Silent Hill 2: Lakeview Hotel Walkthrough - All Collectibles: Memos, Strange Photos, Glimpses of the Past

In this eighth part of our Silent Hill 2 Walkthrough, which presents a step-by-step guide to completing the entire game on PS5, including Collectibles, we'll be covering the Lakeview Hotel. You'll arrive here after rowing across Toluca Lake following the Labyrinth, and the place brings the game to a close.

This Walkthrough is intended for a playthrough where the Combat Challenge and Puzzles Challenge are both set to the Standard option. For more information covering Combat and Puzzles difficulty options, click the link. This page offers a full guide through the location, from the moment you reach its shoreline to the credits rolling. This also includes how to solve the Music Box puzzle in the Lobby and how to solve the Mirror puzzle in Room 202.

Silent Hill 2: Lakeview Hotel Walkthrough - All Collectibles: Memos, Strange Photos, Glimpses of the Past

Having rowed across Toluca Lake, you'll arrive at the Lakeview Hotel, the final destination in the game. Once you have control of James, head for the back wall beyond the staircase to find the Lakeview Hotel Garden Map. Go upstairs and leave the pier to reach solid ground, where up the stone staircase James will comment on how the place hasn't changed at all in the 3 years since he was last here. Facing the middle water feature, turn right and follow the path to a wall, where on the right underneath the tree is a Rotten Apple you can pick up. From this position, head north up the path and you should come to a water feature with a fish on top. On the opposite side of the slate of text is a Glimpse of the Past.

Glimpses of the Past #1

From where you find the Rotten Apple on the right-hand side of the Garden, head north up the path to a water feature with a fish leaping out of it. On the side opposite to the slate of text is the Glimpse of the Past inside the bowl.

You can now enter the hotel, where on your immediate right will be the Lakeview Hotel 1F, 2F, 3F, and Basement Maps. As James will point out, Room B12 on floor 3F has been annotated with "Waiting for you..." on it.

Start by descending the staircase in front to reach the Utility Room in the Basement, where you'll find Cleaning Staff Memo #1 on a desk.

Memo #1: Cleaning Staff Memo #1

When you enter the Lakeview Hotel, go down the stairs in front into the Basement and you'll find this Memo in the Utility Room around the corner to your left.

Return to the entrance area and continue into the Check-In room on your right, where you can save your game, pick up the Room 312 Key and Ornamental Key, and another Memo next to the bell. It speaks of a videotape James had during his last visit to the hotel.

Memo #2: Receptionist Memo

Enter the Check-In room on floor 1F to find the Receptionist Memo on the front desk next to the bell.

Enter the main Lobby area next, where you'll find a large Music Box in the middle you can use the Ornamental Key on. This reveals a more in-depth puzzle that requires 3 items we'll need to find throughout the Lakeview Hotel. For now, enter the Lake Shore Restaurant to find Laura, where she lets James read the letter Mary wrote to her. Laura's Letter also counts as a Memo and is automatically added to your inventory.

Memo #3: Laura's Letter

Enter the Lake Shore Restaurant on floor 1F to find Laura, who gives you this Memo in the cutscene. It's automatically added to your inventory.

After the encounter with Laura, cross the Lobby and enter Cafe Toluca to find the Key to Hotel Room 102 behind the bar, then make a hole in the wall around the corner to create an entrance into Lost & Found. In here will be Handgun Ammo and a Lost & Found Note on the shelving to the right.

Memo #4: Lost & Found Note

Enter Cafe Toluca from the Lobby on floor 1F and go around the corner to find a part of the wall you can break. Head inside Lost & Found and the Memo will be on the shelving to your right.

You can now follow Laura through to the right-hand corridor of hotel rooms. Given the quiet nature of the hotel up until now, you may be surprised to learn there are enemies to defeat in this area. Use the key you have to unlock Room 102, which contains plenty of ammo and health supplies. In Room 104 will be a Strange Photo in the bedside cabinet.

Strange Photo #1: Aftermath...

