Silent Hill 2 Remake: I'm Not Your Mary

 I recently finished the Silent Hill 2 Remake from Bloober Team. And quite frankly, it's good. I'm not in love with it, yet I think they did a great job regardless. While the combat and general movement are vastly different, the DNA of the series is embedded within. It works well enough and there are some really intriguing elements that get added in the Remake that set this game apart from its contemporaries. So, I am going to give my thoughts on the Remake and how it stacks up to the original. 

To start off, I think Luke Roberts killed it as James and his acting gave the story the weight it needed. I say this as one of my criticisms for the original is that Guy Cihi can be a little too goofy and awkward. That's not to say James is supposed to be perfect, but the James in the script matches the energy that Luke Roberts gives off moreseo than Guy Cihi. I also feel the same way in regards to Angela's performance in the Remake. 

I think that Gianna Kiehl was able to more accurately resemble the Nineteen year old as opposed to Donna Burke in the original. While I don't agree with all of the writing decisions in the game, I think that as far as performances go, these two killed it. As for the others, I am either lukewarm or confused a bit with the direction. In Laura's case, I could take Evie Templeton from the Remake or Jacquelyn Breckenridge from the original. They both did well in the role and I have no complaints. But the same cannot be said for Eddie and Maria/Mary. 

To start off, I think Eddie lost his humanity. This comes down to his storyline and the performance. There was never a moment where I felt Eddie was normal in the Remake. And this goes for the performance as well. Scott Haining did a great job at making me unsettled by the words coming out of his mouth, yet there was nothing more than that. Eddie is not very complex, however he is not complete scum. I felt like David Schaufele was able to keep that balanced a bit more in the original game. 

Now, I would like to present my issue with Salóme Gunnarsdóttir's rendition of Maria/Mary. This is interesting because if this wasn't a remake, I think that Salóme Gunnarsdóttir's performance would be perfect. However, we have a comparable because it is a remake. And quite frankly, the bar was entirely too high. Monica Taylor Horgan put together one of the best performances in a video game with the original Silent Hill 2. So, my expectations would be for the Remake to follow in those steps. Yet, I felt like Salóme Gunnarsdóttir never put the weight or emotion into the role that was required of it. 

This makes the Prison Cell and Letter Read scenes stand out as these powerful moments fell flat for me. And because I was watching the trailers leading up to the release of the Remake, I knew that the Prison Cell scene was already trending in the wrong direction for me. The air was off and Salóme Gunnarsdóttir didn't get the scene to work for me. I say this because in the scene, Maria is supposed to be seducing James and Monica Taylor Horgan's sultry tone sells the moment. Especially with the back and forth she has with the different aspects of her deteriorating personality. So, it becomes noticeable when Salóme Gunnarsdóttir's performance is not matching that throughline. 

But, I think that the biggest crime is the Letter Read. The pain and anguish in Monica Taylor Horgan's voice is uncontested and one of the best singular performances in the history of video games. And quite possibly, all of storytelling. Yet, I did not feel anywhere near that same amount of pain from Salóme Gunnarsdóttir. This did not feel like someone afraid of dying and losing their life with their partner. It felt like someone reading a letter they wrote. It sucks because outside of these scenes, Salóme Gunnarsdóttir does a remarkable job. However, it is clear that the direction was not there for some of the most integral scenes in the game. 

Now let's switch it up and talk about the gameplay of Silent Hill 2 Remake. I don't mind it, but I think that some elements hold it back. One of those is the lighting. The flashlight doesn't really illuminate things, especially in the darker areas like the Wood Side Apartments and the Labyrinth. It's actually one of the things I hate about many modern games. Realistic lighting sucks because I am playing a video game. Why does it need to reflect reality? I am fighting monsters in my mind palace, fuck off. But, the lighting actually does enhance one of my favorite reimaginings, the Mannequins. 

This enemy is comprised of two sets of mannequin legs. And what I love most about them is their readiness to throw legs. Bloober Team changed them into these super agile boxers. It made for engaging combat when they would duck your swing and then try to punish you for it. Not to mention, when they would hide in plain sight or behind objects. They would also not set off the Radio, an item that alerts the player to nearby enemies. Every other enemy sets the Radio off except for them. So, the extremely dark areas helped to enhance the engagements with Mannequins at all times. It was also great when you would find them running to a new hiding position. Funniest character in the game without a doubt. 

