You’re walking through the fog, radio static buzzing in your ear, and you spot something glinting on a rusted table. It’s a Polaroid. It looks like a mistake—blurry, poorly framed, with a cryptic scribbled caption like "I've been happy" or "So many people here!" In any other game, you’d probably just toss it in the inventory and forget it. But this is Silent Hill. Nothing is a mistake.
The strange photos Silent Hill 2 players have been hunting since the remake’s launch aren’t just collectibles for a trophy. They are a massive, developer-sanctioned "gotcha" that actually confirms one of the longest-running fan theories in the franchise. Honestly, the way Bloober Team hid this is kinda brilliant.
What Are the Strange Photos Anyway?
If you're new to the remake, these are 26 collectible instant photos scattered from the East South Vale streets all the way to the final metal catwalks of the Lakeview Hotel. Each one has a number on the back and a weird little sentence on the front.
Some are heartbreaking, like the one showing a sickbed. Others are just... off. Like a photo of a stripper pole or a random pile of trash. For weeks after the game came out, people were just confused. You get the Pieces Unarranged trophy for finding them all, but the game doesn't give you a cutscene or a secret item. It just sits there in your inventory, looking like a bunch of junk.
The Secret Code: "You've Been Here For Two Decades"
The community eventually lost its mind trying to figure out if these photos were a puzzle. Turns out, they were. A Redditor named DaleRobinson finally cracked it by realizing the photos are a literal cipher.
Here is how the madness works:
You take the photos in their numbered order (1 through 26). Then, you look at the image and count specific, recurring objects. Maybe it's the number of open windows, the number of birds in the sky, or even bullet holes in a wall. Whatever that number is, you count that many letters into the caption written on the photo.
💡 You might also like: Call of Duty Zombies Easter Eggs: Why We Still Spend Hours Hunting Them
For example, the first photo is "SO MANY PEOPLE HERE!" and shows 6 open windows. The 6th letter? Y.
When you do this for all 26 photos, it spells out a chilling message: YOUVE BEEN HERE FOR TWO DECADES.
Why This Message Actually Matters
This isn't just a meta-joke about the original game coming out in 2001. Well, it is that, but it’s also a lore bomb. For years, fans have debated whether James Sunderland is stuck in a "time loop"—meaning he's been living through this nightmare over and over again, never truly finding peace or dying.
The "two decades" line suggests that James hasn't just been in town for a few hours. In the reality of the town, he's been wandering those hallways for twenty years. It explains why there are so many "bodies" that look exactly like James scattered around the map. Those aren't just assets being reused; they’re him. Previous versions of him that failed.
It’s heavy. It turns a sad story about grief into a literal eternal hell.
How to Find the Trickiest Ones
If you’re trying to find all the strange photos Silent Hill 2 hides, you have to be obsessive. They aren't just sitting in the middle of the road.
💡 You might also like: Why You Should Play Double Deck Pinochle Online Free Right Now
- Photo #11 (Best Flavor!): You’ll find this in the Reverie Theater. Don’t just run past Eddie. Look at the armrests of the seats. It’s just sitting there while he’s gorging himself.
- Photo #21 (Your Best Buddy!): This one is a nightmare. You have to be in the Labyrinth. You need to rotate the giant cube so the "scratched out" symbol is facing you, then head downstairs.
- Photo #26 (Shape Forces the Mind): The very last one. After you deal with the Two Pyramid Heads, you’ll be on a long catwalk. Most people are sprinting to the end to finish the game. Don't. Stop and look at the very beginning of that metal walkway.
The Developer's Reaction
The coolest part? Mateusz Lenart, the Creative Director at Bloober Team, actually responded when the puzzle was solved. He admitted that there was a theory within the studio that the puzzle might actually be too hard for anyone to ever solve.
They wanted it to be subtle. They wanted it to feel like James (and the player) was slowly losing their mind.
What You Should Do Next
If you’ve already finished the game but missed a few, don't just look up the pictures online. Go back in New Game Plus. Seeing the photos in context—especially knowing they are telling you that you’ve been trapped there for 20 years—changes the vibe of the early game completely.
Check your inventory. Look at the numbers on the back. Count the windows. Once you see the "Y" in the first photo, the urge to decode the rest yourself is almost impossible to fight. It makes the hunt for the Pieces Unarranged trophy feel like you’re actually uncovering a crime scene rather than just checking boxes for a Platinum.
Grab a guide for the specific locations if you get stuck, but try to do the math yourself. It’s much more satisfying.
Actionable Insight: To verify the secret yourself, start with Photo #1 ("So many people here!") and Photo #4 ("Valentine's Day"). Count 6 windows in the first for the letter 'Y' and look for the single vase in the fourth for the letter 'V'. If you're missing any, the most commonly skipped photo is in the Toluca Prison—Cell E13—which only opens after you finish the witness room generator puzzle.