Enter Room 104 on floor 1F of the Lakeview Hotel to find this Strange Photo in the bedside cabinet.

In Room 106, you can access an outside porch area that grants you a way into Room 103. There's only a Health Drink in one of its drawers, however. In the Utility Room is some Handgun Ammo and the Sunrise Wing Key, then you'll find Room 107 to be locked. That's the first floor searched, so return to the Lobby and head upstairs to use the Sunrise Wing Key on the right-hand set of double doors.

Enter the Reading Room on your immediate right to find multiple items: books titled The One Who Soared, Stalwart to the End, Pride Before the Fall, and Revelations: A New Understanding. On the right-hand side of the bookcase, you're able to slot these books into 4 different positions. We'll come back this later.

Keep the puzzle in the back of your mind and cross the corridor into the Cloakroom to access the Hall. This room is full of mannequins and a few enemies disguised as them, so keep your wits about you. On the couch you'll find the Key to Hotel Room 202, then in the opposite corner on this same side of the room is a Ripe Apple. Outside on the porch, you can climb through an open window into the Nurse's Office. There's a nurse enemy to kill in here as well as a Health Drink, and exiting out and heading left allows you to unlock a shortcut from the staircase.

We suggest returning to the eastern wing of floor 2F for now to make exploration more straightforward, with Room 209 housing ammo. In Room 206, there's an open vent space on the floor you can crawl through to access Room 207, which contains Rifle Rounds. Take the Handgun Ammo and Health Drink from Room 204, then use the key you have to unlock Room 202. Inside you'll find a Mirror you need to put back together, with the solution for doing so found via the following link:

You'll earn the Snow White Figurine after you've figured it out. We're now going to explore the western wing of floor 2F, with the entrance unlocked previously via the Nurse's Office. In the top-left corner of the map, in Room 212, you'll find the first of the Glimpses of the Past in this location.

Glimpses of the Past #2

Having unlocked the western wing of floor 2F via the porch outside the Hall, enter Room 212 and interact with the open suitcase on the floor for this Glimpse of the Past.

Everywhere else in this area is either locked or blocked off to us, so ascend the staircase to floor 3F. In the Conference Room, head for the fireplace to find the Cleaning Staff Note #2 along with Room Key 107.

Memo #5: Cleaning Staff Note #2

Use the western wing of floor 2F to reach floor 3F, then enter the Conference Room to find this Memo attached to the fireplace.

You'll notice the fireplace accepts a key, so we'll need to find that during our travels. Leave the Conference Room and search the Utility Room for ammo and Boltcutters. Now, in the south of this western area, there's a staircase you can use to get back down to a new area on floor 2F. Begin with Room 215, where you can break down a piece of the wall and unlatch the door in Room 214 to create a shortcut back to the rest of floor 2F, then enter Room 217 with all the bird cages. Outside on the porch, you'll notice a book. You need to shoot the glass it's placed on so it drops down to the floor below. Next, head for Room 107, which you have the key to.

Inside is a Memo for Cleaning Staff Note #3, then you can head out into the Garden to find the Fireplace Key in the gazebo.

Memo #6: Cleaning Staff Note #3

When you have the key to unlock Room 107 on floor 1F, you'll find this Memo directly in front of you as you enter.

Return to the hotel and check out the Lake House Restaurant. The book you previously shot down will be in here, and opening it reveals the Can Opener. Next up, go into the Garden again and use the Boltcutters on the locked Gate. This allows you to access the water feature, where you can take a Light Bulb. We're clearing out all our item uses here, so next up, return to the Conference Room on floor 3F and use the Fireplace Key on the Fireplace. This will give you the Cinderella Figurine. James will be attacked in a cutscene, and then you'll need to fight the monster that appears. Once it's dead, you can leave by pushing a cupboard to one side and then fashioning a hole in the wall behind it.

