Silent Hill 2

Silent Hill 2 is a masterclass in how to remake a horror classic, featuring clever puzzles, stunning visuals, and exceptional sound design.

Remaking Silent Hill 2 is no small task, and while I didn’t gel with all the changes Bloober Team made, there is still a lot to enjoy in this new edition. Carefully acted cutscenes from its small but talented cast do well to capture the ambiance of the original game, and the fresh coat of high-definition paint looks modern without sacrificing the eerie atmosphere. Unfortunately, shifting to a fluid third-person perspective means the classic combat feels clunky and torn between homage and modern visual standards. Questionable changes to a handful of scenes and key battles also detract from the subtlety wielded by the source material and introduce unnecessary padding that harms its pacing.

Silent Hill 2 is a welcome modernisation of a survival horror masterpiece. It smoothly polishes down the rough edges of the original game’s combat while taking a piece of heavy grit sandpaper to scuff up every rust and mold-covered surface of its nightmarish environments, successfully making them appear far more abrasive and menacing to explore.

A little light padding and some minor grumbling about the combat aside, there's nothing - not a single thing - I wish Bloober had done differently. How it looks, how it sounds, how it plays, how it iterates and modernises whilst honouring its cherished source material. Silent Hill 2 Remake is as close to perfect as I could have ever hoped. And my hopes were high, my friend.

By staying true to the original game in extremely important ways and taking calculated risks born from an understanding of the source material, all while being supported further by some of the game's original brain trust, Bloober Team has done what was reasonably considered near-impossible. The remake of Silent Hill 2 is a restless dream come true.

The remake of Silent Hill 2 doesn't surpass the original, but it's still an admirable attempt. It succeeds at recreating the same tension-filled atmosphere with a sense of dread that only grows as James progresses in his quest to find Mary. The updates to the camera are a welcome change, and while combat has been improved, there are some aspects that are annoying, such as enemies that don't cause the radio to emit noise and can attack without detection.

Ultimately, those who are familiar with the original Silent Hill 2 will constantly be surprised by this remake, and those who aren’t as familiar are geared up for a great (albeit heart-wrenching) time. All of the pivotal moments remain, but veterans will find that they’re in different orders or brand-new rooms now.