Yesterday, on Friday, the 21st of November, Xbox players were treated to a Shadow Drop by Konami, bringing the coveted Silent Hill 2 to Xbox Series X/S! I want to give a massive thank you to Konami and Bloober Team for sending over a copy of the remake that may be the top horror game in the last two years.
For those not familiar with the play of Silent Hill 2, the plot revolves around the character James, a widower who received a letter from his dead wife saying she’s waiting for him in the town of Silent Hill.
Now, onto the game itself! The controls for Silent Hill 2 are easy to master, as it may take you a few minutes to learn them, but the only thing about the controls I don’t like is that you don’t have the prompt to open doors, James can just walk right through them and they open on their own…unless they’re locked and then he just goes face first into the door.
The updated look to the game is mind-blowing, not just to the scenery and the monsters, but the characters! The only thing I don’t like about how James looks is that his hairstyle is a bit dated and does not match the character model’s face, which, from my understanding, was modeled after James’ voice/motion-captured actor.
I strongly suggest wearing headphones while playing this game, as the sound design is insanely unsettling, and let’s face it, Akira Yamaoka’s soundtrack is always going to be amazing and deserves to be listened to on full blast.
As it comes to gameplay, returning players will notice the story is pretty much the same, as well as the gameplay itself, but some differences stand out in the world that you’ll notice as soon as you enter the town, offering a little something new for returning players.
Overall, I was pleasantly surprised that this remake was actually good. I’ll admit Bloober Team has disappointed me with Layers of Fear (3) and Chronos: The New Dawn, which made me nervous that they were tasked with remaking possibly one of the most popular horror games made. Now with talks of a from-the-ground-up remake of the first instalment of the Silent Hill franchise in the works, I’m a little more excited. As this game aims to please new players, it’s not afraid to show returning players something new. On my scale of 1-10, while many aspects of the game are amazing, some small tweaks here or there would have made the game flawless, earning it a 9.5/10!
Silent Hill 2 is out now on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. Xbox players who wait till November 25th can enjoy 50% off the game on consoles.
