Silent Hill games have always been known for their countless endings, all seen as valid endings without clear divisions between what may constitute a good or bad ending, leaving much of that interpretation up to you.
This was particularly true in Silent Hill 2, with multiple endings achievable in the first playthrough. The game was also keen on throwing some comedic endings your way. Fortunately, all these endings return in Silent Hill 2 Remake, along with some new additions from Bloober Team. Here’s how to obtain them all.
It’s important to note that tracking endings in Silent Hill 2 is done through your overall account, not a single save file. This means you can easily reload a previous save file to meet the conditions for another ending without needing to replay the entire game.
Maria Ending
The final of the trio of original endings, Maria’s ending is often considered the hardest to achieve due to the limited time you spend with her and ensuring you do enough positive actions when she’s near you. To reach this ending, you’ll need to do everything Maria says, such as:
- Avoid examining Maria’s letter and photo, as well as Angela’s knife.
- When entering the Employees Elevator in Lakeview, put away your personal belongings along with everything else.
- Stay close to Maria at all times, and open any locked doors as soon as you enter an area without her.
- Don’t shine your flashlight in her face.
- Avoid causing her any harm, and try to minimize James’ exposure as well.
- Talk to her at various optional points, such as at Baldwin Mansion, after collecting the bracelets in Brookhaven, and in the labyrinth.
- Don’t listen to the full conversation in the long hallway leading to the final boss.
- Completing the Leave or In Water endings will add a point toward the Maria Ending.
With this ending, James fails to ever acknowledge Maria and instead surrenders to the idealized version he created in Maria. Thus, Maria fights as a final boss instead (though the fight is otherwise identical), with James reviving Maria to love her and mistreat her in the same way he did the woman she was modeled after.
It is noted that the location Maria wakes up in, Heaven’s Night club, is a reference to how the scenario for Born From A Wish begins in the original Silent Hill 2 game.
Rebirth Ending
This ending can only be achieved in a New Game Plus and includes nods to the original Silent Hill as well as broader storytelling. In this ending, James learns there is a way to bring Maria back to life through ancient rituals and there is no need to regret her death at all.
To achieve this ending, you need to collect four key items throughout the game. All four items are required to activate the ending and have no other effect otherwise. Here’s where to find each item:
The Book of Crimson Ceremony can be found for the first time in Silent Hill Cemetery. It is placed on a grave in the north next to the beach.
The second item, White Chrism, can be found on the table by the entrance of Baldwin Mansion, accessible as soon as you open the gate at Jack’s Inn in Western South Vale.
The third item, Obsidian Goblet, is located in the Historical Society when you are in the Otherworld version of South Vale. It is on the wall opposite Pyramid Head’s giant painting in the main hall. When you first play, you’ll find a picture of the Obsidian Goblet here, which has now been removed to reveal the actual Obsidian Goblet.
The fourth and final item, Book of Lost Memories, is located in the Lost and Found area in Lakeview Hotel. Make sure not to pick this item up unless you are certain you want the Rebirth ending, as it will restrict you to the other three endings of the base game once picked up.
With all four items at your disposal, you only need to complete the game normally, triggering the Rebirth ending after defeating Maria. The cinematic scene before the start of the fight is unique, so make sure not to skip it.
With the four items for the Rebirth ending in hand, it will replace all other endings except the Stillness ending.
Dog Ending
This ending is one of the most whimsical and has cemented itself as one of Silent Hill 2’s most famous endings, despite the clear contradistinction with the game’s themes. But who cares, you get to see a dog.
To achieve the Dog ending, it’s very simple. You need to collect two parts of a key, combine them, and then enter the Observation Deck on the third floor of Lakeview Hotel. Nice and easy. Here’s where to find each piece of the key.
The first part of the key can be found in a pet shop next to Big Jay’s directly in Eastern South Vale. In the base game, this building is closed, while the door is open wide in New Game Plus.
The second part of the key can be found in Western South Vale after opening the gate past Jack’s Inn. It is on the north side of Katz Street behind a newly added fence that you can walk through with a dog bone on it. Walk over to the dog house at the back to pick up the broken second part of the key, and combine them to get the complete key.
Now all you have to do is open the Observation Room on the third floor of Lakeview Hotel to see the real mastermind behind the events that have been disturbing James all this time.
While James speaks in Japanese in the original version of the game for this ending, he speaks in Polish in this version as a nod to the Polish-based development team, Bloober Team.
