there's an irony to reviving a story about loss and grief in the name of nostalgia while altering its execution to satisfy a modern gaming palate. it's like telling zoomers about how much the 90s ruled because of how it makes you feel to remember it. nostalgia is grief, nostalgia is bargaining; maybe you can experience that feeling again if you only say the correct words, perform the correct ritual. but you can't. you can't live in the 90s again, and james can't un-confront pyramid head, and you can't play silent hill 2 for the first time again

James Sunderland makes more questionable decisions as we explore Brookhaven Hospital in Silent Hill 2! Hope to see you there!

Art by @teamCATPLE

I've been thinking a little bit about remakes and I just can't think of any reason that Silent Hill 2 remake justifies its existence over the original. Like, it doesn't take any artistic liberties that are substantially different from the original, it doesn't change the thesis statement or the overall plot in any meaningful way, and it doesn't adapt the original faithfully enough to not change the way the original's themes are conveyed.

Like, Silent Hill 2 isn't a fun game to play and you can argue whether or not that was intentional but the fact that it wasn't fun made it easier to make the player feel uncomfortable. I don't know maybe I'm just being a curmudgeon about this, but I just don't like anything I've seen of it.