- Leave Ending, Normal difficulty -
Holy fuck.
I honestly cannot put into words the things this game made me feel by the end of it. What a beautiful journey...
This game is an absurd upgrade to the first game, combat feels a bit more fluid and intentionally janky, albeit to a more comfortable aspect with the Enhanced Edition's 60 FPS and full widescreen support (almost to a fault since some cutscenes might be a bit glitchy because of it).
I'll try and not go into spoiler territory here, but.... yeah, all the things I heard and read about this game's story and atmosphere are truly real. Not just that, but this game also somewhat embraces the MGS2 idea of playing with what the player knows this game should and should not do. For instance, a segment where you seem stuck just might mean you gotta keep looking for an "invisible wall" of sorts, or maybe the game wants you to turn off a core mechanic from the game for you to play properly.
It's an insane descent into madness and grief, with that good PS2-era cheesy dialogues and atmospheric soundtrack playing, clearly inspired by those small town shows where the peaks might be a bit twin for your own good.
Since I was a kid I remember reading a walkthrough magazine I got that had both Silent Hill 1 and 2 on it, never fully understanding it since the game was in english and the magazine just gave you the abridged version of the events on a cutscene. And... since then this game has been etched into my mind, even though I never went out of my way to play it. It... didn't feel right.
Now as I'm older and I dealt with the loss of family members, I can understand this game a lot better.
Overall, a fantastic experience I feel every survival horror fan should play. And... this does make me somewhat scared of what the remake might do.

La manera correcta de jugar Silent Hill 2 a día de hoy, es una experiencia que hay que jugar sólo, leyendo y poniendo atención a todo lo que ves en pantalla.

Ambientación, Visuales, Sonido, Personajes.. 10/10

Deja que Silent Hill te atrape..

i love the idea of Silent Hill, but the hype for second entrance to the series' story was too colossal. maybe if i didn't watch any movies, read any books, or never thought while studying a piece of art i would be shocked about the notorious ending, but personally i kinda like original's finish more.

non the less, it's a great survival horror and classic for a reason. everything is great about it prior to last half an hour of game: setting, puzzles, exploration and even combat, including great replayability with -- what? -- four endings.

the only thing that kills the game for me is how ridiculous is hard difficulty; if it's your first run you won't finished the game (same thirty minutes) without cheese and annoyance.

I put off playing the original for years, even though I've known and loved it for ages. I watched multiple playthroughs of it back then but never played it myself because I was always too scared to play it as an adolescent and young adult. I was just very sensitive to horror and have only now, at the age of 32, been able to catch up :D

It's incredible how well this game has aged. The atmosphere created by the great sound design and the graphic elements, as well as the level design, is incredibly dense. Of course, I already knew the story, but it is still very interesting, profound, mysterious and emotional. I already knew that the voice acting was a bit cheesy, but in some strange way it actually fits the story very well. I absolutely love how James' inner life is reflected in the world. I was also very touched by the stories of the NPCs, who are fighting their own demons and whose world looks very different to that of the player. I found Angela in particular and her fate very gripping and the theme of her trauma very tastefully handled. I was surprised by how easy the game was. I played on "Normal", was always quite frugal with the ammunition and ended up with several hundred rounds of ammo for all weapons :D I think I can be a bit more generous in future runs.

All in all, a unique experience which, with the Enhanced Edition, also runs totally smoothly on modern PCs.

It's the best-looking and best-running (60fps) version of the game. The bosses still move at double-speed like in the original PC port, so be careful if you have a preferred strategy from the console versions.

I have a complaint with it (the game, not the Enhanced Edition mods), even though I'm giving it a 5/5, and it's a very specific (and for most people, petty) complaint. If you do play these games for their scoring aspects (10 stars), the 75 shooting kills required are quite the slog when compared to the original game. This is mainly due to the nerf to guns in general as a single shot on downed enemies no longer finishes them off. The rifle in particular is almost completely worthless. You will probably need to waste a good 30 minutes clearing the streets after Brookhaven to meet quota. While you absolutely can get kills using other weapons, the 2-4 shotgun shots required is so much less grating than the 30+ handgun bullets (the rifle is somehow worse) it'd take. I'd gripe that the game should penalize you for using the Green Hyper Spray, but you've earned that right after unlocking it.

The game also has the smoothest tank-controls I've ever used personally. Silent Hill 3's might be slightly better for general movement, but you lose the ability to run-strafe on stairs in that game. I only wish you were able to constantly run at top-speed like in Silent Hill 1.

Incredible game overall though. In certain aspects, I still find it to be underrated. 5/5

It's the first version of Silent Hill 2 I've ever played! I've never tried the original PC version, so I can't tell what the differences are. What I can say, however, is that Silent Hill 2 is one of my all-time favorite video games and definitely the top 1 horror title. The full review will be available on the original game's release page, as well as the Restless Dreams version.

The Enhanced Edition looks and plays great, even on mouse and keyboard. I didn't experience anything frustrating or standing out too much - it's a very faithful project.

Silent Hill 2 is an absolute masterpiece, and the Enhanced Edition makes it look even better. This deserves nothing but a perfect score. - 🕙

To be honest, I don't quite know what to think of the game. I had fun, but something bothers me about it. The atmosphere in the game is great. I still love the foggy city, just like in 1. The enemy design was also on point again. I was able to follow the main storyline and understood it, but everything that happened next to it just confused me. The technical gameplay wasn't absolutely strong either, but the puzzles were great. I was unsure whether to give it 3.5 or 4 stars, but for the atmosphere and the vibe the game gave off, it gets a 4 for now.

It is so hard to meet expectations as high as people set for Silent Hill 2, and for that game to meet them in 2023. Video games evolve so rapidly, especially in terms of aesthetics and storytelling, that a game from 2001 that leans heavily on those will inherently have an uphill battle.

Silent Hill 2 takes all that in its stride to deliver what is still a peerless, often imitated horror experience -- even in 2023. It's PS2 era vibe and feel have aged gracefully and almost enhance the atmosphere. The music is incredible; haunting and ethereal at times, mechanical and menacing at others. The story is fascinating and doesn't whiff with the ending like many.

The combat is stiff which in turn makes the boss fights feel mechanically basic, but that's thematically appropriate at least, and to knock points off this as some kind of box ticking exercise would miss the point.

A note on the Enhanced Edition; it is excellent. A superb way to play this classic game. The PS2 version has its emulation woes, the HD collection is a legendary fumble, and physical copies are extortionately priced - but thankfully the folks behind this project did some incredible work to the PC version. And it ran like a dream on Steam Deck. HD, widescreen, 60 fps.