It was all the dog’s work.
Silent Hill 2, one of the most renowned survival horror games of all time, still had at least one secret left after all these years. Notably, by beating the game a certain way and restarting, you can uncover a secret mini map and a save anywhere feature.
The secrets were discovered by Twitter User punk7890:
Found two well hidden secrets in Silent Hill 2 (PS2) https://t.co/zoVf1hk2Jc Complex set of button inputs enable four mini map types that display in the top right corner of the screen. The second secret button combo enables you to save anywhere, at anytime. pic.twitter.com/FIIPsGUzYc
— punk7890 (@punk_7890) July 13, 2018
An extra special thanks to @BigmanjapanSC for figuring out the ending requirements. You need to first clear the "Dog Ending". After that, press "Start + L2 + Square + L3" while in game. You may need to hold "Start" while exiting the inventory screen for start button to register.
— punk7890 (@punk_7890) July 13, 2018
The map had, in fact, been previously discovered by people digging around in the game’s code. But the fact that it’s actually accessible without cheats is a new discovery. As for the save anywhere feature, that’s a new one. Though it’s likely a holdover from testing.
The downside to all of this is that it only works on the original PS2 release of the game. Still, it’s worth giving a look if you happen to own that version of Silent Hill 2. Also, it seems to make that line of text from the Dog Ending sorta prophetic.