Silent Hillgames have always been immensely disproportionate and varied across the board in all possible avenues of discussion. EachSilent Hillgame more or less has a distinct characteristic in gameplay that is unique to it, for example, such asSilent Hill: Origins’ bottomless inventory of miscellaneous melee weaponsorSilent Hill: Shattered Memories’ complete absence of combat in favor of labyrinthine chase sequences. Likewise, not everySilent Hillgame has implemented its map system equally.
The maps inSilent Hill 2are wonderful in terms of how their red-inked markings are parsed. Scrawled atop maps that are immersive in how they look like genuine maps players might find if they actually visited these areas, players can instantly discern whether an area is impassable, locked, or has already been entered—a quality-of-life treat fewSilent Hillgames have executed well since. Now, in Bloober’sSilent Hill 2remake, maps are somehow even greater regarding everything they graciously illustrate and detail for players, and there should hopefully be no reason why futureSilent Hillgames can’t accomplish more of the same.
Silent Hill 2’s Maps are the Definition of Quality-of-Life Excellence
TheSilent Hill 2remake’s mapsare a phenomenal achievement that should be trivial if not for how poorly maps in survival-horror games tend to be designed. Sometimes maps can be scarcer or less detailed as a way to challenge players, but luckily the remake ofSilent Hill 2understands that its 15–20 hour length would be abysmal and arduous if players were spending such an extensive amount of time in each location or dungeon because of inorganic obstructions to progression.
Instead, by the time players have completed a dungeon such as Wood Side or Blue Creek Apartments, maps will be littered with red annotations that demonstrate precisely how much players achieved there. The remake is also terrific for including more detail than it debatably needed by having a line highlight a particular point of interest, including the ‘rotating cube’ and ‘strange wall’ in the Labyrinth or thex-ray viewer on the third floor of Brookhaven Hospital.
The remake then takes this further by having James jot down codes and solutions players have learned concerning puzzles and riddles. This allowsSilent Hill 2’s remake to be as intricate and long as it is without muddying any of the clues players will need to remember along the way, especially when dungeons are now twice as big as they used to be and navigating them could’ve been far more strenuous without maps whose comprehensive markings are a godsend.
When in Doubt, Trust Silent Hill 2’s Maps
Between question marks, circles, and checkmarks, theSilent Hill 2remake’s maps can do no wrong. UnlikenewerSilent Hillgames in the franchisethat basically abandon the need to flip back to menus constantly, the series isn’t the same without maps being quintessential to the experience.
Part of the joy of exploration inSilent Hill 2is making one’s way through tight corridors and interacting with each individual door to see if it’s locked, unlocked, or otherwise barred, and then checking back to see the progress they’ve made in mapping out that respective location thus far.
Leaving any door unchecked can lead to a key item or valuable resource left undiscovered, and the map updating and making a note of everything players do is a lovely way to know nothing has been missed or that there are still rooms that haven’t been explored yet, particularly if players are stumped on what to do or where to go.IfSilent Hill’s future aims to be successful, taking inspiration from Bloober’s remake ofSilent Hill 2is crucial and there’s no excuse for upcoming games to fall anywhere short in their possible approaches to map design.
