Respawn Monday #5: Silent Hill 2 Remake and my addiction to Dead by Daylight
Last weekend was mostly about continuing my journey into the world of Dead by Daylight, specifically now playing both Survivor and Killer roles. But amid that new addiction, I also revisited and finished Silent Hill 2, the remake that I think did a fantastic job recreating one of the most iconic horror games of the 2000s. Some thoughts.
Silent Hill 2 Remake was worth the revisit
Silent Hill 2 had been in my backlog for quite some time now, thanks to how busy 2026 has been. I started my first playthrough of the remake in January 2026 and stopped completely once I reached the hospital section. Returning to it, everything started to click as I spent most nights last week playing before heading to bed. I took my time, finishing with a clear time of 14 hours, with over 200 handgun bullets, 40 shotgun shells, and over 20 rifle rounds left unused. The pipe melee attack is such a strong tool that I only ever pulled out the guns for fun.
The horror is there and the atmosphere is on point. I'm just used to these types of games at this point. While jump scares do get my heart racing, combat eventually loses its ability to make me feel cornered or in actual danger. The monsters were fantastic in the first half, but a pattern starts to emerge. Hidden enemies are expected, and the game's dodge mechanics make every encounter trivial, even when I had to face multiple threats at once.
This has always been the case with Silent Hill games. I love exploring them, and the puzzles are fantastic for getting my brain working, but I feel too comfortable with combat, and that's not ideal. It's why I appreciate other horror games like Dead Space or Resident Evil, where inventory management actually adds to the stress. Granted, I was playing on Standard difficulty, which means higher difficulties result in lower ammo drops. But again, I hardly used what I had.
Still, a fantastic survival horror, and I can't wait for Bloober Team's work on the Silent Hill remake.
Dead by Daylight addiction
I returned to Dead by Daylight last week thanks to the 10-year anniversary and the release of the iconic slasher Jason, and I never stopped playing. I was an avid player years ago until I abruptly stopped, simply because I'd moved on to other live service titles. I didn't expect it to grip me as hard as it has.
It's still a fantastic 4v1 online horror game that remains one of the most unique offerings in online gaming. It's home to classic horror characters, and features two roles that are hard to learn and hard to master, but despite this, i've been playing both this time around.
Survivor remains fun thanks to the unpredictability of each match. You never know what your teammates are capable of, whether they're helpful, good at running from the Killer, or will leave you to die given the chance. The variety on the Killer side has greatly improved this past weekend now that the Jason honeymoon period is over; not every match is against Jason anymore, and I've gotten to face killers I missed during my time away.
From Tokyo Ghoul's Kaneki as a Killer, to Castlevania's Dracula, to the original killers added recently, the variety I'm going up against is fueling my desire to keep playing. The 10-year anniversary event is also live right now, rewarding excessive amounts of Bloodpoints, the resource used to level up characters in the game. I may have made a mistake coming back, because the addiction is real and I don't know if I can ever leave.
We'll see, though I'm having a blast. Avid players who never left might have their own issues with the current state of the game, but for me, a returning player, it feels like it's in a solid spot right now.
About the Author - Carlos Hernandez
Carlos Hernandez is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Too Much Gaming, where he writes about video games, reviews, and industry news. A lifelong gamer, he would do anything to experience Final Fantasy Tactics for the first time again and has a love/hate relationship with games that require hunting for new gear to improve your character.
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