Since its inception back in 1999,Silent Hillhas become one of the most successful survival horror franchisesy. Of course, it is no secret thatSilent Hillwas Konami’s response to Capcom’sResident Evil, and althoughResident Evilhas since surpassed it in terms of commercial success and longevity,Silent Hill, and most notablySilent Hill 2, remains to be an icon in the horror genre.
Silent Hill 2,which was first released back in 2001 for the PlayStation 2,is one of the best entries in the long-standing survival horror franchise. Players were already captivated by the game from the first scene alone where protagonist James Sutherland looks at a filthy restroom mirror, and now it appears this particular scene has been holding a secret for nearly twenty years.
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What is the Secret in Silent Hill 2’s Opening Scene?
After revisiting some screenshots ofSilent Hill 2,a Redditor discovered something creepy during the game’s opening sequence. It is unclear why the Redditor decided to look back onSilent Hill 2, but it is worth noting thatKonami recently posted a cryptic tweetthat had fans thinking that somethingSilent Hillrelated would be revealed soon. Back to the photo, during the part where James looks at himself in the bathroom mirror, the Redditor noticed something odd about James' gaze and decided to increase the brightness of the screenshot. This is where they discovered, after nearly two decades, that James was not looking at himself after all. Instead, his gaze is creepily fixed directly at the player.
At the moment, it is unclear whether this is the first time that someonediscovered this disturbingSilent Hill 2detail. However, it is worth knowing that this is the first time that this particular discovery has created some buzz online. In their Reddit post, the eagle-eyed player explained that due toSilent Hill 2’sdramatic lighting, this small detail is difficult to see in the actual game. To add to that, while the PlayStation 2’s graphics were considered to be the best during its time, its visuals are still not as crystal clear as they are today, which is why so many players missed this small but important detail.
So What Does This Mean in Silent Hill 2’s Story?
At the time of writing,Konamistill hasn’t acknowledged this new find inSilent Hill 2, and given that the studio hasn’t said a word about this for 2o years, it’s difficult to say what this actually means, at least officially. However, knowingSilent Hill, this particular breaking of the fourth wall is definitely not a glitch but is likely one of three things.
First, there is the possibility that James is aware of the player’s presence, at least in that specific moment. Usually, when visual media such as games, movies, TV, and theaterbreaks the fourth wall, it usually means that that the characters are making it known that they are aware that someone is watching them. This is also an opportunity for the characters to subtly convey something to the audience that they can’t or won’t do in their own world. So what is James trying to say to the players? Well, it’s difficult to say but judging from the way he looked directly at the camera could mean that the game is trying to tell players that James is not who he appears to be, and those who played the game all the way through would know this to be true.
On the flip side, it is also possible that James was not even looking directly at the camera at all. Yes, the image clearly showed thatJames is looking directly at the player, but this may just be him facing the mirror but is unable to look directly at himself. Those who played the game would know that towards the end, it was revealed that James is carrying a heavy burden that brought him toSilent Hill. This burden is of course the extreme guilt that he is feeling after killing his own terminally ill wife. Therefore, having James be unable to look directly at himself is a small but important detail that represents his guilt for what he did.
Is Konami Up To Something?
Lastly, this could just be Konami’s way of spooking players at the very beginning of the game. Of course, playing a horror game where the protagonist stares directly at the player will definitely send them into a cold sweat. However, it’s baffling to know whether this scare tactic was a success, given that it took players twenty years to even notice it. Still, it’s better late than never, and this brief resurgence ofSilent Hill’s popularity may just be the nudge Konami needs to realize that its fans still care about Silent Hill and that this franchise deserves to make an epic comeback.
In the end, this discovery definitely adds more depth to the narrative ofSilent Hill 2and gives players a whole new perspective when looking at the game in retrospect. It is also a testament as to how Konami went through all the trouble of adding this small yet significant detail to foreshadow a major plot twist that is bound to happen at the end of the game.
At the moment, the fate of theSilent Hillfranchise remains unclear, especially after the infamous cancellation ofSilent Hillsstarring Norman Reedus back in 2014. However, it appears now that Konami has been making subtle actions to bring back the franchise to the consciousness of the gaming community. First, there wasDead by DaylightaddingSilent Hillcontentlast month, then there’s that cryptic tweet that turned out to be nothing, and finally, this discovery of a small detail from aSilent Hillgame that was released twenty years ago. Of course, it’s probably nothing, but one can’t help but ask, what is Konami up to?
Silent Hill 2is out now for the PC, PS2, PS3, Xbox, and Xbox 360.
