I'm completely torn between these two as I've never played either and know nothing about either. I'm fairly new to this website so idk how it works yet.

I've only played Silent Hill 2, but it's well worth checking out!

Maybe I'm biased as I've never played Pathologic 2, but I love Silent Hill 2 and also have to endorse it :)

Played the first Pathologic, it was super weird and uncanny. I would cast my vote towards Pathologic 2.

Both are good games in their own rights, regardless of which you play for Halloween, I'd suggest playing both at some point.

Only one features the best optional ending of all time though. iykyk.

Silent Hill 2 gets my vote. One of my all-time favorites

If you haven't already made your decision, I'd like to offer my thoughts! Silent Hill 2 is a solid piece of video game history with a remake currently in development. It's one of my favorite games of all time, as it is for many other people, and I strongly recommend playing it in general. Pathologic 2 and its predecessor have a much smaller cult following, but they're very special games in their own right. It is somewhat of a reboot of Pathologic Classic that turned into its own thing; it contains one complete story from the original already, and they eventually would like to add more. As for picking what to play for Halloween, I'd say go with whichever sounds more appealing to you first. Since you say you know nothing about either of them, here's a little something:

Silent Hill 2 is a survival horror game where you play as a man searching for his dead wife in a town that represents his own personal hell. It's scary, psychological, and emotional, and explores some really interesting themes within its awesome story and characters. Monster designs are great and combat is good. If you're not familiar with the ~dynamic camera angles~ of the time, you should expect the camera to sometimes work against you in navigating or locating enemies.

Pathologic 2 is an RPG with horror themes where you play as a doctor(s) trying to battle a plague in a small town. Beyond finding a cure, you must also worry about other things such as scarcity and rising prices, your own personal problems haunting you, and the very heavy weight of your decisions. It's supernatural, surreal, and often breaks the fourth wall. Overall it's a very cool and unique experience.

thank you all for the responses, play definitely both at some point. but as for deciding which one to play first, I'm leaning a bit towards pathologic 2 but i haven't decided yet, Ive heard great things about both games and i want to play both which is why I'm having trouble deciding.

Next Halloween play Silent Hill 2!