Silent Hill 2 - Reception

Reception

Silent Hill 2 was positively received, selling over one million copies in the month of its release in North America, Japan and Europe, with the most units sold in North America.

Critical reaction to the game was generally favorable. Rating aggregation site Game Rankings shows an average rating of 85.82% for the PS2 version, 82.40% for the Xbox version, and 71.30% for the PC version. Rating aggregation site Metacritic shows an average rating of 89 out of 100 for the PS2 version, 84 out of 100 for the Xbox version, and 70 out of 100 for the PC version.

Silent Hill 2 has received praise from video game journalists at the time of its release and in retrospect. Andy Greenwald of Spin magazine praised it as a frightening, though "restrained" game. Jon Thompson of Allgame stated: "Silent Hill 2 feels a bit rushed, and although it might not live up to the dizzying horror of the first game, it packs enough of its own punch to make it a worthy sequel." IGN's Doug Perry wrote: "It's frightening, deep, clever, and tries to improve the genre, if just a little, and in the end, that's all I really want in a survival horror game." Joe Fielder of GameSpot concluded, "Silent Hill 2 is a much prettier, somewhat smarter but less-compelling game than the original." In Replay: The History of Video Games (2010), Tristian Donovan described Silent Hill 2 as the "high point" of the series. In a retrospective article on the survival horror genre, IGN writer Jim Sterling praised the game's plot as "one of the finest examples of narrative construction in gaming to this day." In another retrospective article on survival horror, fellow IGN writer Travis Fahs credited the game as a factor in the "short-lived period of renewed interest in horror games." Online game critic for the Escapist Magazine Ben 'Yahtzee' Croshaw lists this game as among his top 5 favourite games of all time, praising the game for thick and unsettling atmosphere creating tension and fear for players.

The graphics and atmosphere of Silent Hill 2 received praise from reviewers, who highlighted the smooth transitions from computer-generated (CG) to in-game cutscenes and the sense of claustrophobia caused by the fog. On the other hand, Thompson felt that the grainy image effects and dense fog hid the details of the environment, while Fielder wrote that the exterior environments "rarely push the PlayStation 2's graphical capabilities". Character animation was considered realistic by reviewers, though James' animation in the CG sometimes appeared "marionette"-like, according to Perry. The voice acting received mixed responses from reviewers divided over whether it was well done with an improved script, or hampered by the script. Reviewers enjoyed the monster designs, although some found the monsters less frightening due to the abundance of ammunition, and easily avoided. Reviewers found the camera, though improved, still difficult when battling monsters which hung from the ceiling—concerns echoed by reviewers of the PC version. The soundtrack and sound effects were considered by reviewers to be effective in creating suspense, though Thompson considered them sometimes "a bit forced and contrived". The puzzles were generally seen as not overly challenging by reviewers, though Thompson found them generally easy and GameSpy's David Hodgeson wrote that they were sometimes illogical. Less well-received was the combat, criticized for its lack of challenge and easily defeated monsters and bosses.

Reactions to the Xbox port were also positive. Reviewers have written that the PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions were mostly similar, except for the Born from a Wish side-scenario found on the Xbox version. Eurogamer's Kristan Reed called Born from a Wish "more like a demo than anything", while Fielder described it as "a commendable extra". Both felt that it could be completed in around an hour and did not add much to the game. The PC port, in contrast, received mixed reaction. Allen Rausch of GameSpy considered the PC port overall to be " fantastic translation of Konami's stylish and scary survival-horror game". IGN's Ivan Sulic advised against playing the game with the keyboard, and rated the game "Great". Conversely, Ron Dulin, another reviewer for GameSpot, wrote: "Not even the game's foggy atmosphere is thick enough to hide Silent Hill 2's problems."

Silent Hill 2 appeared on several critics' lists for its story and use of metaphors, psychological horror, and taboo topics. It ranked 1st on X-Play's list of the scariest games of all time in 2006. IGN listed it as one of the five best horror video games created after 2000 in 2009, and one of the 12 greatest PlayStation 2 game of all time. Additionally, in 2010, IGN ranked it as 54th in its top 100 PS2 games; in a retospective by GamePro, it as the 26th best game for the PS2. In 2008, GamesRadar placed it on its list of the 15 best "videogame stories" ever, describing it as "a punishing tale not easily matched". In 2009, Wired News listed it as the 11th most influential game of the decade for its emphasis on psychological horror and exploration of taboo topics such as incest and domestic abuse, rather than gore. In 2012, a top video games of all time list by G4 television network ranked the game in the 85th place.