Silent Hill 2 Review: Thank You, Bloober Team (PS5)
Silent Hill 2 redefined horror gaming. Its deep psychological elements were more than any of us could have seen back when it was first released. Is the remake worthy of such a task to recreate this masterpiece with modernized graphics and gameplay? That's what I'm here to talk about. But a good way to start is by saying: Thank you, Bloober Team.
The long-awaited remake of Silent Hill 2 has already been out for almost a couple of months. And now that we’ve all had time to process the experience, digest it, and be completely aware of how actually good it was, it’s finally time for the verdict. Is Silent Hill 2 a worthy remake? Oh boy, let me tell you if it is. As someone who grew up playing the original Silent Hill on PS2, there’s only one phrase I can say to start this review: Thank you, Bloober Team.
Silent Hill 2 has always been praised for its highly immersive story and deep psychological elements. This remake is no different. In fact, it somehow manages to take the elements that made the Silent Hill 2 story so great and expands the depths of the psychological factor.
We follow the story of a mysterious man named James Sunderland, who has received a letter from his wife who claims to be waiting for him at their “special place” in Silent Hill. But that’s impossible—a dead person can’t write a letter.
James’ journey has a weird beginning, where even I as someone who knows the story too well, constantly questioned why was he even there in the first place. If he knows his wife is dead, why is he so desperately trying to find her? And why on Silent Hill? And that’s mostly what makes this game the perfect sequel for the first original Silent Hill game. Because it establishes the fact that would become the base premise for the following games of the series: Silent Hill is more than a town, more than a curse, and even more than a psychological state. It molds and adapts to you. That’s why Silent Hill 2 is without a doubt the most important game of the series.
In my restless dreams…
It’s difficult to follow James’ journey using common sense. The story feels like it lacks sense from the very beginning. It always has. The dialogues between James and the other people he casually encounters in Silent Hill are very off-putting. It always makes you wonder… Are these people crazy? Why do they act so calmly in a situation like that? And I think Bloober Team completely understood this sensation of the original game and nailed it perfectly for this remake.
Following the story taking it literally and trying to establish a timeline of the actual events we see on screen will turn out to be a weird experience. The most important factors are lying beneath it. When you start to understand why some elements of the story are shown in that way, or why some things look a certain way… Everything starts to make sense. And you can perfectly determine what the story is hiding beneath the surface in the first hour of gameplay, or only after the whole 18 hours. It comes down to how observant the player is.
I believe Bloober Team adapted every single one of these aspects of Silent Hill 2 so perfectly that I just can’t complain about anything. The story remains as great as it has always been, but now with actors worthy of a game award (I’m rooting for you, Luke Roberts!). I never felt as empty and crushed during the credits of Silent Hill 2 until I finished this remake. The new James is simply wonderful, more expressive but not too much to deviate from the original James. The reimagination of the characters is everything we dreamed about when this remake was nothing more than that, a restless dream. We should enjoy the moment now that it has become a sweet, palpable reality.
I’ll avoid sharing any more details about the story (and I think I’ve shared plenty), as we’re probably discussing one of the best stories ever created in a video game. But if you haven’t played this game yet, I can assure you there has never been a better opportunity to do so. If you play Bloober Team’s Silent Hill 2 Remake, you’re receiving everything the original story had, but modernized and adapted in an incredible execution.
Explore the town of Silent Hill once again after many years!
Gameplay – Amazing Exploration and Combat
The gameplay was what I was mostly worried about when the first trailers came out. Everything looked sloppy and cheap. The animations didn’t look as smooth as you would have expected them to be. I was part of the people who didn’t believe Bloober Team would be the best developers to make a Silent Hill 2 Remake. I’ve played most of their work, and I’ve never been a huge fan of it. But after playing Silent Hill 2 Remake by myself… I’m eager for more. Now I can confidently say that I don’t want any more Silent Hill Remakes if they’re not made by Bloober Team (Silent Hill 4 when??), who were able to modernize the gameplay mechanics without sacrificing any of the vital elements of the original game. But I’m also excited to play Cronos: The New Dawn. So Bloober Team has just shown a massive glow-up after Silent Hill 2.
In any case, I think everything comes down to how good the exploration and combat elements of Bloober Team’s Silent Hill 2 are. The atmosphere is simply brilliant. Everything about the original Silent Hill 2 is here, but better. The references to the original game are clever, and everything about walking and letting the game grasp every last part of your attention is magnificent. The loneliness sensation, the odd feeling of being watched, and the constant, overwhelming feeling of depression are brutal. The puzzles throughout the journey are also great, referencing the 2001 game and remaining as fun as they used to be.
The exploration and atmosphere is simply brilliant.
Combat is definitely nothing we haven’t already seen on other modern survival horror games, but it’s a lot better than any other Silent Hill game. Even though it’s one of the most iconic franchises of the genre, the combat has always been one of the most mediocre aspects of it, but this is not the case for Silent Hill 2 Remake. I wouldn’t say the combat is brilliant or anything like that, but it’s very good. It takes the most important elements of the OG combat mechanics and transforms them into something far more enjoyable. Striking an enemy and stomping them to death is highly immersive, it’s almost like you can feel every attack, every dodge, every stomp.
