One big differencebetween the originalSilent Hill 2and the remake are the puzzles. In the original, they were brutal, mostly consisting of tough poems, but in the remake, their design is more modern, feeling akin to the later Silent Hill games.
Many of them are still tough, though, but not in the same way as the original. Many are just confusing or have solutions a lot of people wouldn’t even think of. There are quite a few new puzzles that weren’t in the original, and the bulk of these are the hard ones.
The in-game puzzle difficulty won’t play too much of a factor here, as the difference isn’t nearly as huge as the original game. The puzzles are generally the same.
8Grand Market Code Puzzle
It’s generally not a good thing when a puzzle can be brute forced, but it’s another for a puzzle to require brute forcing. The Grand Market is a locked area in East South Vale during the beginning moments of the title. You’re eventually given a hint about the code when a note says this person went to number 4439 and felt so close to the correct number.
Gaming IQ would tell you the correct answer for this is 4440, but you’d be wrong. You literally have to brute force, counting upwards until you get the right number. Anyone who understands how game puzzles usually work would never think you’d have to brute force here, but it must be done.
7Wood Side Apartments Safe Puzzle
The Flammable Jelly Trap From Saw, Now In Silent Hill 2
Probably the most memeable moment from OG Silent Hill 2 was James reaching into a disgusting toilet to get a safe code hint. It was mocked in both SH3 and 4, and the puzzle returns in the remake. You won’t be reaching into a toilet looking for solids, but similar to the Flammable Jelly trap from Saw, you must look around the room for numbers to unlock the safe and your way out.
It feels eerily similar to puzzles from Silent Hill: Downpour, and some of these number spots are ridiculously tricky to find. This is one puzzle youmight have to use a guide forbecause it can be very frustrating looking all over this room for so long.
6Moth Puzzle
Not For People With Low Symbol IQ
In Blue Creek Apartments, most of the puzzles are pretty easy and simple to brute force, except for the moth puzzle. To get the lock combination, you’ll need to match the symbols on the hint and the symbols on all the various moths in the area. You have a Silence of the Lambs-style skull, a snake eye, and a crescent moon.
The problem here is with that last one, as people who have issues identifying symbols can have a problem connecting the dots with a symbol like a crescent moon that looks very similar to other things. The other two symbols are pretty apparent, though, so you’re able to identify the odd one out and do the puzzle from there.
5Reception Office Padlock Puzzle
Not The Easiest To Spot Pictures
The very first puzzle you’ll have to do in Brookhaven Hospital is the reception office padlock. After exploring your first few areas, you’re given a hint about the code: Nurses, Doctors, and Trees. You’ve probably found the Doctors picture out in the lobby, so you know that two other pictures exist.
The problem is finding them, because the Nurses picture is tucked away in a weird spot, and the Trees picture is hidden in plain sight. There’s a Brookhaven Hospital picture you’ve probably discovered before getting the hint, and you may not have even recognized that there are trees in it. you may still figure it out on your own, with enough time wandering around, but people with less patienceare just going to look up a guide.
4Three Bracelets Puzzle
A Puzzle That’ll Make You Think You’re A Dummy
For Silent Hill veterans, whenever numbers come up in a puzzle, you know you’re in for a tough time. However, the three bracelets puzzle in Silent Hill 2 remake is a bit different, as the numbers have nothing to do with the solution. Alex Mason will say, “What do the numbers mean?” but they mean nothing in this case.
To solve this puzzle, you just need to visually match the whole length of the arm and take note of the carved-out portions. Yes, you do need to put them in the right order, but once you have the correct horizontal placements, it’s so super easy to brute force with only three bracelets to deal with. The numbers do matter for the next puzzle directly after this, but not so much for the hand itself.
3Trick Or Treat Puzzle
Harder Than The Original
One incredibly memorable moment from the classic game was the goofy Trick or Treat game show, with the host originally being played by the lovely Dominic Allen. All three questions are different in the remake, but two consist of the same topics. Like the original, you can’t check the questions after the elevator bit, but the remake made it even harder.
In the original, every single note could be reread in the menu, but in this remake, you can only reread notes that you physically pick up. The Walter Sullivan murder newspaper isn’t one of them, so if you don’t remember the child’s name, you’re out of luck.
2Scales Puzzle
Harder Than Most Puzzles Of This Type
Survival horror games love weight puzzles. There are so many games in which you must balance the weight of items so you get the perfect amount, and Silent Hill 2 remake is no different. The hardest part is the finale, in which you have all the weights and must balance the scale so that the needle points straight up.
Most of these puzzles have an easy starting route, in which you give one scale the two or three heaviest objects and then put all the rest on the other side. Usually, within a couple moves, you’ll solve the puzzle. That is not the case here, as you’ll be experimenting for quite a while. There are so many objects at play that the good old trick doesn’t work. Unfortunately, after you solve this puzzle, another brutal one awaits.
1Gallows Puzzle
A More Accurate Feeling Trick Or Treat
The free the innocent man puzzle from the classic game is transformed into the gallows puzzle in the remake. Once again, you have many people to choose from, and you must pick the innocent person or else face a ton of enemies. It’s much easier than the brain-busting original, except for one nasty trickpresent in the standard puzzle difficulty.
Person number three is very clearly alluding to Harry Mason from Silent Hill 1, and he’s the good guy, so it’s him, right? Nope, but to be fair, the second choice you were thinking of is probably the right answer.
