Games

Best Silent Hill Games

Published

1 month ago

October 15, 2024

Genuinely terrifying horror games are few and far between, but Silent Hill was one of the first franchises to keep people awake with its psychological terror stemming from the gripping narratives and innovative monster design present in each entry. The early entries are timeless classics still being discovered by legions of new gamers.

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8 Hardest Silent Hill Games, Ranked

Table of Contents

The Silent Hill franchise is filled with challenging combat, puzzles, and difficult exploration segments. Yet, which is the hardest Silent Hill game?

The series made its return in 2023 and 2024, which came after a long hiatus following Konami’s cancelation of the promising Silent Hills, a collaboration between famed horror director Guillermo del Toro and Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima. Let’s take the opportunity to look back on the series by ranking all games from the worst game in the series to the best Silent Hill game.

Updated on October 15, 2024, by Mark Samut: Bloober Team’s Silent Hill 2 remake is finally available, and just in the nick of time for Halloween. As the initial trailer garnered a lot of criticism, the project was written off by a lot of people. However, the tide gradually changed as Bloober showed off more and more content, resulting in a promising debut. However, is it the best Silent Hill game?

Play Novel: Silent Hill
has not been included due to being a Japanese exclusive.

17 Silent Hill: Orphan Trilogy

The Forgotten Games

Silent Hill: Orphan

Systems

Released: 2007-11
Developer(s): Gamefederation Studio

Also known as Silent Hill Mobile, the Orphan games represent Konami’s franchise at its most obscure, and they can be rather hard to track down in this day and age (they cannot be legally purchased, at the very least). Playing like a point-and-click adventure rather than a conventional Silent Hill game, Orphan does a surprisingly good job of capturing the main entries’ atmosphere and intensity, all the while some pretty great puzzles for the platform.

At this point, Konami will probably never revive this trilogy, dooming the games to be nothing more than footnotes released during a time when Silent Hill was beginning to struggle. However, they are perfectly enjoyable for what they are trying to be, and a remastered trilogy could do well on modern phones or even PC.

Due to
Orphan
‘s inaccessibility, the trilogy has not been officially ranked, especially since the above points are primarily based on hazy memories from more than a decade ago.

16 Silent Hill: Ascension

A Different Type Of Experience

Release: 2023
Developer: Genvid
Platform: IOS

Being the first of several returning Silent Hill projects, it is easy to say that this proposed renaissance did not come out of the gate swinging. Silent Hill: Ascension is a streaming event where viewers’ votes influence the way the plot unfolds. Overall reception has been negative, with many wondering why the series even takes place within the Silent Hill continuity.

It is a novel idea, but the frequency of episodes makes it hard to believe that choices really matter that much. If anything, the decisions will not come to fruition until later on down the line. Ultimately, it is one more lackluster piece of Silent Hill media to add to the pile.

15 Silent Hill: The Short Message

Interesting Ideas Let Down By A Weak Story

Systems

Released: January 31, 2024

In the spirit of P.T., Silent Hill: The Short Message was announced at a Sony State Of Play and quickly released at the same time. As the name implies, The Short Message is a quick horror experience that mostly revolves around a growing narrative and a few quick puzzles.

Players will not find intense combat encounters or labyrinthine maps like in the older games. Its story tries to go back to the roots of the series as it explores similar themes of psychological trauma and guilt that older games like Silent Hill 2 tackled. It is difficult to complain about a free game, but it is also impossible not to compare it to P.T., a standard that, by all accounts, it fails to live up to.

14 Silent Hill: Book Of Memories

A Dungeon Crawler Spin-Off That, While Fun, Is Far Removed From The Silent Hill Formula

Silent Hill: Book of Memories

Systems

Platform(s): PlayStation Vita
Released: October 16, 2012

If Book of Memories hadn’t been Silent Hill, it might not have been as big of a success. A dungeon crawler for the PS Vita wasn’t what people wanted from the survival horror series. While most appreciated the nods to the franchise’s history, many felt the gameplay lacking when compared to its contemporaries in the genre.

It is also by far the longest Silent Hill game, so anybody prepared to leap better strap in for a lengthy experience. In terms of popular franchises spanning more than two decades, one could do a lot worse than the weakest game in the series, even though it shares very little in common with the mainline entries. Fortunately, it is all uphill from here.

13 Silent Hill: Downpour (2012)

A Respectable But Uneven Attempt To Reclaim The Glory Years

Silent Hill: Downpour

Systems

Released: March 13, 2012
Developer(s): Vatra Games

After a couple of entries took the series slightly off track, Downpour tried its best to recapture some of what made the classics so iconic. Most reviewers acknowledged this effort, praising the more open areas encouraging exploration, but lobbied complaints at other facets of its design like combat, enemies, and performance.

While it managed to succeed in one area, it failed where the originals soared above expectations. Silent Hill 2 and 3 were particularly masterful games in terms of technical performance, and Dounpour’s frame rate is poor enough to interfere with players’ enjoyment. Beyond that, the main story has potential due to following a prisoner, but Murphy never really blossoms as the protagonist.

12 Silent Hill HD Collection (XBOX 360)

An OK Compilation That Should Have Been Great

Silent Hill HD Collection

Systems

Released: March 20, 2012
Developer(s): Hijinx Studios

While a compilation, it deserves to mention how wrong porting old games to modern hardware can go. Silent Hill 2 and 3 manage to run significantly worse on the PS3 and Xbox 360 than on their original platforms. The developers received an incomplete source code, meaning bugs fished out and fixed by the original developers were once again present.

