The combat - Listen, I know Silent Hill franchise isn't supposed to have awe-inspiring combat, but this is quite annoying to play with. If there's a glass in front of James, and a monster like 4 meters away from him, he will try to hit the monster, and it was so annoying during one section. I recommend Silent Hill 2, but if you are in doubt, get it on sale, as it goes on 50% off pretty frequently.

I really believe every person has their own form of "Silent Hill". I just want to wish everyone good luck who is going through it. Being a fan of horror games but also being young, I really did not want to deal with the old game yet wanted to play this game desperately. So I really was hyped up about this remake and I am so happy to be able to play it. Also gotta say it really did live up to it's hype for me. I absolutely fell in love with the game and really will recommend everyone to play it, so first I will write a couple small things I find might be off putting for some. Game is looking amazing but it is horribly optimized and it depends on frame generation techs, I mean with it I was able to play 120ish fps without sacrificing much graphics especially indoors but really just double check if your system can run it or not. Another thing is I don't know if it is because I played so much horror games and resident evil games game kinda felt like a RE game. They really could have added the weight of James being a traumatized civil person. Also if you are familiar with the genre monsters could feel repetitive and resources might feel like it's a lot. Though there are difficulty settings for that so you can pick your own jam. Now I want to write down the part where I praise the game because I really think this game deserves a praise. Environment and graphics. ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ they made an amazing job. Game looks spectacular. Plus they made the map design so good that regardless of game being all gloomy it is a damn eye candy. Envrionment does make its job perfectly expected from a horror game, without any story this game probably could tell you what James are feeling and going through only by environment. It makes you feel the sadness, despair, being stuck, being afraid. Added with these graphics I feel like this game could even work if it was left a simple walking simulator. Really just go play the game and discover around by your own meanwhile looking everywhere. Despite being afraid I really wanted to check every corner, every room, not even expecting to find loot or monsters but to see what environment was telling me. I really think that this game is a fine art. Gameplay was also catchy. I was afraid that they would simply make something like a modern resident evil game and lean more to action side but they did manage to balance it somehow. There are simple melee and gun options with health management and it really could give you the pressure of survival meanwhile too. Though if you are seasoned you also might move James like Leon. Again, pick your own difficulty. Environment covers the spook part mostly anyways so it won't be that much of an issue too. Puzzles were also enjoyable and I really loved to solve them, forces you to explore everywhere and makes you remember the area. I also loved that puzzle's have their own difficulty too so again you can pick your own struggle. I also loved the monster designs, though I wished seeing more. Story is also amazing. Combined with the enviromental storytelling you just live through it together with James. You start to notice things, combine the pieces together as you progress, and see how James changes as you process through. What I also love about the story is that it is really human, and James is also a human. You are not just playing a weak dude through pointless horrors. [spoiler]James is a traumatized man with his own struggles dealing how unfair life is. James and Mary did not deserve any of things happened to them. Yet it is life, a disease finds you and troubles start. As you play you slowly realize whole Silent Hill is a place to torment James and they are all emotions he is supressing, he is supressing himself so much that he believes Mary is alive. Game really tries to give you what James felt, as you play you slowly start to notice it. You know emotions you just have to live through them, and this game does give you that feel too. You process James's emotions as you play. That's why I really find the whole game artistic.[/spoiler] I don't know if it's because I played so many horror games or I played this game in a time where I was overwhelmed but it was not overly scary. It also surprisingly felt somewhat comforting to me, overall the idea of Silent Hill.[spoiler] I guess that is what made me like Silent Hill, it being a place to face and process emotions.[/spoiler] "Don't get all holy on me James, this town called you too."