Summary
- Use headphones for sound cues, like the radio static indicating nearby monsters.
- Adjust the brightness and other settings for a creepier experience in Silent Hill 2.
- Avoid outdoor battles to conserve health, explore options, pay attention to the map, and save often.
Silent Hill 2 is unconnected to the first game, so those wishing to jump into the new remake can do so freely. It stars James, a widower who got a letter from his dead wife Mary telling him to return to Silent Hill. When he arrives, James finds the town abandoned except for a few random people like a woman in a grave and a little girl.
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The town is more populated by monsters than people and James is ready to fight through them to find Mary. Let’s help James out in Silent Hill 2 with these strategic ideas to get through the experience safely.
6 Use Headphones
The Radio Will Keep You Safe
It’s usually recommended to use headphones in horror games to heighten the experience. However, Silent Hill 2 is a different case because sound cues play a large role in the game. Eventually, players will stumble upon a radio and they will discover that static will appear when monsters are near.
So that’s why headphones are so important as they can help players stay safe knowing when monsters are around. The eventual flashlight will also clue players in because it will start to dim. The bigger the risk, the more dim the light will become like when players first meet Pyramid Head in a closed-off hallway.
5 Don’t Be Afraid To Adjust The Brightness
Check Out Other Settings Too
There were a lot of changes made to the remake to make it a creepier horror experience. For example, the graphics were not only exponentially enhanced, but the light-to-dark ratio was also tweaked. The game, on the default settings, is now darker and even the aforementioned flashlight won’t aid as much as a beaming torch in let’s say another horror game like Alan Wake 2.
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Playing in a dark room will help especially at night to avoid the glare of sunlight. Also, players shouldn’t be afraid to adjust the brightness in the settings via the HDR menu in Silent Hill 2. Speaking of settings, players can lower the difficulty at any point but puzzles have to be locked in right away which can’t be changed. For those averse to puzzles, it’s recommended to check the game out on the easiest setting.
4 Avoid All Outside Battles
Save James’ Health
The best part about the Silent Hill series is the spookiness that the fog brings out in the town. When players first walk into Silent Hill, they will be greeted by thick fog and an open environment to explore. Eventually, players will find themselves plagued with monsters chasing after them. After this opening section, players will mostly continue their horror experience indoors in more cramped spaces.
The tip then is that players should avoid getting into combat outside since they can easily run away. The fewer times players get into combat, the safer their health will be in Silent Hill 2. Indoors, conflicts cannot be avoided but that said, ammo conservation is a must. Pop those guns out only for boss battles.
3 Be Sure To Explore Every Option
Pay Attention To The Map
Because of the lighting situation and the decrepitness of town, it can be easy to get lost. That’s why players should pay close attention to the map as much as James does. When players go down a dead-end street or a blocked door, James will update the map accordingly.
Hugging walls within apartments or checking doors outside will make sure the map gets properly filled out. Finding notes can also update the map, more so than the Resident Evil series. That’s where the Silent Hill series exceeds especially with this update to Silent Hill 2. Also, players should be aware that monsters can attack while observing the map.
2 Don’t Miss The Grocery Store
How To Find Grand Market’s Code
Here’s a solution to an early code puzzle in Silent Hill 2 to demonstrate how important notes and context clues are. The overall point of this tip is to urge players to read. In the main streets of Silent Hill, players can wander into a parking lot on Sanders Street. Here they will find a corpse next to a semi-truck with a note attached. In the note, the man mentions trying an access code starting with the combination 0000 and ending with 4013.
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If players flip it over, which they may not realize they can do, the man will say he tried combinations from 4014 to 4439 feeling like he was getting close. If players go to the Grand Market’s back alley entrance, they will eventually get to the code 4442. The man was indeed right, he was close. Inside players will find a good stash of ammo and healing materials. It’s a side quest but every bullet and healing vial counts in a horror game like Silent Hill 2.
1 Save Often
But Don’t Forget There Are Autosaves Too
As is the case with most updated remasters or full-on remakes, Bloober Team has better autosaves to make the Silent Hill 2 remake feel more modern. This can help with checkpoints in case players need to go back a few saves. While autosaves are always welcome in a game, it’s more important to manually save though.
Players aren’t going to know when autosaves will erase each other or where indeed they will save. Save points are few and far between in Silent Hill 2 via those red notes, meaning that it may be worth backtracking if something feels off. It’s always better to feel safe than sorry which is why diversifying save slots is also important. These aren’t the days of PS2 memory cards anymore as players should have an ample amount of room on their PS5 consoles and PC rigs for save data.
Silent Hill 2
- Released
- October 8, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Bloober Team
- Franchise
- Silent Hill
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, PC
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
