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Silent Hill 2 |OT| You promised you'd take me there again someday...

tommib

Gold Member
This game is dark, really fuckin dark. And I ain’t talking the themes or story, like I can’t see shit in the apartment complex.
I am assuming that is a big part of its design philosophy, but man, it makes it hard to play. I was thankful to finally find the flashlight, and that thing is the worst flashlight in a game ever, it barely helps at all.
I may end up having to fiddle with my TV settings, something that I’ve never had to do for a game before.
I’m old and my vision sucks ass, maybe that is a factor as well or maybe my TV is showing its age. But it’s fuggin dark in here man!
Are you in the first set of apartments? If you are then you’re in for a reality check. It gets completely dark in the last couple of environments.

I turned the contrast enhancer all the way up as well as black adjust and peak luminance on my A90J. And I only play it when it’s fully dark to avoid reflections.

You’re in the abyss so I wouldn’t get it in any other way. They want to disorient you. Mission accomplished.
 
The PROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Ironically, Mercurysteam.

I wasn't real impressed with the Lords of Shadow games, but Metroid Dread impressed me enough that it feels like they've done a lot of growing, a new game in the vein of Metroid Dread? You'd have a stew going!

AITD? I'm curious how it compares with the SH2 remake. Obviously I expect the SH2 remake to be more impressive across the board but I really enjoyed the combat in AITD. I actually completed a deathless run last night and was pretty happy with that considering how many complains were directed at the combat. The final boss in particular was a relative breeze when you're aggressive and smart with ammo usage.

I bought the SH2 remake last night but I'm gonna play through Homecoming first so I can compare/contrast to SH2 remake. Everything I've seen of the combat in the remake makes me think that it vindicates the combat in Homecoming, and thats a thread I would really like to flesh out and present to Gaf.

The combat in SH2 feels fantastic, especially compared to AITD, which, while passable, was awkward in tight spaces.

For me, stomping enemies is as satisfying as in the original Gears.

Plus, SH2’s updated controls make James's movements feel much more fluid and natural.
 

Gonzito

Gold Member
The combat in SH2 feels fantastic, especially compared to AITD, which, while passable, was awkward in tight spaces.

For me, stomping enemies is as satisfying as in the original Gears.

Plus, SH2’s updated controls make James's movements feel much more fluid and natural.

Agreed. The combat is absolutely incredible, it feels impactful and visceral. Enemies react to every hit with great animations. Everytime I encounter an enemy I am excited to fight it. Can't say the same for game like for example the latests Assassin's Creed (Valhall, Mirage) where you slash enemies and there is no hit reaction, it looks awful.

Bloober team has cooked
 

lh032

I cry about Xbox and hate PlayStation.
The combat in SH2 feels fantastic, especially compared to AITD, which, while passable, was awkward in tight spaces.

For me, stomping enemies is as satisfying as in the original Gears.

Plus, SH2’s updated controls make James's movements feel much more fluid and natural.
coincidently, i'm installing the game now, i have no patient to wait for my PRO, i decided to jump in first.
 

saintjules

Gold Member
Incoming

bScCOMu.jpeg
 

Bartski

Gold Member
I thought that too but thinking about it some more, that can only be the case for the In Water ending. It would be pretty awkward with the Leave ending for Laura to see Mary's dead body in the back of the car.
this is exactly why "leave" is nice but also kinda dodgy, and "in water" is the definite ending, or rather NG+ "serenity" being the extension of it - The body is there under a blanket when you start the game, you can see it through the window. It's deliberately ambiguous but canon according to Ito and the rest afaik


ZbbMg8O.jpeg
 

Ulysses 31

Member
this is exactly why "leave" is nice but also kinda dodgy, and "in water" is the definite ending, or rather NG+ "serenity" being the extension of it - The body is there under a blanket when you start the game, you can see it through the window. It's deliberately ambiguous but canon according to Ito and the rest afaik


ZbbMg8O.jpeg
Sounds like an issue the remake introduced then... 👀
 

Bartski

Gold Member
Sounds like an issue the remake introduced then... 👀
No. Both "Leave" and "Maria" play out the same in the original. You also don't see Laura anywhere near the car, the last shot is them walking through the cemetery in both versions. It's in "Maria" ending where they get back to the car, but that one is basically James surrendering to his delusions as Maria isn't "real", therefore is no issue either.
 

Ulysses 31

Member
No. Both "Leave" and "Maria" play out the same in the original. You also don't see Laura anywhere near the car, the last shot is them walking through the cemetery in both versions. It's in "Maria" ending where they get back to the car, but that one is basically James surrendering to his delusions as Maria isn't "real", therefore is no issue either.
In the OG you couldn't see what's in the car backseat, in the remake you can, that changes things for the Leave ending.

It's still possible that James puts Mary's body to rest somewhere near her special place together with Laura so that ending is less grim.
 

Bartski

Gold Member
In the OG you couldn't see what's in the car backseat, in the remake you can, that changes things for the Leave ending.

