Silent Hill 2 isn't a game, its a harrowing experience from the mind of a genious.
The town itself is completly deserted for reasons left unexplained, this is presented very well through the grainy fog that shrouds the place in mystery. Coupled with various ambient noises, and fleeting glances of monsters scuttling off, this can be a very unsettling period of the game.
The interiors are no less unsettling, more-so infact. You can never see more than two foot infront of you, and your only warning of an impending monster attack is static over a broken radio. Without this radio, encounters may actually be less harrowing, because as soon the radio goes off, you panic and quickly look round for it. There is also more industrial noise within the interiors, and this is truly disturbing.
The monsters are where this game really comes into its own. Unlike Resident Evil or many survival horror games, the monsters take on a warped human form, like a figure litterally melted into a straight jacket, or a monster made out of two pairs of manaquin legs. Some of the monsters don't actually act threatening, some appear to be in a considerable ammount of pain.
A main scary element of this game would be the main "Bad guy" so to speak. Pyramid head. This beast appears to be an archaic executionor of sorts, and he relentlessly pursues James, there is no warning as to when he could show up. You could simply be walking down a corridor and he could appear behind you. Its nt clear what exactly is scary about the character, it may be the fact that you can't see his face, it may be that he's always there, and you are never given any knowledge as to why. Although there are numerous theories.
It's unclear whats scary about this game, as it isn't directly scary like other games, its more of a fear of what isn't there, apposed to what is. The game plays tricks on you, gives you the impression that somthing may jump out, and it could keep that feeling up for a good half an hour. When you turn this game off, it'll still be on your mind.