Why Silent Hill 2 is Currently the Best Survival Horror Game

As the weather becomes colder and fog begins to settle into the area, I figured it would be a wonderful time to play some horror games. The remake of Silent Hill 2 had been sitting in my steam library for years, untouched, until I decided to give it a chance. It was one of the best decisions I’ve made in a while. I’ve played games within the genre, namely Resident Evil 1-3 and both Alan Wake games, but none compare to Silent Hill 2. 

One of the key differences from your average survival horror game is that Silent Hill 2 is actually scary; the atmosphere, the music, and the monsters all culminate in a truly unsettling experience. The game's key mechanic is a thick fog that follows you everywhere, lowering your field of view significantly.

 The fog may seem like a cheap gimmick to get some scares out of you, but it's there for a reason. When you're traversing an abandoned town, with noises all around, you will feel a sense of pure dread. Unarmed and afraid of the monsters that might be following close behind, you get the feeling that you're being watched by a figure just out of reach. That feeling never truly goes away as you progress through the game and actually encounter enemies and people alike. 

The main story follows a man by the name of James Sunderland. He receives a letter from his deceased wife, Laura. She tells him to find her in their “special place”, which is the town of Silent Hill. The map of the game is relatively small, as you only traverse the small town and the surrounding areas, such as a farm and a lake. You meet very few characters within the game that aren’t hostile, but it still tells a very compelling story. 

Without spoiling too much, the monsters in the game are grotesque. If you are disturbed by body horror, then this is the game for you. The creatures that are hunting you down constantly make you cringe and want to run far away. The main enemy of the game, Pyramid Head, is one of the more tame enemies in terms of appearance. 

With the survival aspect of the game, it is challenging. You are constantly running out of healing items and scrambling to dodge attacks so you don’t get a game over. The limited savepoints and autosaves cause you to be significantly more cautious of your actions in between save stations. You have to explore abandoned buildings, most of which have enemies crawling inside. Most of the buildings in the game are also inaccessible. This makes finding enterable buildings rare, and finding healing items inside even rarer. 

The combat system of the game is difficult in the beginning as you try to get a grasp on how the enemies work. Once you are familiar with the key aspects of combat and the abilities of enemies, it isn’t as challenging as other survival horror games. Just make sure to dodge attacks, as the game becomes far more difficult if you ignore the dodging aspect. 

The music of the game is truly a masterpiece, as it works with the environments you’re in and the story being told. You will get a track that makes you question whether you’re truly in a safe area, and then immediately get another track that makes you feel like you’re not playing a horror game. The composer, Akira Yamakoa, is a wonderful musician. “Theme of Laura” is both the most important track of the game and the best one overall. 

If this hasn’t already convinced you to go play Silent Hill 2, either the original 2001 version or the 2024 remake, then I don’t know what will. It is a truly wonderful game, and the mechanics set it apart from any other title within the genre. It is by far my favorite survival horror game and one of my favorite horror games in general.