It's still possible that James puts Mary's body to rest somewhere near her special place together with Laura so that ending is less grim.
not sure if there are free cam mods for the OG, but that was the idea all along

 
this is exactly why "leave" is nice but also kinda dodgy, and "in water" is the definite ending, or rather NG+ "serenity" being the extension of it - The body is there under a blanket when you start the game, you can see it through the window. It's deliberately ambiguous but canon according to Ito and the rest afaik


ZbbMg8O.jpeg
Wait, so how does that tie in to the whole
"Mary's been dead for three years" angle?


Agreed. The combat is absolutely incredible, it feels impactful and visceral. Enemies react to every hit with great animations. Everytime I encounter an enemy I am excited to fight it. Can't say the same for game like for example the latests Assassin's Creed (Valhall, Mirage) where you slash enemies and there is no hit reaction, it looks awful.

Bloober team has cooked
Yeah, man. A few pages back, I was kind of ragging on the combat, but after a few hours more, the "clunkiness" started feeling intentional and like exactly what they were going for. In other words, they built the game around how it controls (like another action/survival horror game by the name of RE4).
 

Nankatsu

Member
So for my non Nvidia crew, which upscaller are you using on this?

I'm currently with TSR.

I played a bit with settings and I'm currently sitting at solid stable 65 fps, playing on 1440p with epic settings. Game looks really good, but there are some ocasional artifacts around James hair and sometimes on his clothes when I sudendly move the camera.

Had to switch Ray Traycing off, otherwise I dip into 45 fps territory.
 
The combat in SH2 feels fantastic, especially compared to AITD, which, while passable, was awkward in tight spaces.

For me, stomping enemies is as satisfying as in the original Gears.

Plus, SH2’s updated controls make James's movements feel much more fluid and natural.
Yea, I posted since then. Melee is definitely better than AITD though I've been employing the same tactics to great effect.

Regular movement though, it's so incredibly similar to Homecoming, essentially the same thing when it comes to simply moving around but it's a great thing. It's almost funny how maneuverable James is, the strafe is the secret sauce imo for this kind of movement.
 

Nankatsu

Member
This game is fucking tense. The sound design in this is phenomenal. Makes me be constantly on edge.

The fucking wind, the fences, you can hear almost any sound. It's really immersive.

James: Hello, wait up!

Me: No James, shut up..
 
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Exentryk

Member
This is one game that screenshots, gifs and even videos don't do justice to it because you miss out on various aspects like the audio, the build up, each person's experience and actually controlling the game, etc. Regardless, the environmental design is top notch and combined with the excellent audio, it really comes together so well.

3XqgoGs.jpg
 

drotahorror

Member
SH2R is very visually impressive imo.

A couple of things that really stood out to me.

Maria was following me around and I went in a building. There was a safe and I interacted with it. As the camera panned down to the safe I could see her reflection in the safe handle/dial as she walked in the door of the room I was in. Couldn't replicate it.

Another one is when you go into the rain from a window in the hospital. Just so atmospheric and looked really great imo. Bloober has always put out pretty graphically impressive games though, so I wasn't shocked really, but they did a great job visually with SH2 that's for sure.
 
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This is one game that screenshots, gifs and even videos don't do justice to it because you miss out on various aspects like the audio, the build up, each person's experience and actually controlling the game, etc. Regardless, the environmental design is top notch and combined with the excellent audio, it really comes together so well.

3XqgoGs.jpg

The sound design is so good, my 14 year old daughter actually sat down to watch me play it, the kids NEVER do that. She heard the controller freaking out from in her room and came out to see what I was playing, ended up watching for over an hour.
 
SH2R is very visually impressive imo.

A couple of things that really stood out to me.

Maria was following me around and I went in a building. There was a safe and I interacted with it. As the camera panned down to the safe I could see her reflection in the safe handle/dial as she walked in the door of the room I was in. Couldn't replicate it.

Another one is when you go into the rain from a window in the hospital. Just so atmospheric and looked really great imo. Bloober has always put out pretty graphically impressive games though, so I wasn't shocked really, but they did a great job visually with SH2 that's for sure.
I feel like the hallway brightened up a bit when I smashed a window in the 2nd floor apartments. The game excels at environments and lighting.
 

DragoonKain

Neighbours from Hell
Started it last night. I haven't played the game for many years and only played the original once. I do think the first couple hours of this game are a little hard to get into if you're used to Resident Evil. I vaguely remember feeling that way when I played it back in the day, and it's coming back a little as I play this. It's a lot slower and less action-y than RE and other survival horror. I forgot how much the game was like this since it's been ages since I played it and mostly forgot everything.

But the environments are great, the atmosphere is scary, the puzzles are cool. And I know it picks up as you get more weapons and such. Early on I found combat a little clunky so I just started running from baddies to preserve health stuff.
 
I have 0 problems affirming that the later areas in this remake are the scariest environments known to mankind in video games. And a lot of it is sound design, sure. You’re basically underneath hell itself for very, very long stretches of time.

