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Into The Fog
I have to admit something immediately; I hate most things to do with the horror genre. I am not someone who enjoys being scared through film and bar a few games ( Mainly Resident Evil 5 and Alan Wake 2) I steer clear of the genre. But I had always been intrigued by why so many people consider Silent Hill 2 one of, if not, the greatest horror games of all time and now finally, I understand why. Released originally on PS2, the game captivated fans around the world with its blend of survival horror, mixed with a narrative that focused on the psychological elements of horror. It has virtually no ties to the original Silent Hill, nor does it tie into its subsequent sequel, thus making this game stand completely on its own. Now it’s back in full scale remake form, with development duties being handled by Bloober Team who are best known for their work on Layers Of Fear. In collaboration with Konami, the story once again focuses on James Sunderland, a widower who decides to return to the American midwestern town of Silent Hill. He decides to do this after receiving a letter from his supposedly dead wife Mary. As someone who hadn’t played the original version, the opening is superb and drew me in almost instantly. The monologue from James, coupled with the journey to the town, really helps set the sombre yet creepy tone.
From here, as James ventures further and further into the town, strange and terrifying encounters begin to occur. James is a fantastic protagonist as he desperately seeks to find answers to his biggest questions, alongside dealing with his own inner demons. So, it’s here I think that Silent Hill 2 is one of the best games I have ever played for displaying mental health issues and using mental health as a tool for horror. It’s simply astounding how effectively the story is able to weave in these elements with traditional survival horror. As you venture further into the narrative, you begin to question more and more what is real and what is not for James, and very few games have been able to achieve this so superbly. It’s a truly unsettling, yet utterly absorbing story that will stay with me for a long time as it deals with the themes of grief, guilt and punishment. The tightly woven subplots are also superb as James meets townsfolk and attempts to uncover and help with their own struggles. Its twists and turns that I did not fully know also had a profound impact and I implore anyone like myself who did not know much about the plot, to go in with as little knowledge as possible.
Depending on your choice, there are multiple satisfying conclusions to the story and I cannot believe it has taken me this long to finally experience this tale. It reminds me fondly of the wonderful Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice by Ninja Theory. For veterans of the original, everything is here that you know and love: the wonderful, yet thought-provoking horror tale and the multiple endings on offer, yet Bloober have managed to expand on the original with new areas to explore and new endings to uncover. It’s clear the development team are huge fans of the original game and this has been displayed so evidently in their retelling of the classic tale. And whilst the story follows the same beats, the team have done so much more with the gameplay itself.
Claustrophobic Chaos
The original gameplay of Silent Hill 2 is somewhat of a relic nowadays. You controlled James from a third-person perspective whilst having virtually no HUD, which forced players to pause the menu to check health and items, whilst maps could only be viewed if James had obtained a flashlight or had enough natural light. Gunplay itself was very rigid and troublesome at times whilst melee combat was as basic as it could possibly be but thankfully, with the remake, the gameplay has been modernised, with superb results. Again using the third-person camera perspective, controlling and traversing as James feels smooth and natural and is very similar to the modernised Resident Evil games. The HUD once again is almost non-existent but there are quality of life improvements like the red outline for your health dropping or the health symbol displaying in the bottom corner when critically injured. Menus are basic but easy to navigate, making fans of the original feel right at home. Furthermore, the combat system has been reimagined, making it the real star of this game for me.
Combat, like the original is achieved through melee combat, with either the wooden plank or the metal pipe as weapons or ranged combat with the shotgun and handgun as your tools of destruction. Melee combat feels weighty and brutal; it truly felt like every time I fought one of the many creepy and disgusting monsters, my next move could be my last. James is no combat expert and that is superbly shown in gameplay as he frantically swings and evades attacks. It’s so simple to use, yet it feels complicated at the same time and I adored this system. Boss battles are the true example of this as I felt almost powerless as I attempted to evade the iconic pyramid head. Ranged combat also feels superb. Moving and aiming feel slick and help diversify combat. Alongside combat, the puzzles return and they are thought-provoking and deep in their design and scale. It helps break up the story doing these tasks, while also heightening tension as you search for items in drawers or cupboards to help you.
The design of the levels and areas themselves also create superb results in combat. As most areas are narrow corridors or claustrophobic environments, I really felt an enemy could jump out at me at any corner. It’s a brutal and unforgiving game at times but thankfully the game’s accessibility options are some of the best to be released in recent memory. These options allow you to tweak combat to how you see fit and also give you options for puzzles which I think is a superb choice for gamers who want to focus on pure exploration or pure combat. There are also great control options and quality of life improvements, such as the ability to add an icon for traversal points to help you navigate your way around or visual aides for people who suffer from colour-blindness. Everything in gameplay has been crafted to make you feel desperate and increasingly hopeless as you control James. It really accentuates the survival and the psychological horror for the player and it’s a new benchmark for this genre.
Beauty In The Bleak
Twenty three years is a long time and boy has technology come a long way. This version of Silent Hill is simply breath-taking. The hauntingly beautiful fog that covers most of the town is back and looks phenomenal, but what looks just as good is watching James push through it. The draw distance is so expertly achieved that every time I walked into the fog, I feared what might pop out at me. The town is like a character in its own right; every wall and street is so detailed you could spend hours scouring the vast buildings on offer. However, it’s inside the buildings where the game truly shines.
The apartment buildings are so disgustingly beautiful in their design, which is true art. Corridors are eroding and damaged, lights flicker and spike to heighten tension and fear. It’s a near pitch perfect creation for survival horror as every environment has so many different layers to it and when environments change due to puzzles and story events, it truly is a modern marvel. It reminds me of Alan Wake 2 in the way it tells the story through environments and texts that you can pick up. A true feat. Lighting is also excellent with James’ flashlight so narrow and short in distance, you really don’t know what is around the corner. Coupled with strong animation design and solid if not spectacular character design, you have top class presentation and Bloober Team should be lauded for their efforts.
Similarly, sound design and soundtrack are absolutely stellar. The sound design is quite simply some of the best I have experienced in a horror game. Each footstep sounds loud and powerful as you wander through each area and creaking doors sound so eerie, it’s unbelievably nerve racking. Enemy sound design is among the best around, as at every turn you can hear the enemies wandering around. This created such fear for me it was extremely uncomfortable. Melee weapons sickeningly boom off enemies as you hit them, whilst bullets echo through the corridors to tremendous effect. The tension the developers have created alone through sound design is phenomenal. The soundtrack is quietly powerful yet booms when dramatic moments occur. It is a true horror soundtrack that really exacerbated my growing discomfort and fear as I ventured further and further in. The voice acting on display is solid and the dialogue is quite cringey at times but overall a fantastic audio that helps propel this story to new heights.
Verdict
Simply put, Silent Hill 2 is a complete horror masterpiece. It is a superb thought-provoking story that hit closer to home than I had expected and it is propelled by a new combat system that really helps create the feeling of desperation. Sublime graphics, haunting environment design and truly chilling sound design and score help make this the quintessential horror game. I have never loved horror. But I truly love this game. See you in the fog!
