Part of Spooky Season 2023.
My original experience with Silent Hill 2 was about six years ago. I played through it alongside an old friend who would constantly tell me what to do and where to go while reading a walkthrough online. Even though we did have a good time getting spooked and making fun of the stilted and awkward voice acting and dialogue, we ultimately hindered our experience. We thought the game was kinda “meh” and never really got what made the game so special. Over the years since that original playthrough, I’ve watched numerous video essays and read several articles and fan sites for Silent Hill 2 in an attempt to better understand the story, the symbolism, and why the game in general is so beloved. Despite my initial apathetic feelings towards the game, it managed to occupy a space in the back of my mind for years. Much like how the titular town calls the characters to it, I keep coming back to Silent Hill 2 and the unsettling journey into the depths of James Sunderland’s mind and soul, learning more and more about it each time I do, even if I’m not directly playing the game. After finishing my second playthrough, despite knowing just about every little detail regarding the game’s narrative going into it, Silent Hill 2 still managed to leave a rather large impact on me, even if there are some parts of it that sadly tear me away from what is otherwise one of the most captivating games I’ve ever played.
With the change in console generations, Team Silent chose to refine the elements that made the first Silent Hill standout. The visuals and sound design, which were already some of the best in the medium on the PlayStation 1, manage to get even better here. The biggest improvement overall though, is in the game’s storytelling. While the surface level narrative of the first game was solid, the storytelling was at its best with what wasn’t explicitly shown or explained. The environmental storytelling and the ambiguous nature to certain aspects of the plot in conjunction with what was being directly shown was what made that game’s story great for me. Silent Hill 2 takes the same approach, but to a far greater extent. The game tells a story that is so hauntingly personal and horrifically tragic that words which can convey how effective and emotional it is fail me. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced a piece of media where the pitch black, bottomless emptiness of immense guilt and despair is communicated so well.
Almost every aspect of Silent Hill 2 has been expertly crafted to communicate details of the plot, characters, or the themes of the narrative. The town and the locations you explore within it aren’t just dark and frightening labyrinths. The monsters you encounter aren’t just creepy flesh abominations. They all represent something, they’re all telling you things about either James or the other characters of the game’s story. The symbolism compels you to reflect upon the places you go to and the things and people you encounter, consider what it all means, and why things are the way they are. This is how Silent Hill 2 manages to suck you into its world and keep you thinking about it long after you’ve finished playing it. It is truly excellent storytelling that I haven’t really seen in many other video games I’ve played.
In terms of structure and gameplay, not much has really changed between the first and second Silent Hill. Both titles play almost exactly the same, and as a result, they both share many of the same strengths and weaknesses (which I discuss in greater detail in my review of the first game). Controls and combat are virtually unchanged aside from the guns feeling like they pack more of a punch. Boss fights are once again rather simple, though they do actually require you to occasionally move now instead of just standing in one spot and tanking attacks while you shoot them with your best guns. Still, they never get more complicated than just running to one corner of the room, firing a few shots, rinse and repeat. Once again, I found the game to be at its best when exploring the indoor dungeon-like locations such as Wood Creek Apartments or Brookhaven Hospital. You do spend more time in these sorts of locations and less time exploring the town this time around, which is honestly a huge plus. It’s clear that the goal of the devs wasn’t to really expand or alter the way Silent Hill 2 is played in any significant way, and instead to just stick with what worked.
The biggest gameplay change is how the difficulty works. Instead of an all encompassing Easy/Normal/Hard difficulty setting, Silent Hill 2 allows you to choose the difficulty for combat and puzzles separately, letting you customize your difficulty experience. Being the casual that I am, I chose Normal for both. I thought this was fine for the puzzles, which were a lot less cryptic compared to the puzzles on the same difficulty in the first game. They still require you to think outside the box, but I was able to solve almost all of them on my own. However, the Normal difficulty for combat is way too easy, and I don’t think it’s just because this is my second playthrough. What makes combat so easy is that the game showers you with ammo and health items, to an overbearing extent. Silent Hill 1 had a similar problem, but it’s even worse here. There was actually a point in the first game where I nearly used up all of my handgun ammo because I wasn’t thinking and almost put myself in a difficult position. This stressed me out and really forced me to reconsider my ammo usage despite the fact that I was eventually able to rebuild a large amount of ammo during the rest of the game.
