A Long-Winded, Shallow Remake | Silent Hill 2 Remake

The Silent Hill 2 remake is a surface-level take of the original with padding that kills its pacing. Little of what made the original Silent Hill 2 so special remains.

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Considering Bloober Team’s reputation and past output, I didn’t have high expectations for the Silent Hill 2 Remake. But they did surprise me in some ways. There's some quality level design and solid expansions and additions on the puzzle front. Combat, while not great, is serviceable.

That said, the remake suffers from excessive padding and bloat. A runtime that's about double that of the original. The tight pacing of Silent Hill 2 is gone, replaced by a meandering, long-winded journey that detracts from the experience.

Then, there’s the narrative. The Silent Hill 2 Remake feels like someone copied someone else’s homework without understanding the reasons behind the answers. Sure, most of the beats are the same, and most of the dialogue remains—though there are odd removals and additions. But it’s the whole package that falters: the voice acting, pacing, lighting, and cinematography. The result is a surface-level interpretation that lacks what made the original special.

One thing that always stuck with me about the original Silent Hill 2 is what Takayohsi Sato, one of the head creatives, said about their goals. 'Psychological horror needs to shake the human heart deeply.' I kept this in mind while playing the remake. The only thing that got plenty of shaking was my head at the creative decisions made. From the bloated runtime, to losing the essence of the original's narrative.

I'm tired of remakes, but if they're going to keep making them, I hope they can do the original justice. There are glimpses here and there of it, but they're few and far between.

In this video, I'll go through where the remake does the original justice, and where it goes wrong. As well, we'll go over some of the original's legacy, and its reputation of having a sizeable fanbase who've never played the game. There's merit to the meme of "Huge silent hill 2 fan excited to play it for the first time".

Before we dive in ,this is a full-spoiler dive for both the remake and the original.

00:00 Prelude
02:40 The Bloated Runtime
07:38 Level Design & Navigation
12:17 Combat
15:54 Puzzles
17:27 Music
21:58 The Story of the Silent Hill 2 Remake
45:42 "Huge Silent Hill 2 Excited to Play It for First Time"
52:53 Can You Be a Fan of a Game You Haven't Played?
55:08 In Conclusion

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