It may not have the action of Resident Evil, the customization options of Dead Space, or the unyielding tension of Alien: Isolation, but Silent Hill 2 – the 2001 original – is the greatest horror game of all time. In fact, it’s more than a horror game. It’s a spiritual journey. It’s the story of James Sunderland, Angela, and Eddie venturing to the darkest recesses of their own souls, and then fighting to get back out. Silent Hill 2 Remake pays homage to Konami’s superlative OG in dozens of different ways, but there’s one mystery, seemingly linked to the 2001 game, that’s plagued players since October. Now it’s finally been solved – even Bloober Team’s own creative director confirms that it’s real – and depending on how you interpret it, it completely transforms SH2 Remake’s story.
As well as health drinks, ammunition, weird keys and trinkets, and notes written by former inhabitants, as you explore Silent Hill 2 Remake, you collect dozens of Polaroid photos, all of which have a number written on the back. Squint your eyes and the photos seem to show locations or moments from the original game – you can also find the collectible ‘Glimpses of the Past,’ physical references to the boss battles and puzzles that you solve in the 2001 version of Silent Hill 2.
A horror game filled with abstractions and oddities, you can be forgiven for apprehending the Polaroids as just another flourish, a purely tone-setting flick of the wrist that invites you to think more about what’s really going on, but which have no meaning unto themselves.
I should warn: read beyond this point at your own risk, as it contains complete spoilers for Silent Hill 2 and the remake.
But they are in fact part of a complex, potentially game-changing riddle. Over on Silent Hill’s official Reddit, one player, with the username ‘DaleRobinson,’ explains the Polaroid puzzle and its solution. As well as the image and the number on the back, each photograph also bears a written message. One of the pictures, for example, shows six opened windows and the message “so many people here!” If you count from the beginning of that sentence to the sixth letter, you get to the letter ‘Y.’ Another photo shows two bedposts and bears the message “no know knows.” Count again, this time to the second letter, and it’s an ‘O.’
Eventually, DaleRobinson deduces that the photos spell out a sinister communique: “You’ve been here for two decades.” Bloober Team’s creative director Mateusz Lenart, responding to DaleRobinson’s findings, confirms this is accurate.
“I knew it wouldn’t stay hidden for long,” Lenart says. “There was a theory in our company that the puzzle might be too hard. I really wanted to make it subtle when I was painting those photos. I think the timing couldn’t be better for you to solve it. Congratulations.”
As for the meaning of the message, it could be interpreted in multiple ways. Combined with the Glimpses of the Past, it may suggest that James and the rest of the game’s characters have somehow been stuck in a time loop for the last two decades, repeating the events of Silent Hill 2 ad infinitum – the town is torturing them endlessly, but every new cycle varies slightly on the last. On the contrary, the message could be directed at fans, who have been analyzing, replaying, and scrutinizing Silent Hill 2 for more than 20 years.
Personally, I prefer that idea. I don’t think Silent Hill 2 is a game that’s entirely about the characters being tortured, and tortured, and tortured. Regardless of which of the game’s endings you get – whether it’s the most melancholic one or the most optimistic – the ‘point’ of SH2 is that James comes to terms with something, that he changes.
It’s a horror game, but it’s the horror of James learning the deepest, darkest truth about himself and then having to decide what to do and how to live afterwards. If it’s just a loop, then James never really has to contend with himself, which is a lot less frightening.
Lenart seems to challenge the loop theory. Replying to the post about the Polaroid puzzle solution, one SH2 Remake fan writes “The loop theory is canon, Jesus.” “Is it?” Lenart responds.
If you’re still finding your way through the fog-covered town, make sure you have the Silent Hill 2 gallows puzzle solution and the Silent Hill 2 hospital code to help you on your way.
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