- Tested on PC using a code provided by the editor.
- Test configuration: RTX 4090 + i9-9900K = 60 FPS outside of a few saccades, today patched (with all graphical options in ULTRA + Ray Tracing + DLAA).
- Campaign ended in 6 p.m. in difficulty level Difficult for slightly more punitive combats and conundrums, often in the form of guesses or puzzles.
- The game offers 8 different ends, some of which are optional and completely crazy.
- I am now waiting for the remake of Silent Hill, of Silent Hill 3 or Silent Hill 4: The Room firm foot!
- This test does not spoil absolutely nothing on the story except the starting postulate, which is discovered in the first two minutes of the game.
« If you take a long look into the abyss, the abyss also looks at you. », once wrote Nietzsche, while he was probably grinding black. A reflection that has always stuck perfectly to the so introspective character of the series Silent Hill and that mumbles today to do my psychoanalysis and empty my bag: after passing the excitement of trailer I've never really believed in the project of remake of the Silent Hill 2. Yes, what do you want, I am a man with a rather pessimistic temperament. Water glasses? I often see them half empty. When you announce good news? I am superstitiously waiting for a cosmic return of stick. Suffice to say that I was feverish at the time of launching this rereading of one of my favorite games of all time. With such a responsibility in the hands, the Bloomer Team DEVAIT was not possible otherwise. Now let me explain to you how misguided I was, despite a few small reservations.
When you've been in the fog for too long
It will not be a matter of writing the criticism of the 2001 masterpiece, developed by Team Silent under Konami's financial leadership, but of trying to highlight what distinguishes the Japanese original from this Polish rereading, all through my personal prism. In this way, people who would have missed Silent Hill 2 at the time of the PS2 may decide on which side their hearts lean the most and opt for either of the two visions.
From the first few minutes we see that the Bloomer Team has chosen to play the security card, with a very similar introduction to the original, a finding that prevails for the whole game. No significant differences were made in the scenario. The unfortunate James Sunderland, who was confused in the glaucous toilets of a rest station at the entrance to Silent Hill. Our hero wonders how his wife, who died a few years earlier, was able to write him a letter begging to join her in their « place »Silent Hill.
It is on this initial postulate, how intriguing that the nightmare takes root and I will not say more about the story, except that he always treats with as much subtleness and finesse serious topics such as mourning, rape, incest, denial and other states of soul or trauma. If on the narrative plane, except for a few small differences, the game remains the same, hat to the Bloomer Team for not being self-censored at any time to these topics, both in the graphic representations of some enemies and in the lines of dialogue.
As in 2001, the talk is flicky and I do not think I am mistaken in saying that the newcomers will be shaken by the story of James, who still to this day is in my view the deepest, ambiguous and least manicene ever told in a survival horror. The stories of the wandering souls of Silent Hill are not left behind. Play it in the dark at nightfall, preferably alone to let you go to your dreams while James peels them in the fog.
Ghost City
On the graphic level, the game is simply sublime andUnreal Engine 5 makes wonders, especially for its light effects and once the sacrosanct ray tracing activated. The roofs of the buildings, the enemies and the tops of the trees are reflected in the mud puddles and the windows of abandoned vehicles, sometimes flirting with photorealism, to say big words. The staging, now in view of camera on the shoulder (we will return to it), is the first to take advantage of these technological advances and the player is now at the heart of the action. The walls are drowsy, the blood thick and the bile jaundice is flickering, the wallpaper is decrepit, in short it would be believed.
If less budget forces, the character models are far from the manic realism brought to a Joel in The Last of Us: Part 2However, they do not have to blush and are convincing and able to express a whole range of emotions, including sometimes expressions that are subtly contrary to what has been said, which contributes to the feeling, voluntary, of general malaise, a bit like when we realize that we lose the reins of our dream at the turn of a nap, and that it turns into a nightmare.
This small technical slap, certainly below that provided by Alan Wake 2 Last year (read our criticalHowever, it is not exempt from defects. This is the result of fairly frequent slowdowns but not to the point of ruining the adventure. I would otherwise have interrupted my game and put the test on hold. It must be said that I have a good configuration, although old-fashioned processor level, so I don't know if it would have been worse with smaller PCs and Digital Foundry You will be better informed than anyone else about this.
No, the most sad thing about it is a bug that interrupts the vibrations of the DualSense after a few minutes. The only solution is to shake his mouse stupidly, which has the effect of reviving the haptic return. This is extremely frustrating, especially since the vibrations are very successful to the point that we wonder if Konami did not collaborate with Sony in this area, the game being offered exclusively temporary console on their platform for a year. At the time of writing these lines, developers have not yet deployed any patches to address this problem. The slowdowns are expected to have been eliminated as of October 21st. Case to follow.
