If you performed Bloober Workforce’s Silent Hill 2, a remake of the 2001 basic, its many adjustments would develop into apparent ultimately. The over-the-shoulder perspective and revamped visuals are the obvious (naturally). However there are additionally new buildings to discover, totally different enemy placements, new melee fight mechanics, new enemy assaults, and extra. It appears like a brand-new sport whereas retaining the essence of what made the unique so terrifying and tense.
Nonetheless, there’s one other new aspect, one garnering consideration for the way it performs right into a long-running idea. As you discover the enduring city, delving deeper into insanity as protagonist James Sunderland desperately searches for his spouse, you encounter Easter eggs and references to the unique sport often known as Glimpses of the Previous. The important thing right here is how they really deviate from occasions within the unique.
For instance, in South Vale (East), you’ll discover a tunnel boarded up with a series hyperlink fence past. It appears innocuous sufficient, however within the 2001 launch, James would maneuver via and encounter a monster that needs to be slain. Inside the similar space is a fence with a considerably giant blood pool. Whereas it looks as if somebody was murdered after which dragged via it, the unique sport had a corpse there, together with the Residence Gate Key.
Even in Toluca Jail, the place the participant should accumulate weights and steadiness them on the Scales to unlock different areas and ultimately acquire the Executioner’s Lever, there’s a reference to a unique resolution. One the place James mixed a horseshoe, wax doll, and lighter to make a deal with for a entice door, like within the unique (which additionally necessitated discovering some tablets). You may see the remnants of this tough resolution – emphasis on “remnants.” Nearly like somebody already went via this similar method utilizing the identical resolution that James proposed years prior. So what’s happening?
Those that performed the unique Silent Hill 2 seen an attention-grabbing element over the yr– there are an astonishing variety of corpses resembling James Sunderland. There are stories that each corpse is James and never simply the one sitting in entrance of the tv throughout the iconic second of fact. This led to a idea about him probably being caught in a time loop. Nonetheless, if that had been the case, he possible wouldn’t encounter corpses of himself or variants who tried and failed at many different factors.
You might justify this as illusions manifested by Silent Hill. With out going into spoilers, lots of its nightmarish facets are manifested from the tortured psyche of James (and lots of the different trapped survivors). It’s common for it to torture him or anybody else on this method.
Nonetheless, Silent Hill 2 remake performs with that idea and seemingly posits it in another way – maybe the sport’s occasions are taking part in out from the attitude of an alternate timeline’s James. The corpses resembling him make a return and will thus be justified as totally different variations who entered the city and died in horrifying methods. It additionally explains how some areas have modified considerably – a variant of James is answerable for going via the entice door in Toluca Jail, which implies the remake model has to seek out one other method via.
Within the unique, Eddie is encountered in South Vale (West) consuming pizza, with James chastising him over it. The remake model finds the identical field with a lot of the pizza eaten however no Eddie. And although it’s paraphrasing, he as soon as once more wonders how somebody might sit there and eat pizza when monsters are roaming via the city. Maybe this James arrived just a little late to occur upon Eddie within the act. The truth that he’s with Maria within the remake – who isn’t current within the unique throughout the identical occasion – additional feeds into the idea of this being an alternate James Sunderland.
You may even uncover an “outdated map”, which appears to be like much more worn out and tattered than the others that James discovers. It showcases related markings for various factors of curiosity, very like what the present James does. The physique close by additionally seemingly resembles him, additional including to the idea that this can be a variant.
So what’s going on? Are there a number of variations of James from alternate timelines working round, every dying earlier than they’ll run into the opposite? Maybe the reply lies within the unique.
As a result of nature of his crimes, and the way he has no reminiscences of them, Silent Hill 2’s occasions might merely be repeating as a result of self-inflicted torment over his guilt. They’re taking part in on endlessly, like a time loop, however the our bodies are piling up as a result of some a part of him desires to recollect and take duty for his actions.
Primarily based on creature designer Masahiro Ito confirming that each one endings are canon – and do not forget that it’s important to do vastly various things to earn each – it’s doable that even the one “good” ending isn’t actual. As a substitute, it’s simply one other endpoint earlier than James resets and should bear the torture yet again.
Whereas it’s only a idea, Bloober Workforce has utilized this to make intelligent references to the unique, this additional feeds into the potential of being caught in a loop. That is merely one other run for James – a number of issues might have vastly modified over what we keep in mind from the unique, but it surely’s all model new. And greater than more likely to be forgotten as his self-loathing and torment proceed.
It’s all of the extra intriguing when you think about Silent Hill 4: The Room, which options Frank Sunderland, James’ father (although he doesn’t outright say it). The protagonist, Henry, talks about receiving a photograph from Frank and mentions listening to about his son and daughter-in-law, who “disappeared in Silent Hill just a few years again…”
James’ final destiny remains to be unknown, particularly since he seems in varied joke endings for different titles. Nonetheless, the quantity of hints that he’s probably nonetheless trapped and “experiencing” Silent Hill in his personal method is tough to disclaim.
The truth that one of many new endings leans into James selecting ignorance over revelation leans much more into his incapacity to maneuver on and as an alternative selecting to neglect. In fact, there’s one other new ending leaning in a unique route – much less acceptance and striving for redemption and extra attempting to repair his mistake, thus studying nothing from this whole train. Which is completely in character for him.
There are nonetheless loopholes, akin to why issues would change so drastically now for James if he’s gone via so many different loops. The one potential reply is that perhaps he subconsciously desires these adjustments. Perhaps he’s develop into conscious that the stressed goals of the city aren’t simply Mary’s, and in some way, a way, he desires to flee. Perhaps sufficient years have handed of the identical outdated torture, and his unconscious, which Silent Hill manifests, is trying to find new methods to allow this.
Regardless of the case could also be, it’s one more instance of Silent Hill 2 remake’s brilliance and the way it builds on the unique whereas staying true to it, proper all the way down to the long-running theories. We might by no means get a definitive reply or destiny for James, however as each the unique and remake have confirmed, generally a sinner’s punishment have to be extra extreme.
