Silent Hill 2

[one-armed dwarf]

I picked up the early access version of this, but made the fatal mistake of starting Balatro at the same time which has taken all my attention span and locked it away and thrown away the key. So I only played maybe 2 hours of this. I'm at the apartments

 

It's familiar and different, I was struck by how the VA and framing of scenes feels like a pretty close take of the original without it feeling like an overt homage or anything. The original has very unvarnished vocal performances, I think the main VA was an amateur, so that sort of enhanced the uncanniness of some of it. This isn't quite the same but close enough

 

It looks very good but also incredibly unpolished. It's a very sharp looking game on PC, they seem to have went very hyperreal with it. Not saying it looks realistic just that the high res visuals, the lighting and fog give it this sort of dreamy, heightened kind of look that I'm not really able to explain. Maybe screenshots do it better, I dunno. But it has lots of visual glitches, things like turning the camera causes the culling to not work correctly and objects and lighting activate in front of you. There's some weird occlusion glitch where there's this ghosting all the time, not the spooky kind. Everything between the camera, James and the area in front of James has this visually buggy look when moving the camera. That might be caused by some setting I can turn off, but I don't know what. I only mention the boring technical stuff cause it's a game primarily about immersion in a slow moving narrative, so disruptions like that do stick out a lot more.

 

There's some black crush in these screenshots cause they were converted from jxr, which is a HDR format, and badly compressed to jpg

 

 

I think it's really impressive what they've done here though. It seems to understand the original well enough and makes sensible changes to not make it too much of a rethread. Example being you walk past the point in the original where you expect to get the radio, but you don't, you get it later and in a different way. Everything takes maybe twice as long, unsure whether or not that will be something I enjoy more or less as it goes on. It has the same town layout, I think, but the distance has been increased and there's more in between areas. So if you haven't played the original in a long time, like me, then it exists in this strange foggy realm of forgotten memory yet also familiarity, like you've been here before. 

 

But I'm struggling to have a good time with it. The technical issues are really hard for me to overlook, which is why I mention them so much. I'm usually able to sort of push past stuff like this, but I've not played a lot of UE5 games so I don't think I quite realised how much this game will keep skipping and jumping forward a few frames like it's an old film with a bunch of damage on it. The VRR causes constant flicker in the apartment area on OLED, I guess cause the frame variance is so high. So you can turn that off, or play on a different screen. I also find the combat a bit too much, it's very aggressive and seems to be about spacing, attack patterns, recognising stun animations from attack leadups, knowing when to use your limited ammo or combo into the stick. It reminds me how Homecoming looked. It's not a bad system they've designed, but it goes harder than what I was personally looking for and I'm finding that just to be a bit of a hassle. I'm dying a lot and getting filtered by combat I'll admit, but I was expecting that side to be more basic. 

 

 

So objectively speaking it seems like a good game marred by really bad technical issues, subjectively I'm much more mixed tho. I'll take my time and maybe I'll come around, I'm not coming at it looking to hate it or anything. As mentioned I'm really impressed by the specific changes Bloober have made to some things

[Nag]

I've played a couple of hours this afternoon, I'm enjoying it... atmosphere seems heavy as fuck, I'm kind've liking the melee combat so far (I've only fought 2 types of enemy so far though) it seems simple enough at the moment... combo two or three strikes and then throw a dodge which thankfully doesn't need to be frame perfect and once an enemy is down they're fucked usually. The thing I will say is I'm kind've surprised with how many enemies I've actually come across so far and as there's literally no reward for killing them you're probably just better off legging it past them.

 

I've just got to Wood Side Apartments in terms of progress after spending ages trying locked doors and vandalising police cars and shop windows in the street. Found some handgun ammo (3 rounds lol) but no handgun as of yet. The Wood Side map looks pretty big so I think I'll be in there a while, we'll see how that goes.

[one-armed dwarf]

I'm at the same spot as you. I loaded it up again this evening after taking a break yesterday but I'm still getting rocked, despite dropping difficulty. 

