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Silent Hill 2 Remake player uncovers a hidden message that could support a controversial story theory, but the creative director won't confirm it as canon

A dedicated player cracked a hidden message in the Silent Hill 2 remake, confirming a time loop theory for the game's protagonist, but the developers remain ambiguous about its canonicity, leaving players to debate its implications.

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Huge things are happening in the Silent Hill 2 fanbase, as one genius player has uncovered a hidden message tucked away in the horror remake that could support a controversial theory, but while one dev confirms they've cracked the code, he's not saying if that theory is actually canon. Be warned, potential spoilers for Silent Hill 2 are ahead. 

Over on Reddit, user Dale Robinson has worked out the true meaning behind the 'Strange Photos' collectibles introduced in the remake. There are 26 in total, and all of them include a bit of writing alongside the images themselves. It turns out that if you look at each picture hard enough, you'll see that there's a significant number of *something *visible – in the first photo, there are six open windows, while in the sixth one, there are four holes in the photo itself. If you then use this number for each picture to count along the letters on their accompanying writing, you'll end up with a message when looking at them in order – 'YOUVE BEEN HERE FOR TWO DECADES.'

Solving this was seriously impressive work, and it's not taken long for Bloober Team creative director and lead game designer Mateusz Lenart to weigh in and confirm that this is the exact message that the devs had hidden. "I knew it wouldn't stay hidden for long! (There was a theory in our company that the puzzle might be too hard)," Lenart says. "I really wanted to make it subtle when I was painting those photos... I think the timing couldn't be better for you to solve it. Congratulations!"

So then, what does this all mean? It'd be compelling evidence to support the time loop theory – the idea that protagonist James Sunderland is trapped, being endlessly tormented by Silent Hill's horrors. As @AestheticGamer1 on Twitter mentions, this was an existing idea before the release of the remake thanks to other clues, including original Silent Hill 2 art director Masahiro Ito previously proclaiming that "all of the endings are canon."

But does this mean that the theory is confirmed? Apparently not. Responding to one fan concluding that "the loop theory is canon," Lenart simply says, "Is it?" For some, this might be a relief, since not everyone is a fan of it – "I have never liked the loop theory. It feels so cheap," one player on Twitter comments. Instead, perhaps it could be a message for the players, who've also "been here for two decades" since the original game released over 20 years ago. Bloober Team clearly isn't going to say either way, but regardless, it's very cool that the new game's puzzle has been solved.

Be sure to check out our Silent Hill 2 Remake review to find out if the horror classic is worth returning to.