How to get all Silent Hill 2 endings

There are 8 Silent Hill 2 endings in the Remake, with some of them locked behind obscure puzzles and a range of player actions. So getting them all, or even knowing how, is tricky. Whether you want the original endings - Leave, In Water or Maria - or the stranger ones like UFO, Dog or Rebirth, or if you want to see the new endings added in the Remake, like Stillness and Bliss, there's a lot of options.

All but the first three Silent Hill 2 endings are gated behind New Game Plus, so you'll have to go through the game at least once to see any of the latter ones, but if you're willing to go through it, we'll show you how to get all the endings in the Silent Hill 2 Remake, as well as discuss which of them is the best ending.

All Endings in Silent Hill 2 Remake

There are 8 possible Silent Hill 2 endings in the Remake, all of which I've listed below, as well as if you can unlock them on New Game Plus or a first playthrough:

The last two of these endings - "Bliss" and "Stillness" - are new, and specially made for the Remake. However, all the others are recreations of possible endings in the 2001 version.

The first time around in Silent Hill 2 Remake, you'll be able to complete the game and get any of the first three endings - Leave, In Water or Maria - while in subsequent playthroughs of New Game Plus, you'll have the option to unlock all eight of them, including the first three.

Below, I'll go through the requirements to unlock them all, without spoiling what the endings actually are.

How do the Silent Hill 2 endings work in the Remake?

The "Leave", "In Water" and "Maria" endings in Silent Hill 2 work on a behind-the-scenes points system. The Remake is constantly judging certain actions in-game, with the idea being that Silent Hill 2 is trying to work out how James is feeling about himself, his situation and others, based on the actions you make him take, both in and out of combat.

Some endings are based on him caring about the people he meets or not, so helping Mariah if she's attacked, for example. While how much he works to defend or heal himself, demonstrating a sense of self-preservation, can also have an impact.

It's a hard to read system, least of all becauses there's no visibility on what's tracked, but I'll lay out the basic steps that are being measured, and what they contribute to below.

How to get the Silent Hill 2 Leave ending in the Remake

The Silent Hill 2 Leave ending is achieved by completing the game normally under the following conditions.

• Heal frequently so James spends as little time as possible injured.
• Do not examine Angela's Knife, or Mary's Photo, Letter or Handkerchief in your inventory.
• Do not visit Maria at the Hospital 2F bed, or the Labyrinth prison cell.
• In the Silent Hill 2 Remake coin cabinet puzzle, pick the "Snake" coin at the end when asked to choose who's responsible.
• In the corridor at the end of the game where you can hear Mary speaking, make sure you listen to the whole thing before moving to the next area.
• Don't go out of your way to protect Maria from threats or stay close to her when she's following you.

The goal here is to meet two criteria: have James show a high level of self-preservation, while showing as little uninterest as possible in either Maria or Mary. Healing frequently is the easiest way to ensure this - don't spend a lot of time in low health, and you should be fine, even if you break some of the other rules.

How to get the Silent Hill 2 In Water ending in the Remake

The "In Water" ending in Silent Hill 2 is achieved by completing the game normally, under these conditions:

• Heal yourself rarely so James spends as much time as possible at low health.
• Examine Angela's Knife, Mary's Photo, Letter and Handkerchief in your inventory multiple times across the course of the game.
• Do not visit Maria at the Hospital 2F bed, or the Labyrinth prison cell.
• At the Coin Cabinet, pick the "Man" coin at the end when asked to choose who's responsible.
• In the corridor at the end of the game where you can hear Mary speaking, make sure you listen to the whole thing before moving to the next area.
• Don't go out of your way to protect Maria from threats or stay close to her when she's following you.

This time around, you need to complete the game while showing James as somebody with low self-preservation, while also focusing on Mary - but NOT Maria.

How to get the Silent Hill 2 Maria ending in the Remake

The "Maria" ending in Silent Hill 2 is achieved by completing the game normally by doing the following:

• Heal frequently so James spends as little time as possible injured.
• Do not examine Angela's Knife, or Mary's Photo, Letter or Handkerchief in your inventory.
• You SHOULD visit Maria at the Hospital 2F bed, and the Labyrinth prison cell, multiple times each time. Make sure you visit her in the hospital after locating the Marked Bracelet, and in the Labyrinth even after something bad happens to her.
• At the Coin Cabinet, pick the "Woman" coin at the end when asked to choose who's responsible.
• In the corridor at the end of the game where you can hear Mary speaking, DO NOT listen to the whole thing before moving to the next area.
• Prevent Maria from taking damage wherever possible.
• Do not make Maria uncomfortable by physically bumping into her, breaking a lot of glass around her, or being separated from her for long periods of time.
• After meeting Maria in Rosewood Park, follow her obediently and DO NOT deviate from the pathways she suggests until you reach the hospital (this means not looking for the Silent Hill 2 Remake Garage Jack lever).

The goal here is to show high self-preservation for James while also making Maria a high priority, but not Mary. This is probably the trickiest of the three "first playthrough" endings to achieve, as keeping Maria safe and happy is pretty fiddly, especially when something as minor as bumping into her can have a negative effect.

