Hey Max, been really enjoying the content, been watching your work for a while. Been absolutely feasting on the more recent Silent Hill content, just wanted to tell you that it’s great and keep it up! STAY YELLOW
I think the reason for Eddie's breath being cold is because that is what Silent Hill is like for him, like how it's on fire for Angela, it is cold like the meat locker for Eddie
Regarding the abstract daddy fight, I just realized that Angela didn’t view James as her protector, but rather as another man to take advantage of her. At first, I was a little confused by this, but then I realized that apparently her brother also abused her. This makes a lot more sense; if her brother also wanted to do terrible things to her, it’s understandable why she assumed James just wanted her dad Out of the way.
While I still prefer the OG, the remake overall executed the tone of the OG well. There are things I like about both games better. As the OG is my favorite game of all time, having the remake turn out as well as it did, despite Bloober’s shoddy record and unimpressive early trailers, was a dream come true. It’s a great time to be alive as a long time Silent Hill fan. I can only hope the remake financially succeeds and is the catalyst for Konami to greenlight remakes of the other Team Silent games.
So happy with the amount of videos coming out, my favorite youtube channel. I can listen to you guys talk about anything. I beat SH 2 remake and thought it was fantastic, amazing sound design had me so tense throughout the game.
What you guys were talking about at the end actually reminds me of Silent Hill Shattered Memories where Dr.Koffman says "You feel guilty about everything. When we all lived in huts and wore furs, we worried over the simple things: food, water, whether animals would come and eat us in the night. Now we have supermarkets, bottled water and .38 caliber home security. So what keeps us awake at night? More often than not, guilt. If only I had acted differently... If only I hadn't said THAT... If only I had said SOMETHING... You beat yourself up with your past. Don't blame yourself, blame the WORLD. Blame GOD. Blame ME." Something I learned about being a Christian is "life just happens" there's no use to feeling guilty or remorse about the things that have happened, or the things you've done. It is better to recognize reality for what it is, I've done bad things and now what's important is for me to move forward from them and learn lessons
Played in headphones, volume up, and took lots of time to soak up the atmosphere and details. With that context, I think this game is truly a crowning achievement as a remake. That's as a VERY big fan of the original too. I think they nailed all of the meaningful stuff and added so much nuance that it's genuinely staggering (a lot of people seem to be overlooking that too, weirdly). People over the last 2 decades (myself included) have had a tendency to obsess over aspects of the original game that were assumed to be intentional, but over the years have often been confirmed by the creators as incidental--I think those things still have their meaning, but I do admit that I had maybe given some extra points to the original for some things that maybe didn't make that much sense in hindsight. I think the more focused intentionality of the remake and all of the insane story driven details that were added on top of the heavy push on atmosphere made it into one of the most intense things I have ever experienced. I think Bloober helped focus the story a bit as well without too many changes, which some may dislike (understandably), but I can see how much it helped the landing of the final chapter and how the extra focus makes room for all the insane detail they added. It feels like you could write a curriculum for an entire college course on this thing, same thing goes for the original too obviously, but I believe that you'd be doing a lot less "reaching" with the remake because of all the additions--and that's quite a feat. It's really packed to the brim. Thing is so absurdly scary too haha, like almost too scary--I say that as someone who is not even remotely bothered by horror usually. As I rolled credits yesterday on SH2R I vowed never to play the damned thing again as long as I live. That's nuts, but it was my true feeling and I stand by it. That game is monsterous, in such an indescribable way. I swear I lost years of my life during that playthrough. There's just nothing else like it, and I think it stands strong next to the original for that exact reason. There are just no two things like Silent Hill 2, not even the remake as compared to the original. I would consider that a mission accomplished, two very unique pieces of art that provoke indescribable feelings in their audience. Different at a fundamental level, but driving towards something similar. Both of them are hall of famers in my book.
Seeing as they leaned into Twin Peaks more this time around, the original game and this one exist like conjoined siblings made from the same DNA but with different results on each side. It's not Silent Hill 2, It's Silent Hill Two. Stacked like supernatural Russian nesting Dolls. If that makes any kind of sense?
I’m not sure if Casen or Mike reads comments, but either way this is something important to point out. The coin puzzle (and of course the entire narrative) regarding where guilt should lie, many of these questions are influenced by Crime and Punishment. Crime and Punishment is a very important piece of context to have when it comes to dissecting more of the themes of Silent Hill 2 and the remake. For those who want more information, a channel called TheGamingMuse does a great video about Crime and Punishment’s influence on Silent Hill 2.
Mike typically reads them. Caden less so. They both check it out though, if I recall. They do respond to comments though in videos and in the comment section.
@@jeffpalaganas7404 Also apparently I got ahead of myself. I watched this before I watched the full original SH2 analysis and in the original’s analysis they brought up Crime and Punishment. I feel like a goof for jumping the gun there but it was great listening for sure.
This was such a joy to watch! I loved the fact that you guys brought up some of Jung's ideas that SH2 strongly displays through the amazing experience it offers to the players. You've just earned a new subscriber! Thank you for a job well done :)
Commenting early for engagement. Love how much content is coming out on this channel and the quality hasn't dropped, if anything, it's improved the already high bar!
It is believed that chosing the man, woman, or snake coin helps you get a "point" towards unlocking one of the 3 base endings (Leave, In Water, Maria). Although it isn't confirmed. The same is said about using the copper or lead ring on the top or bottom hands, the rotten or ripe apples in the mirror puzzle, or walking through the rust egg door or the scarlet egg door.
Not to sound mean or like an ass, but i believe the game devs have stated (Team Silent) that all the people in SH2 is real, no ghosts or spirits stuck in purgatory, or anything like that. They are real people experiencing supernatural stuff conjured up by a place with a real power. Sure, it draws from their minds, but everyone except for Maria are real people, drawn to the town for a reason or another. They also have stated they don't love the idea that Silent Hill has become just this place where people go and get therapy or cleansed from their sins. It just was this time, a vehicle for the story they wanted to tell this particular time. PS: Rachel was Mary's and Laura's nurse back in the hospital they were in.
