You're standing on the edge of South Vale. The fog is thick, the radio is static-heavy, and for some reason, you're worried about digital trinkets. Honestly? That’s fair. If you're going for the Silent Hill 2 remake trophies, you're in for a ride that is surprisingly manageable compared to the nightmare of the 2012 HD Collection.
No 10-star run. No "don't ever take damage" nonsense. It's a breath of fresh air. Well, as fresh as the air can be in a town that smells like wet wool and rust.
The Big Picture: How Hard is This?
Basically, we're looking at a 3/10 difficulty. Most of the list is just story beats. You'll get trophies for walking into the Wood Side Apartments or surviving that first claustrophobic scrap with Pyramid Head. But then things get sticky.
The game has 44 trophies in total. You’ve got your usual bronze for progress, silver for the endings, and a few gold ones for the weirdly specific challenges. Most people finish their first run in about 15 to 20 hours. If you're hunting the platinum, expect to spend about 25 to 30 hours in the fog.
The biggest hurdle? Collectibles. They don't carry over.
If you miss a single Strange Photo in the hospital and move on to the next area, you're toast. You have to get every single memo, photo, and glimpse in one go. No chapter select. No back-tracking once the "Otherworld" swallows a building. It's a one-shot deal or a full replay.
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Those Pesky Endings and the "Party Like It's 2001" Trophy
This is where the nuances of James Sunderland’s psyche come into play. To get the Silent Hill 2 remake trophies tied to endings, you have to play the game like a different person each time. Or, you know, just use some clever save-scumming.
- Making Peace (Leave Ending): Be a good boy. Heal yourself immediately. Look at Mary’s photo and letter constantly. Don't let Maria get hurt.
- Vicious Circle (Maria Ending): Focus on the doppelganger. Check on her in the hospital. Protect her. Whatever you do, don't look at Mary’s stuff in your inventory.
- Only Way Out (In Water Ending): This one is dark. Stay at low health. Keep your screen red and blurry. Inspect Angela's knife like a man obsessed.
You also need the NG+ exclusives: Rebirth, Dog, and UFO. The "Party Like It's 2001" gold trophy only pops once you’ve seen the five classic endings. Note that the two new endings—"Bliss" and "Stillness"—are cool for lore, but they won't help you with that specific trophy.
The Challenges That Sound Worse Than They Are
Some of the Silent Hill 2 remake trophies look intimidating on paper. Take "Faster Than Fog." You have to beat the game in under 10 hours.
In the original, that would be a sweat-fest. In the remake? It's a joke. Once you know the puzzles, you can blast through the game in about 3 hours. Especially if you’re on New Game Plus with the Chainsaw.
Speaking of weapons, "As Close as You Like" requires you to finish the game without using ranged weapons to kill enemies. This is the "Pacifist-ish" run. You can shoot windows. You can shoot balloons for the "Let's NOT Party!" trophy. You just can't kill a monster with a bullet.
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Pro tip: Do this on Light combat difficulty. The steel pipe becomes a god-slayer, and the Chainsaw makes bosses look like paper mache.
The Collectible Grind: Archivist, Pieces Unarranged, and Echoes
There are 68 Memos, 26 Strange Photos, and 26 Glimpses of the Past.
The Glimpses are the hardest because they don't show up in your inventory. They’re just interactable spots in the environment that trigger a sound cue or a camera shift—a nod to the 2001 original.
One thing that trips people up is the "Archivist" trophy. There is a specific memo—the "Lost & Found Note" in the Lakeview Hotel—that only exists in a standard New Game. If you're in New Game Plus, it’s replaced by a "Cryptic Letter" in Pete's Bowl-O-Rama.
Because of this weird swap, you can actually get the trophy in either mode, provided you get the specific one assigned to that run. Just don't assume your NG+ save will let you skip the early stuff.
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How to Platinum in Two Runs
If you’re efficient, you can wrap this up in two go-rounds.
- Run One: Play on Light/Light difficulty. Follow a guide for all 120 collectibles. Aim for the "Leave" ending by being healthy and obsessed with Mary. Grab all the combat trophies like "Merciless" (50 stomps) and "Shattered" (50 windows).
- Run Two (NG+): Grab the Chainsaw. Go for the "Faster Than Fog" speedrun. Don't use your radio ("Radio Silence" trophy). Don't use guns ("As Close as You Like"). Collect the items for the Rebirth, Dog, and UFO endings.
By the time you hit the end of that second run, you should be hearing the "ding" of that Platinum.
It’s worth mentioning that some trophies are just... weird. Like "It's Bread." You literally just have to find the bread and interact with it. It's a meme. A 20-year-old meme turned into a trophy. You love to see it.
Don't overthink the "James of All Trades" trophy either. You just need one kill with each weapon. Wooden Plank, Steel Pipe, Handgun, Shotgun, and Rifle. It’s almost impossible to miss unless you’re doing a strict melee-only run from the start.
Actionable Next Steps
Ready to hunt? Start by checking your settings. You can turn on High Contrast Mode in the graphics menu to make Memos and Photos glow. It feels a bit like cheating, but when you're hunting 68 pieces of paper in the dark, you'll be glad it's there.
Set your first run to Light Puzzle Difficulty. The solutions are simpler, and it keeps the pace up so you don't get frustrated while looking for Glimpses of the Past. Most importantly, keep ten separate save slots. If you realize you missed a photo three hours ago, those back-up saves are the only thing standing between you and a complete restart.
Next Step: Choose your combat difficulty. If you want a stress-free trophy hunt, stick to "Light" to make the melee-only requirements a breeze.