Member the games you used to play? We member. The basement at the Hardcore Gamer office has a section known as the Crust Room, with an old grey couch and a big old CRT TV. All the classic systems are down there collecting dust, so in an effort to improve the cleanliness of our work space, we dust off these old consoles every so often and put an old game through its paces, just to make sure everything stays in working order. We even have a beige computer with a floppy disk drive.
The late ’90s through the early aughts was a great time for fans of survival horror. The genre had existed before this time, but this is when it enjoyed a high level of popularity with a series of memorable games that were less focused on action and more on atmosphere. Instead of near invincible action heroes, players stepped into the shoes of protagonists that were clearly outmatched against horrific enemies and situations. Many classic games from this era are still talked about today and have been given new life through remasters and remakes. Which game deserves the crown of best survival game from this time period is a subjective matter, but a strong contender isSilent Hill 2.
Review: Silent Hill: The Short Message
If Silent Hill: The Short Message is meant to be a look at the future of the series, then…well, at least we can say it had a good run (mostly).
In My Restless Dreams I See That Town
James Sunderland is in a public bathroom located on the outskirts of Silent Hill, a town in Maine that has strong memories associated with it. He is returning here in response to a letter he received that appears to have been sent to him by Mary, his wife who succumbed to illness three years prior. Why he returned because of the letter is a mystery, as the dead don’t send written correspondence. Mary is dead. She couldn’t have sent the letter, but for some reason it was enough to compel James to return and search for an answer. Loneliness, guilt or wishing she was alive somehow could be motivating factors.
The main road into Silent Hill is blocked off, so James must continue the journey on foot. Whatever Silent Hill was like before, this can’t be how James remembers it. On his walk to town, he passes through a cemetery where he meets Angela, one of the four people that seem to be the only remaining residents of Silent Hill. Fog is everywhere, obscuring most of the scenery and the danger that lurks within, and the abandoned town lies in ruins. Many areas are blocked off while other roads end in craters. Nightmarish creatures roam the streets and occupy the buildings. Are these former residents transformed into horrific abominations or something else entirely?
Silent Hill 2 is one of the better examples of effectively using psychological horror in a game. It was able to achieve this by drawing influence from a variety of different sources. There are subtle nods to these throughout the game. There’s one room in the apartment building that strongly suggests that it was a callback to Silence of the Lambs, and the overall vibe of the game with James wresting with his history with Mary and the demons he encounters is reminiscent of the film Jacob’s Ladder.
It’s up for debate who first said “good artists borrow, great artists steal,” which can be applied to Silent Hill 2. Silent Hill 2 was not the first game to wear the tags of psychological horror and survival horror, it’s just one of the best examples of such. The design of its environments can be traced to games that came before, and the overall look and design of Silent Hill was built on ideas that were harvested from narrative painters along with classic and contemporary horror films. The end result was an original experience and a masterpiece of horror gaming with a story that can haunt the player’s restless dreams. It doesn’t rely on jump scares or even tries to be scary, but it does deal with enough disturbing imagery and subject matter to create an unnerving experience.
Shiny Happy People
Silent Hill looks like even when it was a regular town it was a quiet place. During James' visit, he encounters four other people. There’s Angela Orosco, a young woman who ran away from home in search of her mother, after enduring horrible abuse. Eddie Dombrowski, a man who also ran away after committing horrible acts due to the abuse he received from others. Laura, an insufferable eight-year-old brat who claims to know Mary. And there’s Maria, a woman who could be Mary’s doppleganger. She claims not to know Mary, but because of her fear of monsters, she decides to accompany James for part of his journey, though there are a few occurrences with her that may make him question his sanity and understanding of reality.
Even with such a small cast of characters, Silent Hill 2 covers a wide variety of unpleasant themes. Suicide, murder and mental illness are brought up frequently as James reads more about the town’s history. Abuse and the effect it can have on someone is shown through the characters of Angela and Eddie. Their screen time is limited, but their stories are enough to give the player a good emotional gut punch in watching them deal with past trauma, and also makes it easier to understand, but not excuse, terrible actions they may have committed.
James learns about some horrible things Eddie did, but hearing Eddie discuss them, it’s hard to be completely unsympathetic to him. Not that his emotional mindset justifies what he did, but one can empathize how he was pushed to such a point. The relationship with James and Mary is explored as well, particularly guilt James might feel over Mary’s death from her illness. Pyramid Head has become one of the more iconic game villains, but he plays an important symbolic role in James’s story.
Puzzling Exploration
The gameplay in Silent Hill 2 consists of exploration, puzzle solving and staying alive, which can mean either killing monsters or avoiding them. The objectives aren’t usually spelled out and it’s up to the player to figure out what to do next. By thoroughly exploring Silent Hill, James will come across various notes and other clues that point him in the right direction, which thankfully, he has the sense to mark points of interest on his maps. It’s not the most straightforward system, but that’s part of the charm.
By paying attention to the various surroundings, it isn’t too difficult to figure out where to go next. One of the elements that was particularly impressive was how James would turn his head in the direction of an item. Many items are small and sometimes blend in with their surroundings, and watching James can show a player where an item of interest may be. Another useful feature is the radio, which is quiet unless monsters are nearby, at which time it activates as an audible warning of their proximity.
