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Silent Hill 2 New Game Plus explained - what’s new?

Here's what you can expect from, and how to start, New Game Plus in Silent Hill 2.

James Sunderland swings the Wooden Plank at a Lying Figure in the Silent Hill 2 remake
Image credit: Bloober Team/Konami
Kelsey Raynor avatar
Guide by Kelsey Raynor Guides Writer
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The original Silent Hill 2 hid away many secrets in New Game Plus for the most keen-eyed of fans to find, and Bloober Team’s Silent Hill 2 is no different in that sense. Once you finally wrap up your first run of the game and conclude James’ journey, you’ll be able to do it all over again in New Game Plus to find new items, new endings, and more.

Those who wish to unlock every ending — and discover everything that New Game Plus has hidden away — will have their work cut out for them though. That said, this Silent Hill 2 New Game Plus guide explains everything you need to know before venturing forth into the eponymous town all over again.

Silent Hill 2 New Game Plus explained

After wrapping up your first run of Silent Hill 2, you’ll be able to start a new game from the main menu. When you do so, you’ll be presented with the option to choose from a Standard or New Game Plus run.

New Game Plus settings in the Silent Hill 2 Remake are shown
Image credit: VG247/Bloober Team

What’s new in Silent Hill 2 New Game Plus?

As for what’s new in New Game Plus, after finishing a single run of Silent Hill 2, you’ll unlock the ability to equip any masks you have available (such as the Mira the Dog Mask, or the Pyramid Head Pizza Box Mask) and apply various graphics filters to the game. One of the most notable of these being a nineties filter.

Once you finally kick off your New Game Plus run, you’ll soon find that there are new areas available, containing new items to collect, some of which lead to new endings.

James looks at the chainsaw wedged into some logs in the Silent Hill 2 remake
The Chainsaw weapon makes light work of most enemies in New Game Plus. | Image credit: Bloober Team/VG247

For example, you can find the following items in New Game Plus that are not present in a Standard run:

  • Broken Key Parts, which can be combined to make the Dog Key required for the Dog ending, which is exclusive to NG+.
  • Blue Gem, which can be used in three areas across Silent Hill 2 to unlock the UFO ending, also exclusive to NG+.
  • Lost Memories Book, Crimson Ceremony Book, Obsidian Goblet, and White Chrism can all be found as part of unlocking the Rebirth ending.
  • Chainsaw weapon can be found, making light work of most enemies.
  • The Key of Sorrow can be found which can be used to unlock the Stillness ending. This is only available after unlocking the In Water ending.
  • The Rusted Key can be found by unlocking a safe in Pete's Bowl-a-Rama. This is used to unlock the Bliss ending, which is only available after unlocking the Leave ending prior.

Previously, in the original Silent Hill 2, players could find Hyper Spray — a more powerful medical supply — when playing New Game Plus on Hard difficulty. This is not currently present in the remake, nor is the Bullet Adjust mechanic that was available in NG+ of the original game.

For more on the Silent Hill 2 remake, take a look at our spoiler-free review, as well as our walkthrough of the game.

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