The reason Laura was so nonchalant about locking you in a room with a monster is because she has no trauma for silent hill to draw from (she’s 8, after all). To her, this mindscrew of a town is just a bunch of vacant buildings, and James is swinging pipes at empty space like a goober.
The reason is James, Angela, And Eddie all have committed a murder or 2. Silent Hill, the true "villain" of the game is there to punish murderers. Laura my be bratty, but ultimately an innocent 8 year old girl.
@@fnkevin6307 silent hill doesn't "punish" murderers. they punish themselves. silent hill just manifests their guilt into waking nightmares. Angela was innocent she just defended herself. but because of the constant r*** and abuse she was gaslit into thinking that she was bad and it was all her fault so silent hill manifests her guilt
I was mainly messing around during that segment, I think for Laura as a character not only is it the lack of emotions Silent Hill can use against her, but also her general innocence/blissful ignorance of life because she's so young, despite being amazingly self-sustaining and whatnot for her age. Great insight and thanks for watching! - Jack
I think we should get 2 dlc for the remake, born from a wish, and brought by her wish?? Idk but I’d like to see a 2 hour dlc of Laura’s perspective, would be new and something that people have been speculating about for almost 25 years!
One thing i noticed during the abstract daddy fight was the tight spaces you could shimmy into. They had children's drawings and a teddy bear on the floor, and when in these small spaces abstract daddy couldnt attack you and it was completely silent. My interpretation was that this was Angela's safe space as a child, crossing over into James' psyche and allowing him to take a breather during the fight. It adds so much depth to her character and the fight in general, definitely my favorite boss of the game, the use of environment was phenomenal.
I had an entire segment written about Angela's closet, for sure it's her escape and it's Silent Hill using that against her (considering the fight takes place inside of her Otherworld/nightmare, too). I love that fight and think it's so heavy, but they nailed it. Definitely my favorite fight in the game - Jack
Pyramid Head isn't a stalker because he is actually there to help James deal with his actions and guilt, not to harm him. He doesn't stalk James because he spends most of the time fighting the other monsters spawned by James' psyche. Pyramid Head is still a monster of James' creation though so he gets influenced when James is at his lowest and momentarily act out against James. Making Pyramid Head a stalker type enemy would be antithetical to the whole plot reason for Pyramid Head being in the game. Which is also why so many old school fans was annoyed at Pyramid Head being in movies and games not featuring James. PH is James' messed up "guardian angel." Maria and the other monsters of Silent Hill tries to stop James from rediscovering the truth, Pyramid Head tries to help James find it.
This is a really cool comment, I never realized that's why Pyramid Head kills those other monsters. This is such an amazing and in-depth description, just a heads up I'm about to make a video about the lore of each monster/boss in Silent Hill 2, I'm gonna use this comment in the Pyramid Head segment. Such an amazing explanation, thank you so much and thanks for watching! - Jack
@@papafrita3645 In sh2 it seems otherwise, I think after SH1 it takes on its own mind, but keeps Alessas goal in a way maybe? It has noone controlling it and chills out to laura and after james comes to terms etc. it chills out then too.
Except it shows that Pyramid Head is what the executioner of Silent Hill looked like, if we used the historical museum as evidence, and the reason why he means more to James is because when he visited the town with Mary 3 years ago he remembered that visit and the photo.
Eddie boss fight was my favorite. It was like a cat and mouse, especially on hard mode it really shines. Man, I swear the last entire half of this game is nonstop edge of your seat thrills. This is honestly one of the greatest games ever made in my opinion. *Also I disagree with the bottom three as I don’t consider chases “boss fights.” Good list though
Yeah, Eddie is incredible. Maybe the most immersed I've ever been fighting a horror boss he scared the hell out of me Regarding the first three entries, a few other comments have already said this too. My thought process was that, well for one I just wanted to see what would happen during the game if I fought them out of curiosity, but relating to this list, I'd get a lot more comments asking where they were had I not counted them versus just adding them even if they don't count as "actual" bosses. Thanks for watching! - Jack
When James hides in a closet, Pyramid Head is trying to kill the mannequins because that's what he is doing most of the time. You can find giant slashes in some walls throughout the game because he was actively fighting the enemies in James' path, trying to clear it out for him to find the truth. When james shoots him inside the locker, PH doesn't walk away because he was wounded or scared, but because as James refused to face him , thus his guilt, and cowered in fear, PH just went back to his duties, evident by the multiple slashes in the walls and dead enemies in the following rooms. On the other side of the spectrum, there's Maria, always trying to gaslight James and keep him from continuing forward to find the truth. When they first meet, just as when James is thinking about the special place, he starts looking at the direction of the Lakeview Hotel, even seeing the light he follows while rowing the boat later in the game. Just as he is about to put things together, Maria puts herself in front of the light and interrupts his thought process, guiding him to her bar, where she tries to get him drunk to stop his journey. The story she tells at the statue is also very insightful. In her version, she says that the rower was lost at sea because the light from the woman was blown out by the wind, which could be symbolism for her death. The real story, found at the historical society, tells that the rower got lost at sea because he chose to follow the moonlight, the wrong light, instead of his lover's, this being symbolism for James being lost forever if he chooses to follow Maria. Pyramid Head killing Maria, in a way, could be imterpreted as a twisted guardian angel figure killing the devil trying to take it's protectee's soul and guide him to a wrong path.
Finding out you can shoot the hanging hand during the flesh lips fight to drop him to the floor for a melee attack has to be one of the coolest details I’ve seen in any boss fight. Definitely my favorite fight of the game!
@@Cytonox when he drops from the ceiling, you can see him holding on to a support above him with one of his hands. If you shoot it, he’ll drop to the ground and be mostly defenseless while you swing away at him. Not sure if this also happens if you just shoot him, but hitting him with melee attacks in that state also causes his cage to break apart a little bit at a time to form the limbs he attacks with in the final phase!
