In what may be the biggest shock twist of all time, Bloober Team have actually done an incredible job remaking Silent Hill 2.
They manage to respect the original vision of the game whilst still changing things up and giving more life to the world.

Gameplay of the original game was never amazing so i didn't expect much here but it finally feels like a survival horror game opposed to the usual of having enough bullets to kill every enemy 3x over.
Melee combat is engaging and learning enemy behaviour is rewarding.
Ranged combat is vastly improved by having to aim your shots instead of auto-aim and now having to choose how you want to tackle the enemy. Leg shots and run up to stomp them? Headshots to stun and get quick melee attacks? or just conserving every bit of ammo possible and avoiding them if you can.
Playing this on hard has actually been a challenge and ive died a couple times which basically never happened to me in any of the original trilogy.

Enemy behaviour has changed to accommodate the new dodge mechanic and movement of the remake. They feel a lot more aggressive and faster than before and will fight back instead of being stun-locked to death by melee attacks.
An example is the mannequin enemy, previously it barely did anything and would slowly walk up to take a swipe until you inevitably hit it first and destroy it before it can react. Now this enemy will attempt to ambush you in different places, on a death i found myself charging into a room ready only for it to be in a different spot which caught me off guard completely.
Boss fights have had a major overhaul too and for the better, they are no longer just stand still and ammo dump until victory. Also without spoiling it the flesh lip boss isn't incredibly boring or annoying anymore.

Puzzles have been remixed and on hard difficulty are much more difficult than they used to be, it's a welcome change seeing as the classic provided little challenge even on the hard setting (Aside from SH3 but thats a whole different problem)

Visually this game is absolutely stunning, every single turn you take is either incredibly haunting or extremely serene. I haven't felt fear from merely looking down a hallway in a game for such a long time so having that multiple times in a 30 minute period is a great experience.

Sound design on this game needed to be 10/10, it was the leading factor in why the original was so great and they knocked it out of the park. The sound of doors creaking open, footsteps on different types of terrain and the countless terrifying sounds you hear as you progress do justice to the huge expectations i had built up for the game.
The soundtrack itself is mostly the same with slight remixes on some of the tracks that make them feel more ethereal and otherworldly. So far i still prefer the original in that regard but it has years of daily replays to contend with so maybe with time ill come to enjoy some of the remixed tracks more than their original counter-parts

Voice acting in the original game had a weird sense of confusion and made the characters feel distant, whether that be because of choice or in the case of Guy Cihi a lack of experience in the job it did manage to enhance the game.
The new voice acting has been very good, i have preferred the new James to the old whilst still enjoying the original Maria more so a mixed bag although still positive regardless as they still fit the role well.

Story-wise everything has been kept in-tact and its nice to see that we don't have a case where fans would be missing out by not playing the original with altered scenes or something along those lines. This could be your first time through Silent Hill 2 and you will not miss out on anything other than a few nods to the changes of the original which don't actually affect the game in any way.

TL;DR - A shockingly faithful remake that is well worth buying and playing through for new fans and old