I haven't finished listening to this podcast yet, so maybe they say that here, but until now I've never heard it said that people in SH aren't real. Is that a common idea?
@@TectonicImprovah, ok yeah that seems wildly off to me, even regardless of what Team Silent say. It doesn't seem like there's anything in the game to indicate that.
The discussion around the 45 minute mark about how analysis can despoil the mystery of a thing is part of the reason I often dislike videos named stuff like "The ending of (X), explained". Particularly for emotionally/spiritually significant works like Silent Hill, consuming someone else falsely providing the "explanation" of the work denies you the opportunity to reflect on what it means to you. It feels almost...I don't know is it weird to relate it to sacrilegious behavior? They're kind of denying people the opportunity of their own revelation art is meant to provoke. People know in their heart what Silent Hill 2 means. You don't need it explained to you. I think its the implication that there is one explanation that bugs me. People like Max and our Resonant Arc guys providing what they see in these things isn't bad at all. Just provides further context to consider again.
Something that I think adds to the idea of James being dead is a scene in the apartment complex where he finds a corpse under a sheet in front of a tv. The corpse's upper half is specifically covered with a sheet with only the legs and feet exposed, showing a pair of jean and shoes not dissimilar to James' own. If Silent Hill's appearance also reflects the environment each person was in at the time of their death, the dark and grungy state of the town may be because his own home was like that when he died. After killing Marie he spiraled letting himself go till he finally killed himself; likely with a gun to the head as you also find the pistol in the apartment complex and note about a neighbor hearing gunshots and the corpse has blood around the head.
Absolutely phenomenal breakdown here, and always love to hear from Max, especially on Silent Hill. I’ll be stoked to play this game in about 10 years when I get a ps5 (just got a ps4 this year lol), but that’s about in line with my experience to the original game, which I picked up in 2011. If you guys are aiming to get into the Legacy of Kain series at all, there is a ton to talk about in terms of this theme of Fate and fault that you touch on here. Different type of game, of course, but interesting how it covers similar themes.
One experience that I can share as a first time player is that I didn't catch James smothering his wife with a pillow at all. I assumed that the flashes of the stuggle were James stuggling to bring himself back to consciousness or possibly signs of a future struggle. Up until the very end, I was sure that by saying "I killed her", he meant out of neglect (for never going back to see her until she died on her own). It's a little bit of a let down, but it'll make a second playthrough that much more interesting. 🙂
I loved everything about the remake except for the voice acting and some characters' redesign. I don't know if it's direction or the actress but I think Angela's voice acting isn't good. I prefer the original voice actors except for Eddie and Laura. Marie/Maria is competent but the original performance was nearly perfect. You can also tell where the sensitivity consultants forced on Bloober started to interfere - mostly scenes involving Pyramid Head. I also am admittedly getting tired of every game being third person over the shoulder, too. I miss cameras on tracks.
I’m telling you, the fixed camera angles were art. They were actually a way of removing control from the player creating a greater sense of helplessness that the remake doesn’t quite capture. Which is why it resorts to jump scares and things hiding in the corner or behind a wall.
@@JC-cb8oi agreed. I even miss third person cameras on tracks and that float above the player at this point lol. Everything nowadays is either first person or third person over the shoulder.
On the topic of Eddie's breath being cold in the remake, I think it's a cool detail and is suppose to call back to Angela's line "for me it's always like this". Now that being said, while that may be what the remake is going for, as far as the original is concerned, I don't necessarily think Angela's line was meant to be taken literally. What I mean is, I don't think everything is literally on fire everywhere she goes, nor do I think Silent Hill looks like the frozen meat locker for Eddie at all times. I think Angela's line in the original is more representative of how she feels and because her mental state has deteriorated by that point in the game, it manifested as a fire, because it's tied to the source of her trauma and reason for why the town called to her. I think the manifestations that the characters see are there, the town is conjuring them actively. This is why in the room just before the meat locker with Eddie, we see both dead bodies of James, along with the meat locker visual, the town is literally creating manifestation for the two of them at the same time. This is just my take of course.
There are only two bits where I felt that the original might have been better than the remake. 1. I find the sunken shadows on Maria's face in the scene where she's behind bars in the original to be particularly unsettling/terrifying, but some of that feeling is lost in the remake. 2. In the first encounter with Eddie, you start to feel a small hint of a sinister vibe towards the end of the first scene that I thought was very cool. In the remake, he's almost purely sympathetic in the first scene, and all of that heavy lifting of the revelations is done in subsequent scenes. Everything else, though I think was improved in the remake.
Enjoyed the discussion, but I disagree with how good this remake allegedly is (though that isn't to say that it's bad). I believe the original game is superior in how it handles its pacing + less unnecessary fluff whilst the remake has too many moments where I wasn't jiving with things like the voice acting, the abundance of combat scenarios which aren't able to be sustained for the extended playtime duration due to its simplistic systems, not to mention it's absolutely inexcusable for any rated M product to be censored; grown adults don't need to have their media experiences curated by people who think they know better and what you're able to handle and or are allowed to see / experience, especially when handling a project that had already existed and is already beloved. . . it's ridiculous. Also should note that something is just lost without fixed camera + tank controls as a combo, particularly speaking within the horror genre. Overall, I don't feel this is anywhere NEAR the level of a Resident Evil 1 remake (when comparing to their original counterparts) but at the same time, it's not as egregious as something like the Resident Evil 3 remake, and at the very least. . . it is the best Silent Hill game in many, many years which I suppose is not nothing.