 

This is more a patience than a skill issue, but there's a bit of the latter as well. The thing is tho, patience and skill were never part of the equation in the old game. I find it like the combat is a mix of Condemned and Souls. Which on the face of it is an inspired combo. But it's a big problem for me though, because I've sort of grown to hate games with that type of combat. It's also Souls influenced in other ways with enemies being hidden around corners

 

I'm sort of in 'pending sacked that off mate' mode with it tbh. I'll be interested to hear if I'm the only one who feels that way about it. It activates the same frustration neurons as Sekiro for me, even tho it's not nearly as challenging as that. 

 

[Nag]

Have you bumped the difficulty or anything?... I've just stuck to default on combat and puzzles. You could just drop the combat and up the puzzles if a more cerebral game is your thing.

 

Or just bin it off... that's obviously a valid choice too if it's just not hitting for you.

[one-armed dwarf]

Oh it's hitting alright, just not 'for' me 🤕

 

I had it on hard combat originally, so obviously I wasn't as 'ard as I thought. But standard is also frustrating. 

 

Anyway, yeah James is on probation. See how it goes over the weekend maybe.

 

[DisturbedSwan]

Started yesterday and oh my fucking god it is glorious.

 

It is crazy how your brain always thought the game looked like this, going through those same foggy streets again brought back so many memories.

 

Back then I was playing it when I was probably younger than I should’ve been and used to leg it away from any enemies or whenever the radio used to go off lol, so I’ve never seen a lot of the streets back then, so it’s really nice to properly explore everything now.

 

The atmosphere and music is just phenomenal, unsurpassed really, it is just a perfect recreation of the original game.

 

Runs phenomenally well here, no technical issues to speak of, definitely get the Condemned comparison with the melee combat, enjoying it a lot, there’s a nice rhythm and heft to it, I don’t remember the wooden nailed planks lasting as long in the original though.

 

Still exploring around the town, just found a puzzle piece at an apartment block and am now on my way back to a bar to complete it.

 

 

[Metroid66]

Looks nice. I might give it a go, but I remember it being one of the first games I ever played - although after getting hooked on games by Sands of time and resi 4 - and I just couldn't understand what I was supposed to do. I just remember opening loads of doors and not finding anything 😃.

 

Hopefully I'd have a better experience now. Although if it's scarier than dead space, I'm out.

[Nag]

2 hours ago, Metroid66 said:

Although if it's scarier than dead space, I'm out.

 

I already think it's scarier than that... if only for the fact you feel a lot more vulnerable in this. You don't have a metal suit and Plasma gun for one thing.

[DisturbedSwan]

Yeah I agree, you just feel like a regular bloke in this, even in Resi you’re a cop with guns and shit, in this you feel just like a regular Joe. Super vulnerable and the atmosphere is just so oppressive.

[Nag]

Close to six hours in now and up to Brookhaven Hospital (the basement)... this has been excellent in my opinion, helped by the fact that apart from major story beats I can't remember much of the original game at all (I've not played it since getting rid of my PS2 for a 360)

 

I'll admit that I've dropped the combat difficulty right down, not because it's massively difficult or anything but those leg monsters are playing hide and seek round corners (and the radio isn't helping) just a few too many times... the atmosphere in this is enough without the fear of being pummelled to death out of nowhere. 

 

I've got to give props to the voice acting in this too, James is done so well... really believable... same with Maria, they've done a stella job.

 

Anyway... time to try and find that shotgun I keep finding ammo for...

 

 

 

 

Not a spoiler... just a nice easter egg 

Spoiler

 

These screen shots don't do the lighting justice... I don't think it's picking up the hdr.

[one-armed dwarf]

Yeah, HDR screenshots have their own file format (jxr) but there's no way to read them on the web. Plus the files are massive, the HDR versions of my screens above are around 26MB. Also the site itself compresses images a lot when uploaded, it's why I use imgur.com

 

The HDR is used very effectively tho, looking out of windows from within dark buildings feels like looking out an actual window

[Nag]

Blog post... Pyramid Head just scared the shit out of me... proper jump scare that actually made gasp out loud, I haven't done that in ages with a game.😂

 

I think people will probably know what I'm talking about when they get there.

