In Silent Hill 2 Remake, the endings often depend on very non-obvious actions, which is why it is not always clear what needs to be done to open a particular ending. In this guide, we'll go over all the possible endings of the game, detailing what you need to do to get them all, and briefly describing the meaning of the endings.
Note that there are a total of 8 endings to unlock in this horror: 6 from the original and 2 from the remake. Some of them can be unlocked on the first playthrough, while others can only be unlocked after starting New Game +. Here is the full list:
- Farewell
- Maria
- In the Water
- Silence (New Game +)
- Happiness (New Game +)
- Rebirth (New Game +)
- Dog (New Game +)
- UFO (New Game +)
We will also try to indicate the best ending and tell you how to quickly unlock all endings in the Silent Hill 2 remake.
Ending “Farewell”
In short, to get this ending, you must take care of James's condition, constantly maintaining his health at a high level, which symbolizes his will to continue living. You also need to keep his memory of his late wife alive by regularly examining her photo and letter in his inventory, and spend as little time as possible with Maria. Below we will look at all the steps in more detail.
How to unlock the ending
If you take damage, immediately use a healing drink or syringe so that James does not walk around with low health for a long time. Maintaining his health creates the appearance that the hero cares about his well-being and does not want to die. This condition takes you away from the ending “In the Water”.
During the game, at least 3 times examine Mary's photo and letter from her in your inventory in the “Personal” section. This will contribute to James's desire to find his wife, reminding him of his immense love for her.
As you walk down the final hallway in the alternate version of Lakeview Hotel, before you encounter the final boss of the game, you can hear Mary's voice. She will go on an angry tirade, caused by her fear of death. Be sure to listen to the entire monologue of the wife, as she will quietly whisper her apologies at the end. Then go through the door.
Since this ending is all about James overcoming his guilt over Mary, you'll want to spend as little time with Maria as possible. Try to ignore her dialogue with you and don't try to protect her from monsters too much (it's okay if she gets hit a few times).
There will be two instances in the game where James will have to leave Maria behind. The first time, the girl will remain in one of the rooms at Brookhaven Hospital to rest a bit, and the second time, she will be lying in a cell in the Labyrinth. In both cases, do not return to these rooms after leaving them to avoid getting the “Maria” ending.
When Angela leaves you her knife after meeting her at the Blue Creek apartment complex, do not examine it again in your inventory (you can examine it once). Otherwise, James may have the wrong thoughts.
The essence of the ending
This ending can be considered one of James's most correct in terms of narrative, as it implies that the hero fully realizes his guilt before Mary, and then accepts his wife's illness and her death at his own hands.
In this ending, James accepts the consequences of his actions and leaves Silent Hill with Laura, seeking to atone for his guilt and start over. Presumably, he adopts the girl.
The Maria Ending
In short, to get this ending, you need to do everything possible to focus James's attention on Maria. To do this, spend more time with her, listen to her requests, protect her from monsters and visit her constantly. Below, we will consider all the steps in more detail.
How to unlock the ending
First of all, we note that, as in the previous ending, you must keep James's life high and not look at Angela's knife, otherwise there is a chance to get the “In the Water” ending. Then the differences will begin.
When Maria accompanies you, be sure to spend as much time with her as possible, trying not to leave her for long and returning if she tells you that you are going the wrong way (so you can forget about collecting collectibles). You need to interact with her if you see a white dot near her to keep up a conversation with her. Do not skip her dialogues and cutscenes under any circumstances!
You can't ignore her requests, so you must open doors for her when she asks you to. For example, you need to open the door for her in room 108 at the Jacks Motel and watch her get an outfit out of the closet, and let her in when you try to start the generator in the basement of Brookhaven Hospital.
Try to monitor Maria's condition, protecting her from monsters. If you see that a monster has attacked a girl, it is better to use a firearm to manage to kill the creature before it has time to harm the young lady. Perhaps, when solving the puzzle with coins in the Woodside residential complex, you need to choose “Woman” when answering the last question about who is to blame (not verified).
