Silent Hill Heaven

While there are many terrifying parts of Silent Hill 2, I think the part that I remembered unsettling me the most (more so than any other Silent Hill game so far) was the portion where James finds the tombstones in the Labyrinth. Between the dark lighting, the surreal atmosphere (a small graveyard with grass growing underground a building), the haunting melody, it essentially encapsulated everything that was unnerving about Silent Hill 2. The entire game, unlike 1 and 3, felt like sickness, decay and death. I actually consider the entire third act of Silent Hill 2 to be the most surreal part of any Silent Hill game. The part that freaked me out the most though, was its foreshadowing. We see that not only were Eddie and Angela going to die, we also say that our main character (according to the water ending) was too. What's worse is that it was essentially a manifestation of how James subconsciously believed it was going to end. To me, it suggested the James would be the death of these tortured people, as well as himself. It kind of showed us the type of mindset those who are heavily depressed have. That, try as we might, we are all fast approaching our own graves. What part did you guys find the most terrifying/disturbing?

Silent Hill 2 was a truly unique game for me at the time it came out. I was heavily coming off of horror games like the Resident Evil series. A psychological mindtrip like Silent Hill was never something that had ever occurred to me. I only knew of the style in movies like Jacob's Ladder (which I saw a kid and loved).

So, as far as I was concerned, in my heavily naive mind state, there was a logic and reason for everything in Silent Hill. Yes, he was looking for his dead wife, but as for the town itself, it must be a virus or some nonsense like Resident Evil.

The first time playing it, the apartments made me feel sick to my stomach. I had to quit playing it. The atmosphere was so surreal, unrelenting and gross. Like, who the fuck lives like this? If this was the beginning of the game, what the hell was the end going to be like?

Which is now to answer the question. The fucking Historical Society. At this point of the game, I was still expecting a logic and reason. But the further down the abyss I went the more my 16 year old mind imploded. All those goddamn holes, the unrelenting evil of the prison, the labyrinth, pyramid head scaring the shit out of me and his fancy little torture room.

Then after all that, feeling like you're a thousand miles underground, you end up outside on the other side of the Historical Society building like nothing even happened.

Like, what the actual fuck?

I agree. That entire labyrinth sequence was just so.....surreal, odd, confusing. There are a lot of words I could use to describe it. At least in Silent Hill 3 the shift to the "otherworld" was marked by things getting progressively more distorted and hellish. In this game, it just kind of happened. The entire sequence felt more dream/nightmarish than the otherworld in Silent Hill 3. Although the Otherworld, while not as strange and or sick feeling, was more terrifying. It felt more like violence and insanity. While this felt more like depression, sickness, and confusion.

--------
I also wish to state that I personally found the abstract daddy more terrifying than Pyramid Head. It's possibly because I already knew, researched, and watched a ton of stuff about Pyramid Head before playing Silent Hill 2. I still think he/it is an awesome monster. But I found the abstract daddy scarier. Honestly, I found the abstract daddy scarier than the other monsters in Silent Hill 3 too. It felt like I was fighting against some fucked up surrealist art piece come to life.

I also wish to state that I personally found the abstract daddy more terrifying than Pyramid Head. It's possibly because I already knew, researched, and watched a ton of stuff about Pyramid Head before playing Silent Hill 2. I still think he/it is an awesome monster. But I found the abstract daddy scarier. Honestly, I found the abstract daddy scarier than the other monsters in Silent Hill 3 too. It felt like I was fighting against some fucked up surrealist art piece come to life.

personally for me it was when james got to see the video. talk about a perfect ending.

Seeing pyramid head in the hall way in the apartments.

freaked the hell out of me.

^ This. At least if you're talking about when he's behind the bars, after you hear that loud scream outta nowhere, in the grandfather's clock room. Then I agree with you.

Also, the room full of roaches after your battery dies. That was terrible...

Hmm the basements basement, below Brookhaven..confinement and oppression -- but honestly the music throughout parts made it sometimes more crushing. Just like when you move past there is this serene music after like a rebirth.
Magdalene <3

theshaman wrote:Seeing pyramid head in the hall way in the apartments.

freaked the hell out of me.

That has to be the scariest part for me, first time I seen it I nearly had a heart attack.

When James can't open the elevator doors... along with the silence and sad music that followed. For me, that was beyond scary, it was crushing.

Then again, I played it when I was young and I used to get a lot more invested in games. Still, a haunting moment!

^^

That particular moment was really disturbing and sad. The fact that was the moment when the game shifts into high gear (despite the fact that everything that came before it was already disturbing and creepy) made it ten times worse. It's night time at that point, you have to run around the town in pitch black darkness and you have the damn historical society/prison/labyrinthine waiting for you soon after.

Fuck I love this game hah.

Deer Rest FOA wrote:I'm always feeling emotional now when I talk about old horror games, but everything in Silent Hill 2 was scary. The entire game was eerie from the moment you control James or Maria, and it was also a beautiful game. When you watch the intro with James beginning his ordeal in the restroom and entering the car park, you just feel so lonely like him, and it's a downright creepy game from the minute you run down that long path, but the game is also very detailed and I believe that even now, this game looks amazingly detailed, unlike that horrible HD update we got. The soundtrack is so appropriate too. The music matches each scene perfectly.

Now can you really say that about any of the games from 2005 up to now? OK, so not every post Resident Evil 4 horror game sucks, but too many are about shooting everything in sight now. They have great graphics, but why do games with awesome visuals have rubbish stories and cumbersome game mechanics?

I think a game should be more about story and the genre it is. I don't like games that just seem like drama through the whole thing like Life is Strange. Silent Hill 2 was one of the best games even today it has a much better story than what is out.

Maria sub scenario was in the greatest hits / restless dreams version of SH2. It's pretty damn good.

The Silent Hill Historical Society/Prison/Labyrinth was a total mindfuck and really disturbing.

I think the first Pyramid Head scene where James is hiding in the closet was downright terrifying. The labyrinth section was intense.

Overall I feel like this game is one of the least "scary" in the original series in the traditional sense. It doesn't have the intensity of SH1 or SH3 but it definitely has moments of intense, scary gameplay. What SH2 does have going for it is an extremely oppressive atmosphere that is creepy in an entirely different way.