I really enjoyed this video! You could tell from your commentary how much the game resonated with you, and how much of a horror fan you are. You were also respectful to the original SH2 while also giving Bloober their deserved credit for how they improved the bosses. Great video, dude!! For the record, I’m in full agreement that Abstract Daddy is my favorite boss fight in a survival horror game ever. The things that really made it stand out to me were the ways that James interacted with the set. The way he runs around mimicked the way that Angela would’ve had to run from her father. You can hide in places she would’ve hidden; the little cubby with the teddy bear and newspapers broke my heart. It *feels* like the player is Angela, experiencing her nightmare. Even things like the Daddy appearing in the doorway, illuminated from the back, are things that Angela went through. I had to take a breather after that fight. It left me emotionally drained in a way that I didn’t think was possible for a video game boss
Thanks so much! I agree fully. Abstract Daddy was the most emotionally immersive boss I’ve ever fought, and it was genuinely terrifying. I really appreciate your comment and thanks for watching!
I plan to pick this up at some point and I've heard this one especially sucks to get spoiled for, so I'm just gonna let this play while my headphones are off just so you guys can get that watch time. Glad to hear the game turned out great, everyone seemed skeptical of it before it came out
I actually got pyramid head glitched in the sanctum, he got stuck on the inside beds and i think still was when i got back. Also, Eddies boss fight genuinely terrified me in this the first time, love it.
I finished my first playthrough last night. First time I ever played a Silent Hill game myself, and I decided to pick the hard difficulty because I wanted the experience to be as survival horror as possible, and it definitely helped. The double pyramid head fight was by FAR my favorite in the entire game, which is surprising because a gank in a small arena in a game such as this could’ve been an absolute disaster, but they did a fantastic job. So much so that the fight against Maria was very lackluster in comparison. It wasn’t bad or too easy, mind you, I just couldn’t help but miss the double pyramid head fight whilst I was shooting at Maria, wishing that they would’ve been the final boss fight instead. The Abstract Daddy fight was very easy in terms of gameplay, but the atmosphere and narrative behind it were absolutely fucking incredible. They did Angela justice.
I think the main reason behind my placement of Abstract Daddy at 1 was because of how rich and frankly horrifying Angela's story is, but on that point, how much (as you said) justice they gave her. It's an awful story that translated amazingly into a tangible emotion and segment as well. I loved pretty much every boss in this game but the double Pyramid Heads were a standout, the moment at the end was probably the most specifically memorable event in the whole game, to me. I also felt Mary was a little lackluster and sort of hurt by the fact that one segment is literally just Flesh Lips, but still a great boss. Thanks for watching!!! - Jack
@@Cytonox I don’t blame you at all for placing Abstract Daddy so high. The only reason why I wouldn’t place him at the very top is simply because the boss fight is way too easy, even on Hard difficulty, although I understand that Bloober likely didn’t mean to make that boss a difficult fight, they only cared about conveying the point they wanted to, and they absolutely succeeded in that task. I really enjoyed your breakdown and list, even if I disagree with some placements. You gained a sub. God bless you
Great video, Jack! It's nice to hear that the Remake handled the sound design excellently, as that's something of a lost art in a lot of games today. Sound design is one of the most important aspects of horror, and it's pivotal to other genres, too. For instance, many stealth games have veered away from relying on sound design in favor of the ability to see enemies through walls. You see this trend in everything from Dishonored and The Batman: Arkham games to The Last of Us. The original Thief duology and Splinter Cell games, on the other hand, made great use of sound design, as you had to pay close attention to the type of flooring you tread. You could run on carpet and grass without being heard, while wooden or stone floors were better crept across. Metal and tile were your worst enemies in those games because guards could often hear you, even if you were crouched. This also allowed you to figure out where enemies were based on their footsteps, and it led to plenty of intense and terrifying moments when you realized they were drawing in on your location. Anyway, I'm enjoying your videos as always and look forward to your future uploads.
I agree with most of what you mentioned on the list. But i would still put the Eddie boss fight as number one. That fight was brutal, forced you to stay on your toes, and if you tried to melee/spam that fight, James is certainly going to die, a lot. For a big guy, Eddie can move fast. The second phase of that fight when the fog sets in and the dead bodies rotate, while trying to find Eddie, that's when the paranoia sets in.
Great video but I really wouldn't count all of those Pyramid Head encounters as boss fights, especially since you can simply outrun and avoid him entirely.
first of all, thanks for watching! i’ve gotten a few comments saying this, and i agree, but figured i’d het a lot comments asking why i didn’t include them versus just putting them in despite them not being genuine “boss fights.” i say it in the beginning, i was realllly on the fence over even including them, but i had enough to say about them that i figured i might as well. thanks for watching!
I've also seen the Spear described as a lighter weapon, as Pyramid Head is a sort of avatar of James's guilt, when Pyramid Head switches to the spear to kill Maria this removes the heavy burden of the great knife, sort of like James killing Mary to remove that burden from his life, if that makes sense
tip for fleshlips, espec. if you are playing on hard and want to save ammo, just run around and dodge as you hear him dropping down, then quickly shoot his hand that hes hanging by, and pipe him until he runs away. even when hes on the ground and starts to poke with those arms, just dodge at the right time and pipe him. second phase just dodge every attack and either shoot him or you can again pipe him to death, but be careful and dont get greedy.
Agreed with Abstract Daddy being the best boss in the game. The original version was just you in a cramped room shooting it till it died, but here they took what it represented and made it more horrifying by several magnitudes by forcing the player to actually live through what Angela probably lived through whenever her father abused her being chased as a small girl in her own home. The rusted pistons sounding like a moan when moving, walking through Angela's safe room, the distorted abusive voice berating Angela, the monster's roars of rage, likely how Angela heard her father whenever he was in a drunken rage. Despite the boss having only 2 moves, the sound and level design elevated it to a whole new level of horror.
Abstract Daddy is definitely one of the most horrifying boss fights I have ever encountered. The ghastly visual design of the boss itself, the claustrophobic arena, the incredibly frightening sound design, and the VERY dark story implications all combine to make a boss that I will NEVER forget. One thing you got wrong about the symbolism of Abstract Daddy’s appearance is that the reason it is two conjoined figures on a bed frame is because it is a manifestation of Angela’s trauma from her father sexually assaulting her on a bed which is a hauntingly dark story beat (even for a game as pessimistic as Silent Hill 2)
I always viewed the Mary fight at the end as Maria as the embodiment of Mary. She’s wants James to love her and want her so she pretends to be what he wants thinking he’d still choose her. But I loved the boss fight shit was so deep
Yeah I kind of briefly said that I only "fought" it out of curiosity, and decided on including it because I figured more people would be annoyed by me not counting it than just adding it as a smaller segment. Thanks for watching! - Jack
It really is amazing how the Abstract Daddy is everyone's number 1 considering the actual boss only has a grab move and a scream. It's the least interesting boss from a technical standpoint. But the Presentation makes it a 10/10.
