Ascaught by Kotaku,you can already play the masterful remake ofSilent Hill 2without the series’ ever-present and all-engulfing fog. Behold, the marvel:
Though Team Silent originally came up with it just to circumvent the PS1’s hardware limitations, the fog present inSilent Hillended up becoming the series’ most iconic element. I’d argue it’s even one of gaming’s most iconic visual elements, overall.
Removing the fog from any of theSilent Hillgames seems like shooting yourself in the foot with a bazooka, especially since the volumetric fog in the newSilent Hill 2is one of the most amazing visual effects ever seen in a game. Still, FrancisLouis immediately set out to createa modthat rids the town of fog, and the results are surprisingly neat.
The game sure does lose a lot of what makes it special because the remake’s unique fog is incredible to look at, but it also hides a lot of the graphical prowess of the remake. Another interesting thing you might notice is how the game doesn’t get less creepy, it just gets so in a different way.Silent Hill, in the state James visits it in, remains a desolate place filled with creepy crawlies and other inexplicable phenomena, and now they’re all in plain sight.
The mod is called “Silent Hill 2 HD Collection”, a cheeky reference to theSilent Hill 2and3remasters from 2012 that accidentally did away with most of the games’ fog. Those were absolutely awful, but I’m glad they paved the way for this kind of experimenting.
I wouldn’t recommend this mod for a first playthrough, obviously. But, alongside the officialno-UI mode and 90s filter, I think this is a pretty neat (and funny) way to experienceSH2and proof that the remake is more than just its spectacular environmental effects.
You can now enjoySilent Hill 2on PC and PS5.
