LTTP LTTP: Silent Hill 2 Enhanced Edition | "In my restless dreams, I see that game" (UP: Silent Hill 3 done)

[Paxie]

The recently-announced SH2 remake finally gave me enough of a push to try the Enhanced Edition version of the original. For those not in the know, Enhanced Edition is a conglomerate of fan patches that can be applied to the PC version of the game. Between modern resolutions, asset touch-ups, and widescreen support, it feels like the proper Silent Hill 2 HD. You can find it here. I beat the game (and Born from a Wish) today and my experience was great.

Before this, I've played 1.5 playthroughs of SH1 (bad ending first, had to stop my good ending playhrough because the PS1-on-PS3 version has a nasty emulation bug), so I knew what to expect gameplay and atmosphere-wise. Speaking of, the atmosphere and also writing were very impressive. There's one area in particular that I think is going to stick with me for a while:

Spoiler: Lategame area

The Prison and Labyrinth were nothing short of haunting. The long staircase, the endless descent that followed, the Abstract Daddy room... it all felt like a lucid nightmare in the best way possible. Exploring the Labyrinth actually reminded me a lot of Mark Danielewski's House of Leaves crossed with an SMT dungeon.

Voice acting was surprisingly serviceable outside of a certain character's performance at the big revelation. Shout out to Eddie and Angela's VAs especially. Music was fantastic, Theme of Laura and Betrayal/Forced Attrition are absolute bangers.

Now, my biggest point of contention is the gameplay. I'm actually a fan of tank controls and SH's non-fixed camera is fine after adjustment. The problem is that every enemy and boss is dealt with the same way: stand back and shoot. No strategy, it's literally just constant ammo checks that you will never fail because this game showers you with ammo in a way not even RE does. It honestly feels like RE and SH should trade inventory systems - John McAverage shouldn't have a bottomless pit of storage and trained combat experts should be trained to handle a lot. Readability is also a huge issue; I occasionally missed a progression-critical item or door because they blended in with the environment. relatedly, exploration always amounted to me frantically clicking on doors to see which one would magically let me through. Puzzles were fine on Normal Riddle, but specific ones felt too opaque (the description given for the coin puzzle in the apartments made me feel like I was going insane). All in all, I honestly wouldn't even call Silent Hill a survival horror series, it's closer to a horror-themed adventure game series with combat elements.

My criticisms aside, I greatly enjoyed my time with this game and can easily see why it's the classic it is. However, I see a few key ways a remake can change it for the better, which is why Konami's choice of dev is very unfortunate. Seeing Bloober's interpretation of Angela is going to be a nightmare.

 

[Mr_No_U]

Yeah the atmosphere and music and narrative is about the only reason I bother with Silent Hill games. The experience of actually playing them has always been kinda

Silent Hill 2 is definitely my favorite one, though.

 

[Leica]

James will turn his head and look in the direction of any items in the room or in his general vicinity, once I figured that out it made finding items to progress much easier. Agree about the combat it's kind of hilarious just how much ammo you get in this, James is running up on people with 150 shotgun shells by the endgame.

Music is insanely good, some of the best in gaming IMO.

 

[Fercho]

I downloaded the ED last year but i've been unable to start it, now with the remake on the horizon i will give it a try.

SH2 is one of the best games ever created, not only horror but in general, kinda like "The Exorcist" is a a great horror movie but an excellent movie overall? same thing here.

 

[afternoon delight]

It honestly feels like RE and SH should trade inventory systems - John McAverage shouldn't have a bottomless pit of storage and trained combat experts should be trained to handle a lot.

That's actually a really incredible observation, and now I'll never unthink it hahaha. Glad you enjoyed it! I love the puzzles now, but I didn't originally play them on the hardest settings either. You should totally check out Silent Hill 3!

I actually think Silent Hill 2 and how it reflects James and those around him is some of the best horror / psychological horror ever written...

 

[Paxie]

Got around to SH3 too. The game is good but man do the series's problems really come to a head here. Music, story, and atmosphere are great as always, but exploration and gameplay are seriously unpolished. Specifically with the latter, difficulty swings to the opposite extreme of SH2 where you are going to get fucked if you do not use melee weapons liberally - I've never been so dry on ammo and health items in a survival horror before, to the point where I needed to rely on Beginner Mode to clear the final boss. Puzzles can oscillate from really satisfying (the first number code door) to finicky or obtuse (the chain hook + door).

Regarding the characters, I really liked all of them aside from Douglas, who needed more development. Vincent's performance especially is really off, but in a way that enhances the character I can't extend the same to Heather, but she's a good MC all the same. Claudia was an appreciably nuanced take on the "insane religious extremist" archetype.

Overall, my ranking of the series so far is 1 >= 2 >> 3. Hope to get to 4 soon.