Nr.9 isn't necessary here. Because you don't have to fight him. Just walk backwards towards those Arms and he'll open the Path for you by getting closer with his Sword, hence repelling those Arms. In the Beginning i fought him too, sidestepped him, when he brought down his Sword for an Attack against me and then ran past him, to get some Distance between him and i. But then i noticed that once he broke through that Wall, simply walking/running backwards from him (towards those Arms) would allow me to avoid his Attack entirely.
I kind of briefly said it in the video that I debated just not counting any of the first three. I know for all you don't have to engage with Pyramid Head at all, but for the sake of curiosity I did and figured I'd get a lot more comments asking why I didn't count those versus just sticking them in the video and counting them, even if they aren't bosses in the purest sense. Thanks for watching! - Jack
Someone correct me if I'm wrong but I recall a video of a prototype where it showed in the original SH2 that Pyramid head was going to wander the town after the hospital but that idea was scrapped. I definitely think this is an idea that should've been revitalized in the remake, even if it's just a random run in and not an entirely scripted segment. I intentionally died to the PH first boss and was disappointed there was no specific animation for dying to the great knife.
I enjoyed all the bosses alot but definitely my favorite fights were double pyramid head, Flesh Lips & Eddie with a honorable mention going to The Mandarin 🔥🔥
Dunno if I'm alone here, but I felt disappointed that the final boss's last phase was basically a reskin of the hospital boss fight. I like that boss the first time, but we didn't need to do it again for the final boss
I dont think abstract daddy anymore is the brother and dad, just the dad and maybe angela, although from her perspective who would be the second person, i guess the brother. Shes not really coy abt her relationship with her father but she never mentions her brother
Laura isnt a lil girl surviving in silent hill, she is actually dead and is a lost soul forever looking for her friend mary in purgatory silent hill basically. When u get to the end and shes explaining when the letter was written she says something about her age and how it was written three years ago and it just didnt add up so yea there u go lol
Well i faced stalker pyra head not long ago on Labyrinth, he did enter his chamber to smack me a few times, i did thought i was safe there myself, turns out not, maybe it bugged out for u? It gave me a fair jumpscare, had to run him in a circle again and re enter to climb the stairs.
I skipped the Mandarin boss lol. I didn't think I was supposed to fight it so I just baited it to the other side of the room and ran over and smashed the wall and got away. I kept waiting for it to show up later and fight me for real but I only found out after I beat the game that I was supposed to actually fight it in that room.
that's really cool, with Abstract Daddy you can also skip some of his segments by just running away. Cool option to save ammo, I guess. Thanks for watching! - Jack
@@paulwoodford1984Lol you have no clue what you’re talking about. This is a game from 2001 remade with modern survival horror conventions and mechanics pioneered by the Resident Evil 2 remake. So you could say Alan Wake 2 is a generic ripoff of that. You’d still be wrong, but you could just as easily say it.
Only real negatives i have about the game are pyramid heads ai in the labyrinth makes him less threatening and the soundtrack is more immersive rather than emotional. Great game with fun new combat.
3:51 The Great Knife isn't actually a sword or knife, it's one half of a scissor blade. The other half is the one James picks up in the Labrynth. Edit: I've always interpreted Mary/Maria's boss design to invoke the anti christ, what with her being upside down and arms outstretched like she's been hung on a cross. It also ties into Maria being created to help James atone for his sins, with her giving her life in the end, albeit unwillingly.
Great comment on Mary! I originally said scissor in my script but replaced it with knife because it's a shorter word and has a bit of better comedic rhythm to it. Either way, great insight! If you don't mind, I'm writing a script right now going over the lore of every enemy/boss in Silent Hill 2, and I'd like to use some of your points about Mary's design (of course, I'll credit you and stuff). Thanks for the comment and for watching!
The 1st and 2nd encounter you're mentioning isn't a bossfight,especially the 2nd🤣 - you just have to walk backwards away from him bc he's just there to help you progress through these weird wall of bodies🤷🏻♂️🤣 Pyramid Head in general isn't there to kill James - he's there to guide him and help him to progress to his own conclusion. Btw,in the last bossfight,you don't fight Mary - it's Maria pretending to be Mary. The only time the last fight is against the real Mary is when she's sitting on the bed,instead of standing at the window. This also signals that you get the Maria ending. Laura isn't an 8 year old who survives in a "zombie town",she's an 8 year old who's roaming around in a normal town,a playtown for kids or even an amusement park,or whatever she's seeing bc there are no monsters and if you listen to what she's saying,you'll understand that. Didn't you understand anything of the story,the characters or the meanings in this game?
I know it's Maria, but by the community it's regarded as "Mary." I even say it during the segment that it's Maria who becomes enraged by James denying her offer to replace Mary, thus the fight. For Laura, I was mainly joking. In another comment similar to yours I already responded to about her existence in the town I made the point that I think her character is somewhat of an inversion to the likes of James or Eddie in that because of her youth (and in turn, innocence/blissful ignorance), Silent Hill has nothing to use against her and she sort of exists as this anomaly in the town that it has no idea how to handle. In a sense, she's more powerful than anybody else in the town because it can't use a Fog World or Otherworld to overpower her. I also said in the video, I didn't really consider the first three entries as bosses but am certain I'd get a lot more comments asking why I didn't count them had I left them out versus just counting them despite them not really being true bosses. Thanks for watching! - Jack
1. Since when does Pyramid Head guard the same hallway in both games. The strange wall hallway does not even exist in the original. He is in the OG in the circular hallway and in a deadend of the flooded area. 2. Abstract Daddy's appearance has nothing to do with how James sees him. Just because Silent Hill has "personal connections" does not make James see it differently. James has nothing to do with this thing. It flat out is Angela's corporeality bleeding into James'. Just like during the staircase scene.
