“This town… there’s something wrong with it. It’s like it’s being eaten from the inside.”
Since embarking on my journey to rediscover the thrill and intensity of survival horror games, I find myself disappearing down the rabbit hole of dark atmospheres, tense gameplay and psychological terror. I’ve been training myself for the games I want to play by watching horror movies; Getting used to jump-scares, skin-crawling crescendos, and haunting background ambience. Silent Hill is one of those iconic titles which terrified me as a youth (who am I kidding? I was 22 when Silent Hill hit my PlayStation). I skipped the sequel in 2001, but news of the remake has me piqued once more. Silent Hill 2 is a game that embodies everything great about survival horror; it’s not just jump scares, it’s a descent into the darkest corners of the mind. It sounds utterly terrifying, and it looks it too.
Silent Hill 2 is one of the games which has been discussed recently on the Survival Horrors Discord Server. It’s been touted as a “really good 10/10 game” and as “the best survival horror game of 2024” by people far more knowledgeable – and a lot braver – than me. High praise which means it just has to go onto my Games to Play list – Maybe I should start such a list?
Silent Hill is a landmark title in gaming, not just in survival horror. It’s up there alongside Resident Evil as the clear, stand-out franchises in the genre. The remake, developed by Bloober Team and published by Konami, feels like a perfect opportunity to confront my fears. It updates the 2001 version of the game with new visuals and gameplay that should make the already eerie atmosphere even more unsettling. Following James Sunderland, who ventures into Silent Hill after receiving a letter from his deceased wife, the game digs into psychological horror in ways that I imagine could get under anyone’s skin.
I’ve seen some gameplay footage, and the new Unreal Engine 5 powered visuals look incredible – a far cry from the game I remember playing before the turn of the millennium. Everything about the remake screams ‘intense experience’ – one that will cause me to sleep with the lights on.
As someone slowly getting back into survival horror, Silent Hill 2 has to go on the list. The game is legendary, and this remake seems like the perfect excuse to find out why. You can watch the trailer here. It’s age restricted so kids, go play Roblox or something. You can also grab the (overwhelmingly positive) game on Steam if you’re a PC gamer like me.