On September 24, 2001, Silent Hill 2 made its worldwide debut on the PlayStation 2. It was critically acclaimed upon its initial release and has only received more and more adoration in the two decades since. In that time, we have had three new PlayStations, the disbandment of Team Silent, and all but the confirmed death of Silent Hill as a series, yet through all those changes, the game continues to be the subject of analysis and discussion, rightfully being placed in the pantheon of not just great horror games but right alongside some of the most influential games of all time, with numerous horror games even other entries in its own series trying to capture the magic of Silent Hill 2.
The art direction of the quiet mountain town, the soundscapes, and soundtrack that bury into your mind, the creatures and characters that you find being both grotesque and tragic, all while traversing this world as a man that has his simple appearance stripped away to reveal an ugly truth. From the second the credits rolled, I knew it was a game that demanded digging from me, and clearly, I wasn’t alone.
Even over 20 years after its initial release, I’d say it is still the best horror game ever made. Not because of screams and scares, but its masterful execution in its themes of abuse and guilt that all of its characters face, understanding that what makes something truly special in horror is the implications and subtlety.
James Sunderland: A Plain Face in a Broken Mirror
“In my restless dreams, I see that town… Silent Hill.” The line that begins the letter that James Sunderland receives from his deceased wife, Mary. It is the letter that calls him to the quiet mountain town that the pair once visited on holiday before her illness made returning impossible.
The game opens on James looking in the mirror, running his hand down his face, obscuring it for a moment. This man and the player will continue to see his reflection throughout the rest of the game, though through a lens that is distorted and shattered.
Silent Hill, the idyllic “special place” that Mary held so fondly, is now drowning within a heavy fog and its residents replaced with monsters. Despite the dangers, James heads deeper and deeper into Silent Hill, facing off against creatures, monsters, and other inhabitants of the titular town to find his late wife.
Silent Hill 2 and everything in and around it is defined by its protagonist, which is fairly ironic because the most striking thing about James Sunderland is the lack of anything particularly striking. He is very plain, an average person. A man that seems to be dealing with heavy grief, but is still an average person. Early on, we as the player can easily connect to him as he is mostly a blank slate with the only real defining trait of his being his want to reunite with his wife that he believed to be dead. A sympathetic goal.
Yet the more time we spend with James the odder he seems. What appears to be stilted delivery with oddly-paced sentence structure and emphasis being put on certain words gives off this unnatural feel to his speech, which bleeds over to the rest of the character. This kind of strange voice acting is also present in other characters as well. It sometimes feels like listening to The Arm speak in Twin Peaks, it creates this otherworldly feel that is a staple in the Silent Hill series. I mean, there is literally a place called the Other World that is iconic in the series.
As James goes deeper and deeper into Silent Hill, this uneasiness continues to grow and grow. Each character you come across says that they don’t see the monsters that you see, though they all seem to be suffering through their own issues. The innocent appearance of James begins to fall away as you question why you are seeing these monsters, the game calling attention to the fact that Silent Hill is perceived differently by those who enter it. The creatures that he meets may simply seem like obstacles at first, the common zombie or monster you would expect from a survival horror game like this. They, however, become more than that, instead being representations of James’ mental state.
The fact that James finds himself here speaks to the fact that there is something we aren’t being told; something that James is attempting to hide or run from. It isn’t until he reaches the Lakeview Hotel that we learn the truth: that James’ wife did not die from illness, but was rather killed by him, smothered in her sleep. We learn that their relationship was hampered by her illness, as arguments would break out between them. James also felt like he couldn’t get sexual fulfillment from his wife due to her illness, a frustration that manifests itself throughout the game in both other characters and monsters. It is a moment that recontextualizes everything that we have experienced throughout the game, shining the creatures and characters that you have come across in the town in a new light.
The story of Silent Hill 2 is notably inspired by Crime and Punishment, the 1866 novel by Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky, which tells the story of a man dealing with guilt for killing a pawnbroker. Upon reading the book, Team Silent CGI director and character designer Takayoshi Sato conceived of the story of Silent Hill 2 shortly after the series’ first entry was finished development would follow a man facing his guilt with a supernatural twist provided by the titular town. The use of the supernatural allowed Team Silent to infuse aspects of the game that would be commonplace in the genre, such as enemies, characters, and locations, with a heavy layer of subtle symbolism and metaphor that turn unnerving and scary designs and environments into something truly terrifying upon closer inspection.