Nothing about the combat elements goes unnoticed, everything adds up to the important psychological elements of the game. And the new mechanics and behaviors of certain enemies are just amazing. I’m aware I’ve already used the next sentence a couple of times, but there is no other way to express it: It’s everything we loved about the original game, but better!
Like the original Silent Hill 2 game, Bloober Team’s remake has nothing revolutionary in its gameplay formula but works well enough for the story. Silent Hill has always surpassed every other survival horror game in only one aspect: the story, and Bloober Team has made sure every aspect of the gameplay elements adds up to that same rule. Like I said, it’s not revolutionary. But it’s perfect for the storytelling. And that’s something very few survival horror games are capable of. Stories in video games were usually an excuse to make a fun, entertaining experience (at least back in the 90s, early 2000s or so). Silent Hill was one of the first franchises where the story was the most important aspect of its games. And Bloober Team understood this and executed it as greatly as anyone could have done it.
Combat is thrilling and difficult!
Graphics – Beautifully Imperfect
The use of Unreal Engine 5 in this game has been quite controversial. At first glance, everything looks great. And do not get me wrong, this is definitely the case during most of the experience. The visual aspects of the game are very well-crafted and Silent Hill 2 has already proven to be one of the best-looking games of this year. However the use of Unreal Engine 5 has come with certain imperfections. As mentioned in Digital Foundry’s several videos about the game, the stutters and visual glitches are very noticeable.
There were parts where a stutter was so noticeable that for half a second I thought the game would crash (fortunately, this never happened). But the most noticeable visual errors were the weird ghosting effect I experienced in many, many different areas of the game. James’ hair and overall figure left behind a weird trace if I moved too fast in a certain direction. It was weird and very noticeable in many cutscenes. However, this didn’t affect the experience too much and I was left wondering if it had to do with my monitor or something, but I was almost sure it had to do with that Unreal Engine 5.
In any case, I think the game is beautiful and has nothing to envy about other games of this generation. In fact, I think Silent Hill 2 marks the start of a new era in video games (at least speaking about the technical aspects of it), being a very good reference for the use of Unreal Engine 5. So pretty much like the original game, it has its small imperfections but remains as beautiful as it could be.
The graphics are stunning.
Sound – Worthy of a Game Award
And finally, there is definitely one aspect of Silent Hill 2 that is simply perfect. There’s no way around it: the sound design of this game cannot be described as anything else than “perfect”. The 3D audio design is simply outstanding. I would say playing this game without decent headphones should be considered a crime because it adds so much to the experience that it’s unavoidable. You have to play this game with headphones.
Jokes aside, sure, you can probably play this with good speakers as well and still get a lot of the experience. But whatever you decide to do to enjoy the audio of this game, make it a priority. Use the best pair of headphones you can or otherwise the best speakers you can. It will pay off while you play the whole game, trust me. And if you’re a night owl like me, bonus points if you play it after midnight when you’re alone in the dark (no pun intended). The audio design is so immersive that it was very hard for me to convince myself that I wasn’t actually there in Silent Hill. I loved it, and if you’re a horror enthusiast then you’ll definitely love it as well. And props to Akira Yamaoka as well for bringing back the amazing soundtrack of the original game with a few new elements. It was nice to have him back and his guitar melodies tingled my nostalgia in the right spot.
Just as I correctly predicted in my Final Fantasy XVI review by saying the only game award where they had no contender to fear in 2023 was in the best OST category, I will take the liberty to say something similar here as well. Silent Hill 2 by Bloober Team has no contender to fear in terms of sound design. It is the best audio design of 2024 and you can just give them the game award right now if you ask me. I’ll hold back from complaining about this game not being nominated for Game of the Year, but I’ll riot if Silent Hill 2 does not win the best sound design category. But I have nothing to fear. It will end up winning it. Mark my words once again!
Use your resources wisely to fight the creatures.
There are several fun puzzles to solve.
Overcome your fears once again…
Every dark corner hides something sinister…
Silent Hill 2 was reviewed on PS5.
Summary
Silent Hill 2 is everything we hoped for so many years. It takes the beautifully imperfect aspects of the original game and adapts them wonderfully in a new, amazing, and also beautifully imperfect remake. Living James' horrifying journey with modernized graphics and gameplay made me feel like a kid again. And even if I once thought otherwise, I'm now certain that no other developer studio could have done it better. Thank you, Bloober Team.
Good
The definitive psychological horror experience, reborn from a wish.
Brilliant atmosphere and exploration elements.
Fresh close combat mechanics and gunplay.
Fun, well-designed puzzles that vary depending of difficulty settings.
Visually outstanding, shows the true power of the PS5.
Perfect audio design, a true masterpiece for the ears.
Javier Bonilla is a passionate gamer from Venezuela and has been an author at KeenGamer since 2022. He is deeply attached to Survival Horror, RPGs, and basically anything that can offer a complex storyline and narrative. As a trophy hunter himself, he is used to writing guides but bringing reviews every month is always a relaxing way to digest the video games he plays.
