
It's been about a week since the release of Silent Hill 2 on PS5. Expectations were incredibly mixed leading up to the remake's launch, with Konami handing its once beloved franchise off to Polish developer Bloober Team — a horror-focused studio with a fairly spotty track record.
But by and large, the revival has been really well received. Critics loved it, and it seems to have struck a chord with both new and returning Silent Hill players. An impressive achievement, to be sure.
We gave the remake a thoroughly impressive 9/10 in our Silent Hill 2 PS5 review. "Silent Hill 2 speaks for itself: a spectacular experience that once again represents survival horror at its best," we concluded.
But we want to know what you think of the Silent Hill 2 remake. As always, give it a review score of your own in our poll, and then beware the fog in the comments section below.
Comments 83
A solid 7 from me. I liked it a lot, but it's not perfect. The stupid mannequin jump scares, pacing issues, and an inconsistent performance from Mary/Maria's actress are my biggest gripes.
Even with those in mind, this is probably the best survival horror game ever made from sound design and art direction perspectives. It's been a very long time since I've played a horror game this emotionally and mentally draining. The highest compliment I can give is that I never want to play this again.
I'm about 2/3 into it, and so far, it's a 10 for me. I can't believe how good it is. It will most likely become my favorite survival horror game ever.
@RBMango I like the "jumpscares" and never thought anything bad about the performances of Mary/Maria. My only gripe would be that it's too easy, apparently like the original. It's a horror game but not "survival" for me because I never had any worry about enemies, ammo or health.
The game nailed the atmosphere and everything else though. 8 or 9? I'm not sure what I can decide on.
An 8 for me, it's technical issues (thanks UE5) prevent it from being any higher. Also I feel the mannequins are overused and the some of the bosses aren't great.
On the positive side, it really is a fantastic game that just oozes atmosphere and has been smartly updated from the original with some great performances from it's cast, the sound design and visuals are excellent.
Overall it's one of the best remakes I've played and up there with the Resident Evil remakes
@TruestoryYep The actress playing Mary/Maria isn't "bad"; just inconsistent IMO. I think she just got poor directing at times, especially in the very flat delivery of the final monologue. That's one of my favorite bits of acting in a video game in the original and they butchered it in this remake.
Regarding difficulty, I found it harder than the original because of the increased number of enemies that could appear at a time. Especially during the Brookhaven and Toluca Prison, I had to be very careful with ammo conservation or I'd be screwed.
4% of the voters are salty I see lmaoooo
I was really excited for this back in the day, watched and read whatever I could about it, loved the first one, then it came out and I just.. didn’t buy it.
I know what the story is about, loosely. I will get it before the end of the year for sure. Looking forward to playing it finally. I love the genre and I am positive it’s top tier stuff.
@DonJorginho
They can be salty as long as they don't come into the comments with their "hot takes" and "opinions". This game is getting universal acclaim from both critics and fans so whatever they have to say can stay in their head.
@MikeOrator “but but but Angela isn’t attractive to me so it’s a 1/10” 😭😭
Easiest 10 ever and GOTY for me. Luke Roberts' performance is incredible btw.
An easy 9/10. Having never played the original, I was unsure what to expect. I’m now about to finish the game, and I can confidently say it’s one of the best survival horror games I’ve ever played. It’s been an incredible experience. And the only reason I’m not giving it a 10/10 is because the first two hours were very sluggish.
It’s a 9 for me everything is nailed bar the performance of the game itself. Still loving it! Just got to Brookhaven
I would say a solid 9! Amazing game!
I'm going to get this at some point.
Looks awesome
Always some sad cretins putting ridiculous scores. Embarrassing
@carlos82
Yeah, i watched the DF video. I like the style of game (I vaguely remember playing the original), but will wait to see if they do a Pro enhancement before I buy on this one.
As of writing this, I just rolled the credits on my first playthrough. Here is an interesting detail I just discovered — there is a trophy for completing the game in under 10 hours; however, if your in-game clock goes past 24 hours, the trophy will still unlock because it resets the timer.
