I have no idea what I could possibly say about this game that hasn't been said already. It's a rare game that, I believe, is absolutely deserving of all of its praise, its legacy, and of the title of the best horror game ever made. However, it is also a game that is WAY too over-analyzed and tends to tragically overshadow the other Team Silent made Silent Hill games (usually by fans who have never tried to play any of the other games or do not understand that the story in SH2 is a sort of spin-off type deal...or by "fans" that watch a bunch of video essays on YouTube and haven't actually played the game at all).
When people are unironically arguing with Masahiro Ito and shutting him down on twitter because he debunked their little head-cannon theories about James looking at the player in the beginning of the game then I think the fanbase has a problem (most fanbases, for that matter, are overstuffed with entitlement, toxicity, and vitriolic hatred for any forms of discussion or differing opinions). But it seems to me that most of the people that go online to spew their nonsense head-cannon about this game (there are some excellent retrospectives and analyses of this game, no doubt) have never actually experienced any sort of story like this in any other medium. Video games aren't typically known for their deep, subtle, surrealistic story-telling (of course there are exceptions) so when a game like this comes around the average narcissistic, up-their-own-ass, pseudo-intellectual is going to use it to prop up their own lacking personality and intellect.
This is a game that has been said by its developers to be heavily inspired by specific novels and films - and I think the worst part of the fanbase of this game has rarely read a novel or haven't watched or understood too many surrealistic films. It's like asking David Lynch what tiny little details in his movies mean and then getting angry and devaluing him as the creator of his work when he doesn't know what you're talking about or that it doesn't matter or simply says that the movie alone should do the talking. If you could compare Silent Hill 2 to Twin Peaks (it's probably most inline with Lost Highway out of any of Lynch's work) then some Silent Hill 2 fans are the equivalent of that horrible four-hour long TWIN PEAKS EXPLAINED video. Twin Peaks isn't that complicated, it can speak for itself and the surrealistic elements of it should be left to establish mood, atmosphere, mystery and intrigue. And the same can be said, even more so, for Silent Hill 2.
Not everything needs to be explained or need to be spoon-fed to the viewer. And if you do have a theory about some asinine detail and want to discuss that further, then please be open to the fact that your interpretation is flexible, debatable, and not "canon". Not everything needs to have meaning and it makes for a far more interesting and impactful piece of art to have these sometimes unexplainable or strange elements to be left alone in order to build up suspense, tone, or atmosphere - and people need to just let that be. Enjoy it for what it is and stop trying to peel the curtain back to some secret meaning only your clearly more intelligent self has been made aware of. Just spare us.
With that rant out of my system, I can actually talk about the game proper.
Silent Hill 2 is a disturbing, psychological-horror game with many subtle and not-so-subtle visual representations of trauma, regret, guilt, self-inflicted punishment, lust, moral decay, inner turmoil, suicide, and basically any other negative element associated with the terrible, corruptive, depressing reality of existing as a human being. It is told in the best way a video game could tell a story like this, through deep immersion, outstanding world design, an unmatched dirge-like atmosphere heavier than I think any game before or after it, unforgettably disturbing and uncanny creature designs, well-crafted elements of surrealism, and of course its writing and character performances. With that said, this is not the deepest story, the most complex story, or a story where every single visual element or aspect of the world's designs is meant to represent something. But it is a resoundingly poignant and impactful story that utilizes a better use of symbolism than most other games and will most likely stick with any player that makes it through James' story for the remainder of their life - however short that may be.
Like I said, it's not the deepest of stories but is one of the most depressing stories I have ever played through in a video game - possibly due to how real-to-life the emotions and experiences of SH2's characters feel and how intelligently these stories are told. The complicated nature of James' feelings towards his wife and how he represses his decision, his manifestation of Maria (who suffers from her own issues of self-worth and dependency) and the enemies to punish him, Eddie's reaction to a life-time of self-loathing and bullying creating a moral numbing that violently shoves a mirror up to James' face, and Angela. Angela's story in this game, I believe, is the most devastatingly accurate portrayal of the effects of sexual abuse and trauma in any game and one of the most impactful I've experienced in any medium for that matter. I can't help but make another allusion to Twin Peaks, but I have only ever seen such a gut-wrenching, uncomfortable, and heartbreaking portrayal of a story like Angela's in the character of Laura Palmer (specifically in Twin Peaks Fire Walk With Me). The scene towards the end of the game with James and Angela on the staircase (you know it if you've played it) is just plain and simple one of my favorite scenes in anything...and I absolutely dread to see how Bloober Team colossally bastardizes that scene.
