Silent Hill 2 (2024 Remake) – Review

In my restless dreams, I see that town, Silent Hill. 

In 2001, Silent Hill 2, the second installment of the survival horror series, broke ground for the genre with its top-notch atmosphere, sound design, and psychological horror elements. Together with Fatal Frame aka Project Zero and Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare, the games ignited a new millennium of horror and more than 23 years on, Konami and Bloober Team are inviting players on a trip back to the now-iconic foggy town in this 2024 Silent Hill 2 remake.

Like the original, the game follows protagonist James Sunderland who ventures to the town of Silent Hill after receiving a mysterious letter from his wife, Mary, who had died from an illness three years before, inviting him to meet her at their ‘special place’. Something is immediately off about the town, however, as he finds it almost completely abandoned and filled with roaming monstrosities. 

The story here is just as fans of the original will remember, presenting a dark but emotional tale of hope in the face of tragedy. Many elements that made the original so compelling return in the remake, such as the heavy use of symbolism, the inclusion of taboo topics, as well as the emotional depth of both the writing and vocal performances.

Storytelling in the remake is greatly improved with the introduction of real-time cutscenes, which have been reworked from the ground up using motion capture technology. The fidelity of the new cutscenes are incredible, featuring subtle facial expressions that really sell the emotions being conveyed, a far cry from the original’s rigid, almost robotic animations.

Being an Unreal Engine 5 title, the remake unsurprisingly looks leaps and bounds better than the original. It’s called a remake but it’s practically a brand-new game with the town of Silent Hill painstakingly recreated with high-resolution textures and massively improved particle effects. The iconic fog that engulfs the town has seen a major upgrade, no longer just a veil to block players, and now just obstructing most of the player’s view distance while still leaving enough visible to create a sense of eeriness and tension. when out exploring.

When indoors, lighting effects and shadows take center stage, with the dim glow emanating from the occasional light source bouncing off surfaces realistically to illuminate the surrounding area. That darkness now has a literal light, as objects under the gaze of James’ torch cast menacing shadows that might be mistaken for an approaching enemy. 

Speaking of enemies, the creature designs have also been recreated from scratch, with iconic foes like the Mannequin (a hideous monstrosity made of two mannequin bottom halves stitched together) and Bubble Head Nurse now featuring not only reworked textures but also added details like stitch lines and blood stains when receiving damage.

Apart from the obvious graphical overhaul, the remake’s biggest change is in its gameplay perspective. In a move similar to the recent Resident Evil remakes, the game now features a more traditional third-person over-the-shoulder camera angle instead of the almost top-down nature of the original. This new viewpoint adds to the overall tension by narrowing the player’s field of view, making every interaction feel up close and personal.

Structurally, the game features both indoor and outdoor segments. While exploring the streets of Silent Hill, the title adopts a more open-ended structure to its level design, as the town is filled with multiple buildings and side locations (with a large number as new additions to the remake) that James can freely enter and explore. This not only gives opportunities to scavenge for additional resources like ammunition and health items but for players to also learn the expanded backstory of the now-abandoned ghost town.

To help facilitate exploration, entry points are subtly marked with white cloth, indicating locations that can be vaulted over or squeezed through. Glass windows of buildings and cars can also be smashed through, revealing hidden items for the eagle-eyed player. In a rather neat touch, James will turn his head to look at items of interest, further adding a layer of realism while also providing players with visual assistance while exploring.

Upon entering major indoor locations such as the iconic Brookhaven Hospital, the game makes a structural shift, playing out in a similar fashion to 2019’s Resident Evil 2 remake, with James exploring multiple levels of the building, navigating locked doors and blocked passages while solving environment puzzles to progress.

These puzzles mostly involve finding items from certain locations, such as keys or miniatures, and using them to unlock doors or activate mechanisms. (again, very much like Resident Evil 2) Anyone who has experienced survival horror games should feel right at home in Silent Hill, but the game does provide an option to lower the puzzle complexity, although this choice is only presented upon starting a new game and cannot be changed midway through.

