Silent Hill 2 developer is once again addressing misconceptions about sexual assault and sexual frustration being depicted in specific scene

Following a surge of fan claims that a scene in Silent Hill 2 features themes of sexual assault and murder motivated by sexual frustration, the game’s art director and chief monster designer, Masahiro Ito, once again took to X to set things straight. According to Ito, the context of the game does not align with the purported themes. Take note that heavy spoilers follow for Silent Hill 2 and its remake.

The scene that fans are referring to involves a violent interaction between a Pyramid Head and two Mannequins. The ensuing violence  occurs  off-screen, but the way the Pyramid Head forcefully handles the Mannequins within the viewable frames leads some to believe it is supposed to be  a depiction of  sexual assault. The Silent Hill 2 remake did little to clarify the issue, as it retains the vague nature of the original scene.

Ito admits that while the scene looks sexual, it was never meant to be taken as such. While many would dismiss Ito’s claims by thinking he had no involvement in the narrative, every facet of Silent Hill 2 (including the monsters) is intertwined with the story to the point that people are still discovering things about the game 24 years after it was first released. Moreover, Ito created all of the monsters and their animations, alongside all of Pyramid Head’s cutscenes.

Given the context of the story, Ito openly disagrees with the sexual assault theory. He points to the game’s “In Water” ending, where James drowns himself and Mary’s dead body by driving his car into Toluca Lake:

“It doesn’t fit James’s state of mind at all. Someone claimed that James killed Mary out of sexual frustration, but who would want to portray such a man as the protagonist of a game that had even an ending in which he committed suicide underwater with his wife’s dead body?”

While Ito understands that part of the beauty of Silent Hill 2 is forming one’s interpretation of it, he doesn’t want people spreading the sexual assault theory around like it is canon. On the other hand, it is not like Silent Hill 2 has never covered the topic of sexual assault. Angela Orosco, another character in the game, has been confirmed to have been assaulted and sexually traumatized, as evidenced by her inner demon, the Abstract Daddy.