I thought that James noting extra things down on his map was really helpful, but my seventh grade self missed having my notebook on the side and jotting those notes for myself 😄
This community is great when the guys are discussing games from their childhood or older titles but newer releases and remakes especially everyone became cancerous 😂
The changed the cutscene before the boss battle with Pyramid Head and it was obvious due to modern sensitivity. That was a massive disappointment along with Maria's voice actress. Everything else was perfect.
I'm happy you both liked the game. To me the original is far superior in many ways. In the remake the pacing felt off, the level design was to linear, to much janky combat that goes on for to long, Angela's story was much more subtle in the original, the remake at some point hits you over the head with it, some charcters just looked off, etc..
The modern audience and the Silent Hill 2 fans who have never played Silent Hill 2 can have this one. I've seen enough of the changes Bloober Team has made to know that this remake is not for me.
Nonsense. I thought exactly the same way before I saw how much love and care they've poured into this thing. Nothing in this video comes even remotely close to describing how it feels. Wait until the price drops so you feel comfortable about it and treat yourself.
@@Cyborganna Bullshit, they cut important dialogue and changed the cutscenes by removing important aspects, they butchered Maria. Do not play this gargabe if you are a SH2 fan.
@@Xhanatos If you understand the intent and the points I don't want to spoil, it is done for a reason. The Town is giving you tons of clues why. Have you even played it yet?
It’s good, but not nearly as good as the original. They change several characters personality, less complex emotions (the worst offender being the staircase scene with Angela and Mary’s letter… oh god). That being said the actors are GOOD. As for the gameplay it feels more lika a mod for Resident Evil 2R or The Last of Us. It’s also too long, so much filler. It’s great that a lot of people like it, but I feel crazy when I hear the praise people are giving it. ”They completely understood the original”. I couldn’t disagree more.
Things I like about the remake: it's genuinely scary; the combat is intense without feeling too actiony; it LOOKS fabulous and while the sound design is of course very different to the original, I think it's really effective. There are also certain decisions I'm really into, such as the reworked Abstract Daddy fight. Things I dislike: Maria and James both have bland, uninspired but dutifully professional voice acting; in fact many of the characters feel far more toned down and way less idiosyncratic (although I actually really liked Angela); certain scenes such as Maria behind the bars and the finale of the hospital are significantly less interesting; I understand a modern game couldn't be as short and concise as the original but to me the extended parts really start to sag, especially the prison. I can't agree that it's in any way perfect, but as someone who was very, very, very, very skeptical and ready to hate from the outset, I think it's a pretty good game, especially for those curious about Silent Hill but aren't nerdy enough to clunk with the original. It's certainly the best proper Silent Hill game we've seen in maybe decades.
How did you guys feel about all the shout outs to the original puzzles and the shoutouts to the original messages you would come across the first one when you originally got the board to beat the crap out of one of the bodies that were lurching towards you in the city in the original.
I loved the remake! My only big issue was laura's letter dialogue not matching the ingame item (very confusing) and the hospital chase scene was really bad with the subway surfer gameplay and cutscene warning you about pyramid head 😂
The snake is also a medical symbol. To me, the coin puzzle parallels the story of James and Mary. Do you blame the man (James), the women (Mary), or the hospital(snake) for her death?
Now I concern for those youtuber who based their entire personality on hating this remake before the release. Now they have to double down. Be prepared 😅
I just finished getting 100% in the remake and I really loved about 90-95 percent of the game except a few line deliveries and insane stuttering. If Konami ever decides to remake SH1, I want Bloober to handle that project.
I know I've said this to both of you about a thousand times, and it's a meme at this point, but you both really need to read House of Leaves. Especially after your discussion on determining what is real and what is not in a piece of media. the book will rip your minds wide-open.
The presentation of this remake, at least, is the same as every other third person shooter. I'm not a fan of the further homogenization of gaming that remakes encourage. "This is too idiosyncratic, let's sand off the so-called rough edges... there we go, all better!"
So... a bit of friendly advice, as an artist myself: something is always, ALWAYS lost in the process of transformation. Let that sink in. Because I (and countless others) have tried to improve previous works only to find there was something ethereal about them that could not be recaptured. Knowing this fact of life, I think it makes sense to try your best and allow yourself to enjoy things that attempt to bring old things to a new era. Yes. Something will be lost in that effort - no matter how valliant. But often times something can be gained too. And that's worth allowing yourself to experience, as opposed to being blinded by one's love of the original work. Does it really matter to determine which is better, rather than mine from each what is good?
Why are you two dismissing the goofier endings? I think they can loosely tie onto the game itself. :. Dog ending: Showcases how aspects in our life are outside of our control. When digging into it, the Dog's name is Mira ..Latin words for 'wonder' so perhaps they want us the player to take in more childhood wonderment in our life and accept we might not know all the mysteries going on it our world. Sometimes the truths may surprise us. The use of the dog imagery is a call back to Eddie and his actions. Sometimes others call men "Dog" when acting wild around women and I think that's an aspect hidden within James character. :. UFO ending: This one is a meta comment on how the remake of Silent Hill 2 might be a loop of the original game's events. We see James' original character model from the PlayStation 2 era interacting with James high fidelity graphic's 2024 model. There's also another ending the "Still" ending I believe that also hints to the game looping in a forever cycle. I also like how James no matter what incarnation ..longs for Mary and we still see that with the UFO ending.
Definitely not. It is a decent remake, but not as great as the original. I thought that they would expand the town, not adding detours in indoor locations. - Bad pacing, at least 6 hours could be cut without anyone noticing. -Way too many enemies, it makes the games less scary, remember less is more. - Hiding mannequins are not scary, after a few. - an 18+ game is censored, what is this, the 90's? - Where is the grain? - OST is underused - extra gameplay section dont add anything -Over the shoulder camera is not scary The song during the credits summarizes it perfectly. It is toned down version of the original.
30:36 Do you think when James says "i remember why I came here" he is remembering that he already died? He remembers that he already drove into the lake. That's when his spirit is ready to move on.
