Ninja Gaiden Black 2
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
Baldur's Gate 3
Shadow Hearts
Atelier Sophie: the Alchemist of the Mysterious Book
Gunstar Heroes
Koudelka
The Punisher
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Final Fantasy VII (PS1)
Doom: The Dark Ages
Shadow Hearts 2
Xenoblade X
Goldeneye
Death Stranding 2
Resident Evil 2
Donkey Kong Bananza
Shadow Hearts: From the New World
Metal Gear Solid Delta
Dragon Quest 8: Journey of the Cursed King (3DS)
Hollow Knight
Trails 1st
Resident Evil 2 (PS1)
Silent Hill 2 Remake - My nerves are frayed to shit and my mental is in the fucking toilet but I finally beat this surprisingly good game, Bloober deserve all the props for pulling this off and I feel bad for clowning on it last year. I didn't get to play this last Halloween because I was playing the original and I didn't wanna' double up as it were so I'm glad I got back to this.
I can't remember the last time I had this much anxiety playing a game, I played it at night with the headphones in and I got sucked in to the game's atmosphere. They make a point to tell you that you can get jumped at pretty much any point (even by enemies that won't trigger your radio) so every door and every corner had me on edge and I don't feel like I was relaxed for pretty much any part of the game. It was very scary and good but it got pretty draining too.
That leads into my issues, some really unfortunate: there are a bit too many enemies at times and some cuts here and there wouldn't make me feel less of the game. There's also a bit too much of the game itself, at like 17 or so hours I'm kind of hesitant to replay this game any time soon, again, some cuts and shortening (looking at you, stretch after the Hospital) would really improve the overall game. It's also predictably, lacking in the subtlety of the original a bit, but I'm glad it doesn't really disrespect the legacy at all.
All in all, I think they pulled it off, it deserves the credit it got on release.
The SH2 Remake keeps you in such a constant, prolonged state of anxiety that I had to actually stop playing it for a bit when reaching the Historical Society building. This sounds like a big compliment for a horror game and to an extent, yes, but also there's something to be said for letting things ease up a bit and not have your adrenal glands start to fry out. Partly this is because there are just way too many enemies and each encounter gets my heart pumping more than fucking Sekiro did and you're not only constantly feeling that rush you're anticipating being dipped in that pool of adrenaline at basically every single corner. (I will commend them for having enemies feel scary though, if a little annoying sometimes looking at you mannequins)
Also, I'm 9 hours in and just leaving the Hospital….there are like 3 more areas left if they're following the original. No survival horror game should be this long IMO, I beat Resi 2 in like 4 hours man.
This isn't me saying the game has lost any goodwill, at least yet, it's a fantastic horror game so far but maybe not for the unprepared. If the Silent Hill 1 remake is this long though, I dunno man…
"Wake up, leave your hesitation
Wake up, time for us to realize
Wake up, show appreciation
Wake up, leave your hesitation
Wake up, time for us to realize
Wake up, show appreciation"
Ninja Gaiden Black 2
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
Baldur's Gate 3
Shadow Hearts
Atelier Sophie: the Alchemist of the Mysterious Book
Gunstar Heroes
Koudelka
The Punisher
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Final Fantasy VII (PS1)
Doom: The Dark Ages
Shadow Hearts 2
Xenoblade X
Goldeneye
Death Stranding 2
Resident Evil 2
Donkey Kong Bananza
Shadow Hearts: From the New World
Metal Gear Solid Delta
Dragon Quest 8: Journey of the Cursed King (3DS)
Hollow Knight
Trails 1st
Resident Evil 2 - Wasn't sure if I should put this on twice but for SPOOKY MONTH I think it's good to note all horror games. Besides, the first time was Leon A, in the PS1 version you could beat the game with any character and then load that save for a Scenario B of the other character, it's actually a fair amount different than you think and I'm fairly sure the order even changes things too (as in Leon A/Claire B or Claire A/Leon B) and this basically never made it to the remake, sad!
Best PS1 Resi by a country mile and still one of the best sequels of all time
Silent Hill 2 Remake is good so far! Although I can see how you'd accuse it of losing a bit of the subtlety of the original, but it's not bad. Although I'll also add the cause of the constant dread in the apartments so far is less the atmosphere and more that the monsters specifically are absolute slithery bastards and pretty effective at jump scaring you…and also beating you up, they're not super easy to kill now and there's a sense of desperation to combat, right down to James breathing frantically as he just beats them to death in a haze of fight of fight response.
I didn't get far because I spent a fair bit on a new puzzle they added before the Hotel Apartments where you go around Silent Hill a bit more to find the puzzle pieces, along the way you scrounge resources and somewhat amusingly bust open all the windows of every car in the city for some painkillers like a junkie. It was pretty neat but in light of this remake apparently feeling a bit bloated I am a bit worried.
EDIT - Reached the 'Otherside' Apartment and yeah, this is good shit, yet another remake that makes me question why MGS Delta was fine the way it was
Alastor