In Silent Hill 2, you never have to think about item management on Normal difficulty. By the time I reached the final boss, I had over 150 rounds of handgun ammo, over 100 shotgun shells, as well as dozens of rounds for the rifle. I also had roughly 20 different healing items in total as well. The final area in the game in particular has a ton of ammo and healing items you can easily find. I don’t know if playing on Hard would make any difference or not. After looking into it, I’ve seen mostly mixed responses regarding the difficulty from people online. A lot of folks say that it doesn’t make that much of a difference, and that Hard also makes certain set pieces such as the Brookhaven Hospital Basement and the controls for the Boat more difficult in a detracting way. I didn’t play through Hard myself so take that with a grain of salt, but if that is the case, then I’d say that this is the biggest problem with Silent Hill 2. Since you have so much ammo and healing items, there’s no risk to just blasting away almost every enemy you come across, which dramatically lessens the threat they pose and takes you out of the horror experience. As a result, I actually think Silent Hill 2 plays slightly worse and is a bit less tense compared to Silent Hill 1.
I also feel like the camera is a lot worse compared to the first game as well. Oftentimes, especially in long and cramped hallways, the camera just won’t cooperate and rotate to a view of James from behind. It’ll swing around wildly, making it very difficult to see what’s in front of James. This is especially frustrating if the Radio is detecting an enemy nearby and you’re trying to rotate the camera so that you can check to see which direction the enemy is in, and I have gotten injured by enemies as a result of the camera not cooperating. This was also an occasional issue in Silent Hill 1, but it happened to me so infrequently that I didn’t even bother to mention it in my review of that game, and it’s a surprise that it’s a much bigger problem here.
If you are the type of player who prioritizes gameplay above all else, then I think that Silent Hill 2 may end up leaving you disappointed. Gameplay is not where the title shines, and is honestly it’s weakest aspect. However, every other element of the game is handled in a masterclass fashion. There are very few games that I have played that even come close to being as immersive or that tell a story as expertly as Silent Hill 2 does. Team Silent really played to their strengths and crafted an experience that very few games I’ve played have even come close to matching. After all these years, despite thinking that I understood it before, now I feel like I can post that Always Sunny gif of Danny DeVito and say that “I get it”. I get why this game is heralded as a masterpiece, why it’s still being talked about to this day, why I keep randomly thinking about it even after all these years since my first playthrough, and why it’s deeply impacted so many people. Despite its blemishes, there’s still a lot of beauty to it, and I think that it’s a game that’s definitely earned its cult status
My original experience with Silent Hill 2 was about six years ago. I played through it alongside an old friend who would constantly tell me what to do and where to go while reading a walkthrough online. Even though we did have a good time getting spooked and making fun of the stilted and awkward voice acting and dialogue, we ultimately hindered our experience. We thought the game was kinda “meh” and never really got what made the game so special. Over the years since that original playthrough, I’ve watched numerous video essays and read several articles and fan sites for Silent Hill 2 in an attempt to better understand the story, the symbolism, and why the game in general is so beloved. Despite my initial apathetic feelings towards the game, it managed to occupy a space in the back of my mind for years. Much like how the titular town calls the characters to it, I keep coming back to Silent Hill 2 and the unsettling journey into the depths of James Sunderland’s mind and soul, learning more and more about it each time I do, even if I’m not directly playing the game. After finishing my second playthrough, despite knowing just about every little detail regarding the game’s narrative going into it, Silent Hill 2 still managed to leave a rather large impact on me, even if there are some parts of it that sadly tear me away from what is otherwise one of the most captivating games I’ve ever played.
With the change in console generations, Team Silent chose to refine the elements that made the first Silent Hill standout. The visuals and sound design, which were already some of the best in the medium on the PlayStation 1, manage to get even better here. The biggest improvement overall though, is in the game’s storytelling. While the surface level narrative of the first game was solid, the storytelling was at its best with what wasn’t explicitly shown or explained. The environmental storytelling and the ambiguous nature to certain aspects of the plot in conjunction with what was being directly shown was what made that game’s story great for me. Silent Hill 2 takes the same approach, but to a far greater extent. The game tells a story that is so hauntingly personal and horrifically tragic that words which can convey how effective and emotional it is fail me. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced a piece of media where the pitch black, bottomless emptiness of immense guilt and despair is communicated so well.
Almost every aspect of Silent Hill 2 has been expertly crafted to communicate details of the plot, characters, or the themes of the narrative. The town and the locations you explore within it aren’t just dark and frightening labyrinths. The monsters you encounter aren’t just creepy flesh abominations. They all represent something, they’re all telling you things about either James or the other characters of the game’s story. The symbolism compels you to reflect upon the places you go to and the things and people you encounter, consider what it all means, and why things are the way they are. This is how Silent Hill 2 manages to suck you into its world and keep you thinking about it long after you’ve finished playing it. It is truly excellent storytelling that I haven’t really seen in many other video games I’ve played.
