Grotesque and utterly disturbing, the Silent Hill 2 Remake is exactly what fans hoped for, exceeding all expectations.

The story follows James Sunderland, a man whose wife, Mary Sunderland, passed away years prior due to an undescribed disease. After receiving a letter from his wife, he traveled to a town they often took trips to called Silent Hill.

After venturing deeper into the mysterious town, James encounters many other side characters: Angela, a 19-year-old looking for her mother; Eddie, a victim of body shaming who harbors a greatly disturbing past; Laura, an 8-year-old girl mysteriously associated with Mary; and, finally, Maria, a woman in Silent Hill who shares an uncanny resemblance to Mary.

What follows is a dark, depressing tale of loss, abuse and violence in the town of Silent Hill.

The much beloved original, widely considered the best horror game ever made, made waves in the horror community when it was released in 2001. After the announcement of a remake in 2022, many fans were left both excited and worried about the remake.

The original Silent Hill 2 is regarded as the peak of survival horror experiences, with fans of the survival horror video game genre deeming it one of — if not the best — horror games to ever be released. So fans were more than skeptical about Bloober Team’s approach to this remake.

To say the developer, Bloober Team, was held to a high standard would be a massive understatement. Bloober Team has released hits and misses in the past with horror games. One of their video games, Layers of Fear, is a fan favorite, while another one of their games, Blair Witch, was panned by critics.

After the global release of the Silent Hill 2 remake Oct. 8, fans were greeted with one of the most thoughtful and incredible remakes to date. 

The gameplay in the remake feels smooth and polished, with James reacting to the environment as you progress through the game. If a door is locked, James will press his hand against it, showing it can’t be opened. If a new location is made aware to James, he will bring out his map in real time and draw a note on it. James will even shimmy his shoulders if you come too close to an object while moving past it. Everything feels realistic and flows with the players’ movements.

The fighting is polished and satisfying. Each animation of James, whether he’s swinging his wooden plank or waving a shotgun at the various enemies plaguing Silent Hill, has a satisfying punch to it. From start to finish, the diversity of combat is never dull.

The sound design is incredible. Bloober Team perfectly encapsulates the feeling of being in a living nightmare. There is no lack of droning ambiance or sounds of scraping metal. A shriek from an enemy down a long, dark corridor is guaranteed to make any player uneasy. The disturbing sounds never let up, providing a palpable sense of dread while James explores the town.

Not only are the echos throughout Silent Hill utterly horrifying, but Bloober Team brought back Akira Yamaoka to bring his signature guitar-heavy songs and soundtrack to the game. Yamaoka created and produced the soundtracks in nearly every Silent Hill game, so this is a welcome sight to see.

Excitingly, Bloober Team brought back Masahiro Ito, the primary concept artist for the original Silent Hill 2, to remake select models and environments in the game.

The graphics in the remake are stunningly beautiful. Although any graphical improvement from the original would have been an upgrade, Bloober Team’s attention to detail and design is an incredible sight.

Traffic lights swaying in the wind above an intersection, posters rustling and reflections of the environment in puddles make Silent Hill feel like a real, believable town.

Even the alternate Otherworld portions of the game look incredible. Rust-adorned walls and dark, stained floors add immersion to the environment. If a world segment with abhorrent features looks great, every facet of the environment in the game is equally stunning.

A side note to mention: Bloober Team added accessibility settings. So for players who may need to adjust colors, the contrast of characters or the environment, Bloober Team took great care in providing an experience everyone can enjoy.

Another highlight of the remake is the use of puzzles, which have long been a staple point of the Silent Hill series. Bloober Team not only doubled down on the original puzzles featured in the original game but also included new ones to help the remake stay fresh and unexpected.

To top it all off, Bloober Team added a new game-plus mode featuring new items to use, filters to adjust the style of the game and endings.

Yes — Bloober Team actually added a handful of endings to the game, which, including the original endings, totals eight. Bloober Team’s endings are thought-provoking and truthfully disturbing. And yes, they also kept the UFO and Dog endings for those who were concerned these iconic secret endings would be omitted from the remake — and they are just as glorious as before.

The enemy placement and artificial intelligence is incredible as well. Just when the player thinks they are starting to get the hang of predicting when an enemy might show up or how to counter them, the remake throws a big curveball, just adding to the overall experience of a survival horror.

Pyramid Head, the primary antagonist, is an unpredictable, prominent danger throughout the game. Multiple rooms are adorned with large slices through the wood floor and walls from his iconic Great Knife, and just when you think you’re safe, the sound of the knife scraping against concrete in the distance puts the player on edge, unknowing of where he will show up next.

In all honesty, it’s hard to think of any negatives from this remake. Everything was carefully constructed and created with the fans at the forefront of the developers’ minds. What more could a Silent Hill fan ask for?

Bloober Team undoubtedly did the original game justice by not only staying faithful to the source material but expanding upon the characters, dialogue, environment and iconic puzzles. The remake is a true love letter to the fans who took great care in the production of the game.

If you are a fan of the original Silent Hill 2 and skeptical about trying the remake, don’t be. This is hands down one of the greatest survival horror experiences to date. 

Reach Christian Arndt at enetertainment@collegian.com or on Twitter @CSUCollegian.