Well according to Masahiro Ito and a few other people from the original, Angela and James do see different versions of Abstract Daddy. Though it's Angela's nightmare, we still experience much of it from James' perspective, most especially the Abstract Daddy. What he sees is his interpretation of Angela's trauma, what Angela sees is, what I guess you could describe as the "true" form of Abstract Daddy, which we will never be able to see nor understand. With the Pyramid Heads, I never said it was the same hallway in the sense of the hallways both being identical to each other, more that Pyramid Head in both games was stuck in the same hallway in the Labyrinth in that game. It's an interesting, subtle narrative touch that I quoted in that segment. Thanks for watching! - Jack
James is seeing something different than Angela. She probably is seeing her dad, while James sees a monster that represents her trauma (he more or less puts two and two together while reading the newspaper outside of the room).
I thought all the boss fights were good, but the two Pyramid heads were my favorite. It was fun to dodge both their attacks and then get some shots in after. It kind of reminded me of dodging in souls games. I hope resident evil implements dodging like this tbh. I know RE3 remake had it, but it was as good as Silent Hill 2.
I agree too I think, especially if they remake RE5 and 6, those games' bosses would be so much fun with a dodge button. Even though it makes the game easier, I think dodging makes them significantly more fun and allows the bosses to be a lot more expansive than otherwise. Silent Hill 2 is one of, if not my favorite remake yet. Thanks for watching!!! - Jack
Small nitpick, but at the end of the game you fight Maria, not Mary. It's an easy mistake to make, but the real Mary appears after you defeat Maria and accept her death and, subsequently, murder.
Yeah but it’s definitely a lower priority compared to some other WIP videos. It does exist tho, I’ve had it open as a tab on my laptop for months lol - Alex
Not gonna lie I never liked the Mary fight, her design is kinda too basic for me, just having her upside down in a cage which feels underwhelming after seeing such great designs as Pyramid Head and Abstract Daddy, also she feels way too similar to Flesh Lips, I wanted them to change her a lot more in the remake but oh well
I agree about the Flesh Lips segment, that was the main reason why she felt a bit underwhelming to me. I think she looks cool but it is an odd design for sure, overall a cool concept and a good boss but I think the ones I placed above her are simply better. Thanks for watching! - Jack
I don't think Silent Hill is evil, it heavily resembles Purgatory, a realm where people not evil for Hell but not good enough for Heaven are purified before they are allowed to enter Heaven. The town is testing people in order to "purify" them, in order for them to conquer their guilt and past
Glad to hear you think different! I think she's a great boss, but gets hurt a bit by her second phase being a direct clone of another fight. Her first and third phases were fun, but I think in general some of the other bosses were a bit more consistent. Thanks for watching! - Jack
I call her Maria in the segment, but it's referred to as "Mary" by the community because for all intents and purposes it's Maria distorting herself in the image of Mary - Jack
@@Kamishi845 The mandarin boss fight caught me off guard, as it was not in the original game. Although, a mini boss fight, he was tough and it was a great little fight overall.
I say in the segment that it's Maria, but the community refers to the fight as Mary because you are fighting Mary, just cosplayed by Maria. Thanks for watching - Jack
As much as i love SH2 og and remake's story, Wukong must be GOTY because the lore of Wukong has so much Buddhist philosophies and symbolism in the lore. (Or maybe im just blinded by nostalgia because i watched 1986 Journey to the west tv series when i was a kid)
@@Slaughter_Hill Yeah because you're not born in China or Vietnam, you have never been told tales of Sun Wukong when you're a kid, and never watched Journey to the West TV series every time you go home after school like us Asians.
@@thanhvunhat6995 and you never murdered your sick wife and repressed the memory out of guilt like us Americans. Different cultures emotionally resonate with different things I guess
@@paulwoodford1984 so generic that it actually feels and plays nothing like a horror game of 2020. Actual looping level design, difficult puzzles, minimal handholding, emotional story, etc
Hello Cytonox my name is Isaiah and I have something important to say to you. God loves you and like any father he wants to help you and keep you safe especially from the devil. But I am not just speaking to you about this I am also talking to your fans about this. God loves us all and he wants us all to be saved not just from ourselves but from the devils clutches. Do not be afraid to come to the Lord for his love is for evreyone Shalom Shalom.
Chuzz
The reason Laura was so nonchalant about locking you in a room with a monster is because she has no trauma for silent hill to draw from (she’s 8, after all). To her, this mindscrew of a town is just a bunch of vacant buildings, and James is swinging pipes at empty space like a goober.
I never really thought about how Laura would see any of them if they actually were to be fighting monsters in front of her. Thats hilarious. 😂
The reason is James, Angela, And Eddie all have committed a murder or 2. Silent Hill, the true "villain" of the game is there to punish murderers. Laura my be bratty, but ultimately an innocent 8 year old girl.
@@fnkevin6307 silent hill doesn't "punish" murderers. they punish themselves. silent hill just manifests their guilt into waking nightmares. Angela was innocent she just defended herself. but because of the constant r*** and abuse she was gaslit into thinking that she was bad and it was all her fault so silent hill manifests her guilt
I was mainly messing around during that segment, I think for Laura as a character not only is it the lack of emotions Silent Hill can use against her, but also her general innocence/blissful ignorance of life because she's so young, despite being amazingly self-sustaining and whatnot for her age. Great insight and thanks for watching! - Jack
I think we should get 2 dlc for the remake, born from a wish, and brought by her wish?? Idk but I’d like to see a 2 hour dlc of Laura’s perspective, would be new and something that people have been speculating about for almost 25 years!
One thing i noticed during the abstract daddy fight was the tight spaces you could shimmy into. They had children's drawings and a teddy bear on the floor, and when in these small spaces abstract daddy couldnt attack you and it was completely silent. My interpretation was that this was Angela's safe space as a child, crossing over into James' psyche and allowing him to take a breather during the fight. It adds so much depth to her character and the fight in general, definitely my favorite boss of the game, the use of environment was phenomenal.
I had an entire segment written about Angela's closet, for sure it's her escape and it's Silent Hill using that against her (considering the fight takes place inside of her Otherworld/nightmare, too). I love that fight and think it's so heavy, but they nailed it. Definitely my favorite fight in the game - Jack
Pyramid Head isn't a stalker because he is actually there to help James deal with his actions and guilt, not to harm him. He doesn't stalk James because he spends most of the time fighting the other monsters spawned by James' psyche. Pyramid Head is still a monster of James' creation though so he gets influenced when James is at his lowest and momentarily act out against James.