The location of the sound – I played with a 7.1 system – is also one of the best that it has been given to appreciate, especially during confined exploration phases. Hearing a laugh or crying travel in his back from one speaker to the other at the turn of a dark corridor always does his little effect, the rales of the filthy creatures on our way are freezing and James's voice broken when he tramples a corpse way Dead Space makes us feel bad for him (for James, not for the corpse). We also appreciate the plethora of comfort options offered in the menus, and we take the opportunity to advise you to limit the HUD as much as possible. I found the default rough setting, with its unsightly ammunition counter set at the bottom right to mention only him. I preferred to disable everything except the reticule of the weapons viewfinder and the interaction icons, whose size I set to the minimum.
Lost in Translation
Rereading means readjustments and modifications. Everything that follows is eminently subjective and may not bother you according to your report to the Silent Hill 2 original. Maybe you'll even think the opposite of what will follow, who knows.
Let's start with the fighting. Yes, with a few days of hindsight since I rolled out the credits, I regret that they are now almost inevitable and that the skid powder is no longer an option inside. Where in the original Ignore all enemies except bosses, version 2024 rarely leaves us any choice but to go to confrontation. Of course, the fighting is ten times more visceral and extremely well staged, but it gives James a bit too martial to my liking. The fights of the original had no use and their realization is light years in this remake, but I would have simply preferred that there be less confrontations. The latter also play a major role in extending the life of the title.
In addition, and although this modern 4K box is a treat for the eyes, what you gain in pixels, you lose it somehow in modesty. There was something « Yeah. » in the original, and which we find less with this formula more ground to earth and less fantasy, as if part of the mystery contained in the PS2 image grain had evaporated with this high resolution that leaves no doubt about the feelings of the characters, whose emotions are scrutinized by the magnifying of technology.
If the 2024 version still knows how to leave the beautiful place for silences and offers a revisited OST of the fire of God taking over most of the original themes, the music loses its repetitive and lancinating character. They tend to be more varied, which changes the general atmosphere and makes it less staggered. The series Twin Peaks does this very well, with recurring themes for a particular character or atmosphere, and the Silent Hill 2 original cultivated this hypnotizing manner.
Finally, although the view in camera-to-shoulder mode has become indispensable since Resident Evil 4 and Dead Space, I would have preferred that the Bloomer Team opt for a view to the third more classic person of style « 3D precalculated », which in my eyes is Silent Hill and better showcases the role the city itself plays in this nightmare. It also allowed for more tension to be fed by playing off-the-spot and what is distinguished, or not, in the dark.
Verdict
Did the Bloomer Team give birth to an excellent remake? Clearly and without hesitation any, yes. This is probably the best rereading ever offered behind Resident Evil GameCube and before Dead Space Remake. Should you, however, favour this remake rather than the original? It's a thorny question... I would tend to advise to play the original first, then chain on the remake. If the original, much more arid, but also more « pure » and direct in his approach falls from your hands, go to the remake without regrets and without turning back. At least you've tried and maybe you won't even lose anything at all. Sublime graphically, very respectful of the basic material and still as upsetting as in 2001, Silent Hill 2 Remake did not have to blush against his illustrious predecessor. It is a relevant rereading that modernises aspects of the original today considered to be outdated (view old school, tank controls, mullasson fights) to put the player at the heart of horror. Does this rereading transcend the original? Perhaps I am too biased to answer... Stand up and fill a glass: depending on whether you perceive it half empty or half full, you will have your answer.For
- An extremely faithful remake that honors the original
- BUT WHAT AMBIANCE MAZETTE!
- OST and sound design of God's fire
- Beautiful staging
- Sublime graphics
- A game that is not afraid of silence
- Many comfort options
- Eight different purposes including the end Dog
- Thoughtful puzzles
Against
- Some technical hooks at launch (now partially corrected)
- Fighting often inevitable inside
- More pixels but less modesty
- Less repetitive and less disturbing music
How I can't wait to play... I really want to get my PS5 Pro! 😀
You're gonna have a great time!
I don't doubt it. 😉
Hey, by the way, I advise you to do it in hard, more normal mode.
I read this and there that Normal was really too easy.
That's it! 🙏
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Very happy to see that we have a fairly similar opinion about this experience! It was really not obvious to realize as a remake, but visibly all the fans (of which I am a part) agree that the bet is successful. And to choose, I think that a remake of SH4 would be the best follow-up possible, to finally give his letters of nobility to the naughty little duck!
I only did SH4 once and I remember that I had had a great time, even though it may be the least striking of the 4 Team Silent.
I found the concept really scary and moreover it was at a time of my life when I was playing a lot without getting out too much so it sounded pretty good:-p
I remember when the hero's neighbors came knocking at the door and they didn't hear him yelling behind, or the hero watching life powerless follow his course and passers-by run after their bus through his bedroom window.
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