You'll find yourself in Room 317, where hopping over the porch outside leads into Room 318. The Paint Can is on the table, which can be opened using the Can Opener in your inventory. Now, return to the Reading Room on floor 2F and place the books in your inventory in the Bookcase. It'll swing back like a door, revealing access to a secret room. Inside, you'll find 3 Memos, a locked briefcase, and a mirror with a broken light bulb. You need to combine the Light Bulb you have in your inventory with the Open Paint Can to create the Red Light Bulb, which can then be placed in the mirror's socket.

Memo #7: Photo #1

In the secret room behind the Bookcase in the Reading Room on floor 2F, this Memo is on the bed.

Memo #8: Photo #2

In the secret room behind the Bookcase in the Reading Room on floor 2F, this Memo is on the bed.

Memo #9: Photo #3

In the secret room behind the Bookcase in the Reading Room on floor 2F, this Memo is on the bed.

When you do so, the phrase "Deed Done" will appear on the mirror, which is the code you need to use to open the briefcase on the bed. Inside you'll find the Employee Elevator Key, which can be used on this same floor in the western wing. If you try to enter the Elevator now, the alarm will go off. Interact with the Cabinet and place all your items in the bags, boxes, and bowls provided. You can't take anything with you, and then the Elevator will work.

You'll be taken down to a new part of floor 1F, in the Employee Section, where you'll be left completely defenceless with no means of attack. You even need to source a new map; if you enter the room in front, you'll find it pinned to a noticeboard. Try to avoid the enemies as much as you possibly can and head for the Cafeteria in the southwest corner. In here is a Health Drink in case you've gotten hit, and there's a gap in the wall you can squeeze through into the Dish Room. Pick up the Green Gemstone in the Kitchen, then enter the Pantry for one of the Glimpses of the Past.

Glimpses of the Past #3

Having used the Elevator to reach the Employee Section of floor 1F, where you don't have any weapons or items, head for the Pantry and interact with the prompt to get this Glimpse of the Past.

Cut through to the Freezer Room next and take the Blue Gemstone from the open fridge on the left, then locate the Manager's Office and take the health and ammo inside. You can push a cupboard to one side to access the Manager's Room, which contains the Red Gemstone in a box. Go back to the Manager's Office and interact with the Gem Box on the desk. You'll need to correctly place them so the picture on the Gem Box matches that of the painting on the wall opposite. Here's the solution:

Placing them in the correct spots opens a drawer in the desk, giving you the Keypad Numbers Memo automatically. This is also the code for the Safe in the Break Room: 7414.

Memo #10: Keypad Numbers Memo

Solve the Gem Box puzzle in the Manager's Office in the Employee Section of floor 1F and you'll automatically get given this Memo.

Return to the safe in the Break Room and enter the code to get the Video Tape and the Basement Key. Use the latter on the locked door just north of the Break Room to reach the Basement, where yet more monsters await. In the Maintenance Room you'll find a Pump Valve, which can be used on the pipe shooting out gas and blocking the way into the Boiler Room. In here is a Syringe and the Venus Tears Bar Key.

This can be used on the locked door next to the pipe you used the Pump Valve on, which you'll need to take back to be used on a second pipe spewing out gas in the Kitchen. This will grant you entry to the Venus Tears Bar, where a Strange Photo sits on the back of the bar to your immediate right as you enter.

Strange Photo #2: Better Leave...

When you enter the Venus Tears Bar after working through the Basement completely defenceless, this Strange Photo will be on the back of the bar on your immediate right as you enter.

In front of the jukebox, you'll find The Little Mermaid Figurine. You'll be back out in the main hotel through the next door, so return to the Cabinet to get all your weapons and items back as soon as possible. If you need any help finding it again without a map, go up to the second floor and take a left, then another left and follow that corridor through the door at the end. Now we have all 3 Figurines, we can solve the Music Box Puzzle in the Lobby. Head there now and click the link below for the solution:

For solving the puzzle, you'll earn the 3F Corridor Key. Use the key on the Padlock and enter Room 312. Use the Video Tape on the tape player next to the TV for the most important cutscene in the entire game.

