Shacknews Top 24 Games of the Year 2024

#9 Game of the Year 2024 - Silent Hill 2

The last few years have been good for horror and gaming remakes. Sometimes, the two worlds collide. In a time when the gaming world has been blessed with new school horror experiences, it was nice to see one of the originators step to the forefront and remind a new generation of what psychological horror can do.

Developer Bloober Team wasn't content to simply retell the story of Silent Hill 2. It was determined to improve upon it in nearly every way imaginable. The town of Silent Hill itself benefits the most from gaming's modern improvements over the past decades, becoming even more of an unsettling space that is contantly watching you. The fog, the creatures, or simply the haunting scenery. All of it is there to remind you that you are not safe within these city limits.

Leave it to Bloober Team to nail down the original Silent Hill 2's shortcomings and work to remedy them. The 2024 game does away with sluggish controls and clunky combat, creating something far more refined and intuitive. Of course, just because the new game is simpler and more streamlined doesn't mean it's easy. Silent Hill 2 is every bit as tough as the original, testing players with scarce supplies, relentless foes, and an air of paranoia that's pervasive throughout the story.

Silent Hill 2 isn't merely the original with a new coat of paint. Bloober Team went into this project recognizing that it was tinkering with a classic and remained focused on maintaining what made it that way in the first place. It's a perfect illustration of why the original was the horror staple that it was while creating a new modern classic in the process.

Slient Hill 2 is available on Steam and PlayStation platforms.

Shack Staff

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