Silent Hill and Its Symbolic Creatures
Silent Hill 2 is masterful in the way it can instill fear in the player through the use of design and intelligent uses of music and sounds. The town creates this eerie feeling around it, a sense of familiarity yet distortion, something that James feels throughout the game as well as being reinforced by the literal distortion brought about by the Other World. While the moment-to-moment gameplay, fighting back against monsters can strike at fear into the player as survival instincts kick in, its the meaning behind the creatures that enhance the feeling of the psychological horror present.
The game very much tries to screw with the player’s mind rather than trying to simply get them to jump out of their seat. It is because of this approach that the game is never unfair when it comes to its scares, there are never moments where enemies can sneak up on you and get a cheap scare, the game rather focuses on dread, the terror of the town. The radio that James carries will alert you when enemies are near, though the constant static and white noise acts as an unnerving constant rather than the game deciding to surprise you with enemies jumping out at you. The game sets the stage with the first enemy introduced, the Lying Figure. These humanoid creatures appear to be contained in some sort of fleshy bag, with their attacks being to spit toxic gas at James. While these would seem like regular, “disturbing” enemies that you expect in a horror game, it is what they represent in the game’s narrative and to James specifically, that truly makes them terrifying.
Every person who enters Silent Hill sees the town differently, with the creatures being reflective of the individual’s own psyche. That includes any monsters they come across. This fact means that these designs are more than simply grotesque but also act as a symbolic look at James as a character.
When it comes to the Lying Figures, their erratic movements and containment give off the impression of someone writhing in pain. One way to interpret that is to see it as a sick person feeling pain from their illness, just as James’ wife did. The attack of spraying poison could reflect some sort of illness, but could also represent the harsh words that the couple exchanged when they would fight during the illness. As previously mentioned, James felt great sexual frustration with Mary, which manifests in the Mannequin enemies, which are just two pairs of female legs on top of each other, and the Bubble Head Nurses, which are female humanoids that have their heads wrapped in gauze and wear sexualized nurse uniforms, an outfit that James would likely have seen a lot in his many visits to the hospital to visit Mary.
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The most iconic creature of them all is, of course, Pyramid Head, or the “Red Pyramid Thing.” This creature moves slowly, dragging his great knife across the ground. It is a burden on it, as is the pyramid on his head from which his name is derived. The creature is a manifestation of James’ guilt, his need for punishment for his past actions. The design of Pyramid Head has a literal weight on the creature’s shoulders and a burden he must carry or, in the case of the knife, drag.
Just as the entire game uses common survival horror mechanics and staples, Pyramid Head, acting as the pursuer archetype, is instead contextualized as being a reflection of James. Sato explained that the design of Pyramid Head was borrowed from the executioners that once lived in Silent Hill, making him and James, who executed his wife, the same. It’s also worth pointing out Pyramid Head’s murders of Maria, a clear reflection of James doing the same to his wife, even if he mentally denies it. Pyramid Head is also depicted sexually assaulting both Mannequins and a Lying Figure early in the game, possibly reflecting James’ sexual frustration during Mary’s illness.
This relationship between these creatures, the town, and James himself that truly creates the horror found in Silent Hill 2, as it constantly reminds you that all the imagery and monsters that you face off against and experience are birthed from the mind of your very character. It’s what makes the game scary, not through jump scares but rather through thoughtful examination of a person and their demons. It creates a sense of unpredictability, that exploring through the mind of a man as broken as James can have some horrifying results.
Angela, Eddie, Maria, and Laura: Embodiments of Trauma, Guilt, and Innocence
Just as we learn who James is through his interactions in Silent Hill, it is through our interactions with the others we find in the town that we learn why they find themselves in this town meant to punish the guilty. Both Angela and Eddie are subjects of abuse, the former being sexually abused by her father and brother, the latter the focus of bullying due to his appearance. Both of these characters go down two very different paths in the way they deal with their trauma and the way they see the town reflects that.