When you regain control, the hotel will be looking even more decrepit than before. Head back out into the corridor and use Rooms 314 and 313 to reach the eastern wing of floor 3F. You can check some of the rooms for supplies here, but your main task is to find the metal cart at the bottom of the corridor and push it on top of the area with creaky floorboards that's marked with a question mark on your map. It'll theoretically be in Room 302, though the wall has been taken out so you won't really be able to tell unless you check your map. When you move the metal cart, check the bathroom it was blocking to find a Strange Photo.

Strange Photo #3: Still Can't Get It Right

After the videotape cutscene with James and Laura, enter the eastern wing of floor 3F and head to the bottom of the corridor. Move the metal cart and enter the bathroom it was blocking to find this Strange Photo in the sink.

James will drop down to the floor below, where in the Restroom you can cut through to the Reading Room to find another of the Glimpses of the Past on the couch.

Glimpses of the Past #4

When you push the metal cart over the creaking floorboards and drop down to floor 2F, cut through the Restroom into the Reading Room and interact with the tape player on the couch for this Glimpse of the Past.

Out in the hallway, climb through to the Cloakroom and then climb out of the Hallway into the Nurse's Office. Squeeze into the corridor and follow the path around to the Elevator to take it down to the Basement. This section of the hotel will now be flooded, making movement a little slower. Follow the linear path through the Venus Tears Bar and Kitchen and eventually to the door with light shining through it, which turns out to be fire. Angela is here for another important cutscene.

When you regain control, go up the stairs to the Employee Section of floor 1F, where in the Manager's Office you'll find a Memo along with a red door leading into a secret passageway not marked on your map.

Memo #11: Burned Note

When you reach the Employee Section of floor 1F after the cutscene with Angela, go into the Manager's Office and pick this Memo up off the desk.

You can save your game in the next room, and then through the double doors is a boss fight against 2 Pyramid Heads. Instead of the usual gigantic sword, they'll both be equipped with spears. They'll follow you around the arena at all times, attempting to stab you when they get close. They'll also sometimes throw their spears at you, requiring a dodge to avoid taking damage. To start hurting them, run away to create some distance and blast them with your weapons.

Rinse and repeat this strategy until a cutscene plays where both Pyramid Heads kill themselves. Each is holding an egg in their hand after the fight, so grab them both and place them in the doors in the back to leave.

A long corridor awaits, which Mary narrates over. When you reach the end, you'll be outside and there's loads of ammo on the floor along with a Syringe. Pick it all up, then go right to find a Strange Photo at the end of the path.

Strange Photo #4: Shape Forces the Mind

After the fight against 2 Pyramid Heads, you'll run down a long corridor that Mary narrates over. When you reach the end and get outside, turn right and follow this path to the end to find the Strange Photo.

You can now ascend the staircase to the left, where a final ladder at the top brings you to the last scene of the game. It'll look like it's Mary waiting for James at the top, but it's actually a monster to signal the closing boss fight of the game. The monster will float around the arena and turn into moths in order to quickly reposition itself. Blast it with your guns to eventually trigger a cutscene where it returns to the ground permanently and causes the floor beneath James' feet to break, sending him down into a flooded area.

The boss will now be attacking you from the metal rafters above, and will occasionally come down into the arena, at which point you can blast it. Look out for the sparks on the ceiling to roughly track where it is above you. After dealing enough damage, the arena will shift again, to one where you can see again. Around the edges of the room you'll find ammo and health — which you'll almost certainly need at this point — so collect them and continue to dodge the boss' attacks and land your own shots. The boss will fall to the ground and become immobile in a cutscene, at which point you can approach it and shoot it one last time to end the encounter.

Your ending will then be determined based on how you played the game, which plays out in the cutscene after the boss fight. Congratulations, you just beat Silent Hill 2!

Did you find our Walkthrough covering the Lakeview Hotel in Silent Hill 2 and all its Collectibles useful? Our Silent Hill 2 Walkthrough also covers New Game+ and all Endings in the game, if you wish to start another playthrough. If not, thank you for using our Silent Hill 2 Walkthrough.