Looking forward to this but not at full whack, pick it up I'm a sale 👍
Definitely an 8, it is a great remake but Maria/ Mary's voice acting is just not good. It is so robotic and unnatural compared to the OG and since she is such a big part of the game it drops score of the game by a couple points. Everything else though is top notch besides a couple small flaws like Maria being in front of us during a certain chase.
@Loamy Again, it isn't "bad", but the remake's version of it lacks the emotional gut punch that the monologue in the OG delivers. It's obvious Monica Taylor Horgan was holding back real tears delivering that monologue in the recording booth and those cracks in her voice make the moment all the more raw. I miss that genuine human touch in the remake's version of it.
Everyone else in the remake is outstanding though, especially whoever they got to play Angela.
@DonJorginho Yes, the young 19-year-old woman who looks intentionally much older and weary to show the physical effects of life-long abuse isn't attractive. These people are idiots.
https://www.thegamer.com/silent-hill-2-bloober-team-the-medium-apology/
This is the most asinine and arrogant pat on the back article I've ever read within gaming. I'm happy for bloober and their success. The games a 9 or 10 for me. People who think like this however really got me scratching my head.
honestly since we haven't seen silent hill this active in so long , i was willing to over look some of the flaws , closer to a 8 or a 8.25 if i could do a uneven score. but i think they did way better then most people expected. i really hope that they do part 3 next.
I'm not finished yet. But so far it's a pure masterpiece in my opinion.
As someone who thinks the original from 2001 is one of the really best works of video gaming ever made, this remake couldn't have done better. Pure love❤️❤️❤️
I played the original silent hill and sacked it off cos I couldn’t solve a puzzle(pre internet for me)so I never played the rest.in this remake I was most impressed by that with using the map, I never got stuck. It kept the flow going. Rather than wandering aimlessly around, I knew my goal and when I wandered off path it always seemed to be the right way. I still googled most of the puzzles!
Probably game of the year for me
This gets a solid 8 from me.
Silent Hill is not new to me - been playing them since 1999, and this one is definitely in the same tier as the original 2 and 3.
Definitely a few missed opportunities here. Weapons could have been a little more diverse. Same with enemies. There is some camera jitter when moving it around and James' back is to a wall. I have several nitpicks around their firearm/ammo selections, but those are relatively minor details in the grand scheme of things. Bloober absolutely nailed the sound and art design. I really enjoyed the puzzles. The combat was just ok for me - a little repetitive with the lack of variance in weapons and enemies.
Overall, a solid game - definitely up there with the remake of RE2.
Its a solid 8 for me. Its not all bells and whistles and full on current gen, but its such a great recreation of the original. I actually dug out the 2001 PS2 version and watched the Making Of dvd (im sure its on youtube, it was really interesting seeing the designers talk about Eros and Thanatos and the fact Eddies physical model was based one one of their friends). But, watching it, the 2001 game looks really dated and the voice acting of James and Laura isnt great. It could gave been a poisoned chalice, but Blooper team pulled off something special. My only real gripe at the moment, is there doesnt fell like theres a lot of the original music
Just started my play through. So far, so great!
Scary and claustrophobic.
10 hours in and absolutely loving it. Played the original to death back in the day, and feel confident saying they absolutely nailed it. This is the same terrifying, highly disturbing Silent Hill we know and love. Again, nowhere near being finished (just finished the apartment building; I play slowly), but so far it’s a knockout. Atmosphere, art direction, sound (WOW), and combat are all fantastic. So… my review-in-progress score is a current 10
I cant give it a score as i played an hour of it, got the duke box machine working and am too scared to continue 😂😂
Ive never been good with anything horror related. Even the RE games are too creepy for me so why the hell i got SH2 is beyond me.
I'd land somewhere between a 9 and a 10.
My only small gripes are it is overall too easy (highly recommend setting combat to hard, even for new players), some of the areas - Toluca Prison and The Labyrinth - are so dark on standard settings on an OLED I can barely see what's going on, and the red effect on the screen when you get injured looks really cheap and is very distracting.
I ended the game with a pharmacy full of healing items and a ton of bullets on normal difficulty, even though I wasn't really conserving anything. I've started a second playthrough on hard and it feels more balanced.
