Why Silent Hill 2's remake forcing early exploration is bittersweet

As soon as it became known that the… Silent Hill 2 The remake was expected to at least double the length of the original game, increasing to around 15 to 20 hours on the first playthrough. However, it was clear that a lot would be changed and expanded from the classic title. This rightly scares everyone who loves it Silent Hill 2 and I could imagine that doubling the running time would end up bloating the experience, and yet the remake manages to stretch and shape the exploration through story beats, making the reimagining a worthwhile endeavor.

Much of what players will experience in the remake is very different from the original, although Bloober and Konami have clearly been paying attention and have gone to great lengths to connect nostalgic parts of the lore with these unfamiliar branching paths in intriguing ways, sometimes blatantly and explicitly via interaction points. Likewise, once they arrive in Silent Hill, players are left off the leash and free to explore to their hearts' content with no obstacles to progress – at least that's how it is Silent Hill 2 Or so Remake would have you believe.

The Silent Hill 2 remake gives players the illusion of optional early exploration

Players are encouraged to explore Silent Hill aimlessly, wading through the fog once they reach it. It starts with a greenhouse whose doors actually open. Perhaps this is a dream come true for anyone who was hoping that there would be new areas to explore in the remake. This includes breaking into shops and buildings that players were previously unable to access, and using the wooden plank pierced with nails, they can shatter glass windows and break into buildings whose front doors may be deceptively locked.

The Silent Hill 2 In addition to being a wonderful adaptation of the original's map, the remake's map is extremely generous and considerate with the illustrative markings that James Sunderland makes, allowing players to know exactly where a point of interest is and which doors are locked and which doors have already been passed. Locations that players have searched and looted to the end will be marked as such with a checkmark, and areas that have yet to be fully explored will be marked with a circle.

It's fun to immerse yourself in new environments and examine what there is to accomplish or discover for the first time, especially when players stumble upon a new area on their own initiative. In fact, the beginning of the game here in Silent Hill – when only lying characters are prevalent and players haven't even considered going to the Wood Side Apartments, the first plot-related dungeon in the original game – gives players that feeling , to feel their freedom. The type of exploration is a decision that they make for themselves.

But if players don't approach the remake with newfound curiosity and instead want to focus directly on it, it may be surprising to learn that exploring the entire city early on is actually a means of forced progression. To gain access to the Wood Side Apartments and advance the story at all, players must explore Silent Hill to solve a broken jukebox puzzle in Neely's Bar, then come back out and get a key to the apartment building, which is the biggest Part of this exploration means is mandatory and not as optional as it is made out to be.

The exploration in the Silent Hill 2 remake is so novel and immersive that it hardly matters how linear it is

Exploration was almost non-existent in the original and is now mandatory in the remake. This is a bit of a shame, as it means players have to do a lot of walking around every time they start a new playthrough. It can also make exploration no longer feel as natural for the player. In fact, it could potentially be alarming to play this Silent Hill 2 Remake without intending to explore every nook and cranny as this is now a mandatory element in this opening section.

However, because exploration in one of the most popular and revered horror games of all time is offered so freely and offers brand new content, players may find themselves collecting key combinable items in the record store before they even know they need them for scripted progression.

This is certainly a blessing for anyone who hasn't played the original Silent Hill 2 because they have no preconceived idea of ​​where the apartment key might be and are likely to enjoy exploring until they find enough contextual clues to point them in the right direction. Neely's Bar becomes an epicenter in the remake that players could visit multiple times with new key items found elsewhere, and this linearity is both a strength and a weakness in terms of scripted progression.

Silent Hill 2
Thankfully, the remake goes out of its way to guide players to Silent Hill's Neely's Bar, the Texan Café, and the Saul Street Apartments (also marked on the map) if they carefully read interactive flyers and notes.

However, there's also a high chance that players will find the key to the Wood Side Apartments long before they even wanted to travel there, simply due to the remake's immersive atmosphere and the wealth of content that puts you alone in this early part of the city can browse around. Then, once players obtain the key to the Wood Side Apartments, a frantic race to the apartment building begins as the remake propels them forward in a cinematic where wind and fog inform them that their exploration of the city is on hold for now.