In terms of structure and gameplay, not much has really changed between the first and second Silent Hill. Both titles play almost exactly the same, and as a result, they both share many of the same strengths and weaknesses (which I discuss in greater detail in my review of the first game). Controls and combat are virtually unchanged aside from the guns feeling like they pack more of a punch. Boss fights are once again rather simple, though they do actually require you to occasionally move now instead of just standing in one spot and tanking attacks while you shoot them with your best guns. Still, they never get more complicated than just running to one corner of the room, firing a few shots, rinse and repeat. Once again, I found the game to be at its best when exploring the indoor dungeon-like locations such as Wood Creek Apartments or Brookhaven Hospital. You do spend more time in these sorts of locations and less time exploring the town this time around, which is honestly a huge plus. It’s clear that the goal of the devs wasn’t to really expand or alter the way Silent Hill 2 is played in any significant way, and instead to just stick with what worked.
The biggest gameplay change is how the difficulty works. Instead of an all encompassing Easy/Normal/Hard difficulty setting, Silent Hill 2 allows you to choose the difficulty for combat and puzzles separately, letting you customize your difficulty experience. Being the casual that I am, I chose Normal for both. I thought this was fine for the puzzles, which were a lot less cryptic compared to the puzzles on the same difficulty in the first game. They still require you to think outside the box, but I was able to solve almost all of them on my own. However, the Normal difficulty for combat is way too easy, and I don’t think it’s just because this is my second playthrough. What makes combat so easy is that the game showers you with ammo and health items, to an overbearing extent. Silent Hill 1 had a similar problem, but it’s even worse here. There was actually a point in the first game where I nearly used up all of my handgun ammo because I wasn’t thinking and almost put myself in a difficult position. This stressed me out and really forced me to reconsider my ammo usage despite the fact that I was eventually able to rebuild a large amount of ammo during the rest of the game.
In Silent Hill 2, you never have to think about item management on Normal difficulty. By the time I reached the final boss, I had over 150 rounds of handgun ammo, over 100 shotgun shells, as well as dozens of rounds for the rifle. I also had roughly 20 different healing items in total as well. The final area in the game in particular has a ton of ammo and healing items you can easily find. I don’t know if playing on Hard would make any difference or not. After looking into it, I’ve seen mostly mixed responses regarding the difficulty from people online. A lot of folks say that it doesn’t make that much of a difference, and that Hard also makes certain set pieces such as the Brookhaven Hospital Basement and the controls for the Boat more difficult in a detracting way. I didn’t play through Hard myself so take that with a grain of salt, but if that is the case, then I’d say that this is the biggest problem with Silent Hill 2. Since you have so much ammo and healing items, there’s no risk to just blasting away almost every enemy you come across, which dramatically lessens the threat they pose and takes you out of the horror experience. As a result, I actually think Silent Hill 2 plays slightly worse and is a bit less tense compared to Silent Hill 1.
I also feel like the camera is a lot worse compared to the first game as well. Oftentimes, especially in long and cramped hallways, the camera just won’t cooperate and rotate to a view of James from behind. It’ll swing around wildly, making it very difficult to see what’s in front of James. This is especially frustrating if the Radio is detecting an enemy nearby and you’re trying to rotate the camera so that you can check to see which direction the enemy is in, and I have gotten injured by enemies as a result of the camera not cooperating. This was also an occasional issue in Silent Hill 1, but it happened to me so infrequently that I didn’t even bother to mention it in my review of that game, and it’s a surprise that it’s a much bigger problem here.
If you are the type of player who prioritizes gameplay above all else, then I think that Silent Hill 2 may end up leaving you disappointed. Gameplay is not where the title shines, and is honestly it’s weakest aspect. However, every other element of the game is handled in a masterclass fashion. There are very few games that I have played that even come close to being as immersive or that tell a story as expertly as Silent Hill 2 does. Team Silent really played to their strengths and crafted an experience that very few games I’ve played have even come close to matching. After all these years, despite thinking that I understood it before, now I feel like I can post that Always Sunny gif of Danny DeVito and say that “I get it”. I get why this game is heralded as a masterpiece, why it’s still being talked about to this day, why I keep randomly thinking about it even after all these years since my first playthrough, and why it’s deeply impacted so many people. Despite its blemishes, there’s still a lot of beauty to it, and I think that it’s a game that’s definitely earned its cult status