Very small complaints. Overall amazing game.
I’ve yet to start it. I’ve been too busy with Sparking Zero the past week, but I’m almost expecting it to be a definite 9/10, based on what others I know have said about it and my feelings of the original. I’ve heard that I’ll like it as much as the REmakes and they’ve all been in 9/10 territory for me (yes, 3 included, even if it’s the least of them).
@somnambulance
Yeah it definitely gave me RE2 remake vibes, which is a big compliment. I played the original SH 1 and 2 back in the day and loved em, but I like the remake even better.
I'll have to think about it a bit more, but I think this is my favorite horror game of all time now. And I'm a huge horror game buff, I try to play everything I have time for.
Bloober really pulled it off and I am shocked how good they did.
@RBMango Gotta agree that it feels like it was not the actress fault, because she shows depth and range in many scenes. It feels sometimes she was deliberately directed to act different than the original just for the sake of being different, not really better.
6 it's just not my thing. Resident evil 4 us my favourite game of all time & I do enjoy horror games but I was so bored playing this! Tedious puzzles & boring enemy's just not for me.
Other than occasional stutter (which made me give it a 9 rather than a 10), the game is fantastic.
I find it much more intense than the original game, too.
Plus, yesterday, the RT reflections in the game actually saved my butt because an enemy I didn't see due to having the camera turned reflected in the window - scared the crap out of me, but also allowed me to dodge it!
+1 for realism!
Silent Hill 2 Remake is my favorite horror game at this point. I played thru 4 times which I never do with any other games. Loved it.
@UnlimitedSevens Way to help my anticipation skyrocket! Lol. I loved the original. In fact, I’d put Silent Hill 2 (the original) above the original RE games, so, to hear that… man… Now, that said, I do prefer RE7 and 8 to the older RE games and even SH2, and Alan Wake 2 and PT top even those for me too. It would be insane if SH2 tops those two for me, but I’m open to it. It’s a high bar, as I’d probably put both games in my personal top 10 of all time, but hey Rebirth happened this year, Astro Bot happened this year, Balatro happened this year. It’s been a year of some genre defining classics for me. I can accept more of them happening.
The silent hill remake is excellent.a 9 definitely.word up son
Reading all these comments make me jealous of all you lot that can stomach the genre. Damn you all 😂😂
I haven't played it yet, looking forward to it. On that note, I voted it a 1/10, mainly to screw with those people who always point these things out. Feels good!
An easy 9… 1 point off for a couple of technical/visual glitches like clipping that I’ve encountered running in Performance mode - that aside this remake is absolutely incredible, both familiar and fresh, and as someone who was a multiple repeat player of the original (and for whom the entire series holds a special place in my cold black heart) I couldn’t be more thrilled - and terrified - with what Bloober has created here; it’s absolutely brilliant to be back in town.
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
@somnambulance
It's been a great year for third party indies, and I'm really happy about horror games getting a proper resurgence with games like RE4 and Dead Space remakes.
I won't spoil anything but they added new endings to SH2 for the remake and one of them basically supersedes any of the other endings in my own personal head cannon based on how well it was done. Obviously Bloober are massive fans of Silent Hill and it shows. They kept what needed to be kept, and made meaningful changes on top of it in a really masterful way.
Oh, and the voice actor for James (Luke Roberts) deserves a best performance award or something for this. Angela's voice actor knocks it out of the park too. I actually thought Mary's voice work was a slight step down though, but the original voice actor (Monica Horgan) was legendary so that was a tough hill to climb.
I normally don't even notice voice acting in a game, it's just there. But this was really good stuff.
I give it an IGN 7/10, it scares me to death and that is good, but the combat sucks something fierce. The atmosphere is cool to look at, but outside that. The game will be a one-time play for me. Game is kinda boring otherwise. Granted this is my first Silent Hill game and I went into it thinking I was playing the competitor to Resident Evil. Does not even feel the same.
No idea. Can't seem to find a physical copy to buy in the UK!
Not that I’ve played this yet, but I can’t help but to laugh at the trolls that always vote for a 1, looks alone would give this a higher score than that. Silly people.