As for the other enemies, I think they are all fine. Lying Figure, a human-like monster in a straightjacket and covered face, is pretty standard affair. They shoot bile at you through their mouth hole, and the upgraded version gets a full-screen projectile and explodes bile when killed. I think the upgraded forms of the monsters were a cool idea. They allow the reuse of enemies, and feel distinct enough to rethink your strategy on them. This also goes for the Bubble-Head Nurses. Still a defensive menace, but they lost their instant pipe cancel or whatever the hell they were doing in the original. And the upgraded version warranted a shotgun blast most of the time. 

But there are some new additions and another fresh take. For the fresh take, this would be the Mandarin. An enemy we don't see fully in the original that hid under metal grates in the Labyrinth. But this time you get some more front-facing moments with them. I feel like the Mandarin, a monster with large arms and tentacles, was the replacement for not using Abstract Daddy, the manifestation of Angela's Father, as a regular enemy. I say this because the Mandarin's inclusion at the Lakeview Hotel. I was not expecting to see them again at all, but it was a welcome challenge regardless. As for the other new additions, There was the Creeper, a big ass beetle, and the Spider Mannequin. 

I think that the Creeper doesn't really add anything and is just a nuisance. It more often made me think a bigger enemy was around. I'm wondering why they were even included, outside of the bug room in the Labyrinth, which is somehow worse in the Remake, they felt unneeded. But as for the Spider Mannequin, this enemy reinforces my belief that the lighting in this game sucks. They are too fast and you can't see them most of the time. They're an enemy designed for a faster game, or for the player to be using the auto aim function. I found myself getting dove in on by these dickheads without engaging them quite frequently. I still hate them, even now. 

But as for general gameplay, it was very Resident Evil 3 Remake. I say this because James felt more like Jill than Leon or Claire. It's not just the dodge, but he moves a bit faster. Something that Leon or Claire were not known for in Remake. The gameplan was simply dodge every attack because the dodge had a lot of invincibility frames, and the recovery wasn't long enough for a punish from any enemy. So, the combat is pretty standard and barebones, yet it works for the game. 

As for the puzzles, they were good. I liked the locked room puzzle in the Wood Side Apartments where you have to decipher the text and images on the walls. As well as the expanded Blue Creek Apartments. I think that this game excelled in the first half while Prison and Labyrinth were slogs. With the Lakeview Hotel being hit or miss in some areas. But one of the bigger omissions has to be the Great Knife.  SH2 already lacks weapon variety. So, limiting the options feels shitty. It was one of the aspects that got me excited for the Labyrinth and then I found out I couldn't even use it. But that's enough about the gameplay, let's talk about the writing of SH2 Remake and how it stacks up to the original. 

Overall, I like the writing for the most part despite its bluntness. Things that were more subtle became talking points. This is very noticeable in Angela and Eddie's storylines. For Angela, I think it worked fine because some of the more interpretive elements had less wiggle room for misreads. She is very clearly a victim of abuse that is attempting to give back to her abusers. On the one hand, you want to feel good for Angela. But on the other hand, you can tell that someone as sweet and innocent as her should not have been put in this position. She had been broken by years of physical and mental abuse to the point of striking back. With the eventual outcome leading to her death, presumably by suicide. 

It's one of those stories where you can't help but feel horrible the more you learn and witness. Yet it's that horrid nature of things that makes Angela stand out as one of the best characters in the franchise. You want her to feel better, but she never does. An aspect that is important to the overarching story of SH2. You are reliving many of the events or engaging with the past. So, it makes sense that you cannot do much but bear witness to the horrors. But the same cannot be said for Eddie in the Remake. 

Eddie never gets to wear the mask that he has fashioned. Eddie feels like the same Eddie throughout the whole game. Unsettling and Unnerving. There was never an element of a goofy guy in there. Only someone that lacked empathy despite being a victim himself. Cutting the Pete's Bowl-o-Rama scene for Eddie was one of the bigger missteps. They never give us a reason to be caught off guard by Eddie's sudden change in nature later on. Having him eat Ice Cream with his hands made him look like the most unhinged character in the game. 

It made me think that the writing team at Bloober believed Eddie was just a crazy fat guy. That he could not be afforded any humanity. Only a monster dwells here. no humans to be found. I'm not even a fan of Eddie, yet it made me upset to see him disserviced like this. How could somebody eat pizza when there are monsters outside? Be Eddie I guess. 