[Nag]

Just a tad over 11 hours clocked now... I must've been in Brookhaven for three hours or more, it's a decent chunk of game time in there. Being indoors really does ramp up the tension with encounters and such, the nurses take a fair bit more damage than the other enemies too. I've actually been quite surprised by how many enemies there are in the game tbf I was thinking they'd be used a bit more sparsely. 

 

On my way to the Silent Hill Historical Society for my next session...

[DisturbedSwan]

Absolutely unreal this, it just feels exactly like playing the original, it’s uncanny how mad it is.

 

Everything is exactly as you remember it somehow and the feel, music, voice acting and cutscenes are just so damn on point, they have absolutely nailed it. 
 

I’ve just got out of Woodside apartments and the apartment block (I can’t remember the name) after that and have just met Maria on the pier.

 

The Woodside Apartments were just ingenious, absolutely superb, completely agree that the indoor environments just completely ramp up the tension, I’m not joking when I say I had to remind myself to breathe at points lol. Watching the cutscene with Angela in the mirror and I was instantly transported back to the early 2000s watching that cutscene on my mates Alba 15” mounted CRT TV in his bedroom. 
 

It’s mad how much of an influence you realise the original had on even modern games, so much of TLOUP2 in the apartment buildings there reminds me of Woodside, the paper map and ticking off locations, lot of SH influence running through Alan Wake 2 as well. 

[Nag]

Up to Toluca Prison now... it's the first place I've felt is a little cheap in regards enemies. It's pitch black in there, the flashlight is virtually useless and you have enemies that can climb on walls and ceilings and they can dive at you. There's lights that you can actually turn on but they're time operated so they'll turn off again after a (very short) time.

 

I'm 50/50 on creeping around and trying to pick them off or just legging it everywhere and taking the hits as I'm fairly well off with health items.

 

Other than that I now have the Hunting Rifle and that packs a punch.

[Nag]

Finished this last night... apart from the already mentioned Prison section (seriously, it's just too dark) and Eddie being a little bit of a prick during his fight the game didn't put a foot wrong... you could also say there's a little too much combat that can't really be avoided but then I can't remember the original to compare it to now.

 

I finished with the "leave" ending... and I've already made a start on NG+ (and found a chainsaw) to try for other endings, no radio or firearms and a collectables run... 

 

I never thought I'd be saying this but it's easily the best game I've played this year but this is right in my ballpark being a third person survival horror... what with this the Resident Evil Remakes and Dead Space I've been fed well the last few years.

[Nag]

48 minutes ago, DisturbedSwan said:

Haven’t had much more chances to play this as SH2 is taking priority, I have reached up to the first proper dungeon though (I think).

 

Are you past the Labyrinth yet?... apparently the latest patch has introduced a bug that can break the game in that part.

[DisturbedSwan]

6 hours ago, Nag said:

 

Are you past the Labyrinth yet?... apparently the latest patch has introduced a bug that can break the game in that part.

Oh shit that’s not good 😬 not there yet.
 

Not long got out of the Otherworld of Brookhaven and currently back in the otherworld streets, last save point was in the jukebox pub.

[DisturbedSwan]

Finished yesterday.

 

Phenomenal from start to finish, a game for the ages perfectly remade under a 2024 lens but still retaining its identity and uniqueness throughout.

 

There is nothing quite like Silent Hill.

 

Got Maria’s ending first go round which was a surprised, looked up the others after I’d finished. Reloaded a save and got the other 2 (leave and water).

 

That Water ending…Jesus Christ.

[Nag]

I'm up to the Historical Center for a second time trying for the Maria ending... it was impossible to get by save scumming first time round. I'm also getting all the stuff I need for the Dog and UFO endings as it's a NG+ run. No guns either.