I'm up to the hosptial and its a strong 8 for me, and far better than I had imagined. Performance isn't great is my main gripe, although as I'm playing on PC not sure if that's just my rig (although playing at 1080 on a 4060 so would have thought that would be ok!) Atmosphere is bang on though, which was always the main concern going in
@Kidfunkadelic83 I was about the suggest you give it a go as it really isn't too scary, but on reflection the best thing about it is an overriding sense of dread and feeling uncomfortable, and if that's not your idea of a good time I doubt this would change your opinion!
I never played the original, but of course I was aware of its legendary status. There was no question for me to give this one a shot as I like survival horror games. All I can say this Remake is just amazing, love it in every aspect. The atmosphere is so tense, even more than in my beloved Resident Evil remakes. Gameplay, puzzles, sound design are very well made. For me it is a10/10. Simple as that
Watched some gameplay videos, it looked quite repetitive and boring in places. I'll wait for a sale and give it a 6/10, not bad not great.
@PapaGlitch its most certainly not my idea of a good time at all. I was ok with Resi 2 until MR X came stomping towards me then i swiftly turned it off and never played it again 😂😂. Jump scares are the worst tho. I may try SH2 again on a bright summers day 😂
The frame rate on PC is so inconsistent for me, so just for that I would take off a point or two. I also agree that some of the performance choices from characters like Maria and Angela were a bit odd and could have been made more believable. But as a survival horror experience it's really up there with Resident Evil 2 I think.
@MikeOrator I am enjoying the game, but your comment doesn't make sense to me. "Only the people that have the same opinions as I do are allowed to comment, because their opinions are wrong!" That's how echo chambers are made. Just because it's the popular opinion doesn't mean it's the only valid one.
First half of the game 9, had a good mix of gameplay and I could actually see what the hell was going on even in dark areas. Second half of the game 6, from the hospital basement onward it’s just been constant combat in increasingly darkening hallways.
My only problem with it is the performance issues but hopefully the Pro will fix that
@IntrepidWombat
People are allowed to have wrong opinions and can talk about those opinions wherever they want, it's just nice sometimes not to have to put up with all the silliness.
@IntrepidWombat Seriously. It’s so boring if people have the same opinion. Boohoo if someone doesn’t agree that a game is good or not.
@DonJorginho That's the Twitter group the insane stuff they spout really shows me why I should stay away from the that social media.
@Ashfordwasp I preordered it with a steelcase but the physical copies are almost nowhere to be found. And I can see what they will say people don't want physical yeah because you can't get it anywhere.
@Summer235 This game is not a abysmal game even if you don't like it. Opinions and utter nonsense are two things that are a thing as well.
I had such a good time playing Silent Hill 2 Reamke. It was just as good as the original. The modern gameplay made it a little better in my opinion. Bloober Team deserve the highest of praise. Well done Bloober.
@Flaming_Kaiser Who gets to decide what's opinion and what's utter nonsense? I think Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is an unplayable disaster with unbelievably poor combat mechanics and an identity crisis. Is that nonsense because it's an unpopular opinion? Different people have different perspectives. If you have a different opinion, power to you. You don't get to be the arbiter of whether or not my opinion or anyone else's is valid though.
February vibes I’ll play it then.
I have no clue how some of you played through already and even one or two of you even played through 4... that's right, 4 times!!
I started on launch day and I just only finished the hospital. Granted, I am scouring every nook and cranny because I'm loving the memories you come across and finding extra ammo and health has saved my butt. I'm playing on Normal for combat and puzzles and I am finding myself dying quite often and really trying to conserve health and ammo. I'm finally getting the hang of enemy attack patterns. Some of the enemies just tank through my attacks and I get punished dark souls style which is on me I know but... It's tough for me, I'll say that much.
I guess I got bad at games over the years haha...
8/10 for me due to glaring inconsistencies in black levels between different areas of the game.
@Flaming_Kaiser I’m not sure what people are complaining about since I don’t pay attention to it. I’m just saying people can voice opinions without someone dictating if it’s wrong or not.
@CrashBandicoat Great points.