Making Pyramid Head a stalker type enemy would be antithetical to the whole plot reason for Pyramid Head being in the game. Which is also why so many old school fans was annoyed at Pyramid Head being in movies and games not featuring James. PH is James' messed up "guardian angel."
Maria and the other monsters of Silent Hill tries to stop James from rediscovering the truth, Pyramid Head tries to help James find it.
This is a really cool comment, I never realized that's why Pyramid Head kills those other monsters. This is such an amazing and in-depth description, just a heads up I'm about to make a video about the lore of each monster/boss in Silent Hill 2, I'm gonna use this comment in the Pyramid Head segment. Such an amazing explanation, thank you so much and thanks for watching! - Jack
cool THEORY, but i hate it, since the town of Silent Hill isn't supposed to be your personal psychiatrist
@@papafrita3645 In sh2 it seems otherwise, I think after SH1 it takes on its own mind, but keeps Alessas goal in a way maybe? It has noone controlling it and chills out to laura and after james comes to terms etc. it chills out then too.
Except it shows that Pyramid Head is what the executioner of Silent Hill looked like, if we used the historical museum as evidence, and the reason why he means more to James is because when he visited the town with Mary 3 years ago he remembered that visit and the photo.
Eddie boss fight was my favorite. It was like a cat and mouse, especially on hard mode it really shines. Man, I swear the last entire half of this game is nonstop edge of your seat thrills. This is honestly one of the greatest games ever made in my opinion.
*Also I disagree with the bottom three as I don’t consider chases “boss fights.” Good list though
Yeah, Eddie is incredible. Maybe the most immersed I've ever been fighting a horror boss he scared the hell out of me
Regarding the first three entries, a few other comments have already said this too. My thought process was that, well for one I just wanted to see what would happen during the game if I fought them out of curiosity, but relating to this list, I'd get a lot more comments asking where they were had I not counted them versus just adding them even if they don't count as "actual" bosses. Thanks for watching! - Jack
When James hides in a closet, Pyramid Head is trying to kill the mannequins because that's what he is doing most of the time. You can find giant slashes in some walls throughout the game because he was actively fighting the enemies in James' path, trying to clear it out for him to find the truth. When james shoots him inside the locker, PH doesn't walk away because he was wounded or scared, but because as James refused to face him , thus his guilt, and cowered in fear, PH just went back to his duties, evident by the multiple slashes in the walls and dead enemies in the following rooms.
On the other side of the spectrum, there's Maria, always trying to gaslight James and keep him from continuing forward to find the truth. When they first meet, just as when James is thinking about the special place, he starts looking at the direction of the Lakeview Hotel, even seeing the light he follows while rowing the boat later in the game. Just as he is about to put things together, Maria puts herself in front of the light and interrupts his thought process, guiding him to her bar, where she tries to get him drunk to stop his journey.
The story she tells at the statue is also very insightful. In her version, she says that the rower was lost at sea because the light from the woman was blown out by the wind, which could be symbolism for her death. The real story, found at the historical society, tells that the rower got lost at sea because he chose to follow the moonlight, the wrong light, instead of his lover's, this being symbolism for James being lost forever if he chooses to follow Maria.
Pyramid Head killing Maria, in a way, could be imterpreted as a twisted guardian angel figure killing the devil trying to take it's protectee's soul and guide him to a wrong path.
love how this explores why each enemy is haunting james in a symbolic sense
Pretty impressive getting a top 10 list out of a game with 7 boss fights.
thanks for watching!
Finding out you can shoot the hanging hand during the flesh lips fight to drop him to the floor for a melee attack has to be one of the coolest details I’ve seen in any boss fight. Definitely my favorite fight of the game!
what’s his hanging hand? that sounds really cool
@@Cytonox when he drops from the ceiling, you can see him holding on to a support above him with one of his hands. If you shoot it, he’ll drop to the ground and be mostly defenseless while you swing away at him. Not sure if this also happens if you just shoot him, but hitting him with melee attacks in that state also causes his cage to break apart a little bit at a time to form the limbs he attacks with in the final phase!
@@Cytonox hes talking about the Flesh Lips boss fight in the hospital
I really enjoyed this video! You could tell from your commentary how much the game resonated with you, and how much of a horror fan you are. You were also respectful to the original SH2 while also giving Bloober their deserved credit for how they improved the bosses. Great video, dude!!
For the record, I’m in full agreement that Abstract Daddy is my favorite boss fight in a survival horror game ever. The things that really made it stand out to me were the ways that James interacted with the set. The way he runs around mimicked the way that Angela would’ve had to run from her father. You can hide in places she would’ve hidden; the little cubby with the teddy bear and newspapers broke my heart. It *feels* like the player is Angela, experiencing her nightmare. Even things like the Daddy appearing in the doorway, illuminated from the back, are things that Angela went through. I had to take a breather after that fight. It left me emotionally drained in a way that I didn’t think was possible for a video game boss
Thanks so much! I agree fully. Abstract Daddy was the most emotionally immersive boss I’ve ever fought, and it was genuinely terrifying. I really appreciate your comment and thanks for watching!
I plan to pick this up at some point and I've heard this one especially sucks to get spoiled for, so I'm just gonna let this play while my headphones are off just so you guys can get that watch time. Glad to hear the game turned out great, everyone seemed skeptical of it before it came out
definitely avoid spoilers, i was so happy this game wasn’t spoiled for me. definitely get it
I actually got pyramid head glitched in the sanctum, he got stuck on the inside beds and i think still was when i got back.
Also, Eddies boss fight genuinely terrified me in this the first time, love it.
I finished my first playthrough last night. First time I ever played a Silent Hill game myself, and I decided to pick the hard difficulty because I wanted the experience to be as survival horror as possible, and it definitely helped. The double pyramid head fight was by FAR my favorite in the entire game, which is surprising because a gank in a small arena in a game such as this could’ve been an absolute disaster, but they did a fantastic job. So much so that the fight against Maria was very lackluster in comparison. It wasn’t bad or too easy, mind you, I just couldn’t help but miss the double pyramid head fight whilst I was shooting at Maria, wishing that they would’ve been the final boss fight instead.
The Abstract Daddy fight was very easy in terms of gameplay, but the atmosphere and narrative behind it were absolutely fucking incredible. They did Angela justice.
