Silent Hill 2 (PC/PS5) - Remake - October 8, 2024

[Andalusian girls]

So how much of the game still feels like SH2, and how much of it feels like a REmake game with a Silent Hill skin on top? Everything I've seen on the camera handling and combat suggests the latter, which a far heavier emphasis on combat than the original ever had.

there is definitely a heavier emphasis on the revamped combat, but the Silent Hill feel could not be better maintained throughout the game. the game aspects feel a lot better playing, and i can't fathom anyone being so tied to the original's gameplay (which were janky and numbingly easy when it released nonetheless 23 years alter) that they'd consider the new systems a downgrade.

i find they bolster the overall experience as the combat is extremely tense, occasionally terrifying, especially on hard difficulty. over the shoulder also jacks up the scary with a consistent sense of claustrophobia + enemies being smarter / more lethal makes everything more intense, both of which go p well with the game's themes.

of course them themes, and story, and aesthetics, are what define Silent Hill 2, not its gameplay. guilt and trauma and abuse and acceptance (or the lack thereof) presented through horror metaphors, and in that regard this game is the best version. there are small but dope lore expansions and the voice cast/characterization are generally a lil better, and the presentation is obviously something else. a couple downgrades from the original for sure but net plus.

tldr Silent Hill 2 is one of the greatest stories told in gaming, and the remake finally gives it gameplay worthy of it.

[Odesseiron]

there is definitely a heavier emphasis on the revamped combat, but the Silent Hill feel could not be better maintained throughout the game. the game aspects feel a lot better playing, and i can't fathom anyone being so tied to the original's gameplay (which were janky and numbingly easy when it released nonetheless 23 years alter) that they'd consider the new systems a downgrade.

i find they bolster the overall experience as the combat is extremely tense, occasionally terrifying, especially on hard difficulty. over the shoulder also jacks up the scary with a consistent sense of claustrophobia + enemies being smarter / more lethal makes everything more intense, both of which go p well with the game's themes.

of course them themes, and story, and aesthetics, are what define Silent Hill 2, not its gameplay. guilt and trauma and abuse and acceptance (or the lack thereof) presented through horror metaphors, and in that regard this game is the best version. there are small but dope lore expansions and the voice cast/characterization are generally a lil better, and the presentation is obviously something else. a couple downgrades from the original for sure but net plus.

tldr Silent Hill 2 is one of the greatest stories told in gaming, and the remake finally gives it gameplay worthy of it.

I'd agree with all of the above. I'm having an absolute blast with it. The combat changes are certainly welcome and don't feel out of place. You can go on quite the killing spree in the original, but more with the melee weapons. This gives you a fair bit more ammo, but (and I'm playing on normal) I've never felt like I had "too much" and if that even close to happened, there were a few enemies that drained it.

[Gokulo]

It really is great, like I mentioned before and people say here, there are things you could nitpick, but the love and respect put into this just oozes out of the game, together with its suffocating atmosphere ;p

[Andalusian girls]

I TAKE BACK EVERY NICE THING I SAID ABOUT THIS GAME THE HOSPITAL FOLLOWED BY THE PRISON AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

[Odesseiron]

oof, fuck this prison and everything about it. (I don't mean difficulty wise lol)

[Andalusian girls]

bruh i legit had to take breaks from the game it is so god damn stressful and scary. i don't think a horror game has spooked me this much since the early parts of Resident Evil 7. should finish er today will review when done.

[Gokulo]

I made this rule for myself that everything I sit down to play I want to finish 1 whole area. Trying to not break that with prison was a struggle, it was just so suffocating and draining lol

[Odesseiron]

What's the worst thing about the prison (aside from everything) is the constant stream of enemies. And it never feels like it's "too much" but you'll get this constant drip feed of them and in my head canon, it makes sense, as you're getting closer and closer to the epicenter of the thing.

