The Silent Hill 2 Remake is finally here, and fans of survival horror are thrilled! This remake isn't just a visual upgrade; it also offers a surprising level of customization in difficulty, giving players choices for both combat and puzzles separately!
Difficulty Settings Explained:
There are six difficulty settings in total. Players get to choose the difficulty level for combat and puzzle sections completely independently from each other. You can even change the combat difficulty in the middle of your game by reloading a previous save!
- Combat Challenge: This adjusts enemy and boss damage, player damage, and the amount of resources like ammo and healing items found.
- Puzzle Challenge: This impacts the amount of guidance you're given when solving the puzzles in the game. You cannot change this setting once it's selected!
Light Difficulty:
This is the easiest setting for those new to survival horror games! enemies hit less hard, you deal more damage, and you will find a whole lot more helpful items! There is more to discover though!
- Combat: Less enemy damage, more player damage, more items. The environment and number of enemies remain the same.
- Puzzles: You get more clues. The puzzles themselves don't change, you're just given direct help!
Good for: New players to survival horror or those wanting a less challenging experience. Experienced players may find this too easy, especially for puzzles. Avoid this puzzle setting if you want to be truly challenged!
Standard Difficulty:
This is the default setting, perfectly balanced! This makes it the best choice for most players playing this amazing game for the first time, even those who played the original!
- Combat: Average damage from enemies, average damage dealt by James. You will still die occasionally in fights. Resources are somewhat plentiful, but you need to actively seek them.
- Puzzles: Similar to Light mode but with slightly less guidance; the puzzles still remain the same but there is slightly less help with those solutions.
Good for: Most players seeking a well-rounded challenge and a first playthrough of the Silent Hill 2 remake. This isn't too hard, not too easy. It's just the right amount!
Hard Difficulty:
Are you a master? Hard mode is only recommended for seasoned players. Expect to die frequently! You will get much less help, which can impact things like those truly exciting puzzle solving events!
- Combat: James does very little damage, enemies hit significantly harder. There's even less to discover! Fewer resources. Enemies are more aggressive with AI adjustments.
- Puzzles: Fewer clues given! Puzzle solutions can sometimes be entirely different than the easier modes.
Good for: Only for those wanting an extreme challenge. You are a Silent Hill 2 expert, only then consider this mode. Even those experts will die.
Recommended Settings:
For your first playthrough, Standard Difficulty with Modern UI presets are recommended. The Modern UI helps immensely in finding clues and resources, preventing players from getting too frustrated searching through dark and dreary locations! This balance creates a challenging yet fun experience. But for subsequent playthroughs? It’s really all about you. Those who are speedrunning, will want the Light setting, others who just want something more difficult might want the Hard setting! There’s truly a selection available to those wanting more experiences, with Silent Hill 2 and this truly impressive remake that’s given gamers something they’ve waited a long time for.
