What can I say about Silent Hill 2? I’m not asking that due to how often Silent Hill 2 is talked about. Rather, I ask it because the game has left me utterly speechless. Somehow I avoided a majority of spoilers for Silent Hill 2, meaning I had gone into the game almost entirely blind. I already had a general feeling I would love the game. I played the original Silent Hill over a year ago at this point, and I absolutely loved the game. The environment, atmosphere, and music were all stunning. And I feel that Silent Hill 2 perfects it all, making an utter masterpiece.
Now, I played on the PC Abandonware version of Silent Hill 2, with upgrades from the enhanced edition patch (you have to use it anyway, since the patch allows the game to actually open). I was suggested to use the abandonware version as a friend of mine mentioned difficulty with emulating the PS2 version. I could’ve tried out the PS2 version, but hey, better safe than sorry. Now, I bring this up because I think it’d be important to know that the version of Silent Hill 2 I had will most likely not provide the same experience someone reading this may have.
Now onto Silent Hill 2 itself, I don’t really know what all I can speak of it. Particularly, I don’t want to go into the spoilers of Silent Hill 2, as I think it’s a game that’s worth experiencing. To be specific, I don’t want to say what the exact details of the story are, but it’s one worth experiencing. One thing I’d like to mention that’s only tangentially related to the story is the voice acting. The voice acting the characters have is absolutely wonderful! What I mean by that is that there’s something so unnatural about the line delivery that it makes everyone feel off. In most other games, this would be a bad thing, but for a game and setting like Silent Hill, it makes perfect sense. It’s a minor detail that adds to the overall unsettling nature of Silent Hill.
I Think what is ultimately my favorite aspect of Silent Hill 2 is is the atmosphere. The fog that surrounds you in Silent Hill 2 is perfect for the kind of atmosphere Silent Hill should have. The best way I kind describe the fog is “suffocating”. You’re surrounded by it, and you can barely see through it. Any possible threat will only be seen when it’s almost right next to you, leading to things seemingly jump out towards you. And when things aren’t foggy, they’re cast in a deep darkness. This darkness has a similar effect to the fog, but with the fact a small portion of it can be illuminated by a flashlight, it makes the dread even stronger. And when it comes to the actual graphics of the game, I absolutely love how grimy the game looks. Everything looks rusted and dirty, and that idea of being broken down really works, I feel. Much like the fog, I think another perfect aspect of Silent Hill 2’s atmosphere is the sound design and music that’s used. I absolutely love the droning ambience of the game, it’s as if there’s a sense of emptiness alongside some sort of dread. And to coincide with those drones, there’s also loud metallic clangs, scrapes, and bangs. It creates such a strong sense of tension, as if there’s a threat that’s far out of sight, especially if it occurs in places that it wouldn’t make sense for those sounds to occur. And the fact that the sound that signifies if enemies are close to you is static, it creates such a unique atmosphere that very few games can replicate.
I want to give a frame of reference here, for the next topic about the game I want to discuss. Particularly, the feelings of horror, and fear. While I love horror games, I find myself not often terrified by them. I get scared sometimes, but few games ever terrify me. I bring this up to express how terrifying Silent Hill 2 is. Even just hearing the game’s ambience was dreadful, but there were so many terrifying moments on top of it. I particularly remember an area early on in the game, where I was still getting used to things. I was running by an area I had already been to, after doing stuff somewhere else. And suddenly, a scream rang out from across the hallway, completely startling me. In that same general sequence, going to the end of the hallway, Pyramid Head appeared on the other side of a barred off wall, and all he did was stand there. I don’t know how better to describe it, but just seeing him stand there filled me with so much fear.
I also really adore the actual puzzles found in Silent Hill 2. One thing I hope for whenever I find games that feature complex puzzles is the need to write things down. I think it’s a compliment when a game requires me to journal hints to puzzles, and write down reminders to help solve future puzzles. I wont go into details about the puzzles I absolutely loved, but my favorite puzzle in the game was one with a riddle and three coins. I had to read the riddle over and over to figure it out, as it took me so long to understand what the riddle was trying to say. When I did figure it out, and solved the puzzle, I felt genuinely proud of myself, especially knowing I figured it out without a guide. Another similar puzzle also involved a riddle, and 6 people. Yet again, solving the riddle itself felt amazing to do.
I wanted to save him as a topic for last, as I felt he’s important to talk about. And by that, I’m referring to Pyramid Head. Pyramid Head is absolutely an amazing character not only by Silent Hill standards, but all of horror in general. In the realm of Silent Hill 2, Pyramid Head has a really narrative unique purpose that you’ll only ever find out by the end of the game. And once you realize why Pyramid Head exists, it makes his existence so much stronger. And outside of Silent Hill 2, it may be exaggerative to say, but I feel like Pyramid Head is comparable to that of famous horror slashers. Not only does Pyramid Head have a similar level of iconicity, but the presentation, threat, and overall execution of Pyramid Head feels so similar, and I love it. Pyramid Head is such a unique threat for any horror property, but he feels perfectly crafted for the world of Silent Hill 2.
The more I think and type about Silent Hill 2, the more I end up totally enamored by it. The atmosphere, terror, and just general flow of Silent Hill 2 is outstanding. And though I only glossed over it, the story is really something unique, that few games are able to replicate with the same level of quality. I only got one of the endings, since I felt like the ending I get is my ending. Though I can definitely see myself replaying the game to try and get the other endings at a later point. Aside from that though, I’m so glad I finally got to play Silent Hill 2, it’s an absolute must play. From what it sounds, the remake of Silent Hill 2 sounds like it’s going to be bad, so if you want to play Silent Hill 2, just play the original.