One of the most tragic characters in the Silent Hill series, Angela is the first person that James meets in the game, before even officially entering Silent Hill. She reveals in their first meeting that she is looking for her “mama” in Silent Hill, which we learn through a series of notes and conversations is likely the only person she has left as she had killed her abusive father and brother. Many of the slightly off aspects of James’ voice acting as mentioned above is also present here, with this interaction showing her as distant and nervous, stumbling over her words, a timid personality that we go on to learn is born from her violent upbringing.
As previously stated, this slightly off voice directing carries over the whole cast, these characters are broken in their own way, and the performances actively capture that fact. These performances are put on full display in their next meeting, where Angela’s emotional distance takes a darker turn with her displaying distressing signs of depression and suicidal thoughts, two aspects that unfortunately lie at the heart of her character.
Her fears and PTSD are shown plainly when she asks James to keep a knife since she “doesn’t know what she might do” if she kept it. When James motions to take the knife, Angela panics and holds the knife at him. She is terrified of a man making a sudden movement towards her. This is once again revisited in the only encounter with an enemy that does not come from James, but rather Angela. James protects Angela from a being known as the Abstract Daddy, a deformed version of her father. The battle takes place in a room of flesh, the walls having holes with pistons pumping through them, likely simulating Angela’s assaults. It is these subtle details that truly elevate Silent Hill 2 in the eyes of series’ fans. While fleshy walls are disgusting and can provide a feeling of disgust, true horror is the implications that lie just beneath the obvious surface.
Even when James defeats the Abstract Daddy, Angela scolds him, her timid demeanor giving way to the anger she has bottled up, the same anger that let her kill her abusers. She says that he is “ just like the rest of them,” referring to the fact that all of the most important relationships surrounding men revolve around violence and abuse, and that James craved that physical and sexual intimacy with his wife. James is forced to confront the fact that while there isn’t anything to signify he sexually abused Mary, he murdered her and as the creatures of the town have shown, he has his own battles with his “sexual needs.”
With her mother not in Silent Hill, she doesn’t see a reason to live anymore, the years of her abuse creating a world that is constantly on fire. We last see Angela as she walks into the flames that engulf her Silent Hill. Angela is an innocent woman that was taken advantage of by those she trusted, those who are her literal blood, and was pushed to the point that she took her own life.
While Angela’s trauma manifests in self-loathing, Eddie’s manifests in outward rage and violence. Eddie was bullied all his life for his appearance and weight before he eventually snapped, killing a bully’s dog and crippling him by shooting him in the leg. It isn’t clear how he ended up in Silent Hill, but it is likely that he arrived here while on the run because of the attack. When you first meet Eddie, he is vomiting next to a dead body. Before he is even asked about it, he defends himself saying that he didn’t kill the person, that and the vomiting, a reaction seen in people after killing someone, are clear indications that he did kill them. Whether or not it was on purpose and/or in cold blood is hard to say, but what we do know is that his time in Silent Hill eats away at any remaining humanity, as he comes to like killing people. Never again will he suffer names, being made fun of, or being the butt of the joke. He’ll just kill them, “just like that.”
James is forced to kill Eddie, a boss fight that takes place in a meat locker, a place to store carcasses. For Eddie, it isn’t pigs or cows he would store here. To juxtapose the battle arena with the Abstract Daddy, the locker is cold, metallic, and lifeless. Just as James is forced to confront his treatment and how he saw Mary with Angela, he is faced with the fact that he was already a killer before even arriving in Silent Hill with the death of Eddie. James doesn’t vomit, he simply says that he “killed a human being.” Something true long before this confrontation.
Where Angela and Eddie both appeared in Silent Hill because they were running from their own trauma and provide thematic parallels to James’ own journey of facing his actions, Maria is a direct manifestation of his internal thoughts. Maria is the mental version of Mary that James wanted, a fantasy that manifested from James’ need to see his wife again as well as a version of her that could fulfill his selfish needs.
