Sometimes it’s hard to believe that the games that came out in the early 21st century are now celebrating major anniversaries, especially because the best titles were way ahead of their time.
Silent Hill 2 on the PlayStation 2 and Xbox is 25 years old today, and there aren’t many games that came out at the beginning of the 2000s that were more revolutionary than Konami’s survival horror epic.
The plot follows James Sunderland as he tries to uncover the mysterious backstory behind a letter from his late wife. Silent Hill 2 was one of the first games of the 21st century to rely heavily on story, making it feel more cinematic and immersive than most of its peers.
Third-person gameplay, puzzle-solving, and encounters with enemies during the adventure laid the groundwork for future series on the PlayStation, such as Uncharted and The Last of Us.
Reviewers at the time lauded the game for its realism, visuals, and movie-like sense of horrific wonder.
Into Liquid Sky wrote, “It uses a combination of sight, sound, imagery and imagination to create the scariest game on any home console. Turn off the lights, grab your controller and enjoy the horror of Silent Hill 2.”
Hot Games said, “Some really sick stuff. The imagery and grotesque design of the enemies is disturbing, and the grainy film stock adds an element of brutal realism to an already upsetting game. Needless to say, we loved it…Not only disturbing and scary, it’s actually a lot of fun.”
While the game still looks good for its age, it’s the impressive understanding of how to scare an audience that Silent Hill 2 capitalizes on. Small-town America, sound design, slow-burn mystery reveals, and limited combat made the game a trendsetter in both its genre and console gaming as a medium. 25 years later, it’s still just as fun and scary as you remember.
from Men's Journal https://ift.tt/b4FhZY2
