REVIEW – Despite the overwhelming obstacles towering over the developers like Pyramid Head, Bloober Team has finally delivered Silent Hill 2 in a remake that touches the classic exactly where it needs to while preserving the best elements of the original game. Silent Hill 2 Remake is a triumph of terror.

I’ll thoroughly explain why I think this, I promise. But first, let’s clear something up from the start: with all the unnecessary noise and preemptive hysteria surrounding this remake, Silent Hill 2 Remake isn’t just the reboot that long-suffering fans deserved—it’s also the one we secretly dreamed of. Even in a world where Resident Evil 2 Remake set the bar sky-high, Silent Hill 2 Remake easily holds its own.

The Nightmare Returns

Silent Hill 2 Remake not only honors the source material but is confident enough to imprint its own identity on the 23-year-old story. This remake is the perfect entry point for a new generation who may have never encountered the horrors of Silent Hill.

This is what impressed me the most. Collaborating with Konami and some members of the original development team, Bloober Team masterfully blended expectations with surprises to craft a modern masterpiece out of this dark, infinitely chilling, and oppressive story. The result is something that provides a bone-chillingly great experience for both old and new fans alike. In many places, the dialogue is nearly word-for-word with the original—sometimes even the intonations are the same—but Bloober confidently expanded the experience with new cinematic scenes and carefully reworked familiar locations like Blue Creek and Brookhaven. These places feel familiar but are just fresh enough for even veteran fans to rediscover them with fresh eyes.

And yes, I’ll admit it: “I’m BadSector, a hardcore Silent Hill fan for 23 years.” I know all the games inside and out, and I confess I can (sometimes annoyingly) recite nearly every cutscene word-for-word. I understand this doesn’t make me the most impartial reviewer, but it’s made me more critical. This is why I scrutinize every tiny change—whether it’s the intricate details of the maps, the reworked puzzles, or the integration of new locations and cutscenes.

I Was Already Dreading It, But Not Because of the Horror…

As for Bloober Team… well, we haven’t always been on the same wavelength… Okay, I liked The Medium (though its ending was a pretty big letdown), but Blair Witch and Layers of Fear 2 didn’t really win me over. So, I was a bit nervous when it was revealed that Bloober was taking on the Silent Hill 2 remake as well. Thankfully, I’m pleasantly surprised and greatly relieved: Silent Hill 2 has received the attention and respect it deserves. I reviewed the game on both PS5 and Steam Deck. It ran smoothly on the former, avoiding the technical hiccups that annoyed me in other Bloober games. And with a little tweaking on the Steam Deck, you can bring back the FSR3 from the Unreal Engine 5, which was somehow removed, making it run much better on Valve’s handheld.

So, for those who may not know, Silent Hill 2 is the second installment in Konami’s legendary horror franchise. But unlike the first and third parts, which are more interconnected, Silent Hill 2 is a standalone story. Perhaps that’s why Konami chose to reboot this part, not the first. While the first and third focus on the town’s cult, in Silent Hill 2 we control James Sunderland, a quiet, broken man struggling with the death of his wife three years prior. Then, out of nowhere, he receives a letter—from Mary, his wife—asking him to meet her at a lakeside resort they once visited together: Silent Hill.

Despite the obvious red flags—after all, how often do dead wives send letters?!—Sunderland heads to Maine anyway. Upon arrival, he realizes that this sleepy little town is anything but sleepy—it’s dead, and the figures looming in the mist… well, they’re certainly not human. I won’t spoil anything further—even if you know the major plot points, there are plenty of twists and surprises you either forgot or never knew, especially with the time that has passed since the original release. Over the course of roughly 20 hours, you’ll roam the town with James as he searches for his dead wife.

And it won’t take long for you to see Silent Hill’s other face—the blood-soaked, inhumanly oppressive, crumbling, filthy world that festers beneath the surface. While the town may seem like a peaceful, small American place at first, nothing is truly at peace here.

That’s the real magic of Silent Hill. Everything seems normal—maybe a bit too quiet and abandoned, but generally fine. At first, everything looks completely normal—perhaps too quiet, but not yet suspicious. Then, as you dig deeper into the secrets of James, the town, and its residents, you realize that nothing is okay. At one point, the rusty, crumbling rooms and hallways of an abandoned apartment complex seem to come alive under the weight of decay. A beautiful lakeside hotel eventually shrouds itself in darkness, where only mold and inhuman things thrive. A haunting walk through the town’s empty historical society leads straight to a 19th-century prison where inmates suffered cruel and unusual punishments.

Everywhere, horrors await—nightmarish creatures try to butcher you, but James barely reacts. He doesn’t even seem to notice when he throws himself from one hole to another, somehow always staying on the same level. He doesn’t care that shadows barely emerge from the corners or that the world around him constantly changes. As they say: for him, his wife is the whole world—and she’s been dead for three years.

The New Faces of Horror

In the original game, combat was scarce, and the gameplay was short, but Bloober Team has addressed these problems in the remake. Many new areas have opened up, and I spent a lot of time wandering the streets of Silent Hill, enjoying the newfound freedom to explore shops and buildings previously sealed off. This, along with the longer levels and new locations, more than doubles the original game’s roughly eight-hour playtime.