When you pull the fucking weight out of the shower, I was convinced it was gonna be a boss fight and all the "dead" shit, but no. It was only the latter and while I was still prepared, I had to take like 5 minutes afterwards lol. Thankfully I had a ton of shotgun shells stowed away, but my supplies are dwindling. I kill almost everything in my way.

Also, fuck those flying mannequins. Scared the ever loving shit out of me the first time one glided from the ceiling lmao.

I'm still in the "normal" prison and I'm only playing like 30 minutes at a time.

[bori]

Thankfully I'm finally finished with the prison sequence and in the hotel. Such a nice change.

[Andalusian girls]

DONE, 14 hours, 38 deaths, 8000 heart palpitations. i grinded out most of the prison + labyrinth + endgame to finish tonight and dios mio my fuckin nerves were so shot by the hotel. got In Water which is what i got back in 2002 lawlz. it's hard to disentangle what i feel about this game from what i've felt about the original for two decades now, few games have hit me so hard or spoken so directly.

THAT SAID

this hits about as hard and speaks about as directly. tho there be a couple remake missteps the new gameplay (edge of your seat pulse fuck) and aesthetics (especially the exponentially better voice acting for James + Eddie + Laura) drive home the agony of the story better than even the original. 5/5 my new game of the year.

[bori]

Part of me wants to attempt a melee only, no radio run on Hard. But I also don't want to go through the torture that is the Prison sequence with that setup.

[Andalusian girls]

hard wasn't too bad, though i was totally out of heals and down to 5 handgun bullets on the final boss, but melee only sounds like a nightmare. i could slip and rip 1v1 against any enemy in the game by the end but my James got his ass beat when he got jumped by more than one enemy.

[Odesseiron]

If only the hammer from part 1 was in this game. I fucking LOVED that weapon.

[bori]

I'm playing through the game on hard combat difficulty now on New Game +, so I have the chainsaw...so far that thing is OP as hell. One shotting the first monsters and the mannequins. Will see with the nurses in the hospital.

[Gokulo]

So, the photo's secret has been solved:

https://www.reddit.com/r/silenthill/s/PiNz9M5s7F

[Andalusian girls]

[Mayareira]

I am in the 2nd apartment stage and gonna call it a night, got killed and autosave is almost 30 minutes earlier.

Combat is definitely more difficult than the original. Enemies ambush a lot, I still find myself getting hit whatever I do when I melee mannequins and simply don't have enough bullets if I go the pistol route. Even with pistol I get hit a lot, credit to developers , James isn't supposed to be Leon S. Kennedy.

[The Stig]

The mannequins cleverly blend into the areas so when they jump you as annoying and slightly jump scare as it is, it's really clever of them.

I wouldn't worry about bullets too much, I deduced that this game should be similar to RE; if you use your supplies they'll spawn when you look in the searchable areas (you may have noticed a lot of blank/empty draws). I have no proof of this but given the amount of empty draws/cupboards when I did hoard, I began using it a bit more generously.

My theory only applies to normal though. No idea on hard.

With the pistol, aim for the knee, it'll stun them and they'll get on their knee, then swing at them with your stick.

edit: and save often!!! Each time you walk past the save point, save! :D

[Mayareira]

The mannequins cleverly blend into the areas so when they jump you as annoying and slightly jump scare as it is, it's really clever of them.

I wouldn't worry about bullets too much, I deduced that this game should be similar to RE; if you use your supplies they'll spawn when you look in the searchable areas (you may have noticed a lot of blank/empty draws). I have no proof of this but given the amount of empty draws/cupboards when I did hoard, I began using it a bit more generously.

My theory only applies to normal though. No idea on hard.

With the pistol, aim for the knee, it'll stun them and they'll get on their knee, then swing at them with your stick.

edit: and save often!!! Each time you walk past the save point, save! :D

Aha, makes sense. After blowing my entire supply of bullets every drawer started having some, I thought I was about to face a boss lol.

[Meresgi]

Just finished it the other day, got the Maria ending and assuming it's due to a few things with some items. All together I fucking loved this remake, so fucking good. Also found this really well done video on a lot of aspects of it