Summary
Three years after his wife's tragic death, James Sunderland receives a mysterious letter from Mary, beckoning him to return to the dark realm of Silent Hill.
James seeks to uncover the truth, unaware that answers require the ultimate sacrifice.
Sanctuary of Memories
In my restless dreams, I never thought shit would be this impressive.
Over-the-shoulder perspective ditches classic third-person and fixed camera angles.
We can now dodge/strafe and if an enemy grabs James, mashing button pushes bastard away.
Taking cues from The Last of Us, dumpsters can be dragged and climbed on.
Objects or traversals marked with white cloth can be interacted with.
Aside from combat, melee weapons break TV sets, storage cabinets, car windows, panes of glass etc, typically hiding health and ammo.
Enemies are more threatening and should be taken care of more often than not.
Some puzzles have been removed altogether, but solutions to oldies have been changed to keep veterans on their toes. Also, there's a bevvy of new head-scratchers, which can be tough.
Consulting map no longer freezes enemies, meaning we're in constant danger. Whether that's a good thing is down to personal opinion.
Some bosses have multiple phases and go beyond a single room. For example, Abstract Daddy chases James through a hallway.
Script is largely verbatim, with subtle alterations.
All key settings remain, with The Labyrinth boasting three new places - Rotten, Desolate and Ruined.
Akira Yamaoka composes another wicked soundtrack and hearing enemies squeal like pigs is extremely satisfying.
Endings function identically to OG:
Three in first run, another three in New Game Plus, and includes two of its own - Stillness and Bliss.
Issues
Areas can be very dark, but flashlight helps.
Combat is undeniably tighter, but still feels a bit clunky.
Angela and Eddie's faces are weird, and voice acting in general is weaker.
OG took between 6-8 hours to finish, but play time has ballooned to around 14 hours, mainly because buildings have increased in size.
Brookhaven in particular is really padded out.
Verdict 8/10
Quality has defied expectations, but the world wanted 1999 original remade instead.
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