However, it’s possible that they overextended it a bit. This is, of course, subjective, but I think horror games work best when they’re quick and punchy, throwing new things at you before you get too used to the setting. The extended gameplay in the remake can feel more frustrating than exciting in some areas, especially during certain boss fights, particularly at the end. I would’ve preferred to explore more new locations rather than artificially stretching the existing ones.

And the combat? Well, “be careful what you wish for,” as they say. The original Silent Hill 2 was ridiculously easy, even on the highest difficulty, but Bloober’s version is much tougher. The good news is that the remake doesn’t focus on combat (at least not on normal difficulty). However, it will still be hard to employ the usual survival horror tactic (when you’re barely limping from injuries, and your ammo and bandages are running low): run, run, run. The tight spaces and closed corners make it hard to escape a fight, and there’s little room for stealth. Plus, boss fights—with their surprises—ruthlessly drain your ammo reserves, making it tough to finish them without suffering serious injuries yourself, quickly depleting your supplies. Particularly annoying are the lying monsters that still manage to spew toxic spit at you even after you’ve beaten them.

One solution to this problem in Silent Hill 2 is the adjustable difficulty levels. Just like in the original, you can separate the combat and puzzle difficulty, so if you’re good at fighting but not great with puzzles—or vice versa—you can tailor the experience to your skills. For instance, you can play on an easier combat setting, where you find more ammo and face fewer enemies, while making the puzzles harder, requiring more steps and offering less assistance. The remake masterfully combines the familiar with new elements; every puzzle I expected is here, with some subtle twists to keep them from getting stale. While they might be a bit too easy on normal difficulty, a few still stumped me, though never to the point of frustration.

Every little clue, secret, and detail—newspaper clippings, notes, photos, whispers, pictures, props, and collectibles—is still here, but new elements appear as well, strengthening or debunking old fan theories. I’m grateful for this attention to detail. It proves that the developers truly came from the fanbase, and you can see this dedication in every small element of the game. The revamped sound, motion captures, and cinematic reworkings mostly benefit Silent Hill 2 Remake, though a few instances might feel weaker than the original. (I could tell you which ones, but that would ruin the surprise. Let’s just say there are scenes that match the original exactly, with slight variations, and there are entirely new scenes as well.)

A Masterpiece of Subtle Horror

As we had hoped, Silent Hill 2 Remake’s visuals, sound design, and quietly unfolding story make it one of the most oppressive, nuanced horror experiences fans have had in years. Instead of shocking with cheap jump scares or excessive brutality, Silent Hill leans on atmospheric elements to induce constant unease. The game constantly plays with your expectations: sometimes, when you expect dark, ominous music, you’re met with silence; other times, distant, seemingly human figures appear that are anything but. While Resident Evil represents the loud, more bombastic side of horror games, Silent Hill is more subdued and melancholic. There’s no T-virus here, no greedy corporations—just pain, darkness, and grief.

Silent Hill has never been for the faint-hearted, but Silent Hill 2 in particular tells a deeply unsettling and stomach-churning story, touching on some truly horrifying themes like sexual abuse, trauma, and violence. Bloober Team deserves credit for handling this sensitive, difficult story in a way that never felt sensationalized or unnecessarily shocking. And while I don’t want to spoil anything, I can say that one of the game’s most disturbing subplots has been handled with much more empathy and care.

As for the game’s legendary music, the returning Master: Akira Yamaoka’s genre-defining sound design is just as chilling as ever; a perfect and horribly unsettling pairing with Masahiro Ito’s grotesque creatures. Even after 20 hours of gameplay, I still get chills. The world’s finely crafted symbolism and visuals are equally stunning and disturbing. I never got tired of exploring, searching for hidden corners, breaking windows, and gathering notes, clues, and tidbits of information that add chilling layers to Silent Hill 2’s mature storytelling, even when it made my spine tingle, and yes, even scared me at times while playing.

Indeed, 23 years later, I’m not afraid to admit: while fully immersed in the game, I was genuinely terrified playing as James. Almost constantly, to be honest. Even when I knew exactly what was coming. Even when I had just reloaded my previous save. And the most professional aspect of Silent Hill 2’s fear factor is that it creates this kind of ever-present, lingering, continuous dread. There are no cheap jump scares here, no B-horror movie tropes. And Bloober Team deserves massive praise for capturing this atmosphere just as Konami once did.

A Remake Better Than Expected

I’ll be honest: I didn’t think I’d ever need a remake of one of my favorite games. I didn’t feel it was justified, and I didn’t believe that Bloober could handle Silent Hill 2’s themes in a modern game without messing it up. I’ve never been so happy to be so wrong.

It doesn’t matter if you’ve played Silent Hill 2 before or not. Silent Hill 2 Remake masterfully blends old and new elements and brings one of the best horror games in recent years. I’m sure it will be just as terrifying for those meeting James for the first time. While the gameplay can feel a little drawn-out in places, and some might complain about the combat, there’s nothing—no minor detail—I’d want changed. The game’s look, sound, mechanics, and how it modernizes while staying true to the original are all nearly perfect. And believe me, my expectations were anything but low, my friend.

-Gergely Herpai „BadSector-

Publisher: Konami
Developer: Bloober Team
Style: Survival horror
Release: October 8, 2024.