“In my restless dreams, I see that town. Silent Hill.” These memorable lines start one of the most iconic letters in the Silent Hill franchise, let alone the horror gaming landscape. Mary’s Letter from Silent Hill 2 captured the raw fascination, allure, and themes that keep us returning to this series. Just like survival horror’s other legacy title (Resident Evil), Silent Hill cemented its place in history by establishing the survival horror tropes. The creepy town, the deeper plot meanings, and the horrific monsters hiding in the fog were some of the mainstays pulling us in. When you jumped into a Silent Hill game, you knew to brace for an unnerving experience.
The allure of the sequel
Unlike the Resident Evil series, Silent Hill stayed dormant after a string of lackluster titles. Whereas Resident Evil adapted and returned to its horror roots, our iconic foggy town faded into a memory. But now in 2024, we’re heading back with the franchise’s first “remake” in the mainline series: an updated version of Silent Hill 2. It’s a first step in bringing new life to the franchise; a chance to restart for a new generation. The big question, though, is if Silent Hill 2’s remake will achieve that mission and reel gaming back in.
What works in the Silent Hill 2 remake’s favor is that the original game is the most iconic iteration of the franchise. Comparatively, the original Silent Hill, released in 1999 by Konami, has a more memorable story for the larger pop culture audience. The tale of Harry Mason searching for his missing daughter in the mysterious, foggy town of Silent Hill is usually the first introduction to the series. It’s noteworthy to that elements of this story are also what informs the first Silent Hill movie from 2006. However, where Silent Hill 2 differs is introducing gamers to the deeper complexities that lie beneath the plot of a Silent Hill game.
Why Slient Hill 2 matters
Silent Hill 2 (released in 2001) follows the story of James Sunderland, a widower who receives a letter from his late wife. Creepily, the letter claims she’ll be there waiting for him in the town of (you guessed it!) Silent Hill. What ensues is a plot filled with themes of grief, torment, regret, and self-inflicted pain to the point of it becoming a prison. Silent Hill 2 ventured away from its original title to create “psychological horror” … and it did it so beautifully well! The sequel captured a new type of horror energy that left us at the edge of our seats.
Plus, it improved everything from the first, from its character design, influences, soundtrack, and character dialogue. However, the real superstar is Pyramid Head, the hulking horror killer wielding a large blade. Pyramid Head is one of survival horror’s most recognizable and loved monsters (for Dead by Daylight fans, he was the Killer selected for the Silent Hill collaboration). As a game, Silent Hill 2 has a strong foundation of elements that could expand into an even greater remake. Bloober Team and Konami, the developer and publisher respectively, have a lot to work with here.
Reimagining vs. remake
The Silent Hill 2 remake isn’t the first attempt at a remake of sorts for the franchise. History has shown us how 2009’s Silent Hill: Shattered Memories performed. This felt more of a reimagining instead of a remake; a different retelling of the first game in a new story. Think of it less like the recent Capcom remake of Resident Evil 4 or Supermassive Games’ Until Dawn – it’s not a full structural re-do of the original game. Silent Hill: Shattered Memories introduced new plot elements, characters, and a frozen aesthetic. It was an interesting experiment that created something completely new. I felt mixed about the game due to its mechanics and enemy style, but I appreciated its originality in the series.
This most recent iteration is a direct retelling; a remake joining the current survival horror remake trend. And as mentioned above, the gaming community loved the original Silent Hill 2. The game is still known as one of the best horror games ever. So many people love it and have hoped for a remake for years. Now, Silent Hill and horror gaming fans are getting that long-awaited remake. Will it still capture the same magic? How will Silent Hill approach its remake style? Will anything new? There are a lot of questions, and in a property that people have waited for, there are also a lot of eyes on this remake.
Ghosts of the past
The pressure on the franchise’s future is partly due to the long delay since the last mainline game. Can you believe it’s been 12 years since 2012’s Silent Hill: Downpour? The last few games all had mixed receptions; nothing has topped the thrills of the first four entries. There was just something special about the dark themes and psychological horror that radiated from those four titles. Even the most recent spinoffs, Silent Hill: Ascension and Silent Hill: The Short Message, had some fanfare, but they weren’t as hotly anticipated.
The last time we had a Silent Hill game everyone was clamoring for was Silent Hills. Talk about a missed opportunity! When its demo (P.T.) went live in 2014, it exploded in the gaming space with streams and reaction videos. P.T. was beloved, and everyone was excited to get back to Silent Hill, especially with movie director Guillermo del Toro involved in the new direction. It’s still baffling to this day why Silent Hills got canceled – it was a guaranteed gaming hit ready to happen. Due to that blunder, the trust to jump back into the series must be built again. Seriously, P.T./Silent Hills looked so scary in all the right ways.
The weight of expectation
The Silent Hill 2 remake has a lot of weight on its shoulders, more than any other remake in the market. The franchise is a horror juggernaut ready to make its return, and by using an iconic story, it’s an easy way to step back in. From the first reactions to the remake, it already seems to be a strong entry in the series. However, for the future of the franchise, we’ll have to see if Silent Hill continues riding this wave … or if history will repeat itself.
Silent Hill 2 (2024 remake) is available to play now on PlayStation 5 and Steam / Windows.
Justin is a fun-loving geek living in downtown Toronto, Canada. He’s an avid TV buff, movie fan, and gamer. He’s written for publications like Entertainment Weekly’s The Community, Virgin, TV Fanatic, FANDOM, The Young Folks, and his blog, City Boy Geekiness.
No Comments