[Average Reading Time: 6 Minutes]
I wasn't expecting to get so caught off guard by this game.
The Silent Hill franchise is one that I've never dabbled too deeply in before. At most before the start of this year, I had watched some video reviews of the games, but that was years ago, so needless to say those memories have mostly faded away. Now, with the push Konami is giving to the Silent Hill franchise, more people are talking about and playing the original games than ever.
Of these games, Silent Hill 2 seemed to be the most celebrated of them all. More fans of this franchise are quick to recommend this game than any other, from what I've seen. With most memories of those reviews long gone, I decided now would be the time I finally see what makes people go gaga for Silent Hill 2.
I was not prepared for this game.
Silent Hill 2 is a horror action game that puts us in the shoes of James Sunderland, a man who receives a letter from his wife telling him to meet her in a town known as Silent Hill. The problem? His wife died three years ago! Now, it becomes your task to figure out what's going on here. Along the way, you'll encounter a number of terrifying foes as well as other people who were drawn to the town, each having their own reasons for being there. You'll learn more about these people and their lives as you progress, as well as about James and his relationship with his wife.
Personally, I found the plot of this game to be deeply interesting. There's no shortage of twists and jaw-dropping situations. The story is very well-told, and it highly encourages players to pick up on all of the little things around you. How do certain things relate to others? Why are enemies designed like that? What makes these locations you visit so significant? The more you play the game and pay attention to these details, the more you find yourself theory-crafting as you try to solve the hidden mysteries that surround the town of Silent Hill. It's highly rewarding to see how well your assumptions match up to later details you learn as you play more. Because of this, I will of course be avoiding story spoilers for this review. If you've never played or seen this game in action before, then I highly implore you to play this game blind. Know as little as possible about the story before you go in. You'll get so much more out of the experience if you do!
This has easily become one of my favorite stories in games. It's told in such a clever way that it makes me excited thinking about revisiting the game one day years down the line, viewing the cutscenes and exchanges between characters and seeing how what I know about the game's story shapes how I view these scenes compared to when I went in mostly blind.
As this is a horror game released in early 6th gen, we have tank controls to move James around, as it was the style at the time. For many, these controls can be awkward. However, I found them to be very fitting for this title. The slow turning and having to think about how you're facing before you start moving added a good amount of tension, especially in situations where you're surrounded by foes. As you grow accustomed to the controls, keeping in mind things like how pushing up on the directional pad will always move you forward, you'll soon find yourself using these controls to your advantage, rather than working with them awkwardly. With enough time, you'll be watching James zoom through hallways and streets while hunting for items and keys, making gradual and accurate turns down halls and street corners without getting caught on surrounding geometry.
Moving isn't the only thing James can do, though. He can fight, as well! You'll quickly find yourself with a melee weapon to bring down the monsters around you, and later on you'll be able to find other melee weapons and also guns to use to safely dispatch foes. James also has a move of his own: a weak looking stomp. Note how I said weak looking. Despite how dainty it looks in an animation, it instantly defeats any basic enemy. After discovering this, the combat gameplay loop for me during my playthrough was as follows: shoot/whack an enemy until they fall on the floor, walk over to them, and stomp on them to finish them off.
Does this trivialize combat a bit? A little. However, you're not immune to the dangers that come with combat during this process. If an enemy closes the distance between you and them, they're gonna take a swing at you, and you're going to get hurt since there's no method to dodge attacks besides running away, which isn't easy when you're in a tight hallway and there's more than one enemy lurking around. Ammo, of course, is limited, so you're constantly asking yourself, "Should I save ammo by melee-ing them to the ground and risk taking some damage? Or should I take shots now to avoid damage and hope there's more ammo waiting for me soon?" It's this aspect of the combat that made me enjoy engaging with it a lot. Hits are satisfying, and taking down a foe is relieving. It can get tough, but it's nothing you can't overcome.
Along with combat are a plethora of puzzles to solve. There's your typical code and key hunting (which is made easier thanks to James actively focusing his gaze on items you can pick up in any room you enter, which is an astoundingly useful feature!), but there will also be times where you'll be presented with a riddle to solve, requiring you to find hints as well as any items required to solve said riddle. You'll also, of course, need to figure out the proper solution by analyzing these things carefully. I found riddle solving to be highly satisfying in this game. As a fan of the Professor Layton games, I'm not one to shy away from the occasional brain-teaser. The puzzles here were a joy to solve!
It's also worth noting something unique that this game does regarding the riddles and combat: these each have their own separate difficulty modifier! For example, of you're more into intense combat scenarios and less into puzzles, you can turn combat difficulty up while turning riddle difficulty down. The same goes for those who like intense puzzles but dislike heavy combat. Turn riddle difficulty up and combat difficulty down! It's such a smart system, and while I played this game keeping both levels on Normal, it made me curious about how future playthroughs would go if I tweaked these settings in one way or the other, especially that riddle setting.
As you take on foes and solve tricky puzzles, you'll be constantly taking in the environments of Silent Hill. The atmosphere of this game is very well done! The town is lonely and chilling. More times than not, music is traded for ambiance as you're treated to the simple sounds of a long-abandoned town. The howling winds, the whirs of machinery that was never shut down, the echoing sounds of your footsteps though cramped hallways. All these and more populate this mysterious town. When there is music, it can be somber and sad, or it can be intense and alarming. Every song used in this game suits the environments in which they are used perfectly.
The visuals also go a far way to sell the dreariness of Silent Hill. Cars long-abandoned litter the streets. Homes long overdue for a new paint job along with stores with fading signs and broken windows are around every corner. The insides of buildings often torn apart, with countless broken doors and ruined hallways. It all sells the loneliness of this town so well. It really is just James and a small amount of other people trying to make sense of a long-deserted town that is now the home of countless terrifying monsters. This, along with the fixed camera angles that show you the right views to really ingrain the idea that you really shouldn't be here, does wonders to solidify the helpless atmosphere of this town.
A casual playthrough took me around 9 hours. After that, I immediately went back in for two more runs, with the first replay being 4 hours and the second being only 2! Needless to say, it's very easy to find yourself becoming one with speed running the game after clearing it the first time! Also, on repeat playthroughs, some number combinations and puzzle solutions will randomize, which does a good job of keeping you on your toes even if you know your way around already!
It should be clear as day at this point but in case it isn't I'll say this now: I love this game. My only regret is that I never tried to give it a chance sooner. As I've gotten more into horror media as of late, I find myself with a lot of catching up to do. Personally, I'm glad I got to experience this game in general, since it's such a good time! I can't recommend this game enough!
In regard to the remake that isn't out at the time of me writing this review, I will say this: If a good chunk of the average player's run isn't being spent checking countless doors for the one that's actually unlocked, then it fails instantly. I will never forget the timeless quote, "It looks like the lock is broken. I can't open it.", and once you play Silent Hill 2, neither will you!
