Silent Hill 2 Remake offers multiple endings, each tied to how you play the game and how James Sunderland, the protagonist, interacts with the characters and events around him. The endings provide different emotional conclusions and interpretations of the story. Here, we’ll break down the requirements for each ending and what they mean for James.
Heavy spoilers for both Silen Hill 2 and the remake. We have the two new endings, below along with how to get the new new endings in Silent Hill 2.
Leave Ending
In this ending, James comes to terms with his guilt over killing his wife, Mary, and chooses to move forward with his life.
Requirements:
- Keep James in good health: Heal him regularly and ensure his health bar stays in the green.
- Focus on Mary: Regularly check Mary’s letter and listen to the hospital conversations about her.
- Avoid focusing too much on Maria: Do not prioritize Maria’s well-being over your own.
Meaning:
James acknowledges his responsibility for Mary’s death but chooses to live with the guilt rather than succumbing to despair. He leaves Silent Hill with Laura, a young girl who knew Mary, suggesting that he will try to start a new life.
In Water Ending
This ending is one of the darker conclusions, where James succumbs to his guilt.
Requirements:
- Let James stay in poor health: Don’t heal him often and keep his health bar low.
- Examine Angela’s knife and read the suicidal diary on the Brookhaven Hospital rooftop.
- Engage with the darker parts of Silent Hill: Read the messages in Neely’s Bar and listen to the conversations in the Lakeview Hotel.
Meaning:
James cannot bear the weight of his actions and decides to end his life. He drives into Toluca Lake with Mary’s body, symbolizing that he can’t escape his guilt and chooses to join her in death.
Maria Ending
In this ending, James rejects the truth about Mary and instead chooses to stay with Maria, a manifestation of his desire for Mary.
Requirements:
- Prioritize Maria: Spend time near her, protect her from harm, and check on her frequently during the game.
- Avoid reflecting on Mary: Don’t spend too much time examining Mary’s photo or letter.
Meaning:
James chooses to replace Mary with Maria, ignoring the lessons Silent Hill tried to teach him. Maria, however, begins to cough as they leave together, hinting that she may suffer the same fate as Mary, implying that James will repeat his mistakes.
Rebirth Ending
This is a special ending that becomes available in New Game Plus.
Requirements:
Throughout your replay, collect four special items:
– White Chrism (Blue Creek Apartments)
– Book of Lost Memories (Texxon Gas Station)
– Obsidian Goblet (Silent Hill Historical Society)
– Crimson Ceremony (Lakeview Hotel)
Meaning:
James seeks to resurrect Mary using a ritual. This ending suggests that James is unable to let go of Mary and is willing to engage in dark rituals to bring her back. The results of the ritual are left unclear, but given the nature of Silent Hill, it likely won’t end well.
Dog Ending
One of the game’s joke endings, this requires completion of all three main endings (Leave, In Water, Maria) or the Rebirth ending.
Requirements:
- Find the Dog Key in New Game Plus in a doghouse near Rosewater Park.
- Use the key to unlock the Observation Room in the Lakeview Hotel.
Meaning:
James discovers that all the events in Silent Hill were orchestrated by a Shiba Inu dog controlling everything from behind a panel of monitors. It’s a lighthearted, humorous ending that doesn’t tie into the main story. In the remake, they do use the same model.
UFO Ending
Another joke ending, this one requires the Blue Gem, which can only be found in New Game Plus.
Requirements:
Use the Blue Gem in these three locations:
– Brookhaven Hospital garden (after defeating the Flesh Lips)
– Toluca Lake (after fighting Eddie)
– Room 312 in Lakeview Hotel (before watching the videotape)
Meaning:
In this ending, James is abducted by aliens, with Harry Mason (protagonist of Silent Hill 1) appearing to greet him. This ending is purely comedic and has no bearing on the plot.
Serenity / Stillness (new)
In this ending, you get the original In Water ending with the pan shot and full cutscene and some new content around Mary. Mary reaches out and touched James, offering words of kindness before the original scene’s ending. This is the same as In Water, with more flavor.
Meaning:
See In Water.
How to Obtain
- Get the Key of Sorrow from from the abandoned car.
- Take to the Lakeview Hotel and open the drawer with the key.
- View the postcard to trigger the ending.
Bliss (new)
James stays forever in Silent Hill with Mary, locked in a delusion of his past memories.
Meaning
Very similar to the Maria ending, but here James takes a deeper role in the cyclical nature of Silent Hill. Instead of viewing the tape of what happened, he watches a tape of before, returning essentially to the loop of where it all began.
Others see this as James staying forever in Silent Hill with Maria, deluding himself that it’s real. Either way, it’s an interesting ending.
To Obtain:
- Using the Lying Figure on the safe in the bowling alley.
- Rusted key from the safe to the Brookhaven Hospital’s Garden.
- Drink the White Claudia in Mary/Jame’s room.
All Endings Video
Which Ending is Canon?
Silent Hill 2 does not have a confirmed canon ending. The game’s creators have stated that none of the endings are definitive, leaving it up to the player to decide which one best fits James’ journey. However, many fans and even some of the game’s developers lean toward the In Water ending as the most thematically fitting conclusion.
Each ending of Silent Hill 2 offers a unique interpretation of James’ psyche and his ability—or inability—to confront the truth about Mary’s death. Whether James finds redemption, succumbs to despair, or chooses to live in denial, the choice ultimately reflects the player’s actions throughout the game.
