Silent Hill 2 (PS5) review: A remake that almost captured the atmosphere of the original

Note: This review was first published on 14 October 2024.

Taking on a remake of Konami’s classic horror Silent Hill 2 was always going to be a tall order. I can only imagine the mix of excitement and nerves Bloober Team must have felt. I mean, how do you even start to update a game as iconic and intricately layered as Silent Hill 2? But the polish video game developers have plenty of experiences here. After all, they did craft psychological horror games like The Medium and Blair Witch, just to name a few.

But unlike those horror games, the Silent Hill series has always felt like a sacred relic to horror gaming fans. Every shadow and every eerie little detail have been analysed and praised for years – what more can a developer do, without breaking it?

Well right off the bat, I have to admit that the remake left a solid first impression on me. There were changes but for the most part, those are for the better. One change I loved was swapping out the old button-mashing to escape monsters for a simple button hold. It’s a minor tweak, but it made a big difference by keeping me in the horror instead of being distracted by button mashing. It’s these little touches that made me feel like Bloober Team understands what players want from Silent Hill.

Now, let’s talk about the atmosphere, because that’s where this remake absolutely nails it. Despite all the visual changes, the world feels chillingly familiar – those rusted streets, twisted signs, and grotesque monsters lurking in the dark are all present and correct. The fog, which is arguably the most iconic feature of Silent Hill, isn’t just some visual overlay. It’s a thick, oppressive force that James Sunderland has to physically push through, adding weight to every step he takes. What the remake does better than the original is how the fog is part of the horror and how it’s actively trying to swallow you whole in Silent Hill.

Speaking of the town. Getting around Silent Hill is a bit easier now, and honestly, I think that’s for the better. James’ map – with its scrawled notes that update as he progresses – is still one of the best in the genre, and it’s been improved here. What really stood out to me were those white cloth markers that subtly drape over interactive elements. They’re a much better alternative to bright, immersion-breaking indicators. It’s like the game is nudging you in the right direction without completely giving the game away. It feels natural, and I appreciated that.

One of the best things Bloober Team has done is the redesign of familiar locations. It’s not just a one-to-one recreation and felt more like a half-remembered dream. Key landmarks are still there, but they’re not always where you expect them to be, which can keep even veteran players on their toes. It’s like trying to navigate a place you once knew, only to realise nothing is quite where you remember it. That eerie sense of the familiar being unfamiliar really worked for me. Even the old FAQs couldn’t help me, and that made the experience feel fresh in a great way.

Puzzles in the remake walk a fine line between being faithful to the original and bringing something new to the table. On default settings, they’re challenging enough to be enjoyable without causing too much frustration. But I’ve got to say, the new physical puzzles – like pushing crates around – felt like busywork to me. They lacked the creativity of the original puzzles, and frankly, bringing back the garbage chute puzzle was a mistake. It wasn’t fun back then, and it’s not fun now. This was a real missed opportunity to replace or reimagine some of the weaker elements of the original.

I’ve got mixed feelings about how the remake nods to the original. There are loads of callbacks, which long-time fans will appreciate. Seeing those echoes of James’ past adventure is undeniably eerie, almost like we’re trapped in an endless loop just like he is. But it’s also a reminder that this isn’t quite the same game. It’s been reimagined through Bloober Team’s lens, and sometimes their perspective doesn’t hit the same way as the original did.

And then there’s the combat. Oh man, the combat. This has always been a contentious part of Silent Hill 2, and it’s still divisive here. The close quarters combat initially feels right; it’s clumsy and desperate, exactly what you’d expect from an ordinary guy like James trying to fend off nightmarish creatures. But then it leans into combat way too hard. It’s almost like Bloober Team thought we’d enjoy an endless barrage of enemies, but the novelty wore off fast for me. The repetition drained the tension, and before long, I was just annoyed rather than scared.

The emphasis on combat is even worse during boss fights. What were once short, disturbing encounters are now drawn-out multi-phase slogs, and they suffer for it. Take Angela’s confrontation with the Abstract Daddy for instance. In the original, it was a deeply uncomfortable, personal moment. Now it’s just a prolonged fight that loses all of its emotional impact. It’s action for the sake of action, and it ends up diluting Angela’s story, which is a real shame.

That said, there are some genuinely great moments in this remake. Akira Yamaoka’s reimagined soundtrack is nothing short of fantastic. It breathes new life into those old tracks, and they still managed to give me chills. The little quality-of-life improvements, like being able to quickly check if a door is locked, made a big difference to the pacing without undermining the tension. When the remake captures that sense of creeping unease and profound sadness, it’s easy to forget I’m playing a reworked version. In those moments, it feels like I’m back in Silent Hill, and it’s just as unnerving as I remember.

But I can’t ignore the issues. Some of the key cutscenes that used to hit me so hard now feel awkward and stilted. Scenes that were once subtle and haunting are weighed down with unnecessary reaction shots or overly obvious threats. It’s as if the remake is afraid that we might find the slower, more ambiguous moments boring. More monsters, more action, more in-your-face horror – it misses what made Silent Hill 2 so special. It was never about constant scares; it was about what lurked just out of sight, the things you couldn’t quite see or understand.

Bloober Team’s work here can stand toe-to-toe with modern horror titles, but the original Silent Hil raised the bar so high that even the remake version couldn’t quite match it. Too often, it leans into action at the expense of atmosphere, and James’ story ends up suffering because of it. The introspective, unsettling atmosphere that made the original such a masterpiece is there, but it’s diluted. Bloober Team has done a commendable job, but I can’t help wishing they’d trusted the original material a bit more. Sometimes, less really is more.

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