Silent Hill 2 Tips and Tricks To Help Fight Back the Fog

The streets may still be smothered in fog, but the Silent Hill 2 remake brings many changes to Konami’s iconic survival horror game. Whether you’re a newcomer or fan of the original, here are key Silent Hill 2 tips and tricks to know before you delve deeper into James Sunderland’s dark and twisted tale.

Explore buildings (and look for white sheets)

A key change between the original Silent Hill 2 and the remake is that plenty more buildings are now open for James to explore. As you move through the town, keep an eye out for white cloth draped over windows. It’s usually an indicator that you’ll be able to climb inside. In many cases, James can smash large storefront windows to hop inside and scout around for extra supplies and notes. Fair warning though, monsters have often made their way inside as well.

Dodge, dodge, and keep dodging

Silent Hill 2 remake’s enemies are far more mobile and aggressive than in the original – but so too is James. His dodge ability is easily his most important new capability. You can spam dodge quite effectively to avoid enemy attacks, and it’s possible to dodge rapidly between your own strikes. Most enemies will usually attempt to hit James after just one or two of his attacks, so be ready to dodge at a moment's notice, or do so pre-emptively to minimize how many health drinks our beleaguered protagonist needs to down.

Some enemies will hide in plain sight

Your regular bile-spitting monsters might be content to totter about the streets, but other monsters are far meaner. Mannequin monsters are particularly fiendish in the remake, often hiding stock-still and pretending to be part of the scenery. Wander too close and they’ll leap out at you. If you spot one, you’ll need to act quickly. Staring for a few seconds is all it takes to wake them up and send them after you. Once you have a firearm available, put a handful of shots into any you spy trying to set a trap. Your radio can give you an indication of when one might be lurking nearby.

You can drop the difficulty any time

Finding those acid spewers and mannequins a bit too punishing? Our fourth Silent Hill 2 tip is a simple one: You can adjust the difficulty at any time from the Settings menu, though doing so will force you to reload your last save. The same can’t be said for the puzzle difficulty, however. That you’ll need to decide before you begin your entire playthrough.

For more guidance, you can also switch the Interface Preset to Modern. This increases the visibility of interactable items, adds hints to loading screens, and will indicate any time you need to perform a quick time event.

Check your map often

Maps are your greatest asset in Silent Hill 2. As you explore, James will mark your discoveries on them, including key objectives, blocked routes, and connecting pathways. If you’re not sure where to head next, open up the map and look for any doors that James hasn’t yet put his pen to. There’s a good chance one of them will take you where you need to go. It’s possible to miss maps if you're in a hurry, so whenever you enter a new area, be sure to check around for a paper map hanging on the walls or a bulletin board.

You aren’t safe with the map open

Enemies can and will attack you while you’re busy checking which street leads to where. So while you will want to check your map regularly, make sure you keep your path planning to safe spaces.

The soundtrack is mostly just trying to scare you

The music of Silent Hill 2 is filled with slithers, scrapes, and fleshy rumbling sounds that could feasibly come from something nasty within the world. Most of the time, those sounds are just there to unsettle you. Monsters tend to have very distinctive sound effects that you’ll come to recognize as you fight more of them. Learn these, and you’ll have more courage to press forward when other uncomfortable audio effects are threatening your ears.

Occasionally, however, the music and effects are genuinely giving you clues. Ominous hums might come from a key item or interaction point. Oh, and that unsettling heavy breathing which sometimes drowns out everything else? That means a certain, metal-headed someone is nearby. Even if he’s just watching from a distance.

For the ultimate immersion, turn on Retro mode

The last of our Silent Hill 2 tips and tricks is one for the horror stalwarts and those of us who’ve already delighted in the original game. If you want to ramp up the fear factor, consider switching the Interface Preset to Retro. This removes tutorials and tips, hides interaction icons, and removes the ammo counter. Reducing your on-screen information brings things a touch closer to the original and certainly makes for more stressful fights in which you need to count your shots before reloading. We salute those of you brave enough to give it a try.

Silent Hill 2

Release Date: October 8, 2024

• Windows
• PlayStation 5Buy