I think the main reason behind my placement of Abstract Daddy at 1 was because of how rich and frankly horrifying Angela's story is, but on that point, how much (as you said) justice they gave her. It's an awful story that translated amazingly into a tangible emotion and segment as well. I loved pretty much every boss in this game but the double Pyramid Heads were a standout, the moment at the end was probably the most specifically memorable event in the whole game, to me. I also felt Mary was a little lackluster and sort of hurt by the fact that one segment is literally just Flesh Lips, but still a great boss. Thanks for watching!!! - Jack
@@Cytonox I don’t blame you at all for placing Abstract Daddy so high. The only reason why I wouldn’t place him at the very top is simply because the boss fight is way too easy, even on Hard difficulty, although I understand that Bloober likely didn’t mean to make that boss a difficult fight, they only cared about conveying the point they wanted to, and they absolutely succeeded in that task. I really enjoyed your breakdown and list, even if I disagree with some placements. You gained a sub. God bless you
Featuring our good friends Pyramid head, Pyramid head, Pyramid head, his brother Pyramid head, and Pyramid head.
Great video, Jack! It's nice to hear that the Remake handled the sound design excellently, as that's something of a lost art in a lot of games today. Sound design is one of the most important aspects of horror, and it's pivotal to other genres, too. For instance, many stealth games have veered away from relying on sound design in favor of the ability to see enemies through walls. You see this trend in everything from Dishonored and The Batman: Arkham games to The Last of Us. The original Thief duology and Splinter Cell games, on the other hand, made great use of sound design, as you had to pay close attention to the type of flooring you tread. You could run on carpet and grass without being heard, while wooden or stone floors were better crept across. Metal and tile were your worst enemies in those games because guards could often hear you, even if you were crouched. This also allowed you to figure out where enemies were based on their footsteps, and it led to plenty of intense and terrifying moments when you realized they were drawing in on your location.
Anyway, I'm enjoying your videos as always and look forward to your future uploads.
I agree with most of what you mentioned on the list. But i would still put the Eddie boss fight as number one. That fight was brutal, forced you to stay on your toes, and if you tried to melee/spam that fight, James is certainly going to die, a lot. For a big guy, Eddie can move fast. The second phase of that fight when the fog sets in and the dead bodies rotate, while trying to find Eddie, that's when the paranoia sets in.
Great video but I really wouldn't count all of those Pyramid Head encounters as boss fights, especially since you can simply outrun and avoid him entirely.
first of all, thanks for watching! i’ve gotten a few comments saying this, and i agree, but figured i’d het a lot comments asking why i didn’t include them versus just putting them in despite them not being genuine “boss fights.” i say it in the beginning, i was realllly on the fence over even including them, but i had enough to say about them that i figured i might as well. thanks for watching!
3:44 pretty sure it’s meant to be like the holy lance that was used to stab Jesus. Maria is the sacrifice that leads towards James’ salvation.
nice catch that's really cool
I've also seen the Spear described as a lighter weapon, as Pyramid Head is a sort of avatar of James's guilt, when Pyramid Head switches to the spear to kill Maria this removes the heavy burden of the great knife, sort of like James killing Mary to remove that burden from his life, if that makes sense
tip for fleshlips, espec. if you are playing on hard and want to save ammo, just run around and dodge as you hear him dropping down, then quickly shoot his hand that hes hanging by, and pipe him until he runs away. even when hes on the ground and starts to poke with those arms, just dodge at the right time and pipe him. second phase just dodge every attack and either shoot him or you can again pipe him to death, but be careful and dont get greedy.
Hahaha I heard gank and laughed! I adored this game. 3 amazing playthroughs. Platinum achieved. Will play it again in the future for the vibes!
W list personally the two pyramid heads were my favorite boss espiecially because of the soundtrack.
Agreed with Abstract Daddy being the best boss in the game. The original version was just you in a cramped room shooting it till it died, but here they took what it represented and made it more horrifying by several magnitudes by forcing the player to actually live through what Angela probably lived through whenever her father abused her being chased as a small girl in her own home. The rusted pistons sounding like a moan when moving, walking through Angela's safe room, the distorted abusive voice berating Angela, the monster's roars of rage, likely how Angela heard her father whenever he was in a drunken rage. Despite the boss having only 2 moves, the sound and level design elevated it to a whole new level of horror.
Abstract Daddy is definitely one of the most horrifying boss fights I have ever encountered. The ghastly visual design of the boss itself, the claustrophobic arena, the incredibly frightening sound design, and the VERY dark story implications all combine to make a boss that I will NEVER forget.
One thing you got wrong about the symbolism of Abstract Daddy’s appearance is that the reason it is two conjoined figures on a bed frame is because it is a manifestation of Angela’s trauma from her father sexually assaulting her on a bed which is a hauntingly dark story beat (even for a game as pessimistic as Silent Hill 2)
I always viewed the Mary fight at the end as Maria as the embodiment of Mary. She’s wants James to love her and want her so she pretends to be what he wants thinking he’d still choose her. But I loved the boss fight shit was so deep
In the labyrinth "fight" you can just walk backwards into the arms and it ends in like 30 seconds
Yeah I kind of briefly said that I only "fought" it out of curiosity, and decided on including it because I figured more people would be annoyed by me not counting it than just adding it as a smaller segment. Thanks for watching! - Jack
You don't even have to fight pyramid in the final Labyrinth hallway and waste ammo, just run through the wall of bodies
It really is amazing how the Abstract Daddy is everyone's number 1 considering the actual boss only has a grab move and a scream. It's the least interesting boss from a technical standpoint.
But the Presentation makes it a 10/10.
Nr.9 isn't necessary here. Because you don't have to fight him. Just walk backwards towards those Arms and he'll open the Path for you by getting closer with his Sword, hence repelling those Arms. In the Beginning i fought him too, sidestepped him, when he brought down his Sword for an Attack against me and then ran past him, to get some Distance between him and i. But then i noticed that once he broke through that Wall, simply walking/running backwards from him (towards those Arms) would allow me to avoid his Attack entirely.