You’re in the abyss with the whore of Babylon overseeing you.

220px-Herrad_von_Landsberg_whore_babylon.jpg


It absolutely gets under my skin.

And I love it.
I mean this is spot on to me. The game actually feels like an elaborate judgment at every turn. The street areas and character interactions feel like relief just to make the punishments feel worse. And those elements are all wistful and doom-y.

The feel bad hit of the winter this game.
 
Started it last night. I haven't played the game for many years and only played the original once. I do think the first couple hours of this game are a little hard to get into if you're used to Resident Evil. I vaguely remember feeling that way when I played it back in the day, and it's coming back a little as I play this. It's a lot slower and less action-y than RE and other survival horror. I forgot how much the game was like this since it's been ages since I played it and mostly forgot everything.

But the environments are great, the atmosphere is scary, the puzzles are cool. And I know it picks up as you get more weapons and such. Early on I found combat a little clunky so I just started running from baddies to preserve health stuff.
Not sure where you are right now but at least on Hard, the combat ratchets up to oppressive gauntlet levels. The game just kind of takes its time and has a fantastic, hulking sense of pacing. It makes it feel like shit is always getting slowly worse and worse until it goes all in and you just wanna go call your mom.
 

Exentryk

Member
My frame rate was in single digits in the pool area and in the rain outside [Hospital]. 3080 is not keeping up lol. Probably needs more optimisation there, but probably need to upgrade as well.
 
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Agent_4Seven

Tears of Nintendo
Just got the hotel part and got the first coin for the puzzle. Goddamn, I mean, I still hate the junky af animations but other than that, this is the best remake in the genre after RE2. They added so much cool and new stuff which wasn't there before, completely new gameplay sections, new locations you can go to and explore, you can destroy car's windows and such to get hidden resources, the combat is so much better and much harder (playing with everything on Hard), the over the shoulder TPS gameplay is so much better than what was before and more in line with modern RE remakes.

What an effin' masterful work and I can't be more happy to play it. They absolutely MUST remake the 1st game next and then go for the 3rd (which is a direct sequel to the 1st one) and 4th one. The 1st one especially will be so effin' good, so goddamn dark, moody, scary af and terrifying with modern tech that... AH! Just effin' do it Konami and make it happen!
 

Nankatsu

Member
I'm finding the game a bit too dark in some areas. I can of course increase the gamma but game becomes too bright. Anyone else finding the same?
 
This thread is an amazing read today

Edited. I had posted a conversation between me another user from that thread, but then it seemed like I was putting someone on blast. Suffice to say, I got what I wanted out of this remake that aligned with what I was looking for from that thread.

Lol, Bartski, looks like you came around in the end :messenger_tears_of_joy:
 
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I'm finding the game a bit too dark in some areas. I can of course increase the gamma but game becomes too bright. Anyone else finding the same?
Yes. In the end, I accepted that Bloober intended it to be pitch black outside of your flashlight's cones in some areas, as much as I wanted the security blanket of...being able to see what's trying to kill me lol
 

Agent_4Seven

Tears of Nintendo
Am I the only one who's playing the game with the 90's filter? I think the game looks much better that whay and more true to the original. The default look is just too clean and bright for what I think SH2 should look and feel like visually. I mean, maybe vignetter is too strong, but other than that I can't imagine playing the game with the default look.
 
I will say my heelturn on this game isn't as hardcore as Death Stranding. I was TRASHING that game. At least with SH2 I sometimes threw in the disclaimer that I still hope it turns out great and all that.

I legit rented Death Stranding exclusively to be able to hate-play it and bash it on ERA at the time. I ended up playing six hours straight with only one piss break until like 3AM and really hard to force myself to stop.

SH2 is probably #2 in the Top 5 of Crow Buffet.
 

Chuck Berry

Gold Member
Gotta say I thought the (Labyrinth boss spoilers)
fight with Eddie was by far the most exciting especially once I quickly learned to keep my flashlight off. Basically used that tactic to turn the tables and I just went full offensive mode and started running around hunting him down. Those point blank rifle shots felt goooood. Finished him off with a shotgun blast to the back as his fat ass was scampering off

GOTY. Hopefully wrap it up today. If not then definitely tomorrow.
 
Gotta say I thought the (Labyrinth boss spoilers)
fight with Eddie was by far the most exciting especially once I quickly learned to keep my flashlight off. Basically used that tactic to turn the tables and I just went full offensive mode and started running around hunting him down. Those point blank rifle shots felt goooood. Finished him off with a shotgun blast to the back as his fat ass was scampering off

GOTY. Hopefully wrap it up today. If not then definitely tomorrow.
He's the only "pure-human" enemy I recall fighting, and the rhythm, arena, and tactics in that encounter were different from the rest of the game and still well done. I hardly shot him at all--I listened to his footsteps and barks, which told me where he was in the fog, ran up to him, dodging his gunfire that's easy enough to read, and beat the crap out of him with the metal pipe. Sooooo satisfying.
 
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