Topic: Silent Hill 2 Remake

I’ve spent some more time with this game over the last couple days and really enjoying it. I’m not even a horror fan but there’s a real satisfaction to going through a creepy mystery and puzzle solving to progress.

I find the linearity refreshing as well, and how there’s a real sense of exploration and yet you’re never really lost, at least so far. I’m only about 5 hours along (making my way through Blue Creek Apartments). The in-game map is very well done and easily has pointed me in the right direction to this point, clearly marking doors that are closed and not intended to be explored, and doors that are locked and have a key or way in.

The environments are extremely well realized, with the characteristic dark and foggy lighting, the old and rusty dilapidation, the brown and black color scheme, and the use of claustrophobic environments with lots of places for things to be hidden around a corner. I’ve been playing with the radio off and so it’s made me be more aware of my surroundings always on the lookout for an enemy ambush or jump scare.

Graphically is really nice looking. If I had a complaint there it would be the weird lustrous nature of James's hair. It’s almost glowing and reflective in some scenes. Then in some places it looks like a normal color. It likely has to do with the HDR I suppose, but I am too lazy to try to adjust for it.

The PS1 era of story-telling is also funny by today’s standards but you have to just roll with it. The dialogue is a bit unnatural and the fact that James is just traipsing through such a traumatic and horrific experience without showing any fear or emotion so far is quite curious when you think about it. 😅

One final note— I’m splitting my time playing it on console and on the Portal. I might actually prefer it on Portal, weirdly enough. I think the smaller screen helps to control the scariness for me, since I’m pretty much a wimp when it comes to these things.

@Th3solution “…a real sense of exploration and yet you’re never really lost…”

The game is designed so well in that regard. It’d be a hard balance to find, especially in horror, where pacing is everything. It helps too that the excellent puzzles add to the atmosphere. Darkness is used extremely well, particularly later on, and adds significantly to that palpable claustrophobia.

Glad to hear you’re enjoying it! Bloober did such a great job remaking this, and if you’re already enjoying it this early, it’s safe to say you’re in for quite the ride 😄 I look forward to reading about your journey.