Though Maria is not Mary, something that she makes very clear when she confronts James in one of the most bone-chilling scenes in a video game. Maria flips between caring, angry, and seductive as if different aspects of her are fighting for control. Also note that this interaction comes after Pyramid Head kills Maria, a direct parallel to James doing the same to Mary. Maria dies multiple times throughout the game, an action that is carried out mostly by Pyramid Head. This is the town trying to force James to face the truth, that he killed his wife. This perfect version of Maria could also be the town testing James to see if he is staying true to his wife or if he is willing to forsake the real her for this ideal one, which is reflected in the endings that the player can get.
The only person in the game that doesn’t carry some sort of baggage is Laura, a young girl that met Mary in the hospital. In fact, Laura might be one of the most innocent characters that has ever been seen in the Silent Hill series. She doesn’t see monsters because she is not broken like the rest of the cast. She represents innocence in a world of corrupted people, whether it be those who have done terrible things or have had terrible things happen to them. She is an escape, a new beginning, a future, all things reflected in what is the most hopeful of the endings of Silent Hill 2.
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All of these aspects of Silent Hill 2 create a great story, but what makes this truly a great horror game? As I said before, the idea of the story was based on a Russian novel, but the creators over at Team Silent were able to transform the story of Crime and Punishment not just into a supernatural story, but also a video game story.
The game contains multiple endings with three achievable in a first playthrough. The “In Water” Ending sees James concluding that he had come to Silent Hill to commit suicide, which he does by driving into Toluca Lake. “Leave” sees James come to terms with the fact that he killed his wife. Finally able to move on, he leaves Silent Hill with Laura. Finally, the “Maria” ending sees James once again kill Mary, though he denies doing so, pushing the final boss off as not really “Mary.” He leaves the town with Maria, who begins to cough and shows signs of the same illness Mary had.
While there are other endings besides these that can be achieved on subsequent playthroughs, it is these three endings that the rest of the game feels like it’s building to. The final fight with Pyramid Head sees James saying that he no longer needs the creature, a being created to ensure the punishment of James because he refused to face the fact that he killed his wife. Now, James can face that reality, and it is his journey through Silent Hill that decides how he will face this “true” reality.
The greatest feat that Silent Hill 2 pulls off regarding its endings is that it is determinant on certain subtle actions the player takes, the most prominent one being how they treat James as a character. Avoiding damage or healing quickly after taking damage will show that James has a will to survive and will lead to the “Leave” and “Maria” ending, with what decides that on being whether or not you are examining Mary’s photo and letter. In other words, you need to prove that you are still thinking of your wife. The “In Water” ending comes about from not keeping James’ health high along with examining Angela’s knife, an item that she intended to use to end her own life if you had not intervened.
What I love about these endings is that the act as final revelations and doesn’t retroactively change events in the past. Later games in the Silent Hill series like Homecoming and Downpour that try to do multiple endings like this will use your choices in the game to influence the past. Like a character who thought they killed someone didn’t really or something like that. Silent Hill, the town, the series, is a place to punish the guilty, which James is. He did kill his wife, even in the best, most optimistic ending, he is a murderer. The ending dictates his response to facing the truth, something that other titles both within and that take inspiration from the Silent Hill series and especially Silent Hill 2 usually fail to realize.
The game doesn’t put these ending-changing actions in your face it doesn’t even tell you about it. The ending you get the first time you go through the game blind is actively determined by how you, the player, naturally act towards James and the characters in the world. It bridges the gap between player and character beautifully without the need for intrusive button prompts so that while you may not be James, you shaped him through your actions.
By allowing the player to dictate how James’ story concludes not by dialog choices or prompts but rather through subtle actions that work as a way to reflect the character’s mental state, just as everything in the town does. While the plot of the game revolves around James being forced to face himself, it is how the player treats James that decides his ultimate fate, making one of those endings that derives much of its impact from the fact that it is an interactive medium.
Still a Horror Classic
Silent Hill 2 is not just one of the best horror games ever created, it is also one of my favorite games of all time. It took a big risk moving away from the cult focus of the original Silent Hill, taking the series in a new direction, but through its faultless execution it succeeded. A story of a broken man that must face his own guilt, portrayed in a mature and shockingly subtle way through gameplay, environmental storytelling, and symbolism. It paints a portrait with several memorable characters that tackle challenging subject matter in a respectful way that also ties into the rest of the game’s overall message of dealing with one’s own mental anguish. It is an unsettling experience that can never truly escape your mind.