How to get the Silent Hill 2 Remake Rebirth ending

The Silent Hill 2 Rebirth ending can only be achieved on New Game Plus, and involves having to find four special items as you play.

1. The Crimson Ceremony is found in the cemetery where you first meet Angela, on a grave by the lakeside.

2. The White Chrism is on a table outside of Baldwin Mansion after you first solve the Silent Hill 2 Remake motel safe code puzzle with Maria.

3. The Obsidian Goblet is inside the Historical Society you enter after the hospital, inside an alcove on the wall.

4. The Lost Memories book is in the "Lost and Found" on 1F of LakeView Hotel. Breaking a wall in the cafe will allow you to access this.

Once you have all four items, completing the main story will automatically trigger the "Rebirth" ending, regardless of the choices or actions you've made along the way. This can only be cancelled by triggering the specific conditions for the endings that are listed after this one.

How to get the Silent Hill 2 Remake Dog ending

The legendary Silent Hill 2 Dog ending in the Remake is specific to a New Game Plus playthrough, and is unlocked through this process:

1. Find the Broken Key Part 1 on top of a desk in the backroom of the Pet Center in the South Vale, which you can explore while fixing the Silent Hill 2 Remake jukebox.

2. The Broken Key Part 2. can be found after going through the locked gate in the Motel with Maria - turn right three times to find a doghouse in a dead-end path. The key part is there.

1. Combine both key parts to make the Dog Key, then use it to open the Observation Room on 3F of the Lakeview Hotel. This will trigger the Dog Ending.

How to get the Silent Hill 2 UFO ending in the Remake

The Silent Hill 2 UFO ending in the Remake is another specific to NG+ and achieved through the following method:

1. Get the Blue Gem from the window of a jewellery store North of Big Jay's when you're doing the Jukebox repair. Just crack the glass of the store to take the gem.
2. "Investigate" the Blue Gem in your inventory at these locations throughout the game (there'll be a symbol on an eye drawn somewhere nearby to mark you're in the right spot):
   1. The Rooftop of Saul Street Apartments (while fixing the Jukebox)
   2. The Pier to the Northwest of Rosewood Park after meeting Maria.
   3. The dock at the South of LakeView Gardens you moor at after rowing over the lake.
   4. Room 312 of LakeView Hotel, before you watch the Video tape.Empty list

Fulfil all these criteria and the last time you investigate the Blue Gem, in room 312, it should immediately trigger the UFO ending in Silent Hill 2.

How to get the Silent Hill 2 Bliss ending in the Remake

The Silent Hill 2 Bliss ending is a new option created especially for the Remake, and also specific to NG+. Here's how you get it:

1. In the Northwest corner of the 1F Hospital Garden, while solving the puzzle of the Silent Hill 2 Remake Director's Office hand, you'll find a Small Chest if you crawl through a hole.

2. In Pete's Bowl-O-Rama, just South of the Historical Society after the Hospital, there's a safe you can open with the code 1887 to get the Rusted Key.
3. Combine the Key and Chest in your inventory to get the White Claudia.
4. Progress through the game until you reach room 312 of the Hotel.
5. Select the White Claudia from your inventory to drink it.
6. Watch the video tape, and this time you'll get an alternate ending.

How to get the Silent Hill 2 Stillness ending in the Remake

The Silent Hill 2 Stillness endings is another new one made specifically for the Remake, and requires NG+. Here's how you get it.

1. Get the Chainsaw at the very beginning of NG+ (our guide to the Silent Hill 2 Remake weapons will show you how).

2. After leaving the Ranch, smash the window of the green car on Wiltse Road to get the Key of Sorrow.

3. Later in the game, after watching the video in Room 312, go to the Manager's Officer on 1F and use the key (and the code 314) to open the safe and get the Toluca Postcard.
4. Inspect the postcard in your inventory at least once.
5. Complete the rest of the game to get the Stillness ending.

What is the best Silent Hill 2 ending in the Remake?

Warning: this section of the guide has spoilers for the plot of Silent Hill 2 Remake.

The Silent Hill 2 Remake doesn't really have a best ending as it's all a matter of opinion. It depends on what you think of James, his actions, and what he really deserves.

Still, some endings still seem darker than others, however. The "Maria" ending has James not only still ignoring the worst elements of what he did to Mary, it implies the awful events may repeat themselves, with Maria coughing on the way back to the car and James telling her to get that sorted in an ominous tone of voice. Endings like Leave see him absolved and free to move on with his life. While In Water In ends in suicide, with James consumed by what he did and unable to go on. Rebirth implies, but stops short of outright confirming James uses the old gods to bring Mary back. While the new endings reach both ends of the spectrum: Bliss give him the outright happy endings of living in the past of an old video recording, while Stillness is basically an enhanced In Water, just with added forgiveness.

There just is no clear good or bad ending to a game as complex as Silent Hill 2 - and there probably shouldn't be. What the 'best' is all depends on your interpretation of, and feelings about, what James has done.

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