Remasters. Love 'em or hate 'em, they're here to stay and sometimes you find one that actually justifies being priced as a 'full priced' game (even with today's extortionate game prices), purely because of the sheer amount of love that's been poured into the project.
Goober Team's remaster of Silent Hill 2 - a game that I loved the very bones of back in the day, really is more than just a bit of upscaling. It's almost a reinvention of a title that did a great job of scaring the pants off me originally, but now with its brand new shiny Unreal-Engined looks, it's scarier and grubbier than ever.
You play as James, a morose main character who has been drawn back to the town of Silent Hill after receiving a letter from his wife. The only problem is that his wife has been dead for 3 years, yet James (foolish fellow that he is) decides to go back for a look around.
Straight off the bat James realises things are not what they seem, and after a chance encounter with strange beings staling the mist-covered burg, he swiftly realises he's in over his head - and that the quest to find Mary, his late lamented spouse, might not be as clear cut as it seems.
The game builds on the oppresive atmosphere of the original fantastically. Sure there are still some of the same frustrations (James seemingly can't even step over a box to get around the game map) but there are also lots of new moments designed to make you jump out of your skin while you fight your way through the town's many menacing denizens.
Then - no spoiler alert - There's that pyramid-headed guy. Oh god. If he was ever terrifying before, he's far more terrifying now. Clad in what looks like the shorn-off edge of a church roof, he's ready to give you a short back and sides you'll never forget. Scary stuff indeed.
James does actually meet the odd 'normal' (and I use the term 'normal' broadly) human, but they just seem to build on the puzzling nature of the place - and don't always provide answers to James' many questions, not least of all why his wife would write from beyond the grave to summon him to such a desolate spot.
As the game sinks its teeth into you (almost literally!) you start to realise that the first 3 Silent Hill games (well, maybe not the original) were truly groundbreaking in terms of atmosphere and scariness. There's a lot of talk about letting Bloober Team loose on other games in the series (if they tackled SH1, they really would have a job on their hands, that game has aged badly but SH3 is still stunning even to this day). I'm all for it.
If we're to be subjected to remaster after remaster, at least Konami seem to understand what's required by modern games - and folk like me looking for more than just nostalgia. This game looks stunning, horrifying and amazing with fantastic use of Unreal Engine 5 to produce one of the most realistic looking character driven horror games I've seen so far this gen. And if that's not high praise enough, it seems it's selling like hot cakes too, which can only be a good thing.
SH1 and SH3 remasters? Bring 'em on!
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