How to solve the Silent Hill 2 Remake book puzzle

Silent Hill 2 book puzzle
(Image credit: Konami)

The Silent Hill 2 Remake book puzzle in the LakeView Hotel reading room sees you matching a bookshelf to a painting. That sounds easy but it's actually borderline painful as there are several ways to interpret the clues and the game seems to go with the least obvious or likely option. So, if like me, you've been pulling your hair out trying to work out where to put all the books in the Silent Hill 2 bookshelf puzzle, then here's the correct placement to continue.

Where to place the books in Silent Hill 2 Remake

Where to place the books in Silent Hill 2 Remake

(Image credit: Konami)

The Silent Hill 2 book puzzle is in the reading room of LakeView Hotel 2f. Inside you'll find these four books, that you can place in slots in a bookshelf opposite a large painting:

  • Stalwart to the End - On the coffee table immediately on the right as you enter
  • Revelations: A New Understanding - On a table by the bookshelf
  • Pride Before the Fall - On the bookshelf
  • The One Who Soared - On the desk to the right of the save point

When you place the books on the shelf you'll see they all have symbols - a lion, bull, eagle and angel - that all arrange around a button showing two spears. These all correspond to the characters you can see in the large painting on the wall opposite:

Silent Hill 2 book puzzle painting

(Image credit: Konami)

To find the correct arrangement of books you need to translate the painting placement of inner and outer characters across to the books, using the spear button on the bookshelf to represent the man in the center of the painting.

So that means the Eagle and Angel go in the outer slots, matching their outer placement on the painting, while the Lion and the Bull go on the inside slots. Because the outer slots are on top of the bookshelf but on the bottom of the painting it means the arrangement feel like it's upside down.

The solution to the Silent Hill 2 book puzzle is this arrangement:

Silent Hill 2 book puzzle solution

(Image credit: Konami)

It's best not to ask why it's this arrangement out of all the possible options it could have been in the Silent Hill 2 Remake, but technically the image translates directly across to the bookshelf, only flipped upside-down. For reasons.

Anyway, once you've got that arrangement the bookshelf will swing open to reveal another room where you'll find a lightbulb puzzle that will ultimately give you the Silent Hill 2 Remake suitcase combination.

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Here's our Silent Hill 2 Remake review if you want to read more about what we thought of the whole experience.

Leon Hurley
Managing editor for guides

I'm GamesRadar's Managing Editor for guides. I also write reviews, previews and features, largely about horror, action adventure, FPS and open world games. I previously worked on Kotaku, and the Official PlayStation Magazine and website.

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