How Can You Play the Original Silent Hill 2?

With a Silent Hill 2 remake happening, you might be tempted to play or replay Konami’s original survivor horror. It’s still one of the greatest horror games of all time, and while it’s a world away from the likes of Resident Evil, it’s every bit as much worth playing. But that could leave you wondering — how can you play the original Silent Hill 2 these days?

The Easiest Way to Play the Original Silent Hill 2 Game

The easiest way is to purchase and download the Silent Hill HD Collection. The collection, originally for Xbox 360 (and PlayStation 3), is playable on both Xbox One and Xbox Series X | S thanks to those systems’ backwards compatibility.

The collection includes both Silent Hill 2 and Silent Hill 3. Launch it, pick the game in question, and hey presto, you’re ready to go. Hurrah! Time to tangle with a pyramid-headed menace!

But there’s a catch. While that’s the quickest way to get your hands on Silent Hill 2, it’s not the best way to experience it. Why? Because this version of the game is flawed. It’s perfectly playable, but it’s based on an older version of the game, not the one that was actually released in 2001.

This is apparently because Konami lost (or disposed of) the source code. It’s off in a few ways — for example, the fog isn’t anywhere near as thick as it was in the original game. And there are other telltale signs, too, such as the way the Silent Hill Ranch sign is written in the Comic Sans font.

Now, Here’s the Best Way to Experience the Original Silent Hill 2

The best way to experience Silent Hill 2 is to get an original physical copy of the game, which was released on PlayStation 2, Xbox, or PC. Unfortunately, it’s out of print on all these formats, so you may have to pay at least $50 to get one.

There’s a fan project, the Silent Hill 2 Enhanced Edition, which helps the PC version run on modern hardware. As for the other versions, you can either track down an original console or use an emulator. Emulators are a gray area since some of them make use of the PS2 or Xbox’s BIOS, and downloading that is, essentially, illegal.

Unfortunately, while Silent Hill 2 launched on the PS2, it’s not part of the PS2 classics range, so playing it that way is not an option. The Silent Hill HD Collection is not awful but it’s flawed, so whether you choose to play that or go other routes is up to you.

So, if you just want to play Silent Hill 2 without too much fuss, pick up the HD Collection. But if you want the perfect experience, consider purchasing the original release.