Bloober Team and Konami’s remake of Silent Hill 2 has impressed us in a multitude of ways, and high on that list is the thorough and comprehensive attention to detail that the game constantly exhibits, from beginning to end. Scattered throughout the experience are abundant, tiny details, the kind that many may not even notice, but end up appreciating that much more when you do finally see them. Here, we’re going to talk about a few such details that have caught our eye and impressed us.
Before we go ahead, keep in mind that we’re going to go into some significant spoilers for Silent Hill 2 here, so proceed at your own risk.
THE BACK OF JAMES’ CAR
Silent Hill 2’s big twist is, of course, that Mary didn’t die of a disease three years ago as James has been claiming, but was killed by James himself shortly before his arrival in Silent Hill, something that his broken psyche made him forget. Her body is, in fact, covered under a sheet in the backseat of James’ car, and you can spot that using the filters that you unlock for New Game Plus.
JAMES REFUSES TO READ THE WORD “GUILT”
James not being able to come to terms with what he did to his wife – to the extent creating an entirely different fiction to save himself from the truth – is a big theme in Silent Hill 2, and it shows up constantly, often even in the tiniest of ways. At a certain point, for instance, players will come across a flyer that is meant to spread awareness related to mental health issues, and though the word “guilt” is clearly visible on the flyer, when you press the button to read the text in-game with the UI brought up, that word is no longer shown, implying that James simply refuses to read it.
LAKEVIEW HOTEL’S “WELCOME BACK” SIGN
Though Bloober Team’s remake of Silent Hill 2 is many people’s first time playing this game, a good chunk of its playerbase also consists of returning fans who are already plenty familiar with the original, and sure enough, the remake has easter eggs aplenty for those players. The Lakeview Hotel, for instance, has replaced the “Welcome” sign at its entrance in the remake with a “Welcome Back” one, which is a neat touch.
LEARNING THE TRUTH
What truly makes the enemies and creatures in Silent Hill 2 iconic and terrifying as they have been for over two decades is not only what they look like (which is nightmarish enough in and of itself), but also what they represent narratively, with it being revealed close to the end that the creatures scattered across the town are representations and manifestations of the traumas, pain, and issues of the people in the town- like Pyramid Head being how James is subconsciously punishing himself for killing Mary. Once that is discovered, however, and James becomes aware of what the enemies are and what they mean, you’ll notice the enemies that you run into becoming significantly weaker, which is a great way of marrying gameplay and storytelling.
JAMES’ REACTION
James looking directly into the camera through a red-tinted lens is something you’ll grow used to seeing at every save point in Silent Hill 2, but once James does come to terms with what actually happened to Mary, that changes. Once he is confronted with the truth, at save points, instead of looking directly at the camera, James will instead refuse to meet your eyes.
JAMES’ RING MARK
Another detail that you can spot at various points over the length of Silent Hill 2 is the ring mark that you can see on James’ ring finger, for which you will, of course, have to really zoom in and pay close attention. The mark shows that the ring was clearly very recently removed, which is yet another tiny detail that points to the truth of exactly how much time has passed since Mary died.
ANGELA’S NAILS
Angela is one of the highlights in Silent Hill 2’s excellent cast of characters, with her traumatic story adding so much to the game on narrative and thematic levels. Her traumas and anxiety show up in a variety of different ways, too, with some being more subtle and difficult to see than others. Zoom in on her hands, for instance, and you’ll clearly see that she has been consistently biting her nails.
JAMES’ NAILS
Angela’s nails aren’t the only ones you should be paying attention to. James’ fingernails are often visible throughout the experience as he holds things up to read and look at. Pay close attention to them, and you’ll see that they progressively get dirtier over the course of the game.
JAMES’ CLOTHES
We’ve grown used to seeing blood spattered over characters in video games, but very rarely do you see it with the level of detail that is exhibited in Silent Hill 2’s remake. Rather than only remaining visible for a while before vanishing into nothingness as you would expect in most games, in Silent Hill 2, the blood on James’ clothes gets visibly darker, dryer, and crustier with time.
JAMES GETS INCREASINGLY TIRED
It’s not just James’ fingernails and clothes that get dirtier and crustier over the course of Silent Hill 2– no, you can visibly see the toll that everything is taking on him on his face as well. From the bags under his eyes to the lines and grime all over his face, James looks noticeably more haggard towards the end of the game compared to how he looked at the outset.
ANALOG TAPE DISTORTION VISUAL EFFECT
Spotted by Reddit user PresidentWeevil, though this detail could easily be mistaken as regular chromatic aberration – something that is very commonly seen in games – Silent Hill 2 seems to be using this technique very, very consciously. Elements on the edges of the screen look visibly distorted, achieving an analog tape distortion effect to add to the game’s old-school aesthetic.
SHINING A LIGHT IN MARIA’S FACE
This might not be something we’ve never seen in games before, but details such as this one are always nice to find in games. When you’re travelling in Maria’s company, if you shine James’ flashlight in her face, she’ll try to shield her eyes using her hand. A fairly miniscule detail, yes, but one that definitely contributes in its own way to ground players in the game’s reality.
MARIA’S DISTRACTIONS
The push and pull between James’ own desire to come to terms with the truth about Mary and Maria representing the part of himself that wants to turn away from that is a vital cog in Silent Hill 2’s story, and Bloober Team’s remake adds plenty of its own little nods and details to hammer all of that home. During a conversation between James and Maria at Rosewater Park, James seems to be staring in the direction of Lakeview Hotel, which he subconsciously seems to know is where he will learn the truth about everything- only for Maria to distract him and divert his attention to something else.
LYING FIGURES AND THEIR ACID
Lying Figures are the first enemies that you find in Silent Hill 2, which is great, because with them, the remake is able to instantly flex its level of attention to detail and visual fidelity. Their bodies boast incredible detail, especially as they deteriorate with each hit, while the acid and bile that they spew out is also a sight to behold, especially in how it pools and bubbles on the ground, and how it doesn’t simply dissipate afterwards in a matter of seconds.
DUALSENSE LIGHTING
Developers don’t always manage to find the right ways to use the DualSense’s many gimmicks and features, and while Silent Hill 2 isn’t the best on that front in many regards, it does make really cool use of the controller’s LEDs, which change colour based on James’ health level. If you want to turn off all UI elements related to James’ health to further immerse yourself in the game and instead just rely on the DualSense’s LEDs, Silent Hill 2 lets you do just that.