The gameplay itself, while most complain about it and feel it is woefully outdated, suits the atmosphere and main character of James fairly well. Not having much mobility when going up against enemies fits well with how an average individual would fare in this type of world. Although, the same exact thing could be said about SH1, so I understand people being a bit disappointed that there is not much of a change or evolution of the gameplay from 1 to 2. I don't have a problem with that at all, but it's understandable. Playing the game on normal or easy difficulty will make it so that you never really run out of resources, but the hard difficulty (the difficulty I picked on my first playthrough) is truly brutal and makes SH2 feel a good amount more tense, dreadful and punishing. The tank controls and the more cinematic, dynamic camera works as it does in all of the other first four SH games; meaning that I personally feel that it is integral in creating the distinct feel of playing these games and traversing through its many disturbing locales and crafting memorable pieces of scenery and perfectly executed scares.
And then there's Akira Yamaoka's score for the game. This isn't even an opinion at this point, but the score for this game is one of the best pieces of modern music period. And even though I personally prefer the score for Silent Hill 3, SH2 might as well have the best video game score of all time.
There's much more to be said here but I think I have to restrict myself a bit. I haven't really talked at all about the titular town itself and the different parts of it you explore. I could go on for a lot longer on how I deeply love the progression of this game and how seamlessly the atmosphere and dread and total abject isolation builds and builds until the events and revelations at the climax of the game. This is a game that starts out feeling strange, isolating and depressing and only gets worse and worse. One only needs to see the usage of the track "Betrayal" in the end-game to get a glimpse of the kind of emotional despondency this game drags you through.
And yet, for all its heavy layers of depression, self-hatred, and trauma this game couldn't be any more of a cathartic experience for me. Similar to SH3, this game presents a world and a cast of characters similar to how I have increasingly found myself viewing the world since my early teenage years. Human beings and their relationships, ambitions, desires, and selfishness has created and perpetuated an ugly, hate-filled, lonely world with little to escape to. To quote Thomas Ligotti, Team Silent's work has perfectly captured the "icy bleakness of things". But there is still hope to be found, realistically happy endings to be obtained under the right circumstances, and characters that willingly meet their end by their own informed hand, essentially coming to terms with their trauma. And the games themselves are such uplifting and inspirational pieces of media for me purely because of the fervent passion and creativity that can be felt from its creators while playing. Silent Hill 1-4 will no doubt inspire me in my own creative endeavors forevermore.
Silent Hill 2, while I love the other three original games and occasionally feel myself liking SH3 a bit more, deserves to be the poster child for said creativity and passion that was Team Silent, deserves the title of the best horror game ever made, and represents a game that will never ever come around again - no matter how hard a new version of this game might try.
When people are unironically arguing with Masahiro Ito and shutting him down on twitter because he debunked their little head-cannon theories about James looking at the player in the beginning of the game then I think the fanbase has a problem (most fanbases, for that matter, are overstuffed with entitlement, toxicity, and vitriolic hatred for any forms of discussion or differing opinions). But it seems to me that most of the people that go online to spew their nonsense head-cannon about this game (there are some excellent retrospectives and analyses of this game, no doubt) have never actually experienced any sort of story like this in any other medium. Video games aren't typically known for their deep, subtle, surrealistic story-telling (of course there are exceptions) so when a game like this comes around the average narcissistic, up-their-own-ass, pseudo-intellectual is going to use it to prop up their own lacking personality and intellect.
This is a game that has been said by its developers to be heavily inspired by specific novels and films - and I think the worst part of the fanbase of this game has rarely read a novel or haven't watched or understood too many surrealistic films. It's like asking David Lynch what tiny little details in his movies mean and then getting angry and devaluing him as the creator of his work when he doesn't know what you're talking about or that it doesn't matter or simply says that the movie alone should do the talking. If you could compare Silent Hill 2 to Twin Peaks (it's probably most inline with Lost Highway out of any of Lynch's work) then some Silent Hill 2 fans are the equivalent of that horrible four-hour long TWIN PEAKS EXPLAINED video. Twin Peaks isn't that complicated, it can speak for itself and the surrealistic elements of it should be left to establish mood, atmosphere, mystery and intrigue. And the same can be said, even more so, for Silent Hill 2.
Not everything needs to be explained or need to be spoon-fed to the viewer. And if you do have a theory about some asinine detail and want to discuss that further, then please be open to the fact that your interpretation is flexible, debatable, and not "canon". Not everything needs to have meaning and it makes for a far more interesting and impactful piece of art to have these sometimes unexplainable or strange elements to be left alone in order to build up suspense, tone, or atmosphere - and people need to just let that be. Enjoy it for what it is and stop trying to peel the curtain back to some secret meaning only your clearly more intelligent self has been made aware of. Just spare us.
