Retro Review: Silent Hill 2 (XSX)

Face the past.

 

  It's not often that a game leaves a strong impression on me after I played it. Normally I'd say that "that was a good time" and move on to the next one, but not quite with Silent Hill 2. Released back in 2001 (when Konami was making awesome games), Silent Hill 2 often regarded as one of the best in the Survival-Horror genre, improving upon its predecessor while setting a new standard in psychological horror. Following a widower's journey to reconnect with his deceased wife, I've been reading lots of praises for the game over the years and I finally gotten around to playing it. Granted, I played it on Xbox Series X in the form of the ill-received HD Collection, but it's still Silent Hill 2! So, why do I find this game so special?

 The story follows James Sunderland, a man drawn to the suburban town of Silent Hill after receiving a letter from his wife, Mary, to meet him there. The thing is, she's been dead for three years! Could it be a prank, or is it just a dream? It doesn't matter for James, who's dead-set on seeing Mary again. He'll also meet an eccentric group people drawn to the town for similar reasons. The story was amazing, starting-off with just the right of mystery and suspense to keep you hooked until the very end. The game features four open-ended endings and two joke ones, so there's plenty of reason to go replay the story and dissect each epilogue. Whatever the ending, you'll feel kind of depressed by the end.

There's something wrong with this town.

 The dark themes of abuse, suicide, and guilt also helped in delivering a believable and at times, disturbing narrative. The characters complimented the story well as James is a mild-mannered man with a tormented past. He's relatable as he comes across as sincere in finding out the truth behind the town and helpful to those around him--- so you can't help but root for him. Other characters include the seductive Maria, who bares a striking resemblance to Mary; Angela, a terrified woman searching for her mother; Eddie, a goofball who loves to eat; and Laura, a young girl who wanders around taunting James. The iconic villain Pyramid Head, who chases after James is terrifying with his otherworldly appearance and heavy knife he drags around.

 Silent Hill 2 is a survival-horror game where you control James as he explores Silent Hill for clues on Mary's whereabouts. You start with nothing but as you explore around you come across a radio, which makes noises whenever enemies are near, and a flashlight that illuminates dark places. The wooden plank is a decent weapon but you'll come across others like guns to make things more exciting. As you move around, James will tilt his head at points of interest like health kits, ammo, and items-- so keep an eye out for those. Admittedly, the controls are archaic even for its time. Melee strikes are awkward and guns felt weaker than they should, as they were never enough to kill enemies, but briefly stun them for you to get past them. Still, that feeling of being vulnerable adds to the survival nature of the game. The game's generous on ammo, so if you're feeling hot-headed, you can freely shoot most enemies instead of getting up close.

James will be fighting a bunch of terrifying monsters.

 Silent Hill is filled with thick fog that makes visibility a challenge. Each corner could be a safe one or filled with monsters, so you need to tread carefully. The town itself is sizeable with plenty of places to explore like the bowling alley, diner, and motel. Levels were spooky and included the likes of a creepy abandoned hospital, seemingly empty apartment complex, a fancy-but-haunting hotel, and a deadly labyrinth to name a few. Finding a map of the level is paramount as you'll need to quickly get used to your surroundings. You'll come across puzzles that you need to solve to unlock keys to continue exploring rooms and gain new items and weapons. You can adjust their difficulty, which changes the types of riddles and answers your receive too. Without spoiling much, the boss fights were good as you'll be facing a bunch of twisted monstrosities.

Behind the fog, the town's full of secrets and deadly enemies.

 It took close to 7 hours to beat the game with me taking my time to fully explore the levels. The game's filled with replay-value in going for the other endings, getting exclusive new game plus weapons, and harder difficulties. The HD release features the "Born from a Wish" chapter where you to get to play as Maria, which takes around 40 mins to beat. An issue I had was with the camera since it's annoying as you'll need to reorient yourself each time you enter/exit rooms as you walk into the wrong side of the level.

 For a 22 year-old game, Silent Hill 2 shows its age. The visuals and character models hold-up decently but one can tell that they're pretty old. The art-style is still impressive as the creature designs are disturbingly good and I liked the character designs too. Even Silent Hill looks habitable (minus the creepy fog and monsters) with the attention to detail given to its shops, roads, and parks. was great. Sadly, the 2012 HD remaster did not do a good job of polishing the game aside from offering 720p resolution. It shouldn't even be called a "remaster" given how the models and textures didn't receive much care to it. That said, it ran well on Series X with no crashes. The voicework was good, with some notable performances like James and Maria's. As for the soundtrack by Akira Yamaoka, it's just amazing with tracks such as "Theme of Laura", "Overdose Delusion", "Promise", "Love Psalm", and "Heaven's Night".

The game's aged, but remains as suspenseful
and interesting as it did years ago.

 While it may feel antiquated in some areas, Silent Hill 2 was a fantastic experience that I'll remember for years to come. With an intriguing story, likeable-yet-flawed characters, neat gameplay, and amazing soundtrack, it's no surprise why I ended up loving it. It even found its way among my Top 10 games of all-time. Yeah, it has some flaws but it remains an awesome experience that fans of the genre should check out. Here's hoping the upcoming remake manages to capture the essence of the original!