It's perfect if what you want is a xerox'd Resident Evil X Remake with the same boring over-the-shoulder camera ruining all cinematic suspense, excessively padded runtime filled with constant backtracking, keys within keys, half-baked "not-quite-Dark Souls" combat vs just one or two enemy types for the majority of the game and other "made for modern audience" classic features.
Not even close. This remake misses the mark for so many points is crazy people keep saying is a perfect translation of the original. The atmosphere is weaker and most characters (if not all of them) are just a straight downgrade, there's WAY to much combat, bosses with several phases like really? Are we playing Homecoming again? The lack of subtlety is astonishing but again this is produced for a "modern audience" so I'm not surprised. OG SH2 is like The Exorcist, a well crafted slow burning experience. The remake is like the conjuring movies. Loud and in your face.
So many gamers are so miserable these days….they don’t wanna buy any new games because they think they aren’t good enough, so they clamor for remakes and remasters and then one comes out and all they do is complain that it’s not as good as the original. Why even play games when you think everything sucks? Just go replay the same games from 20 years old 100 times and leave everyone else out of it.
The nostalgic gamers and the people who are clamoring for remakes aren't the same crowd. The people who want remakes are generally the people who would think something is wrong with the original, I'd imagine.
No one asked for a remake to SH2. We wanted the originals more easily accessible. The people that wanted a remake, have spent no time whatsoever gaslighting people into thinking the original was actually a bad game and it needed to be remade.
The perfect remake? Oh, so this is a Resident Evil GameCube video then! Also looking forward to Metal Gear Solid Delta, that one looks _actually_ faithful.
Why so many people are so obsessed to say "i prefer the original" in a way that sound like they are personal attacked by other people enjoying this remake lmao
Usually the comments section is very insightful and interesting but recently it feels like people are just dumping their pre-packaged opinions instead of engaging with the discussion
I've noticed that when video titles are posed as a question there are a lot more commenters who just click and go straight to leave a comment (to answer the question) before they actually watch any of the video. So posing the video title as a question drives engangement, but can hurt the overall quality of discussions.
You're surprised? The comment section here is pretty much what I expected honestly of gamers at their 40s. They will always say the original is a better game ignoring all the flaws in the og. 😂
Having people on a youtube video but having them use a fake cartoon character kind of defeats the point of using RUclips as a medium. You can just make a podcast instead. If you're going to use a video medium, don't bring in people who are terrified of being seen.
GamingBrit and The Electric Underground nailed it in their videos on this. This remake culture is a plague. RE4R is not better than than RE4, FF7R is not better than FF7, and this sure as heck isn’t as good or better than Silent Hill 2. Where is the respect for the source material when it comes to video game culture? Sick of this crap. Also Max just did sponsored content for Atlus which makes him untrustworthy.
@@Xhanatos Also lmao at citing those two, Under the Mayo is incredibly hypocritical and contradictory in most of his reviews especially in his reviews of UltraKill, DMC5 and most of his videos that aren't covering Doom Eternal. And Synthetic Man is a ragebait grifter that complains about race mixing and other nonsense to fill up the culture war youtube algorithm
![Chino Pacas - Smith (ft. Junior H & Fuerza Regida) [Video Visualizador Oficial]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/BVK6k56X30Y/mqdefault.jpg)
Thanks for having me on! Looking forward to the Alan Wake stuff!!!
YES, THE YELLOW MAN IS BACK BOIS
When are you guys gonna do a podcast on the symbolism and story of the Simpsons video game on the xbox 360 / ps3
Just been watching your stuff lately, you and boofcan do the best silent hill vids, much love from Scotland 😊
Hey Max, been really enjoying the content, been watching your work for a while. Been absolutely feasting on the more recent Silent Hill content, just wanted to tell you that it’s great and keep it up! STAY YELLOW
Great guest, as always. You have such great chemistry with Mike and Casen.
Casen does a great job in the Captain’s chair
I was thinking the same thing. Glad to see he's able to hold it down without Mike being there.
glad i wasnt the only one who got like 'someone else is flying the space ship this week' vibes lol
I think the reason for Eddie's breath being cold is because that is what Silent Hill is like for him, like how it's on fire for Angela, it is cold like the meat locker for Eddie
Regarding the abstract daddy fight, I just realized that Angela didn’t view James as her protector, but rather as another man to take advantage of her. At first, I was a little confused by this, but then I realized that apparently her brother also abused her. This makes a lot more sense; if her brother also wanted to do terrible things to her, it’s understandable why she assumed James just wanted her dad Out of the way.
I love these Max and Casen episodes!
While I still prefer the OG, the remake overall executed the tone of the OG well. There are things I like about both games better.
As the OG is my favorite game of all time, having the remake turn out as well as it did, despite Bloober’s shoddy record and unimpressive early trailers, was a dream come true. It’s a great time to be alive as a long time Silent Hill fan. I can only hope the remake financially succeeds and is the catalyst for Konami to greenlight remakes of the other Team Silent games.
So happy with the amount of videos coming out, my favorite youtube channel. I can listen to you guys talk about anything. I beat SH 2 remake and thought it was fantastic, amazing sound design had me so tense throughout the game.
Love when you guys have Max on, and I love when I hear a gush fest of positivity with shared mutual love for a good product.
Absolutely pumping content out guys. Well done!
What you guys were talking about at the end actually reminds me of Silent Hill Shattered Memories where Dr.Koffman says "You feel guilty about everything. When we all lived in huts and wore furs, we worried over the simple things: food, water, whether animals would come and eat us in the night. Now we have supermarkets, bottled water and .38 caliber home security. So what keeps us awake at night? More often than not, guilt. If only I had acted differently... If only I hadn't said THAT... If only I had said SOMETHING... You beat yourself up with your past. Don't blame yourself, blame the WORLD. Blame GOD. Blame ME."
