All Silent Hill 2 remake endings and how to get them

There are so many ways James Sunderland’s story can end in the Silent Hill 2 remake, but unfortunately, this love story does not offer that fairy tale ending.

With eight Silent Hill 2 remake endings—two additional to James’s and Mary’s story—here is our full guide on unlocking all Silent Hill 2 remake endings.

All Silent Hill 2 endings and their meanings: Full endings guide

Interestingly, the new Silent Hill 2 endings are locked behind New Game+. These join the Rebirth ending from the original game. You cannot get these endings in your first playthrough because you must get at least one of three classic endings before attempting your next run with the Stillness or Bliss conclusions in mind.

Most endings are tied to either your inventory or how you treat Maria. Because of this, you can alter your ending at the nine panel save point before the double Pyramid Head boss fight. Choosing to peer into your personal items or leave them be will give you two endings. You also need to keep a manual save slot intact for another playthrough. This will help you get the third ending within the same save file. You can place this at the start of Brookhaven Hospital.

Now let’s dive into what you must do to achieve each ending, alongside our explanation of what each means for leading man, James.

Warning for spoilers throughout.

Leave ending

Ending requirements:

• Don’t inspect Mary’s photo or her letter.
• Keep your health as high as possible (heal whenever the red border appears on screen).
• Listen to the entire sickbed conversation in the long corridor before your final encounter with Mary/Maria.

This is likely the first ending you achieved in Silent Hill 2. This ending shows James’s acceptance of both Mary’s death and how he was the one who took her life. Explaining his actions to bedridden Mary for finally seeing her for who she was at the end of her life, James tells her that he hated her.

Aware of his sadness, Mary seemingly forgives James for his actions, allowing him to forgive himself. Having beaten the Pyramid Head, a manifestation of his violence, guilt, and pain, he no longer feels haunted by his wife’s passing. He provides closure for Laura—who was like a daughter to Mary—and decides to leave Silent Hill with her by his side.

Maria ending

Ending requirements:

• Stay close and protect Maria from monsters.
• Refrain from bumping in Maria.
• Keep visiting Maria as you progress through Brookhaven Hospital and Labyrinth.
• Run through the sickbed conversation before the final boss fight.

Idolizing the part of Mary that was lost to the disease, James’s denial and resentment grow. Unable to accept his loss or actions, he is reprimanded by Mary for killing her. James feels guilt not only from ending her suffering but also because he no longer wants to look after his sick wife. Rather than forgiving James for his actions and feelings towards her sickness, the thought of putting Mary out of her misery isn’t an excuse James believes in.

His last memory of Mary won’t forgive James, and he cannot forgive himself. Instead, he retreats to the part of his mind that views James as a protector, provider, and hero. He leaves Silent Hill with Maria, choosing to be haunted by an illusion of Mary he wants so badly to believe is real. In the end, Maria coughs, signaling a repeat of a past James was so desperately trying to run away from.

In Water ending

Ending requirements:

• Keep your health low, only heal if critical, and stay in the red zone for as long as possible (red border warning that James has taken too much damage).
• Inspect Angela’s knife.
• Don’t inspect Mary’s photo or letter.
• Listen to the entire sickbed conversation before the final boss fight.

James isn’t brought to peace by his actions. Instead, he accepts the consequences and gives in to his pain. Constantly treading ever so closely to death throughout the game, he tests his limits time and time again as he faces off against the monsters inside him, only to be beaten at the final hurdle. Mary reads her letter as James and his car sink into the bottomless pit, knowing that the inevitable will happen any moment now.

Remembering what he had done, he couldn’t forgive himself for his actions. The darkness consumes James once more. But, rather than a haunting, it is instead that same isolating inevitability Mary felt as she lay on her sickbed.

Rebirth ending

Ending requirements:

1. New Game+ playthrough.
2. Locate the Crimson Ceremony in the grave by the tree after talking to Angela at the start of the game.
3. Pick up the White Chrism at the entrance of Baldwin Mansion (South Vale West save point).
4. Find the Obsidian Goblet inside the Historical Society (save point with same name).
5. Locate the Lost Memories inside Lakeside Hotel’s Lost and Found.

James doesn’t accept his actions nor allow Mary to rest. While the false memory of Mary tries to survive in his mind, James’s perception permanently shifts to view the monster in front of him as Maria. After destroying the part of Maria that lives inside James’s psyche, he rows out into Toluca Lake, determined to resurrect Mary. This ending links back to the events of the first Silent Hill.

Dog ending

Ending requirements:

1. Locate The Pet Center in South Vale (East) and find the Broken Key Part.
2. Find the dog house on Katz Street in South Vale (West) for the second Broken Key Part.
3. Combine Broken Key Parts to create the Dog Key.
4. Access the Observation Room on 3F in Lakeview Hotel using the Dog Key.

Skipping the final boss fights, the Dog ending reveals that a single Shiba Inu manufactured the events of Silent Hill 2. James falls to his knees in disbelief that all of this cruelty and torment he was put through had a canine mastermind behind it all. While you shouldn’t take this ending seriously, focusing on this rather than Abstract Daddy is nice.

UFO ending

Ending requirements:

1. Locate the Blue Gem inside the Jewellers on Katz Street in South Vale (West).
2. Interact with the Blue Gem on the roof of Saul Street Apartments in South Vale (East).
3. Use the Blue Gem immediately after meeting Maria in Rosewater Park.
4. Inspect the Blue Gem after crossing the Toluca Lake.
5. Don’t watch the tape in Room 312 of the Lakeview Hotel. Use the Blue Gem instead.

Instead of learning the truth about Mary, James looks towards the sky for a cosmic answer. An unidentifiable flying object arrives over his head. Somehow transported to a cornfield, the alien inside is revealed as PS2 James, who tells us that our version of James Sunderland was merely a clone. Rendered unconscious by a random alien extra, James is moved into the UFO while PS2 James looks at the Lakeview Hotel and reminiscences about Mary.

How to unlock all new Silent Hill 2 remake endings

Bliss ending

Ending requirements:

1. Input 1 8 8 7 in the Pete’s Bowl-O-Rama in South Vale (East) to get the Rusted Key.
2. Open the chest inside the Brookhaven Hospital to find the White Claudia.
3. Consume the White Claudia by interacting with it in your inventory in Lakeview Hotel’s Room 312.
4. Play the VHS tape in Room 312.

The usual VHS recording of Mary plays, but the revelation of her death isn’t revealed. Instead, James places the camera down and walks into shot as he embraces Mary. He has become a memory himself, moving into the recording as he loses all sense of reality. Denial has overcome him as he turns the camera off. Room 312 sits silently as the chair is now empty.

Stillness ending

Ending requirements:

1. Get the In Water ending prior to this playthrough.
2. Use the Chainsaw to get the Key of Sorrow from the green car on Wiltse Road at the start of the game.
3. Use the Key of Sorrow and input code 3 1 4 on the Manager’s Office safe in Otherworld Lakeview Hotel.
4. Interact with the newly acquired Toluca Postcard.

Stillness begins similarly to the In Water ending. But instead of James giving into his self-hatred, Maria comforts him by whispering into his ear. James asks for Maria to wait for him as he avoids learning the truth behind Mary’s death. He looks at the letter, too afraid to open it, and instead chooses to sit still in his car and remember Maria’s words of comfort.

He will continue to live, waiting to see Mary again. His hauntings will likely cease as he has chosen to continue living. But that doesn’t mean that he can move on. James’s mind and life will be motionless while he waits for his time to come.