Constantly backtracking to find key items might seem like a chore, but the game makes up for it with its excellent ability to create tension. Interior sections take place almost exclusively in the dark, with only the dim light of James’ torch to help guide the way. This lack of visibility means that there’s always an overlying feeling of dread towards the unknown lurking around every corner.

Silent Hill is a dangerous place filled with all kinds of monstrosities, and when push comes to shove, James can combat foes with both melee weapons and firearms. The game’s ranged combat has seen a major improvement from the original, with aiming now functioning like any third-person shooter from this era, instead of the original’s clunky direction-based shooting. While there are guns, this isn’t a shooting game and guns have a hefty kick to them, with the game adding liberal amounts of weapon sway when James is aiming his gun, highlighting that he’s a normal person who isn’t naturally proficient with firearms.

Melee combat is serviceable, but nothing spectacular. James has access to a basic three-attack combo, with the first strike able to close the distance between him and his foe. What is a welcome addition however is a new dodge function, which can be used to effectively evade attacks, a huge step up compared to the original, where players had to clunkily maneuver around foes.

The game’s combat difficulty does feel more manageable than the original. Previously, enemy encounters took a backseat to exploration, with players needing to manage their limited ammunition resources to defeat the foes they come across but in this remake, ammunition is plentiful and there is no cap to the amount of bullets carried, allowing players to effectively stock up on ammo with a little extra exploration. 

To compensate for this, enemy encounters are far greater in number and can spawn into areas that were previously safe. Downed enemies also have a chance to reanimate and although this doesn’t happen often, it is enough to keep players constantly on their toes. The good news is that health items are also equally plentiful, especially later in the game, making the overall experience a refreshing hybrid of survival horror and action shooter.

Purists of the genre and fans of the original might understandably be disappointed at the game’s more action-focused nature but thankfully, the game provides dedicated difficulty settings for combat and puzzles, allowing players to ramp up the challenge as they wish without sacrificing their enjoyment of exploration.

Gameplay is also given a generous dose of immersion due to the excellent use of the PlayStation 5’s DualSense Controller. Haptic feedback realistically portrays in-game occurrences like rainfall and ground tremors, and the adaptive triggers help to enhance both aiming and shooting. Performance on the PlayStation 5 is solid, with the most noticeable drops occurring only during a certain outdoor section in the latter half of the game. 

Among all the remake’s improvements, sound design is by far the most impressive. The game employs a masterful use of spatial audio, especially when using the PS5’s 3D audio setting, and greatly enhances the game’s scare factor and atmosphere. From the sounds of distant crashing objects echoing across the hallway to floorboards cracking under James’ weight, the game’s audio manages to evoke a feeling of trepidation even if there is no immediate danger present.

Unlike some games of the genre, the game does not rely on cheap jumpscares and sudden loud sounds, instead making use of subtle environmental effects and its reworked musical score to heighten tension during gameplay.

One example of this is James’ radio, which emits static in the presence of enemies, a returning feature from the original. The crackling feedback not only helps to detect foes hidden from view but also effectively amps up the tension when it plays while walking along a dimly lit corridor. And like the original, this effect can also be switched off if desired.

The excellent spatial audio also extends to the movements and noises of enemies as the groans and eerie cackling from idle creatures bounce realistically off walls, helping players pinpoint the general direction in which they are lurking. Muffled footsteps of an enemy patrolling the upper floors of the building can be heard while walking directly under, providing a foreboding indication of the dangers to come.

As far as remakes go, Silent Hill 2 2024 does an outstanding job as it not only improves upon the original in every aspect, but also manages to retain and extend the same feelings of tension and dread the series is known for. Even putting comparisons aside, the game holds its own as an impressive survival horror experience that prioritises atmosphere and tension over cheap scare tactics, making it a quintessential return trip for fans of the original and newcomers alike. 

Welcome back to Silent Hill, we hope you enjoy your stay, and Konami, we want more.