Something I learned about being a Christian is "life just happens" there's no use to feeling guilty or remorse about the things that have happened, or the things you've done. It is better to recognize reality for what it is, I've done bad things and now what's important is for me to move forward from them and learn lessons
What a great f*ing guest. I love his channel so much
The random shot to the empty chair. Heavy stuff Casen, heavy stuff.
I still think Resident Evil 2002 is the perfect remake. Those pre rendered Background and Gothic art direction is still timeless.
Played in headphones, volume up, and took lots of time to soak up the atmosphere and details. With that context, I think this game is truly a crowning achievement as a remake. That's as a VERY big fan of the original too. I think they nailed all of the meaningful stuff and added so much nuance that it's genuinely staggering (a lot of people seem to be overlooking that too, weirdly). People over the last 2 decades (myself included) have had a tendency to obsess over aspects of the original game that were assumed to be intentional, but over the years have often been confirmed by the creators as incidental--I think those things still have their meaning, but I do admit that I had maybe given some extra points to the original for some things that maybe didn't make that much sense in hindsight. I think the more focused intentionality of the remake and all of the insane story driven details that were added on top of the heavy push on atmosphere made it into one of the most intense things I have ever experienced. I think Bloober helped focus the story a bit as well without too many changes, which some may dislike (understandably), but I can see how much it helped the landing of the final chapter and how the extra focus makes room for all the insane detail they added. It feels like you could write a curriculum for an entire college course on this thing, same thing goes for the original too obviously, but I believe that you'd be doing a lot less "reaching" with the remake because of all the additions--and that's quite a feat. It's really packed to the brim. Thing is so absurdly scary too haha, like almost too scary--I say that as someone who is not even remotely bothered by horror usually. As I rolled credits yesterday on SH2R I vowed never to play the damned thing again as long as I live. That's nuts, but it was my true feeling and I stand by it. That game is monsterous, in such an indescribable way. I swear I lost years of my life during that playthrough. There's just nothing else like it, and I think it stands strong next to the original for that exact reason. There are just no two things like Silent Hill 2, not even the remake as compared to the original. I would consider that a mission accomplished, two very unique pieces of art that provoke indescribable feelings in their audience. Different at a fundamental level, but driving towards something similar. Both of them are hall of famers in my book.
Seeing as they leaned into Twin Peaks more this time around, the original game and this one exist like conjoined siblings made from the same DNA but with different results on each side.
It's not Silent Hill 2, It's Silent Hill Two. Stacked like supernatural Russian nesting Dolls. If that makes any kind of sense?
@@Cyborganna Totally spot on, it's such a cool way for things to have turned out.
@@EtherealOblivion Still in awe....
I’m not sure if Casen or Mike reads comments, but either way this is something important to point out.
The coin puzzle (and of course the entire narrative) regarding where guilt should lie, many of these questions are influenced by Crime and Punishment. Crime and Punishment is a very important piece of context to have when it comes to dissecting more of the themes of Silent Hill 2 and the remake.
For those who want more information, a channel called TheGamingMuse does a great video about Crime and Punishment’s influence on Silent Hill 2.
Mike typically reads them. Caden less so. They both check it out though, if I recall. They do respond to comments though in videos and in the comment section.
@@jeffpalaganas7404 Also apparently I got ahead of myself. I watched this before I watched the full original SH2 analysis and in the original’s analysis they brought up Crime and Punishment. I feel like a goof for jumping the gun there but it was great listening for sure.
This was such a joy to watch! I loved the fact that you guys brought up some of Jung's ideas that SH2 strongly displays through the amazing experience it offers to the players.
You've just earned a new subscriber! Thank you for a job well done :)
Commenting early for engagement.
Love how much content is coming out on this channel and the quality hasn't dropped, if anything, it's improved the already high bar!
It is believed that chosing the man, woman, or snake coin helps you get a "point" towards unlocking one of the 3 base endings (Leave, In Water, Maria). Although it isn't confirmed.
The same is said about using the copper or lead ring on the top or bottom hands, the rotten or ripe apples in the mirror puzzle, or walking through the rust egg door or the scarlet egg door.
Not to sound mean or like an ass, but i believe the game devs have stated (Team Silent) that all the people in SH2 is real, no ghosts or spirits stuck in purgatory, or anything like that. They are real people experiencing supernatural stuff conjured up by a place with a real power. Sure, it draws from their minds, but everyone except for Maria are real people, drawn to the town for a reason or another. They also have stated they don't love the idea that Silent Hill has become just this place where people go and get therapy or cleansed from their sins. It just was this time, a vehicle for the story they wanted to tell this particular time. PS: Rachel was Mary's and Laura's nurse back in the hospital they were in.
I haven't finished listening to this podcast yet, so maybe they say that here, but until now I've never heard it said that people in SH aren't real. Is that a common idea?
@@JoshWiniberg its Casen's reading of the game from when they played it for the podcast a few years ago.
@@TectonicImprovah, ok yeah that seems wildly off to me, even regardless of what Team Silent say. It doesn't seem like there's anything in the game to indicate that.
A crossover of two of my favorite RUclips gaming channels. What a treat :)
The discussion around the 45 minute mark about how analysis can despoil the mystery of a thing is part of the reason I often dislike videos named stuff like "The ending of (X), explained". Particularly for emotionally/spiritually significant works like Silent Hill, consuming someone else falsely providing the "explanation" of the work denies you the opportunity to reflect on what it means to you. It feels almost...I don't know is it weird to relate it to sacrilegious behavior? They're kind of denying people the opportunity of their own revelation art is meant to provoke. People know in their heart what Silent Hill 2 means. You don't need it explained to you.
I think its the implication that there is one explanation that bugs me. People like Max and our Resonant Arc guys providing what they see in these things isn't bad at all. Just provides further context to consider again.