Be sure to visit Maria at Brookhave Hospitaln, when she stays in the C5 ward to rest on the bed, and visit her again when you find her dead in the Labyrinth. You should have the appropriate cutscenes running, thereby conveying to James that he really cares about the girl.
Don't look at Mary's photo and her letter in your inventory more than once, so that James pays attention only to Mary. When your wife's monologue begins before the battle with the final boss, immediately run through the door without listening to your wife until the end.
The essence of the ending
Like in the previous ending, James leaves Silent Hill, but this time he leaves with Maria. Here we see that the hero has learned nothing, choosing a new girl as a means of getting rid of his guilt. He did not want to face his demons, tormenting his conscience, condemning himself to repeat history.
This is clearly seen at the end of the cutscene, when Maria begins to cough, showing signs of the same illness that his late wife had, and James responds to her in an emotionless voice: “You better do something about that cough.” Thus, he simply continues the vicious cycle of helplessness, despair, and hatred.
Ending “In the Water”
In short, to achieve this ending, you need to keep James' health low for most of the game, which is indicated by a blood-red frame on the screen. This shows his disrespect for his own existence, since with Mary's death, he lost the meaning of life. Below we will look at all the steps in more detail.
How to unlock the ending
So, if you take damage, do not immediately start healing yourself, keeping health at a low or medium level. For this reason, it is better not to use syringes, as they always raise the life bar to almost the maximum. Heal yourself only in the most critical situations.
After receiving the knife from Angela, be sure to examine it in your inventory– you need to do this at least 4-5 times per playthrough. The fact is that this weapon symbolizes Angela's depressive views on her own life, with which James will soon begin to agree. We also advise you to read all the dialogues with her when you first meet this girl in the cemetery at the very beginning of the game.
It is better not to examine the rest of the personal items in the inventory. This is especially true for Mary's photograph and her letter.
You should also completely ignore Maria, not spending much time with her, not fulfilling her requests, not having additional dialogues with her and not spending too much time protecting her (she should not die, of course). Plus, you should not visit her in the hospital and the labyrinth.
The essence of the ending
In this ending, the protagonist comes to the conclusion that his life is meaningless without Mary, so he decides that the best thing to do right now is to join her in the afterlife. As a result, he gets into his car, crashes into a fence, and falls into a lake.
This ending is definitely not a good one, as James simply cannot cope with the guilt of his wife's death. At the end, you can see Mary's letter sinking to the bottom of the reservoir.
Note: This ending is a prerequisite for a new ending called “Silence”, which is a kind of alternative version of “In the Water”. Read about it below.
Ending “Silence”
How to unlock the ending
This is a new ending, added specifically in the remake. To open it, you first need to unlock the ending “In the Water”, which we talked about above, that is, you need to fulfill all the specified conditions.
After opening the ending “In the Water”, you will need to start a “New Game +”, which is also a prerequisite for the ending “Silence”.
Next, find the Key of Sorrow, which is in a green car at the intersection between Naitan Avenue and Wiltse Road. Before that, pick up the chainsaw at Silent Hill Ranch, then break the glass with it and take the key.
Once you have the key, continue through the game until you reach the alternate version of the Lakeview Hotel. Once in this area, head to the back rooms and go to the manager's office. There, find the safe and use the Sorrow Key on it, then enter the following combination: 3 (right), 1 (left), and 4 (right). Inside you will find a Toluca postcard.
After getting the key item, continue playing the game until you reach the final boss battle. Defeat him and complete the story. The final cutscene will begin. If you did everything correctly, you will get the “Silence” ending.
The essence of the ending
It can be considered an extended version of the ending of “In the Water”. We are shown how James sits in his car and mourns the death of his wife. However, before driving into the lake, Mary suddenly appears in the back seat.
James apologizes to his wife, and she consoles him before disappearing again, leaving her letter in the passenger seat. In this ending, James receives Mary's forgiveness, but realizes he can't live without her, so he drives into Toluca Lake anyway.
