There’s no denying that Bloober’s achieved and expansive Silent Hill 2 remake exceeded expectations, although I nonetheless choose the 2001 traditional’s terror-inducing, mind-warping creativity. Silent Hill 2 remake is technically a more adept videogame than Workforce Silent’s authentic. It appears to be like higher, performs higher, meets the expectations of the day, and builds out the city of Silent Hill in formidable methods. But the unique’s technical limitations and the artistry holding it collectively as a consequence of and regardless of these doable pitfalls assist to make it particular.
Honestly, Silent Hill 2 is a greater sport as a result of it’s a ‘worse’ sport.
First, let’s give attention to the plain. It’s no secret that Silent Hill 2 was crammed with fog to ease the rendering load. However the setting’s most iconic characteristic isn’t the one {hardware} limitation that leaves you unsettled. The jerky motion of characters in a scene – from the intentionally jarring monsters to figures meant to maneuver in a extra acquainted means – is so in contrast to fluid human motion that they create a base degree of uncanniness.
The facial expressions of the core forged weren’t motion-captured (and even when they’d been, the know-how actually wasn’t as much as immediately’s commonplace). Which means 2001’s James and Maria really feel off in contrast with their 2024 counterparts. The Uncanny Valley is alive and current in Silent Hill.
The voice performing is equally uncanny. Silent Hill 2’s authentic voices are sometimes criticized for his or her stilted awkwardness, however they’re a vital a part of the sport’s ambiance. The dearth of realism within the supply creates a nightmarish high quality within the type of David Lynch. An illogical script that’s crammed with traces no human would fairly say contributes right here, too.
In 2024, everybody appears to be like and behaves like an actual individual. This realism diminishes the dream-like ambiance, and it additionally leaves much less room for nuance. Take Angela, for instance. Within the authentic, you study her traumatic previous via ambiguous traces of dialogue and the character design of her personal private monster, Summary Daddy. Within the remake, she explains her plight outright.
James, too, feels much less open to interpretation. His dialogue was way more minimal within the authentic sport, and its supply hardly ever conveyed the form of emotion you’d anticipate. This made it extra obscure his ‘true’ motives and character. Like a mind struggling to interpret shapes within the darkness, you’re left to create your personal concept of the individual James actually is. And which means Silent Hill 2’s a number of endings all really feel legitimate, as James is equal elements hero and villain, relying on the way you see him.
The remake provides out extra info to guage the characters on, which means I not have the liberty to interpret them in a different way. I spend extra time in James’ internal world, and a extra simple, spelled-out portrayal leads me to extra logical conclusions. I discover I sympathize with him much less, and one ending feels extra definitively ‘true’ than the others for me. With the remake, it’s like admiring a portray in a gallery, however there’s a big plaque telling you precisely what it’s purported to imply.
Past the characters, the surroundings is much less outlined within the authentic sport, which means that your thoughts struggles to interpret what it’s seeing – even in well-lit areas. When a mind doesn’t get good info from the eyes, it creates one thing to fill within the gaps. That’s why you’ll begin to see horrendous faces when you stare at a mirror at midnight – and why the shortage of element within the city of Silent Hill provides to its dread.
In distinction, the remade Silent Hill is extra ‘knowable’ than it’s ever been. You continue to can’t see three ft in entrance of your face, however when you’re up shut, you’ll be able to study each constructing and patch of avenue in unbelievable element. You may smash home windows to acquire gadgets and go via doorways that have been as soon as impenetrable partitions.
After I performed the remake, I believed that I spent far longer exploring Silent Hill within the authentic PS2 sport. I’ve since returned to stated authentic, and on a repeat play, I’ve found this was unfaithful. I merely obtained misplaced extra usually. The remake does a much better job of telegraphing the place to go subsequent and the right way to clear up an issue. Nevertheless, that ‘misplaced’ feeling is as a lot part of Silent Hill 2’s ambiance because the graphics and performing. With out it, exploration feels a lot safer.
Talking of security, you’ll really feel way more accountable for the scenario in Silent Hill 2 remake. That is partially because of the shift from fastened digicam angles to an over-the-shoulder third-person perspective. The unique takes away a few of your company, leaving you feeling susceptible. It’s way more scary to show a darkish nook when you’ll be able to’t see what’s forward of you – and you’ll’t resolve when your view will shift. The fixed fog and darkness, mixed with these unforgiving digicam angles, maintain Silent Hill feeling claustrophobic.
2024’s Silent Hill 2 additionally feels way more combat-focused than its 2001 counterpart. You’ll face off in opposition to dozens – probably lots of – of enemies within the remake, and you’ve got a lot, a lot smoother controls with which to smack or shoot them. Once more, this makes you’re feeling extra accountable for the scenario. Enemies turn out to be overly acquainted after repeated publicity, and combating them turns into a secular process reasonably than a real second of terror. 2024’s James is a monster in melee, capable of rack up lots of of kills, whereas his authentic self felt far more squishy and unsafe.
A lot of this sport is communicated via imagery and metaphor, so let’s discuss it metaphorically for a second. Silent Hill 2 ought to be extra like poetry than fiction. Contemplate, for a second, the standard Japanese haiku.
These should be composed of a five-syllable line, adopted by a seven-syllable line, adopted by one other five-syllable line. The unique poetic kind additionally restricted the imagery and intent, inserting additional limitations on how you would create artwork inside these margins.
Whereas such inflexible guidelines could sound like they make the act of creation tougher, the other is true. You will need to turn out to be extra artistic to surpass these obstacles, and the ultimate result’s satisfying and delightful in a means that free-form writing struggles to attain.
The Silent Hill 2 remake is completely unrestricted by the expertise and know-how obtainable to its creators. Nevertheless, it’s much less artistic – and spectacular – for its lack of limitations. The unique is a extra flawed telling of the identical story, nevertheless it’s additionally way more significant for it.