With that rant out of my system, I can actually talk about the game proper.
Silent Hill 2 is a disturbing, psychological-horror game with many subtle and not-so-subtle visual representations of trauma, regret, guilt, self-inflicted punishment, lust, moral decay, inner turmoil, suicide, and basically any other negative element associated with the terrible, corruptive, depressing reality of existing as a human being. It is told in the best way a video game could tell a story like this, through deep immersion, outstanding world design, an unmatched dirge-like atmosphere heavier than I think any game before or after it, unforgettably disturbing and uncanny creature designs, well-crafted elements of surrealism, and of course its writing and character performances. With that said, this is not the deepest story, the most complex story, or a story where every single visual element or aspect of the world's designs is meant to represent something. But it is a resoundingly poignant and impactful story that utilizes a better use of symbolism than most other games and will most likely stick with any player that makes it through James' story for the remainder of their life - however short that may be.
Like I said, it's not the deepest of stories but is one of the most depressing stories I have ever played through in a video game - possibly due to how real-to-life the emotions and experiences of SH2's characters feel and how intelligently these stories are told. The complicated nature of James' feelings towards his wife and how he represses his decision, his manifestation of Maria (who suffers from her own issues of self-worth and dependency) and the enemies to punish him, Eddie's reaction to a life-time of self-loathing and bullying creating a moral numbing that violently shoves a mirror up to James' face, and Angela. Angela's story in this game, I believe, is the most devastatingly accurate portrayal of the effects of sexual abuse and trauma in any game and one of the most impactful I've experienced in any medium for that matter. I can't help but make another allusion to Twin Peaks, but I have only ever seen such a gut-wrenching, uncomfortable, and heartbreaking portrayal of a story like Angela's in the character of Laura Palmer (specifically in Twin Peaks Fire Walk With Me). The scene towards the end of the game with James and Angela on the staircase (you know it if you've played it) is just plain and simple one of my favorite scenes in anything...and I absolutely dread to see how Bloober Team colossally bastardizes that scene.
The gameplay itself, while most complain about it and feel it is woefully outdated, suits the atmosphere and main character of James fairly well. Not having much mobility when going up against enemies fits well with how an average individual would fare in this type of world. Although, the same exact thing could be said about SH1, so I understand people being a bit disappointed that there is not much of a change or evolution of the gameplay from 1 to 2. I don't have a problem with that at all, but it's understandable. Playing the game on normal or easy difficulty will make it so that you never really run out of resources, but the hard difficulty (the difficulty I picked on my first playthrough) is truly brutal and makes SH2 feel a good amount more tense, dreadful and punishing. The tank controls and the more cinematic, dynamic camera works as it does in all of the other first four SH games; meaning that I personally feel that it is integral in creating the distinct feel of playing these games and traversing through its many disturbing locales and crafting memorable pieces of scenery and perfectly executed scares.
And then there's Akira Yamaoka's score for the game. This isn't even an opinion at this point, but the score for this game is one of the best pieces of modern music period. And even though I personally prefer the score for Silent Hill 3, SH2 might as well have the best video game score of all time.
There's much more to be said here but I think I have to restrict myself a bit. I haven't really talked at all about the titular town itself and the different parts of it you explore. I could go on for a lot longer on how I deeply love the progression of this game and how seamlessly the atmosphere and dread and total abject isolation builds and builds until the events and revelations at the climax of the game. This is a game that starts out feeling strange, isolating and depressing and only gets worse and worse. One only needs to see the usage of the track "Betrayal" in the end-game to get a glimpse of the kind of emotional despondency this game drags you through.
And yet, for all its heavy layers of depression, self-hatred, and trauma this game couldn't be any more of a cathartic experience for me. Similar to SH3, this game presents a world and a cast of characters similar to how I have increasingly found myself viewing the world since my early teenage years. Human beings and their relationships, ambitions, desires, and selfishness has created and perpetuated an ugly, hate-filled, lonely world with little to escape to. To quote Thomas Ligotti, Team Silent's work has perfectly captured the "icy bleakness of things". But there is still hope to be found, realistically happy endings to be obtained under the right circumstances, and characters that willingly meet their end by their own informed hand, essentially coming to terms with their trauma. And the games themselves are such uplifting and inspirational pieces of media for me purely because of the fervent passion and creativity that can be felt from its creators while playing. Silent Hill 1-4 will no doubt inspire me in my own creative endeavors forevermore.
Silent Hill 2, while I love the other three original games and occasionally feel myself liking SH3 a bit more, deserves to be the poster child for said creativity and passion that was Team Silent, deserves the title of the best horror game ever made, and represents a game that will never ever come around again - no matter how hard a new version of this game might try.