The Silence ending is a kind of reflection of the very beginning of the game, where the focus is on Mary's letter while James stands on the observation deck. It can be assumed that the protagonist realizes that his fate in Silent Hill is doomed to be cyclical, since he was unable to completely get rid of the feeling of guilt. This realization ultimately pushes him to drive into the lake.
The Happiness Ending
How to Unlock the Ending
This is another new ending added in the remake. To unlock it, you will first need to complete the story at least once, and then start a New Game +.
Next, you will need to get to the western part of South Valley and go to Pete's Bowling Club to find the safe behind the counter. Enter the code 1887 and take the Rusty Key from it. You need to do this before going to the Jacks Motel. We talked about this in more detail in a separate article.
Then get to Brookhaven Hospital and go to the Garden (you need to climb through the window in the pharmacy). There, go to the gazebo and climb inside it through the hole at the bottom (be careful, because you will immediately be attacked by a monster). Inside, you will find a small box that can be opened with a rusty key. There is a bottle of White Claudia hidden in it.
Continue through the game until you reach room 312 in the Lakeview Hotel. Once inside, open your inventory and use the White Claudia (James will drink it) before watching the videotape. This will immediately end the story, meaning you won't have to fight the final boss.
The essence of the ending
This ending implies that James saw happy memories with his wife on TV instead of the recording that reveals the truth about Mary's death. Most likely, this happened because of Claudia White, which is considered a powerful hallucinogen in the Silent Hill universe.
Because of this drug, the protagonist did not see the truth that it was he who killed his wife. Indeed, “Ignorance is bliss” … It is unknown what exactly happens to James afterwards, since at the end, players are only shown an empty chair. Perhaps he simply left the city without ever meeting his demons face to face.
The “Rebirth” Ending
In short, you need to start a “New Game +” and start collecting four special ritual items needed to revive Mary. At the same time, you can not worry about the conditions of the other endings, because as soon as you collect all four things, you will get this ending anyway.
How to Unlock the Ending
So, complete the story at least once to any ending, and then start a “New Game +”. Next, start collecting ritual items that will be hidden in various locations. First of all, pick up the Crimson Rite book, which is located in the Cemetery near one of the tombstones (look closer to the lake) almost at the very beginning of the game.
Next, you will need to pick up the White Spruce drink in the western part of the South Valley, when you are accompanied by Maria. It is lying on a table in the courtyard of the Baldwin Mansion.
Now get to the Historical Society to find the Obsidian Goblet. It is located in the exhibition hall in front of the long staircase leading down.
At the end, you will need to find the book “Lost Memory”, which is located in the Lost and Found Office in the Lakeview Hotel (you can get there through a hole in the wall). However, you should not pick it up until you solve the puzzle with the music box in the 1st floor lobby and save in a separate slot, otherwise you will not be able to open other endings in this playthrough.
The essence of the ending
At the beginning of the scene, James is sailing a boat through the fog on Toluca Lake, and next to him lies an unknown object wrapped in a white cloth – most likely, this is Mary's body. Driven by despair and having with him all the ritual objects from Silent Hill, the protagonist intends to resurrect his wife by turning to the Old Gods for help.
At the end of the video, you can see a mysterious island, where, most likely, the ritual will be performed. It is unknown whether James was able to resurrect Mary or he only cursed them both forever. This ending can hardly be called good, since, apparently, James never came to terms with the consequences of his actions, and the guilt for killing his wife became even stronger, which is why he decided to do such a crazy thing.
The “Dog” ending
How to unlock the ending
So, complete the story at least once to any ending, and then start a “New Game +”. Next, you will need to collect parts of the broken key. The first part (the paw) is inside the store with the sign “The Pet Center”, near the building “At Big J's”, in the eastern part of South Valley. You can only get here during a repeat playthrough of the game. The required item is in the room on the left.
Next, find the second part of the key (bone) on Katz Street in the western part of South Valley.
Go through the white gate with the image of a bone, and then run forward, approach the booth and take the thing you need from it.
Go to your inventory, find any broken key part in the Important section, click the Combine button and combine the paw with the bone to get the Dog Key.