Now, I played on the PC Abandonware version of Silent Hill 2, with upgrades from the enhanced edition patch (you have to use it anyway, since the patch allows the game to actually open). I was suggested to use the abandonware version as a friend of mine mentioned difficulty with emulating the PS2 version. I could’ve tried out the PS2 version, but hey, better safe than sorry. Now, I bring this up because I think it’d be important to know that the version of Silent Hill 2 I had will most likely not provide the same experience someone reading this may have.
Now onto Silent Hill 2 itself, I don’t really know what all I can speak of it. Particularly, I don’t want to go into the spoilers of Silent Hill 2, as I think it’s a game that’s worth experiencing. To be specific, I don’t want to say what the exact details of the story are, but it’s one worth experiencing. One thing I’d like to mention that’s only tangentially related to the story is the voice acting. The voice acting the characters have is absolutely wonderful! What I mean by that is that there’s something so unnatural about the line delivery that it makes everyone feel off. In most other games, this would be a bad thing, but for a game and setting like Silent Hill, it makes perfect sense. It’s a minor detail that adds to the overall unsettling nature of Silent Hill.
I Think what is ultimately my favorite aspect of Silent Hill 2 is is the atmosphere. The fog that surrounds you in Silent Hill 2 is perfect for the kind of atmosphere Silent Hill should have. The best way I kind describe the fog is “suffocating”. You’re surrounded by it, and you can barely see through it. Any possible threat will only be seen when it’s almost right next to you, leading to things seemingly jump out towards you. And when things aren’t foggy, they’re cast in a deep darkness. This darkness has a similar effect to the fog, but with the fact a small portion of it can be illuminated by a flashlight, it makes the dread even stronger. And when it comes to the actual graphics of the game, I absolutely love how grimy the game looks. Everything looks rusted and dirty, and that idea of being broken down really works, I feel. Much like the fog, I think another perfect aspect of Silent Hill 2’s atmosphere is the sound design and music that’s used. I absolutely love the droning ambience of the game, it’s as if there’s a sense of emptiness alongside some sort of dread. And to coincide with those drones, there’s also loud metallic clangs, scrapes, and bangs. It creates such a strong sense of tension, as if there’s a threat that’s far out of sight, especially if it occurs in places that it wouldn’t make sense for those sounds to occur. And the fact that the sound that signifies if enemies are close to you is static, it creates such a unique atmosphere that very few games can replicate.
I want to give a frame of reference here, for the next topic about the game I want to discuss. Particularly, the feelings of horror, and fear. While I love horror games, I find myself not often terrified by them. I get scared sometimes, but few games ever terrify me. I bring this up to express how terrifying Silent Hill 2 is. Even just hearing the game’s ambience was dreadful, but there were so many terrifying moments on top of it. I particularly remember an area early on in the game, where I was still getting used to things. I was running by an area I had already been to, after doing stuff somewhere else. And suddenly, a scream rang out from across the hallway, completely startling me. In that same general sequence, going to the end of the hallway, Pyramid Head appeared on the other side of a barred off wall, and all he did was stand there. I don’t know how better to describe it, but just seeing him stand there filled me with so much fear.
I also really adore the actual puzzles found in Silent Hill 2. One thing I hope for whenever I find games that feature complex puzzles is the need to write things down. I think it’s a compliment when a game requires me to journal hints to puzzles, and write down reminders to help solve future puzzles. I wont go into details about the puzzles I absolutely loved, but my favorite puzzle in the game was one with a riddle and three coins. I had to read the riddle over and over to figure it out, as it took me so long to understand what the riddle was trying to say. When I did figure it out, and solved the puzzle, I felt genuinely proud of myself, especially knowing I figured it out without a guide. Another similar puzzle also involved a riddle, and 6 people. Yet again, solving the riddle itself felt amazing to do.
I wanted to save him as a topic for last, as I felt he’s important to talk about. And by that, I’m referring to Pyramid Head. Pyramid Head is absolutely an amazing character not only by Silent Hill standards, but all of horror in general. In the realm of Silent Hill 2, Pyramid Head has a really narrative unique purpose that you’ll only ever find out by the end of the game. And once you realize why Pyramid Head exists, it makes his existence so much stronger. And outside of Silent Hill 2, it may be exaggerative to say, but I feel like Pyramid Head is comparable to that of famous horror slashers. Not only does Pyramid Head have a similar level of iconicity, but the presentation, threat, and overall execution of Pyramid Head feels so similar, and I love it. Pyramid Head is such a unique threat for any horror property, but he feels perfectly crafted for the world of Silent Hill 2.
The more I think and type about Silent Hill 2, the more I end up totally enamored by it. The atmosphere, terror, and just general flow of Silent Hill 2 is outstanding. And though I only glossed over it, the story is really something unique, that few games are able to replicate with the same level of quality. I only got one of the endings, since I felt like the ending I get is my ending. Though I can definitely see myself replaying the game to try and get the other endings at a later point. Aside from that though, I’m so glad I finally got to play Silent Hill 2, it’s an absolute must play. From what it sounds, the remake of Silent Hill 2 sounds like it’s going to be bad, so if you want to play Silent Hill 2, just play the original.