About the only thing as exciting as seeing this game come out, is seeing you guys did an episode on it. Thanks for making a shitty day better.
Something that I think adds to the idea of James being dead is a scene in the apartment complex where he finds a corpse under a sheet in front of a tv. The corpse's upper half is specifically covered with a sheet with only the legs and feet exposed, showing a pair of jean and shoes not dissimilar to James' own.
If Silent Hill's appearance also reflects the environment each person was in at the time of their death, the dark and grungy state of the town may be because his own home was like that when he died. After killing Marie he spiraled letting himself go till he finally killed himself; likely with a gun to the head as you also find the pistol in the apartment complex and note about a neighbor hearing gunshots and the corpse has blood around the head.
Oh man, we're feeding this week.
Oh we’ve been eating real good lately. 😂
24:30 Rachel was a nurse in the hospital.
Absolutely phenomenal breakdown here, and always love to hear from Max, especially on Silent Hill. I’ll be stoked to play this game in about 10 years when I get a ps5 (just got a ps4 this year lol), but that’s about in line with my experience to the original game, which I picked up in 2011.
If you guys are aiming to get into the Legacy of Kain series at all, there is a ton to talk about in terms of this theme of Fate and fault that you touch on here. Different type of game, of course, but interesting how it covers similar themes.
One experience that I can share as a first time player is that I didn't catch James smothering his wife with a pillow at all. I assumed that the flashes of the stuggle were James stuggling to bring himself back to consciousness or possibly signs of a future struggle. Up until the very end, I was sure that by saying "I killed her", he meant out of neglect (for never going back to see her until she died on her own).
It's a little bit of a let down, but it'll make a second playthrough that much more interesting. 🙂
Any mention of Samsara in relation to videogames immediately brings Digital Devil Saga to mind.
I love hearing them talk about the remake
Will these Casen as host segments be called "Casen's Corner"?
Keep up the great work, gentlemen.
Captains log: Casen reporting.
I loved everything about the remake except for the voice acting and some characters' redesign. I don't know if it's direction or the actress but I think Angela's voice acting isn't good. I prefer the original voice actors except for Eddie and Laura. Marie/Maria is competent but the original performance was nearly perfect. You can also tell where the sensitivity consultants forced on Bloober started to interfere - mostly scenes involving Pyramid Head.
I also am admittedly getting tired of every game being third person over the shoulder, too. I miss cameras on tracks.
I’m telling you, the fixed camera angles were art. They were actually a way of removing control from the player creating a greater sense of helplessness that the remake doesn’t quite capture. Which is why it resorts to jump scares and things hiding in the corner or behind a wall.
@@JC-cb8oi agreed. I even miss third person cameras on tracks and that float above the player at this point lol. Everything nowadays is either first person or third person over the shoulder.
On the topic of Eddie's breath being cold in the remake, I think it's a cool detail and is suppose to call back to Angela's line "for me it's always like this". Now that being said, while that may be what the remake is going for, as far as the original is concerned, I don't necessarily think Angela's line was meant to be taken literally. What I mean is, I don't think everything is literally on fire everywhere she goes, nor do I think Silent Hill looks like the frozen meat locker for Eddie at all times. I think Angela's line in the original is more representative of how she feels and because her mental state has deteriorated by that point in the game, it manifested as a fire, because it's tied to the source of her trauma and reason for why the town called to her. I think the manifestations that the characters see are there, the town is conjuring them actively. This is why in the room just before the meat locker with Eddie, we see both dead bodies of James, along with the meat locker visual, the town is literally creating manifestation for the two of them at the same time. This is just my take of course.
There are only two bits where I felt that the original might have been better than the remake.
1. I find the sunken shadows on Maria's face in the scene where she's behind bars in the original to be particularly unsettling/terrifying, but some of that feeling is lost in the remake.
2. In the first encounter with Eddie, you start to feel a small hint of a sinister vibe towards the end of the first scene that I thought was very cool. In the remake, he's almost purely sympathetic in the first scene, and all of that heavy lifting of the revelations is done in subsequent scenes.
Everything else, though I think was improved in the remake.
You made good points, my friend. Also, you have good taste
Seeing you guys of all people call the soulless commercialized slop that is SH2 Remake "perfect" is nothing short of disappointing.
Did you even beat the game?
Please, please, Do more Resonant Arc Silent Hill 2 remake content Your original sh2 podcast was incredible. I've listened to it several times.
I was waiting for your review!!
Good job Casen.
If it has gotten your seal of approval I guess I'll have to play it next week then
Enjoyed the discussion, but I disagree with how good this remake allegedly is (though that isn't to say that it's bad).
I believe the original game is superior in how it handles its pacing + less unnecessary fluff whilst the remake has too many moments where I wasn't jiving with things like the voice acting, the abundance of combat scenarios which aren't able to be sustained for the extended playtime duration due to its simplistic systems, not to mention it's absolutely inexcusable for any rated M product to be censored; grown adults don't need to have their media experiences curated by people who think they know better and what you're able to handle and or are allowed to see / experience, especially when handling a project that had already existed and is already beloved. . . it's ridiculous.
Also should note that something is just lost without fixed camera + tank controls as a combo, particularly speaking within the horror genre. Overall, I don't feel this is anywhere NEAR the level of a Resident Evil 1 remake (when comparing to their original counterparts) but at the same time, it's not as egregious as something like the Resident Evil 3 remake, and at the very least. . . it is the best Silent Hill game in many, many years which I suppose is not nothing.
Do you think we could have a video covering Metaphor Refantazio?
I enjoyed the remake overall but I think in general the original version is a better experience.
I thought that James noting extra things down on his map was really helpful, but my seventh grade self missed having my notebook on the side and jotting those notes for myself 😄
This community is great when the guys are discussing games from their childhood or older titles but newer releases and remakes especially everyone became cancerous 😂
This game was crazy good. I loved it. Definitely does the original justice.
