I've beaten the game now, so here are some more fleshed out thoughts:

Silent Hill 2 (2024) is a very faithful, modern take on the original, preserving much of its predecessor's otherworldly weirdness, terror, and sense of perdition. While it doesn't *exactly* match the bizarre vibe of its forebear, it comes close enough to be considered an equal in atmospheric psychological horror. A companion piece that further illuminates Team Silent's vision with a modern tint that I strongly recommend to both returning fans and those new to the series who have a love of horror.

There are a number of changes, mostly to the gameplay. Transitioning over to the third person perspective meant level design would need to be shaken up, and as such we now have vaulting over waist-high walls and crawling/shimmying through holes in walls, as well as more verticality to the combat. Combat itself is overhauled with dodging, TPS aiming mechanics similar RE2R (except James is even worse at aiming), and far more frenetic enemies. Puzzles are familiar and yet different; the game even has nods to the original puzzles, which just goes to show the level of detail the team operated on this game with.

Combat is the game's biggest departure: it occurs much more frequently now, and is often necessary to progress. In the original, it was possible to avoid it most of the time, and you also had less encounters. This change isn't bad per se--in fact it can be quite fun--but it does have some negative knock-on effects. Some segments that involve lots of combat end up making the experience drag a wee bit too long between scenes, which is unfortunate. I don't want to have to deal with enemies a 3rd time while progressing through the same hallway, man. Let me have the eerie urban exploration unfettered here and there, please?

Regardless, the combat is still a better fit for the game. James's swings are laboured and amateurish. When he stomps a downed monstrosity, he does so with yells soaked in desperation and fatigue. James's aim is terrible, barely able to keep steady enough to make a reliable shot. The only move in his kit that betrays this sense of incompetence are his swift dodges. If they were slower, or were somehow tied to a resource, it would really drive home the fact that James isn't this super capable action man. Instead, this point is more delivered by the difficulty of the combat. Only through the terror induced in play is James the barely-capable, desperation-driven man we've grown to love. Not in terms of ludo-narrative consonance. Not a huge deal IMO, I think detractors are freaking out too much about this. I saw an account on Twitter comparing this to RE4's combat, which is utterly delusional. Dealing with 3 enemies in this game is a panic-inducing nightmare compared to RE4's walk in the park. The game does well enough with the combat and I like it. Oo, and bosses are more interesting to deal with as well :)

Lastly as this segment concerns gameplay, the exploration remains intact. It's really cool to explore the different parts of the town and the buildings within them. Seeing this expanded version of the town you've grown to love is quite mesmerising. And the exploration itself is rewarding, with tonnes of resources, lore, Easter eggs, and key items to find.

And now for the story:

Very faithful to the original with minor alterations to locations and some dialogue. To give an example (SPOILER!): When James refuses to give Angela her knife back in her burning otherworld, she asks in both games: "Saving it for yourself?" In the original, James seems almost offended by the suggestion of wanting to commit suicide, which we know is unreasonable given the existence of the In Water ending. No, we could argue that this is James's want to posture as stronger and nicer than he is in front of others; his persona of days past. However, in the remake, James merely stays silent in response. This is telling us he is uncertain. He doesn't know whether he deserves to keep living. Given the head space he would be in after seeing the tape, I feel that this is the more reasonable reply and shows development of character. There are a few small changes like this that exist to either better aid the existing characterisation or to make the conversations seem more naturalistic. These are welcome changes in my opinion.

Speaking of changes, the performances are a huge improvement (overall, at least...): Guy Cihi did a good job as James in the original, but I've always felt his VO left something to be desired. Luke Roberts smashes it out of the park in this, adding so much depth of emotion to this tortured character. Angela speaks far more naturally than in the original, as does Eddie, but they both are still very good representations of the original characters. Angela, tragic as ever, and Eddie, terrifying and repugnant as ever. Now I know this is a huge point of argumentation for many in the fanbase, as many argue that the stilted nature of the voice acting is intentional with some characters in the 2001 game. To that I say, to hell with intention if the intended effect is not occurring, and it surely never occurred for me. I could never hear some of those exchanges in that version as anything but far beyond an artificiality human beings would act with--brokenness of characters notwithstanding. Laura is alright too.

It's not all sunshine and roses, I fear. There is one downgrade in performance in the remake, and that is for Mary/Maria. Monica Taylor Horgan's performance in the original is one of the greatest performances ever given in the history of games, and elevates SH2 (2001) from a very artistically sound game to a pure work of art. It is by no means an easy act to follow. But key scenes, such as where James finds Mary again in Otherworld Brookhaven, or upon reading the letter at the end of the game, just do not have the same train smash of an impact. Still, Salome Gunnarsdottir did a great job, I applaud her... but there's no matching the original for me.

Main issues are still graphical performance. I managed to get it running well enough on my machine which is literally the minimum spec for the game. However, this is Stutter Engine 5 we're talking about, so not ideal. I could look past the performance, but just keep this in mind. Stutter seems to be fixed on my machine, for now. Will update this review later... At least the game is gorgeous to look at, still! Great art direction and visuals.

Oh, and the audio is awesome too! I think I prefer the original in places, but the music and sound design is still terrific in this! I was ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ my pants with a high degree of regularity.

