All Silent Hill 2 Remake endings and how to get them

With 8 Silent Hill 2 Remake endings to get through, those who are out to find them all have a lot to work through, as 5 of the 8 endings can only be unlocked on New Game Plus. Not only that, the choices that impact which ending you get are sometimes made throughout the whole game, not just in the last moments of the Silent Hill 2 Remake, meaning that you can't necessarily reload a save and just choose a different outcome - there have been hours of choices or secret items leading up to this moment.

With that in mind, it's very important that players understand the steps necessary to unlock the endings in Silent Hill 2 Remake - that way you can pick which one you want and aim for it early on, using all the steps in our spoiler-free guide and walkthrough.

All Endings in Silent Hill 2 Remake

There are 8 possible endings to the Silent Hill 2 Remake, all of which we've laid out below, as well as whether you'll be able to unlock them on New Game Plus or your first playthrough.

As mentioned, the last two of these - "Bliss" and "Stillness" - are unique additions to the Remake, and did not appear in the original game. However, all the others are recreations of possible endings in the 2001 version.

The first time around, 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, we'll go through the requirements to unlock them all, without spoiling what those endings actually include.

How do the endings in Silent Hill 2 Remake work?

It's worth explaining that many of the endings in Silent Hill 2 work on a behind-the-scenes points system, or at least something similar to that idea. The Remake is constantly judging your actions in-game, with the idea being that the game is trying to work out how James is feeling about himself and the situation 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), whereas others are based on how much he works to defend himself physically or how much self-preservation he exhibits. 

It can be pretty hard to read and is always a little esoteric, but we'll lay out the basic steps that are being measured, and what they contribute to, below.

How to get the Silent Hill 2 Remake Leave ending

The "Leave" ending in Silent Hill 2 is achieved by completing the game normally (it does not have to be NG+), under the following conditions.

• Heal frequently throughout the game 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 also seeming uninterested in focusing on 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 Remake In Water ending

The "In Water" ending in Silent Hill 2 is achieved by completing the game normally (it does not have to be NG+), under the following conditions.

• Heal yourself rarely throughout the game 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 and self-regard, while also focusing on Mary - but NOT Maria.

How to get the Silent Hill 2 Remake Maria ending

The "Maria" ending in Silent Hill 2 is achieved by completing the game normally (it does not have to be NG+), under the following conditions.

• Heal frequently throughout the game 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 her in Rosewood Park, follow her obediently and DO NOT deviate from the pathways she suggests until you reach the hospital (this means don't go looking for the Silent Hill 2 Remake Garage Jack lever).

The goal here is to show high self-preservation (James wants to live), while also making Maria look like 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 Rebirth ending can only be achieved on New Game Plus, and rather than something you do through choices, this time you have to find four special items to add to your inventory throughout the game.

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 these four items, completing the main story will automatically trigger the "Rebirth" ending, regardless of what 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 "Dog" ending in Silent Hill 2 Remake is also specific to New Game Plus, and is unlocked through the following means:

1. Find the Broken Key Part 1. This is 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. Find the Broken Key Part 2. 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 second key part is there.

1. Combine both key parts in your inventory 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 Remake UFO ending

Another ending specific to NG+, the UFO ending in the Silent Hill 2 Remake is achieved through the following method:

1. Get the Blue Gem. This is in 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 the following locations throughout the game (there'll be a symbol on an eye drawn somewhere nearby to mark you're in the right spot):

• The Rooftop of Saul Street Apartments (while fixing the Jukebox)
• The Pier to the Northwest of Rosewood Park after meeting Maria.
• The dock at the South of LakeView Gardens you moor at after rowing over the lake.
• 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.

How to get the Silent Hill 2 Remake Bliss ending

A new ending created specifically for the Remake, the "Bliss" ending is 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 Remake Stillness ending

The last ending, "Stillness" is another of the two new finales concocted specifically for the Remake of Silent Hill 2, and specific to 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 Silent Hill 2 Remake best ending?

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

The Silent Hill 2 Remake has no best ending as we understand it, it's largely a matter of opinion, and harder to break up into black and white "good/bad" binaries. Still, some endings do seem darker than others: 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.

The best ending is largely a matter of opinion - and what ultimate fate you think James deserves for what he did. Discarding the comedic UFO and Dog endings, in some finales he lets go of his guilt, but in those he can't, James ends up either destroying himself or potentially going down bleak paths (such as the occult resurrection in the "Rebirth" ending). There is no truly clean ending to a game as complex as Silent Hill 2 - and there probably shouldn't be.

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