Continue playing the game until you get to the Lakeview Hotel. When you need to go to room 312, instead go to the Observation Chamber, which is located right before room 312, you definitely can't miss it. Open it with the dog key and watch the final cutscene.
The essence of the ending
James will enter the room and see a dog pressing many buttons on the control panel. He scolds the dog in despair, speaking in Polish, and then falls to his knees in despair, realizing that the dog was behind everything, controlling everything that happens in Silent Hill.
As you probably already understood, we are talking about a joke ending, which was simply added by the developers as a prank. Of course, you should not take it seriously. At the end, by the way, you can listen to a funny dog track.
The “UFO” ending
How to unlock the ending
So, complete the story at least once to any ending, and then start a “New Game +”. Next, you will need to find the blue gem. You can find it in the jewelry store located in the eastern part of the South Valley. It is located near the building “At Big J's”. Right next to it is a police car. Go to the left exhibition window and break it to take the stone from the box.
Next, you will need to examine this gem four times in different places. You can find out about which places you need to visit in the note located in Groovy Music, but you don’t have to find it at all. So first of all, go to the Saul Street apartment complex and go up to the roof (you will get here according to the story). Stand next to the eye sign on the air duct, open your inventory and take the stone in your hands. Spin it for 5 seconds – it should light up.
Now head to Rosewater Park and find Maria there. Go to the pier to the spyglass and look at the blue stone again until it starts to glow.
Continue playing the game until you land on a boat at the pier leading to Lakeview Hotel. As soon as you get off the boat, immediately open your inventory, select the stone and examine it until it lights up.
The last time you will need to look at the gem in Room 312 of the Lakeview Hotel, where the TV with the VCR is. Don't watch the video tape, but instead open your inventory and take out the stone again. The final cutscene starts right after that.
The essence of the ending
This is another joke ending from the original, which was slightly changed in the remake. Here, too, a flying saucer arrives, but instead of Henry from the first part, James meets his alternate version from space, using a low-poly model.
James from outer space declares that our James is just a clone. After this, the latter is shot with a ray gun and taken away by aliens. The real James turns to the hotel, preparing to finish what his clone started. This ending is an Easter egg, continuing the tradition of the series.
Best ending in Silent Hill 2 Remake
There is no best ending as such in the game. It doesn't even have a canonical ending, since the developers never stated which ending they consider correct. So each player decides for themselves which ending of the story seems best to them.
However, there are many indications that the ending “In the Water” is the most logical conclusion to the story. It was slightly modified by Bloober Team by creating the ending “Silence”. Here, James finds Mary in the backseat of the car, who forgives him for his actions, but, realizing that he cannot live without her, the hero still drives into the lake.
Personally, I like the ending “Farewell” more, where Mary forgives James and gives him a letter asking him to continue living. Thus, the hero overcomes his guilt and fulfills his wife's wish, taking Laura under his guardianship.
How to Get All Endings in Silent Hill 2 Remake Fast
First, Unlock the “In Water” Ending
You can easily unlock all 8 endings in just two full playthroughs of the game. First, get the “In Water” ending to unlock the “Silence” ending. This method will also work for unlocking the “My 2001″” achievement.
If you think that you are unlikely to get the ending “In the Water”, then try to load the save at any point in the Lakeview Hotel, and then get to the place with two Pyramid Heads. Then start regularly looking at Angela's knife and keeping the health bar low.
Open all the other endings in the second playthrough
After completing the game once, start a New Game +, collecting all the necessary collectibles (ritual items, gem, dog key). However, save before taking the book “Lost Memory”, as “Rebirth” takes priority over all other endings. Then unlock the endings “Dog”, “UFO” and “Happiness” in turn, which do not involve fighting the final boss.
After that, load the save made before taking the book, take “Lost Memory” and go to the very end, dealing with the last enemy. This will unlock the “Rebirth” ending.
Reload the save again before taking the book and head to the save point in front of the two Pyramid Heads without opening the safe with the postcard. Then take the postcard to get the “Silence” ending. Then simply unlock the “Farewell” and “Maria” endings by fulfilling the conditions listed above.