Overall, 9/10, highly recommended. Fantastic companion to the original flawed masterpiece

I've beaten the game now, so here are some more fleshed out thoughts: Silent Hill 2 (2024) is a very faithful, modern take on the original, preserving much of its predecessor's otherworldly weirdness, terror, and sense of perdition. While it doesn't *exactly* match the bizarre vibe of its forebear, it comes close enough to be considered an equal in atmospheric psychological horror. A companion piece that further illuminates Team Silent's vision with a modern tint that I strongly recommend to both returning fans and those new to the series who have a love of horror. There are a number of changes, mostly to the gameplay. Transitioning over to the third person perspective meant level design would need to be shaken up, and as such we now have vaulting over waist-high walls and crawling/shimmying through holes in walls, as well as more verticality to the combat. Combat itself is overhauled with dodging, TPS aiming mechanics similar RE2R (except James is even worse at aiming), and far more frenetic enemies. Puzzles are familiar and yet different; the game even has nods to the original puzzles, which just goes to show the level of detail the team operated on this game with. Combat is the game's biggest departure: it occurs much more frequently now, and is often necessary to progress. In the original, it was possible to avoid it most of the time, and you also had less encounters. This change isn't bad per se--in fact it can be quite fun--but it does have some negative knock-on effects. Some segments that involve lots of combat end up making the experience drag a wee bit too long between scenes, which is unfortunate. I don't want to have to deal with enemies a 3rd time while progressing through the same hallway, man. Let me have the eerie urban exploration unfettered here and there, please? Regardless, the combat is still a better fit for the game. James's swings are laboured and amateurish. When he stomps a downed monstrosity, he does so with yells soaked in desperation and fatigue. James's aim is terrible, barely able to keep steady enough to make a reliable shot. The only move in his kit that betrays this sense of incompetence are his swift dodges. If they were slower, or were somehow tied to a resource, it would really drive home the fact that James isn't this super capable action man. Instead, this point is more delivered by the difficulty of the combat. Only through the terror induced in play is James the barely-capable, desperation-driven man we've grown to love. Not in terms of ludo-narrative consonance. Not a huge deal IMO, I think detractors are freaking out too much about this. I saw an account on Twitter comparing this to RE4's combat, which is utterly delusional. Dealing with 3 enemies in this game is a panic-inducing nightmare compared to RE4's walk in the park. The game does well enough with the combat and I like it. Oo, and bosses are more interesting to deal with as well :) Lastly as this segment concerns gameplay, the exploration remains intact. It's really cool to explore the different parts of the town and the buildings within them. Seeing this expanded version of the town you've grown to love is quite mesmerising. And the exploration itself is rewarding, with tonnes of resources, lore, Easter eggs, and key items to find. And now for the story: Very faithful to the original with minor alterations to locations and some dialogue. To give an example (SPOILER!): [spoiler] When James refuses to give Angela her knife back in her burning otherworld, she asks in both games: "Saving it for yourself?" In the original, James seems almost offended by the suggestion of wanting to commit suicide, which we know is unreasonable given the existence of the In Water ending. No, we could argue that this is James's want to posture as stronger and nicer than he is in front of others; his persona of days past. However, in the remake, James merely stays silent in response. This is telling us he is uncertain. He doesn't know whether he deserves to keep living. Given the head space he would be in after seeing the tape, I feel that this is the more reasonable reply and shows development of character.[/spoiler] There are a few small changes like this that exist to either better aid the existing characterisation or to make the conversations seem more naturalistic. These are welcome changes in my opinion. Speaking of changes, the performances are a huge improvement (overall, at least...): Guy Cihi did a good job as James in the original, but I've always felt his VO left something to be desired. Luke Roberts smashes it out of the park in this, adding so much depth of emotion to this tortured character. Angela speaks far more naturally than in the original, as does Eddie, but they both are still very good representations of the original characters. [spoiler]Angela, tragic as ever, and Eddie, terrifying and repugnant as ever.[/spoiler] Now I know this is a huge point of argumentation for many in the fanbase, as many argue that the stilted nature of the voice acting is intentional with some characters in the 2001 game. To that I say, to hell with intention if the intended effect is not occurring, and it surely never occurred for me. I could never hear some of those exchanges in that version as anything but far beyond an artificiality human beings would act with--brokenness of characters notwithstanding. Laura is alright too. It's not all sunshine and roses, I fear. There is one downgrade in performance in the remake, and that is for Mary/Maria. Monica Taylor Horgan's performance in the original is one of the greatest performances ever given in the history of games, and elevates SH2 (2001) from a very artistically sound game to a pure work of art. It is by no means an easy act to follow. [spoiler]But key scenes, such as where James finds Mary again in Otherworld Brookhaven, or upon reading the letter at the end of the game,[/spoiler] just do not have the same train smash of an impact. Still, Salome Gunnarsdottir did a great job, I applaud her... but there's no matching the original for me. [strike]Main issues are still graphical performance. I managed to get it running well enough on my machine which is literally the minimum spec for the game. However, this is Stutter Engine 5 we're talking about, so not ideal. I could look past the performance, but just keep this in mind.[/strike] Stutter seems to be fixed on my machine, for now. Will update this review later... At least the game is gorgeous to look at, still! Great art direction and visuals. Oh, and the audio is awesome too! I think I prefer the original in places, but the music and sound design is still terrific in this! I was shitting my pants with a high degree of regularity. Overall, 9/10, highly recommended. Fantastic companion to the original flawed masterpiece