For Laura, she seemed like the same character. Her storyline as a kid in the town who knew Mary is just that. She acts the same, and the only noticeable omission is her interaction with Eddie. Which does more for Eddie than her. There's not much else to do with her unless they wanted to explain her presence. To me, I've always thought she was dead based on interactions with James. She says she just turned Eight years old. What's important about this aspect, is that it coincides with a living Mary. If we believe that James is telling the truth about her being dead for Three years, then it can be expected that she has been dead for Three years or James has lost the concept of time. Regardless, there is not much to Laura other than her connection to Mary.

Now, we move onto Mary. Another character who is not too different in this game aside from the Letter Read. But the Letter Read reveals an interesting change, her remorse for her actions. Mary feels genuinely awful for the person she became towards James and her loved ones. She doesn't do that in the Remake. Remorse is often something found on Death's Door for people. This particular change makes her feel a bit selfish and makes James look way worse. Whereas with the original, you can see that love and passion caused James to kill his wife. The Remake for some reason didn't quite understand this aspect. 

It's where the critique on the performance comes from as well. The emotional impact is important to this game. To remove some of the more emotive elements tells me that there was only so much that was understood about an almost Twenty-Five year old game. But what does that mean for Maria?

It means that Maria actually doesn't have many issues regarding her character. Aside from the Prison Cell scene, her writing is fine. Nothing to elevate her, but nothing to change my thoughts like with Eddie or Mary. I just hope that they could've implemented Born from A Wish. Her tiny campaign in the original was needed. Especially when you have these more blatant elements in the story that had been subtext previously. But Born from A Wish is not in this game, so it does not count against it. 

And as for James, I think any issue lies solely with Mary and Maria. This is the perfect James. From the storyline to the performance from Luke Roberts. You cannot get much better at Jamesing than this. Even his stumbling through his words felt natural. I'm more of a James enjoyer now. It's the little things. The little grunts and noises he makes when interacting with doors or glass of any kind felt very personable. Not to mention, when he would interact with holes. Old James was more confident, new James is a coward and needs encouragement. I love the sad, wet dog that James has become in the Remake. This gives him a bit more personality, a bit more to latch onto. 

Also worth noting is the action of him writing down things on the maps. A series mainstay, yet we never saw any protagonist actually write things down. So, it was fun to see what James would write. Like, "GATE" for example. Thanks for the note James, I can see that is a gate. These observations were also funny for the reason that he could write "GATE" or "ELECTRONIC THREE HUNDRED SIXTY PLANETARIUM SCREEN". The possibilities were endless for Jimbo. 

Other things I liked were the references to the original SH2. You'd have these "Glimpses of the Past" that James could interact with. It caught me off guard at first with the tunnel you originally get the Wooden Plank weapon at. But then there was one for a side street from the original, and everything started to click. A neat addition for returning players. But, I am still working on the full completion of this game. So, I haven't figured out the secret to the Polaroids, but I will soon, maybe. 

The only other aspect I want to talk about is the text and readability. Subtitles were fine, yet many of the in-game text items were extremely hard to read. This can also be said for puzzles that needed to be seen properly as well. I have bad vision, and this game reinforced that aspect quite a bit. I played this game on a big ass TV and I still couldn't read things while sitting down. I had to get up a lot to read certain items or notes. It was actually annoying. Like, the personality with handwriting is nice and all, but I can't read that shit. Usually Horror games have a second screen for text. I know Resident Evil and Silent Hill have done this previously. One of the weirdest accessibility issues I have seen in modern games. 

Aside from that, I liked the Remake. Bloober Team did great. Akira Yamaoka composed a nice remix of his original score. And the Boss changes were all intriguing. The expectations were in the basement, but they managed to pull it off. Hopefully, this means that SH2 gets a port to modern consoles, and an update to its PC port. But for now, I have more time to play SH2 Remake. A game worthy of the title. 

And remember to Free Palestine, Free Congo, Free Sudan, Free Venezuela and to Free Lebanon from the onslaught of their oppressors. Never stop talking about them. They think that we don't care, but we see everything. Never forget that. They are trying to suppress our voices because they matter, remember that. There may have been a ceasefire in Gaza, but Palestine still needs to be completely free.