Silent Hill 2

While I enjoyed the first Silent Hill when I played it last year I think I understand why everyone reveres the sequel so much. There's simply so much more to chew on.

I played this on my almost two-decade-old PlayStation 2.

Some of my only prior assumptions about this series related to the idea that this town was "a manifestation of its visitors' fears or trauma (or something)" so it was reassuring to see that was the case here, given how the first game was a much more straightforward tale of supernatural entities and cults. I appreciate the simplicity of the first game's story concerning normal people getting wrapped up in something far bigger than them and in some ways I maybe even prefer those stories, generally, but the intertwined personal narratives on display here are definitely more nuanced.

For starters, there is a lot going on with James's character and that makes for a compelling protagonist. Even when the story shows him making some radical decisions his character feels fleshed out enough and "real" enough that I can understand why he does the things he does. Something both of these games have shined at is their ability to create realistic characters. The performances often feel naturalistic and awkward in a way that hammers home the fact that these are meant to be ordinary people.

Maria is also a fascinating character.

I could probably go on and speculate about the "meaning" behind certain plot points or could comment on how the story unfolds, but this game is old enough that those conversations have already been done to death and I doubt I even have any insight that goes deeper than surface-level analysis. My big takeaway, then, is that while the first game is a pretty literal story set in an unsettling environment, the characters and progression of this second game match the off-kilter and dreamlike nature of their surroundings. Silent Hill is a weird town and this game manages to make it feel even weirder than it felt in the first game.

There is a shocking amount of hole discussion in this game.

In addition to the story taking a different tack to the first this does a good job of keeping its enemies and locations fresh as well. While there was some of this in the first game, this one doubles down on the medical imagery seen in the first by frequently having you encounter nurses and patients in straightjackets (and even some animated hospital beds? I think?). The demonic otherworldly creatures are back too however, with creatures made of mannequin legs, a phallic fleshy... thing, and, of course, Pyramid Head. 

Though maybe I should say "Red Pyramid Thing". This game uses both terms to refer to him so I at least now understand why the general community and Konami are a bit split on how to refer to him. Regardless, what a good design. I was satisfied with the explanation behind him (what little they allude to, anyway) and every time he showed up his presence made my heart race. He wasn't necessarily even that much of a danger and he could be easily outrun but man is he an imposing figure. I understand why he's effectively become the face of this franchise.

 

Just look at this guy.

Now, I'll end this with some criticism. The combat isn't great. It improved significantly once I figured out a mechanic I'd somehow missed for the first few hours but it was still clunky and often imprecise. I understand that's intentional, to some extent at least, but situations where you're taking damage before you've even fully loaded into an area or are getting damaged from enemies you can't see and who you can't even easily maneuver into the camera's view are frustrating and getting punished in these sorts of encounters never felt particularly deserved. When you're in an open enough area or have a relatively good angle open to you the awkwardness is manageable and mistakes in those situations at least don't feel unfair, but most of this game is comprised of narrow hallways so you never truly feel "secure". But, again, James isn't supposed to be a combat expert so some uneven encounters and inconsistent mechanics feel true to the story. I'm just saying that it was often a bit of a pain to play.

I've since looked at the other endings but this one felt pretty satisfying

Because it wasn't included in my PS2 copy of Silent Hill I almost missed this, but I realized I needed to seek out some way to play the new content they added in subsequent releases. I don't have any real idea of what the original PC release was like, but this search for a newer version meant I had an excuse to try out the "Enhanced Edition" fans have put together for it. It runs well and despite the higher resolution and graphical fidelity it still (mostly) keeps the general aesthetic intact, so it seems like it'd be a good way to play this.

With that out of the way, I want to talk about "Born From a Wish". It's pretty short (maybe around an hour) but it places a focus on Maria and, importantly, her actions before she meets up with James. This game is billed as a sub-campaign, but it should only be played after you've already completed the main story because it builds on certain narrative beats from late in James' story, and the ending credits sequence outright shows sequences from the original game.

Maria was an interesting character in large part because of how she related to James in the original story, but by giving her some agency and showing how she acts without his involvement it fleshes her out immeasurably. She doesn't necessarily do all that much here outside of interacting with an inhabitant of the town and exploring his home but her dialogue shows off elements of her character that were largely absent in the base game.

This is also largely set in a Resident Evil-style manor and that makes for a nice change of pace

It's hard to talk about why this works so much without going into how she factors into Silent Hill 2's primary story, but I'm trying not to spoil things because, well, I made it this far (mostly) unscathed. I'd overheard a few plot points during this past year when that trailer for the remake was going around but the execution of those details was luckily something I was very in the dark on. Getting to experience a story as influential and appreciated as this with fresh eyes was something I greatly appreciated and I wouldn't want to keep anyone else from going in with an open mind. If you still want to hear more despite that warning, this video by eurothug4000 (a YouTuber I discovered relatively recently) articulates many of the points that I probably would've gotten to here.

 I left this idle for a while so my "real" time is probably only around half this

To close this off, I know the Internet doesn't seem too optimistic about that Bloober Team remake but I'm gonna try to keep my hopes out. This game has some issues and a second take on it with some modern additions has potential. Better combat/menu interactions would be nice (I felt like I was constantly reopening my map or switching to items or reloading in-menu, and something a bit more fluid would be appreciated). And as for Pyramid Head, a version of this game with a persistent "pursuer" enemy, a la Alien Isolation or the Resident Evil 2 remake could actually be an interesting addition. That being said, this original PS2 game is still incredibly playable so it's not like it necessarily even needs a remake, and Bloober Team doesn't have an excellent track record so I don't blame people for being worried. Who knows though, it could be good!

Seriously, so many holes.

Resident Evil's 2002 remake is next on my agenda but that doesn't mean I'm not looking forward to Silent Hill 3. My understanding is that it's (to some extent) a followup to the first game and based on some information I picked up recently I feel like I have at least some idea of what that could mean. I just hope the thing-I-know isn't a late-game reveal or too vital to the way the story unfolds.