The changed the cutscene before the boss battle with Pyramid Head and it was obvious due to modern sensitivity. That was a massive disappointment along with Maria's voice actress. Everything else was perfect.
1:12:19
That's like the dharma wheel, yeah you just said it lol. The Buddha is outside the wheel, but gods men and animals are all part of the wheel
I'm happy you both liked the game. To me the original is far superior in many ways. In the remake the pacing felt off, the level design was to linear, to much janky combat that goes on for to long, Angela's story was much more subtle in the original, the remake at some point hits you over the head with it, some charcters just looked off, etc..
The Perfect Podcast ;)
The modern audience and the Silent Hill 2 fans who have never played Silent Hill 2 can have this one. I've seen enough of the changes Bloober Team has made to know that this remake is not for me.
Nonsense. I thought exactly the same way before I saw how much love and care they've poured into this thing.
Nothing in this video comes even remotely close to describing how it feels.
Wait until the price drops so you feel comfortable about it and treat yourself.
@@Cyborganna Bullshit, they cut important dialogue and changed the cutscenes by removing important aspects, they butchered Maria. Do not play this gargabe if you are a SH2 fan.
@@Xhanatos If you understand the intent and the points I don't want to spoil, it is done for a reason. The Town is giving you tons of clues why.
Have you even played it yet?
It’s good, but not nearly as good as the original. They change several characters personality, less complex emotions (the worst offender being the staircase scene with Angela and Mary’s letter… oh god). That being said the actors are GOOD.
As for the gameplay it feels more lika a mod for Resident Evil 2R or The Last of Us. It’s also too long, so much filler.
It’s great that a lot of people like it, but I feel crazy when I hear the praise people are giving it. ”They completely understood the original”. I couldn’t disagree more.
Things I like about the remake: it's genuinely scary; the combat is intense without feeling too actiony; it LOOKS fabulous and while the sound design is of course very different to the original, I think it's really effective. There are also certain decisions I'm really into, such as the reworked Abstract Daddy fight.
Things I dislike: Maria and James both have bland, uninspired but dutifully professional voice acting; in fact many of the characters feel far more toned down and way less idiosyncratic (although I actually really liked Angela); certain scenes such as Maria behind the bars and the finale of the hospital are significantly less interesting; I understand a modern game couldn't be as short and concise as the original but to me the extended parts really start to sag, especially the prison.
I can't agree that it's in any way perfect, but as someone who was very, very, very, very skeptical and ready to hate from the outset, I think it's a pretty good game, especially for those curious about Silent Hill but aren't nerdy enough to clunk with the original. It's certainly the best proper Silent Hill game we've seen in maybe decades.
How did you guys feel about all the shout outs to the original puzzles and the shoutouts to the original messages you would come across the first one when you originally got the board to beat the crap out of one of the bodies that were lurching towards you in the city in the original.
tbh its missing that grungy ps2 quality, and the ost is waaaay better on the ps2, very solid effort though
I’ve no interest in this remake at all but I’m always happy to listen to a collab between Resonant Arc and Max 👍
I loved the remake! My only big issue was laura's letter dialogue not matching the ingame item (very confusing) and the hospital chase scene was really bad with the subway surfer gameplay and cutscene warning you about pyramid head 😂
The snake is also a medical symbol. To me, the coin puzzle parallels the story of James and Mary. Do you blame the man (James), the women (Mary), or the hospital(snake) for her death?
There was a MIKE here.
He's gone now.
Loved this talk, both seemed actually happy and excited to talk about the game
Now this is peak
I still prefer the original Silent Hill 2
23:36
Kinda like Dantes inferno too
i love the game but they mess up maria she is way to passive
In the end i think the remake is a good game... Just good. While the original is one of the best games ever made.
Angela’s redesign reminds me too much of Sadness from Inside Out
There is definitely no Joy in SH2. Just sadness, sadness, anxiety, fear, and more sadness.
Now I concern for those youtuber who based their entire personality on hating this remake before the release. Now they have to double down. Be prepared 😅
I just finished getting 100% in the remake and I really loved about 90-95 percent of the game except a few line deliveries and insane stuttering. If Konami ever decides to remake SH1, I want Bloober to handle that project.
I think maybe they should do 4 first. 4 is a lot of people’s favorites despite being dodgy compared to the other “team silent” games.
I know I've said this to both of you about a thousand times, and it's a meme at this point, but you both really need to read House of Leaves. Especially after your discussion on determining what is real and what is not in a piece of media.
the book will rip your minds wide-open.
The presentation of this remake, at least, is the same as every other third person shooter. I'm not a fan of the further homogenization of gaming that remakes encourage. "This is too idiosyncratic, let's sand off the so-called rough edges... there we go, all better!"
Really solid good Remake but NO CHANCE against the original. Not because of BS Nostalgia, its just not that good
So... a bit of friendly advice, as an artist myself: something is always, ALWAYS lost in the process of transformation. Let that sink in. Because I (and countless others) have tried to improve previous works only to find there was something ethereal about them that could not be recaptured.
Knowing this fact of life, I think it makes sense to try your best and allow yourself to enjoy things that attempt to bring old things to a new era. Yes. Something will be lost in that effort - no matter how valliant. But often times something can be gained too. And that's worth allowing yourself to experience, as opposed to being blinded by one's love of the original work.
Does it really matter to determine which is better, rather than mine from each what is good?
Why are you two dismissing the goofier endings? I think they can loosely tie onto the game itself.
:. Dog ending: Showcases how aspects in our life are outside of our control. When digging into it, the Dog's name is Mira ..Latin words for 'wonder' so perhaps they want us the player to take in more childhood wonderment in our life and accept we might not know all the mysteries going on it our world. Sometimes the truths may surprise us.
The use of the dog imagery is a call back to Eddie and his actions. Sometimes others call men "Dog" when acting wild around women and I think that's an aspect hidden within James character.