This may be considered heresy, but some mechanics that were standard for their time have not aged well. The first offender is the static camera. Most contemporary games have spoiled us by having a movable camera with the right stick. This is not the case with Silent Hill 2 as the camera is completely out of the player’s control. This can lead to situations where James is walking down a hallway, and the camera is focused on his face, which is the least advantageous point of view, especially if the radio starts transmitting. This can also lead to minor annoyances of traveling between rooms, where holding the left thumbstick will make James suddenly turn around due to the change in camera angle.
Sony Hints at 2024 Release for Metal Gear Solid 3, Silent Hill 2 Remakes
A new PlayStation montage seems to suggest that the remakes of Silent Hill 2 and Metal Gear Solid 3 are both coming later this year
A way to work around this is to set the options to 3D controls, where pressing up on the thumbstick will move James in whatever direction he’s facing. This control is good for avoiding the sudden camera shift, but terrible for all other aspects of gameplay. The 2D control scheme is closer to what most games use, but then there’s the camera issue. The controls can also be frustrating in battle. Part of survival horror and the plot of Silent Hill 2 is that James is not a trained combatant, so one wouldn’t expect him to be an expert in battle, but the speed and finesse at which he swings the 2x4 suggests that plank of wood with a nail weighs as much as an Olympic barbell. These mechanical issues aren’t so much indicative of bad game design, but rather a product of its time that just doesn’t hold up as well.
Later releases of Silent Hill 2 include a side story titled Born From a Wish. It’s a short chapter that can be completed in under an hour. In Born From a Wish, the player controls Maria prior to her meeting with James. She’s alone in town until she wanders into a mansion and meets a man named Ernest Baldwin. Meet may be a strong word, as he only speaks to her from behind a closed door. It’s interesting for supplemental material, as it shows what Maria was doing prior to her encounter with James. It does build upon the lore of Silent Hill as it shows another individual going through similarly bizarre scenarios like James, but isn’t essential for understanding the base game of Silent Hill 2, nor does it build on it significantly.
Freedom of Choice
There are a total of six different endings for Silent Hill 2, seven if you count Born From a Wish. Three of the endings are available during the first playthrough, where the player’s actions will determine the endings. Actions such as examining items in the inventory or checking on characters can factor into which ending is acquired. The other three endings can only be obtained on subsequent play-throughs. These other three endings require certain conditions being met, which includes acquiring items that are not available in the initial playthrough. Two of these endings are jokes and one of them is a serious outcome. Silent Hill 2 is a short enough game, about 8–10 hours, where achieving all endings can be done in the same amount of time it can take to complete a single playthrough of some modern AAA games.
An interesting approach to the game play of Silent Hill 2 are the difficulty options. There are difficulty levels for the action and riddles which are independent of each other. Depending on how the player wishes to experience the game, they can set it to where the monsters of Silent Hill are incredibly powerful, but the puzzles are simple. Or if they want James to feel powerful, set the action difficulty to easy, so James can just slaughter the monsters but make the puzzles more challenging because that’s more enjoyable for them. Or make them both hard or easy, whatever style the player prefers. Setting the action difficulty higher creates a greater sense of tension and is closer to the intended survival horror feel, as James’s situation is a lot less scary if he can take out most monsters in one or two hits with a board with a nail in it. The puzzles can change dramatically across the different difficulty settings, ranging from obvious to cryptic.
Legacy and Hope for the Remake
Silent Hill 2 is regarded as one of the best survival horror games of all time, and even with the aforementioned criticism of the controls and camera, I can’t disagree with that consensus. Silent Hill 2 starts off slowly but has a way of sucking the player in after the first hour or two. Solving puzzles and naturally exploring the town slowly reveals the history of the town and James’s current situation. The presentation is done so in a way where the player is questioning where exactly the lines are between otherworldly horror and James’s deteriorating psyche. Silent Hill 2 is one of those games where all the different elements come together perfectly to create an incredible gaming experience. The soundtrack does an incredible job of creating suspense and a sense of dread, and the monsters look like twisted beings born of nightmares. There have been many worthwhile horror games to come out since the release, but playing Silent Hill 2 makes it apparent why it continues to be one generally considered one of the best in the genre.
Collector’s Cabinet: Silent Hill 2 - Red Pyramid Thing 1/6 Scale Limited PVC Statue
In a few months there will be a Silent Hill 2 remake, which could be a point of contention for fans. Remaking a game is always a gamble, especially one where the original really hits the mark. There have been some remakes that actually improve on the original, but we all know that’s not always the case. The best thing about the upcoming remake is it will make Silent Hill 2 accessible on modern hardware, which could be great for people who missed out on it before or played it 20 years ago but no longer have the hardware for it. There are varying opinions on what people would want to see in the remake. Personally speaking, aside from touching up the visuals, it’d be nice to be able to control the camera and tighten up the controls, as those are the main areas of criticism of the original. Some quality-of-life improvements, such as a quick save feature, but beyond that the more faithful to the original the better. The atmosphere, story and soundtrack are perfect the way they are.
Silent Hill was originally released in 2001 for PlayStation 2 and was ported to Xbox and PC not long afterward. The Xbox and PC port included the Born From a Wish content, which was added to PlayStation 2 when it was re-released as one of Sony’s Greatest Hits. Silent Hill 2 was remastered in HD and released again in 2012 as part of the Silent Hill HD Collection for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, which also includes a remastered version of Silent Hill 3. The HD Collection features new voice actors, but there’s an option to play with the original voice actors for Silent Hill 2, which is always a nice option for anyone playing it for nostalgia reasons.