Definitely not a GOTY contender. It's between a 7-8 for me. Finished it last night. My issues were that the game was far too long. It kept dragging during the last five hours or so. Most of the game was too dark, even with changes in the settings. And the combat system was just horrible. Strangely, I got the "finish the game in under ten hours" trophy, but it took me 25 hours to finish the game. Confused about that one. Lol.
@torquex You're giving it a 6 and you haven't played it? Lol.
@Summer235 You can but don't se ridiculous you know this game is not abysmal in the slightest. I agree you can hate its gameplay but come on its not a abysmal game.
9/10 - absolutely loved it. Docked a point for poor camera placement during indoor melee.
@Romans12 I watched lots of gameplay videos so it feels like i've played it, it's very similar to other third person games. I've been gaming for years and i've never played a perfect 10 there is always something i like and something i dislike in games so that's the score i'm likely to give most titles like this game. I'll wait it out for a better deal and maybe get this game and alan wake 2.
People scoring it above a 5 have never played the original Silent Hill 2, or absolutely did not understand the game.
Definitely a 9 out of 10 from me! Without comparing it to the original, its just a really great horror game. Some of the best sound design in the genre, and the visuals look great. The only real complaint I have is that the camera has quite a few issues that were simply ignored to meet the deadline. There's no way it didn't come up in the debugging process.
It really gets hung up on doors and most other objects in small spaces and jitters uncontrollably for a couple of seconds. I feel like the camera has 0 flexibility and can get you in a bad situation once or twice per playthrough.
My only complaints are similar to those of others I’ve seen - a couple of the areas drag on juuuuust a bit too long, and there were a couple minor technical issues. Other than that, it’s a wonderful game and one I’m very glad to have experienced in a modern form. Definitely 9/10 from me.
It will be a travesty if the sound design team and composer don’t win an award for their efforts. The sound design is incredible.
@Fishnpeas And have you actually played this game? If you think it's a 5 or below, then you haven't truly played an average or bad game.
@Fartingale not even being a smart aleck, that’s actually part of it as you descend deeper and deeper in to the “depths” of the game. I struggled to see in the later levels also, but it’s really just part of your journey in to the character’s own nightmare world. Darker and darker places.
@Kidfunkadelic83 I know everyone is different in what “scares” them, but it’s really not too bad. A few “oh crap” scares but nothing too jarring. It’s mostly a sense of dread and unease more than “here’s horrifying monsters and gore” at every turn. Unless you’re just really sensitive I suggest you give it a shot,
@TheGrizMan and here lies the problem. Everything scares me 😂 if im being honest tho, the radio is a big help in preparing me for upcoming monsters. Jump scares are really the ones that get me tho. I remember playing PT and your character turns around and the woman is just standing in front of you. I dont think my wife has ever used as much stain remover whilst washing my underwear before 😂😂
Well im very near the end but havent quite beat it. I gave it an 8 but its probably closer to a 9 in reality. Really only minor gripes. I do think the mannequins are oveeused and the radio doesnt pick them up right away anyway. Particularly bad in the last area. I would have preferred a new different type of enemy later in the game. I did feel the hospital and particularly the prison/labyrinth areas dragged on too long. Personally i would have preferred they made the town a little bigger instead of making those areas longer. Also opening up more of the buildings and areas. Walking around the streets and shops is my favorite part of the game. I hate it when games lock you out of places you should be able to go. It was probably this way in the original but i didnt get too far in it. To me the difficulty is fine. I find it not that easy on light mode. I did start out on normal, its not much different anyway but chose to go to light hoping id get more stuff. Same with puzzles. I went light and still had to google a few. I was fine with puzzles back in the day but now i just feel they take me out of the experience. All these nitpicks are minor though, totally enjoying the game.
@Lanmanna I've played more games in the last 40 years than you will ever play.
And yes I have played it, and it's a reskin of TLOU/Resi2/3/generic cardboard blandness that we have been having for the last 5 years.
These things aren't made for gamers, they're made for tourists who don't want to be challenged in any way but want to say they have experienced something.
@playstation1995 You throw around scores for games you've never played yourself.
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