I kind of briefly said it in the video that I debated just not counting any of the first three. I know for all you don't have to engage with Pyramid Head at all, but for the sake of curiosity I did and figured I'd get a lot more comments asking why I didn't count those versus just sticking them in the video and counting them, even if they aren't bosses in the purest sense. Thanks for watching! - Jack
Kind sirs, I am once again writing to ask that you continue the mega man robot master series. I absolutely loved it
I have all of Mega Man 5's levels recorded....the day shall come!
@@Cytonox cool! Should be a funny one as that one was notably bad in my opinion
Someone correct me if I'm wrong but I recall a video of a prototype where it showed in the original SH2 that Pyramid head was going to wander the town after the hospital but that idea was scrapped. I definitely think this is an idea that should've been revitalized in the remake, even if it's just a random run in and not an entirely scripted segment.
I intentionally died to the PH first boss and was disappointed there was no specific animation for dying to the great knife.
Commenting to boost algorithm
laura just though she locked james in a room. she doesnt see monsters.
I enjoyed all the bosses alot but definitely my favorite fights were double pyramid head, Flesh Lips & Eddie with a honorable mention going to The Mandarin 🔥🔥
For stalker pyramid head, in my play through, he killed me in the sanctum my first time 😅
Dunno if I'm alone here, but I felt disappointed that the final boss's last phase was basically a reskin of the hospital boss fight. I like that boss the first time, but we didn't need to do it again for the final boss
You never played the original I see... It's not man
@@moon-berserker8870 What? I've beaten the original, like, 30 times lol. Dunno why you'd assume that based on what I said
I dont think abstract daddy anymore is the brother and dad, just the dad and maybe angela, although from her perspective who would be the second person, i guess the brother. Shes not really coy abt her relationship with her father but she never mentions her brother
Laura isnt a lil girl surviving in silent hill, she is actually dead and is a lost soul forever looking for her friend mary in purgatory silent hill basically. When u get to the end and shes explaining when the letter was written she says something about her age and how it was written three years ago and it just didnt add up so yea there u go lol
Well i faced stalker pyra head not long ago on Labyrinth, he did enter his chamber to smack me a few times, i did thought i was safe there myself, turns out not, maybe it bugged out for u? It gave me a fair jumpscare, had to run him in a circle again and re enter to climb the stairs.
I skipped the Mandarin boss lol. I didn't think I was supposed to fight it so I just baited it to the other side of the room and ran over and smashed the wall and got away. I kept waiting for it to show up later and fight me for real but I only found out after I beat the game that I was supposed to actually fight it in that room.
that's really cool, with Abstract Daddy you can also skip some of his segments by just running away. Cool option to save ammo, I guess. Thanks for watching! - Jack
“Mary’s box” 💀💀💀💀💀
Did either of you play Alan wake 2? Cause that would definitely be one of the great post 2010s survival horrors imo
This generic game is basically y Alan wake. It’s the same crap.
@@paulwoodford1984Lol you have no clue what you’re talking about. This is a game from 2001 remade with modern survival horror conventions and mechanics pioneered by the Resident Evil 2 remake. So you could say Alan Wake 2 is a generic ripoff of that. You’d still be wrong, but you could just as easily say it.
@@Gmanawesomeness Oh and Alan Wake 2 devs shake their hands with Sweet Baby's wokeness.
@@paulwoodford1984I would consider SH2’s absolute insane story and design anything but generic. Are you referring to the combat/movement?
Only real negatives i have about the game are pyramid heads ai in the labyrinth makes him less threatening and the soundtrack is more immersive rather than emotional. Great game with fun new combat.
3:51 The Great Knife isn't actually a sword or knife, it's one half of a scissor blade. The other half is the one James picks up in the Labrynth.
Edit: I've always interpreted Mary/Maria's boss design to invoke the anti christ, what with her being upside down and arms outstretched like she's been hung on a cross. It also ties into Maria being created to help James atone for his sins, with her giving her life in the end, albeit unwillingly.
Great comment on Mary! I originally said scissor in my script but replaced it with knife because it's a shorter word and has a bit of better comedic rhythm to it. Either way, great insight! If you don't mind, I'm writing a script right now going over the lore of every enemy/boss in Silent Hill 2, and I'd like to use some of your points about Mary's design (of course, I'll credit you and stuff). Thanks for the comment and for watching!
@@Cytonox Yeah, go for it
The 1st and 2nd encounter you're mentioning isn't a bossfight,especially the 2nd🤣 - you just have to walk backwards away from him bc he's just there to help you progress through these weird wall of bodies🤷🏻♂️🤣
Pyramid Head in general isn't there to kill James - he's there to guide him and help him to progress to his own conclusion.
Btw,in the last bossfight,you don't fight Mary - it's Maria pretending to be Mary. The only time the last fight is against the real Mary is when she's sitting on the bed,instead of standing at the window. This also signals that you get the Maria ending.
Laura isn't an 8 year old who survives in a "zombie town",she's an 8 year old who's roaming around in a normal town,a playtown for kids or even an amusement park,or whatever she's seeing bc there are no monsters and if you listen to what she's saying,you'll understand that. Didn't you understand anything of the story,the characters or the meanings in this game?
I know it's Maria, but by the community it's regarded as "Mary." I even say it during the segment that it's Maria who becomes enraged by James denying her offer to replace Mary, thus the fight. For Laura, I was mainly joking. In another comment similar to yours I already responded to about her existence in the town I made the point that I think her character is somewhat of an inversion to the likes of James or Eddie in that because of her youth (and in turn, innocence/blissful ignorance), Silent Hill has nothing to use against her and she sort of exists as this anomaly in the town that it has no idea how to handle. In a sense, she's more powerful than anybody else in the town because it can't use a Fog World or Otherworld to overpower her. I also said in the video, I didn't really consider the first three entries as bosses but am certain I'd get a lot more comments asking why I didn't count them had I left them out versus just counting them despite them not really being true bosses. Thanks for watching! - Jack
1. Since when does Pyramid Head guard the same hallway in both games. The strange wall hallway does not even exist in the original. He is in the OG in the circular hallway and in a deadend of the flooded area.
2. Abstract Daddy's appearance has nothing to do with how James sees him. Just because Silent Hill has "personal connections" does not make James see it differently. James has nothing to do with this thing. It flat out is Angela's corporeality bleeding into James'. Just like during the staircase scene.