:. UFO ending: This one is a meta comment on how the remake of Silent Hill 2 might be a loop of the original game's events. We see James' original character model from the PlayStation 2 era interacting with James high fidelity graphic's 2024 model. There's also another ending the "Still" ending I believe that also hints to the game looping in a forever cycle. I also like how James no matter what incarnation ..longs for Mary and we still see that with the UFO ending.
Definitely not. It is a decent remake, but not as great as the original. I thought that they would expand the town, not adding detours in indoor locations.
- Bad pacing, at least 6 hours could be cut without anyone noticing.
-Way too many enemies, it makes the games less scary, remember less is more.
- Hiding mannequins are not scary, after a few.
- an 18+ game is censored, what is this, the 90's?
- Where is the grain?
- OST is underused
- extra gameplay section dont add anything
-Over the shoulder camera is not scary
The song during the credits summarizes it perfectly. It is toned down version of the original.
Casen is him
30:36
Do you think when James says "i remember why I came here" he is remembering that he already died? He remembers that he already drove into the lake. That's when his spirit is ready to move on.
It's perfect if what you want is a xerox'd Resident Evil X Remake with the same boring over-the-shoulder camera ruining all cinematic suspense, excessively padded runtime filled with constant backtracking, keys within keys, half-baked "not-quite-Dark Souls" combat vs just one or two enemy types for the majority of the game and other "made for modern audience" classic features.
Not like the og is filled with boring combat and key collecting?
A soulless copy of a masterpiece. Bloober did not understand the Original.
If you played Silent Hill 2 Remake you did not play Silent Hill 2.
I disagree. Eddie creeped the hell out of me in the original.
Not even close. This remake misses the mark for so many points is crazy people keep saying is a perfect translation of the original.
The atmosphere is weaker and most characters (if not all of them) are just a straight downgrade, there's WAY to much combat, bosses with several phases like really? Are we playing Homecoming again?
The lack of subtlety is astonishing but again this is produced for a "modern audience" so I'm not surprised.
OG SH2 is like The Exorcist, a well crafted slow burning experience.
The remake is like the conjuring movies. Loud and in your face.
Because those "people" are casual gamers who MAYBE played Silent Hill 2 20 years ago....
No.
Yes.
So many gamers are so miserable these days….they don’t wanna buy any new games because they think they aren’t good enough, so they clamor for remakes and remasters and then one comes out and all they do is complain that it’s not as good as the original.
Why even play games when you think everything sucks? Just go replay the same games from 20 years old 100 times and leave everyone else out of it.
The nostalgic gamers and the people who are clamoring for remakes aren't the same crowd. The people who want remakes are generally the people who would think something is wrong with the original, I'd imagine.
No one asked for a remake to SH2. We wanted the originals more easily accessible.
The people that wanted a remake, have spent no time whatsoever gaslighting people into thinking the original was actually a bad game and it needed to be remade.
>max derrat
No thanks
The perfect remake? Oh, so this is a Resident Evil GameCube video then! Also looking forward to Metal Gear Solid Delta, that one looks _actually_ faithful.
sorry but, lmao.. no.
Peak Remake Culture. 6/10. Mid. Come at me :D
Why so many people are so obsessed to say "i prefer the original" in a way that sound like they are personal attacked by other people enjoying this remake lmao
Usually the comments section is very insightful and interesting but recently it feels like people are just dumping their pre-packaged opinions instead of engaging with the discussion
@@wq7170 Exactly, both games can coexist, both are good
I've noticed that when video titles are posed as a question there are a lot more commenters who just click and go straight to leave a comment (to answer the question) before they actually watch any of the video.
So posing the video title as a question drives engangement, but can hurt the overall quality of discussions.
You're surprised? The comment section here is pretty much what I expected honestly of gamers at their 40s. They will always say the original is a better game ignoring all the flaws in the og. 😂
@@wq7170they will only be insightful of the games that they played growing up. Remakes on the other hand are like heresy.
Having people on a youtube video but having them use a fake cartoon character kind of defeats the point of using RUclips as a medium. You can just make a podcast instead. If you're going to use a video medium, don't bring in people who are terrified of being seen.
Nah.-
I dont care what anyone says, The Medium is a good game.
It’s not a good remake at all. It fundamentally misses the point on so many levels.
Explain…..
No.
SH2 remake feels Lynchian to me like how disconnected the characters are and half awake.
GamingBrit and The Electric Underground nailed it in their videos on this. This remake culture is a plague. RE4R is not better than than RE4, FF7R is not better than FF7, and this sure as heck isn’t as good or better than Silent Hill 2. Where is the respect for the source material when it comes to video game culture? Sick of this crap. Also Max just did sponsored content for Atlus which makes him untrustworthy.
UnderTheMayo and Synthetic Man too.
Pretty funny considering that GamingBrit literally took a sponsorship promoting FF7 Rebirth so not exactly a trustworthy source lol
@@Xhanatos Also lmao at citing those two, Under the Mayo is incredibly hypocritical and contradictory in most of his reviews especially in his reviews of UltraKill, DMC5 and most of his videos that aren't covering Doom Eternal. And Synthetic Man is a ragebait grifter that complains about race mixing and other nonsense to fill up the culture war youtube algorithm
@@remotefreak147 I like them. At least they are honest unlike many other "reviewer" afraid to say anything negative.
No, Dead Space is.
The remake misses the whole point of the original. Pointless slop
In what ways does it miss the point?
you 100% didn't play it
The dialogue is so off in the worst way. Angela's new VA misses the mark entirely
@@lugubriousgrabber2494I can agree with that. Laura's voice actor did the best. Angela's is nearly as bad as Re4 Remake Ada. It sounds flat
@@lugubriousgrabber2494is it? The original voice direction is goofy in comparison.
the game is so much better, but the cutscenes overall suck