All Silent Hill 2 remake endings explained

The new Silent Hill 2 remake brings an authentic yet fresh rendition of the beloved horror classic to a new audience, including the wild endings that the beloved PS2 original was known for. Depending on how players play the game and treat protagonist James, his story will have one of many possible closures.

This includes good and bad endings, along with spoof endings from the original and two brand-new ones introduced for the remake. Here are all of them in the Silent Hill 2 remake. As it goes without saying, a spoiler warning is in order.

Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers for the Silent Hill 2 remake.

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Every Silent Hill 2 remake ending explored

(Image via Konami/YouTube: @Shirrako)

There are a total of eight endings in the game. Barring the two new ones, all the endings play out in the same manner as they did in the 2001 PS2 original.

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"Leave" ending

This is considered the "good ending" in the Silent Hill 2 remake. James finally catches up to Mary to have a heartfelt talk with her, reads her letter, and leaves the town of Silent Hill with the young girl named Laura. In this ending, James finally comes to terms with his guilt for killing Mary and is ready to turn a new page in life.

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"Maria" ending

This ending sees James ignore Mary in favor of Maria - a more assertive, sexual alter-ego of Mary that James has created. After dismissing the conversation with Mary and fighting her, he leaves the town with Maria in tow. Interestingly, Maria can be seen coughing while James scolds her for it.

This suggests she may be ill with the same illness Mary died of, and as such, history just might repeat once again. This scenario can be interpreted as James caving into his delusions as he is unable to love Mary anymore because of her illness. Preferring to live a life of lies, he conjures his ideal version of Mary to comfort himself rather than confront his sins.

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"In Water" ending

This is considered the "bad ending" in the Silent Hill 2 remake. Despite his best efforts, James is unable to get over the guilt of killing his wife. So, he commits suicide by driving into the lake and drowning himself. In this ending, Mary's letter can be seen floating down into the depths of the lake, with her monologue accompanying it.

Most endings will see James confront his wife Mary (Image via Konamu/Youtube: @Shirrako)

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"Rebirth" ending

This ending is only available in New Game Plus mode and sees James take Mary's body across the lake to the town in a boat to resurrect her. To accomplish this, James must gather four supernatural items hidden across the town and perform a ritual to appease the Old Gods. It can be seen as the "worst" ending of the game as James finally loses his grip on reality and cannot leave without her.

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"Dog" ending

This is one of the two joke endings in the game, revealing how a dog was controlling the game's events behind the scenes.

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"UFO" ending

The other joke ending sees James get abducted by aliens, who oddly seem to be in cahoots with the protagonist of the first game, Harry Mason.

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New endings

So far, it is unclear what unlocks the two new endings in the game. It might be the Polariods gathered across the game or a New Game+ session.

This guide will be updated with relevant details when available.

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Developed by Bloober Team, Silent Hill 2 remake is available on PS5 and PC.