Well according to Masahiro Ito and a few other people from the original, Angela and James do see different versions of Abstract Daddy. Though it's Angela's nightmare, we still experience much of it from James' perspective, most especially the Abstract Daddy. What he sees is his interpretation of Angela's trauma, what Angela sees is, what I guess you could describe as the "true" form of Abstract Daddy, which we will never be able to see nor understand.
With the Pyramid Heads, I never said it was the same hallway in the sense of the hallways both being identical to each other, more that Pyramid Head in both games was stuck in the same hallway in the Labyrinth in that game. It's an interesting, subtle narrative touch that I quoted in that segment. Thanks for watching! - Jack
James is seeing something different than Angela. She probably is seeing her dad, while James sees a monster that represents her trauma (he more or less puts two and two together while reading the newspaper outside of the room).
Where in the OG game does pyramid head attack you in the hallway in the labyrinth?
What exactly is the "G1" boss he references like a million times?
I googled it but came up with nothing.
William birkin phase 1 re 2 remake
@@tristenatorplaysgames6833 thank you so much!!
I think it's the first William Birkin fight in RE2
William Birkin phase 1from Resident Evil 2. A lot of this game's fights do take inspiration from it, it's a fun boss
thanks for watching - Jack
I thought all the boss fights were good, but the two Pyramid heads were my favorite. It was fun to dodge both their attacks and then get some shots in after. It kind of reminded me of dodging in souls games. I hope resident evil implements dodging like this tbh. I know RE3 remake had it, but it was as good as Silent Hill 2.
I agree too I think, especially if they remake RE5 and 6, those games' bosses would be so much fun with a dodge button. Even though it makes the game easier, I think dodging makes them significantly more fun and allows the bosses to be a lot more expansive than otherwise. Silent Hill 2 is one of, if not my favorite remake yet.
Thanks for watching!!! - Jack
I think the Mandarin was designed for you to just escape the room without fighting
Are you going to rank the bosses from RE7 and RE8?
yep 🔜
@@Cytonox ok
Nice list mine would be pretty much the same
Small nitpick, but at the end of the game you fight Maria, not Mary. It's an easy mistake to make, but the real Mary appears after you defeat Maria and accept her death and, subsequently, murder.
Hey, is the ff16 boss ranking still happening? It's a shame that no one really talks about the bosses
Yeah but it’s definitely a lower priority compared to some other WIP videos. It does exist tho, I’ve had it open as a tab on my laptop for months lol - Alex
Not gonna lie I never liked the Mary fight, her design is kinda too basic for me, just having her upside down in a cage which feels underwhelming after seeing such great designs as Pyramid Head and Abstract Daddy, also she feels way too similar to Flesh Lips, I wanted them to change her a lot more in the remake but oh well
I agree about the Flesh Lips segment, that was the main reason why she felt a bit underwhelming to me. I think she looks cool but it is an odd design for sure, overall a cool concept and a good boss but I think the ones I placed above her are simply better. Thanks for watching! - Jack
I don't think Silent Hill is evil, it heavily resembles Purgatory, a realm where people not evil for Hell but not good enough for Heaven are purified before they are allowed to enter Heaven. The town is testing people in order to "purify" them, in order for them to conquer their guilt and past
Idk man seems pretty dang evil. No one is ever “purified”. Just despair and regret at the end.
Mary at 6 is fucking wild
Nevermind this entire list is cursed
Yeah she was one of if not the best
I didn’t enjoy tbh as much as the other ones
Glad to hear you think different! I think she's a great boss, but gets hurt a bit by her second phase being a direct clone of another fight. Her first and third phases were fun, but I think in general some of the other bosses were a bit more consistent. Thanks for watching! - Jack
Mary is literally Flesh Lips 2.0 with a homing attack slapped in
It is a fun fight but it’s a bit redundant at this point in the game after flesh lips and abstract daddy
The Closer (mandarin) makes no sense being in silent hill 2 lmao that's Heather's enemy idk why they put them there
Number 6 isnt mary its Maria
I call her Maria in the segment, but it's referred to as "Mary" by the community because for all intents and purposes it's Maria distorting herself in the image of Mary - Jack
What's a mandarin?
I have no idea man you tell me
A type of orange. I am not sure what the connection is with the boss though.
@@Kamishi845 The mandarin boss fight caught me off guard, as it was not in the original game. Although, a mini boss fight, he was tough and it was a great little fight overall.
@@Kamishi845 Maybe a high ranking official in ancient Chinese politics/dynasties. Its the definition of "Mandarin"
@@colinj5291 Mandarin is a high ranking official in ancient Chinese politics/dynasties.
Goty
Number 6 should be Maria, this is not Mary ;)
I say in the segment that it's Maria, but the community refers to the fight as Mary because you are fighting Mary, just cosplayed by Maria. Thanks for watching - Jack
As much as i love SH2 og and remake's story, Wukong must be GOTY because the lore of Wukong has so much Buddhist philosophies and symbolism in the lore. (Or maybe im just blinded by nostalgia because i watched 1986 Journey to the west tv series when i was a kid)
I didn’t care about anything in that. I let out a tear at the end of this one
@@Slaughter_Hill Yeah because you're not born in China or Vietnam, you have never been told tales of Sun Wukong when you're a kid, and never watched Journey to the West TV series every time you go home after school like us Asians.
this remake is so generic. Bloober were the wrong team for the job. hope this game doesn’t win game of the year.
@@thanhvunhat6995 and you never murdered your sick wife and repressed the memory out of guilt like us Americans. Different cultures emotionally resonate with different things I guess
@@paulwoodford1984 so generic that it actually feels and plays nothing like a horror game of 2020. Actual looping level design, difficult puzzles, minimal handholding, emotional story, etc
Hello Cytonox my name is Isaiah and I have something important to say to you. God loves you and like any father he wants to help you and keep you safe especially from the devil. But I am not just speaking to you about this I am also talking to your fans about this. God loves us all and he wants us all to be saved not just from ourselves but from the devils clutches. Do not be afraid to come to the Lord for his love is for evreyone Shalom Shalom.
Half of these arent boss fights, jusy scripted segments.
Seriously? Soulsborne fans are plague upon the world
why am I plague man I didn't say anything bad about the bosses! I though they all were great - Jack
The game was genetic Af. All boxes were the worst
bosses
No YOU’RE the genetically worst box