As soon as it was announced that theSilent Hill 2remake was expected to at least double the length of the original game—rounding out to about 15–20 hours on a first playthrough—it was obvious that much would be altered and expanded from the classic title. This rightfully frightened anyone who adoresSilent Hill 2and could imagine that doubling the runtime would result in the experience being bloated, and yet the remake manages to stretch and mold exploration through story beats to have its reimagining be a worthwhile endeavor.
Much of what players will experience in the remake is far different from the original, though Bloober and Konami were obviously mindful and have gone to great lengths to intriguingly connect nostalgic bits of lore to these unfamiliar branching paths, sometimes unmistakably and explicitly via interaction points. Likewise, players are let off a leash and free to beginexploring to their heart’s content once they arrive in Silent Hillwithout any obstructions to progression—at least that’s what theSilent Hill 2remake wants them to believe, anyway.
Silent Hill 2’s Remake Gives Players the Illusion of Optional Early Exploration
Players are encouraged toaimlessly explore Silent Hill and wade through its fogonce they reach it, beginning with a greenhouse whose doors actually opening may be a dream come true for anyone who was hoping there’d be new areas to peruse in the remake. This includes meandering into shops and buildings players were never able to access beforehand, and with the nail-punctured wooden plank they can shatter glass windows and vault into buildings whose front doors might be deceptively locked.
TheSilent Hill 2remake’s map is not only a wonderful adaptation of the original’sbut is also tremendously gracious and considerate regarding illustrative markings James Sunderland makes so that players know precisely where any point of interest is, as well as which doors are locked versus which doors have been passed through. Locations players have searched and looted to completion are marked as such with a checkmark, and areas yet to be explored fully are marked with a circle.
It is entertaining to hop into new settings and examine for the first time what there is to accomplish or discover, especially if players are coming across a new area of their own volition. Indeed, the beginning of the game here in Silent Hill—when only lying figures are rampant and before players have even thought to head toWood Side Apartments, the initial story-related dungeon in the original game—allows players to feel as if their freedom of exploration is a choice of their own making.
But, if players don’t tackle the remake with a sense of newfound curiosity and instead want to beeline it, it can be surprising to learn that exploration throughout the town early on is actually a means of forced progression. To earn entry into Wood Side Apartments to progress the story in the first place, players mustexplore Silent Hill to solve a broken jukebox puzzle in Neely’s Barin order to get out back and collect a key to the apartment building, meaning most of that exploration is compulsory and not as optional as it is presented to be.
Exploration in Silent Hill 2’s Remake is So Novel and Engaging That It Matters Little How Linear It is
Exploration went from being nearly nonexistent in the original to now being mandatory in the remake and that’s a bit of a shame since it means players have a lot of running around to do each time they start a new playthrough. Plus, it can take away from exploration feeling natural on behalf of the player. In fact, it could potentially be alarming to play theSilent Hill 2remake without intending to peruse every nook and cranny as that’s now an obligatory element in this opening section.
That said, because exploration is offered so freely and provides brand-new content inone of the most beloved and revered horror games of all time, players might find themselves in the vinyl record store collecting combinable key items before they even know that they need them for scripted progression.
This is certainly a boon foranyone who hasn’t played the originalSilent Hill 2because they won’t have any preconceived idea of where the apartment key may be and will likely be pleased to explore until they find enough contextual clues leading them in the right direction. Neely’s Bar becomes an epicenter in the remake that players might revisit multiple times with new key items they’ve found elsewhere, and this linearity is both a strength and a weakness regarding how scripted progression is.
Silent Hill 2’s remake thankfully goes out of its way to guide players toSilent Hill’s Neely’s Bar, Texan Cafe, and Saul Street Apartments (marked on the map, too) if they’re meticulously reading interactable flyers and notes.
However, there’s also a high likelihood that players might find the Wood Side Apartments key long before they ever intended to head there simply due to how immersive the remake’s atmosphere is with a wealth of content to rummage around in throughout this early portion of the town alone. Then, once players do retrieve the Wood Side Apartments key, it is a hectic race to the apartment building as the remake nudges them along in a cinematic sequence where wind and fog inform them that their exploration in the town is to be shelved for the time being.