Silent Hill: Every Playable Character Ranked

Silent Hill isn’t a typical Survival Horror game where players are expected to shoot their way through herds. The series is more about personal fear.

With the limited development time available to them, there was no way for them to fix all the flaws, leading to the compromised final release. Even after patches, the HD collection is largely inferior to the original versions. One should only play it if they have absolutely no alternative. Unfortunately, it is not so easy to grab older copies and play them in an optimal manner, since they all come from the pre-HD era.

11 10 Silent Hill: Homecoming

A More Physically Competent Protagonist Lessens Some Of The Tension

Silent Hill: Homecoming

Released: September 30, 2008
Developer(s): Double Helix Games

Silent Hill: Homecoming was Double Helix Games’ first project and the first mainline entry in the franchise to be tackled by a Western developer. The results were mostly positive. Though it didn’t rack up magnificent scores, Homecoming did decent enough to prove a non-Japanese developer could handle the property. It was also the first in the series to feature a fully controllable camera. Some violent scenes caused the game’s delay in certain territories due to the offending sequences needing edits.

While not a far departure from its predecessor, Homecoming emphasized combat a lot more, which fits the narrative since Alex, the protagonist, has a military background. In terms of pure gameplay, this is one of the better Silent Hill games, although it is not as consistently scary as the best entries in the franchise.

9 Silent Hill 4: The Room

A Solid Sequel In A Series That Was Beginning To Lose Momentum

Released: September 7, 2004
Developer(s): Team Silent

The fourth numbered entry in the franchise was a large departure for the series. Though it bears the franchise’s name, it doesn’t actually take place in the titular town. Additionally, the gameplay puts a larger focus on combat rather than puzzle-solving.

Best Villains In The Silent Hill Games, Ranked

The Silent Hill franchise features an interesting collection of vile and bizarre antagonists. These characters are the best.

Don’t mistake it for an action game, however, since the world is still brimming with tension and unease. This change in direction was appreciated by some and loathed by others. Though far from the most celebrated entry on the PS2, one could do a lot worse when it comes to horror games on the console.

8 Silent Hill: Origins

A Great Prequel And A Great Portable Silent Hill

Silent Hill: Origins

Systems

Released: November 6, 2007
Developer

The prequel to the first game marked the original time a game directly connected with another’s events. Translating popular franchises to Sony’s first handheld was difficult, considering the PSP’s single analog stick, but Origins did its darnedest to make it work while providing a fairly faithful adaptation of Silent Hill‘s core formula.

Although the transition was not completely smooth, Origins is a more than respectable portable Silent Hill experience, and it is far easier to recommend than Book of Memories. That said, the combat is pretty underwhelming, even by the franchise’s fairly low standards. The story, on the other hand, was praised as a treat for fans of the series due to its connections to the premier entry.

7 Silent Hill: Shattered Memories

One Of The Better Horror Games On The Nintendo Wii

Silent Hill: Shattered Memories

Systems

Released: December 8, 2009
Developer: Climax Studios

Shattered Memories’ main draws were the questions and tests taken in a doctor’s office between chapters. The player’s answers and performance in these sections affect the following chapter.

Fi from Skyward Sword beside Rosalina from Super Mario Galaxy, both looking directly out of the screen

5 Best Characters That Debuted On The Nintendo Wii

The Nintendo Wii saw the debut of several famous characters who are still relevant to this day.

This was the most praised aspect of its design, along with its utilization of the Nintendo Wii’s motion controls, something which many third-party developers never quite got right. The low sales numbers of the Wii release prompted PS2 and PSP ports, which removed the motion controls while keeping the rest of the experience intact. All three versions are worth playing in their own right, although the original Wii version is the most unique and memorable.

6 Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams

Metacritic Score: 84

silent hill 2 pyramid head bubble head nurse figma

Release Date: 2001
Developer: Konami
Platforms: Xbox

The Xbox was more powerful on paper than the PS2, yet certain games ran notably worse on Microsoft’s debut console. Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams looks smoother, but some of the effects take a step down. As explained by John Linneman of Digital Foundry, the Xbox version suffers from worse fog effects, CG cinematics downgraded from 60 frames per second to 30, and lower audio quality.

The light from James’ flashlight is more impressive, however. Ultimately, one should stick with the PS2 version. The PC release has similar issues, but at least fan patches remedy some of these. Though it is not the ideal way to play Silent Hill 2, it is still infinitely better than the version found on the HD Collection.

This is not the only case of a video game performing worse on the Xbox versus the PS2 despite its beefier hardware.
Metal Gear Solid 2
also runs better on the PS2 than the
Substance
release on Xbox.

5 P.T.

Playable Teaser For A Game That Never Was

P.T.

Systems

P.T. was a demo for a mysterious game, shadowdropped and free to download. The game was obtuse, made no sense, and mostly consisted of walking down creepy hallways and being assaulted by strange sounds and scary images. Upon beating the demo, players discovered that the experience was a teaser for a new Silent Hill from Hideo Kojima and director Guillermo del Torro.

Unfortunately, the game known as Silent Hills was canceled and P.T. was delisted and made unavailable for download to those who already put the game in their library. Nobody knows what the final game might have been, but P.T. remains a fascinating historical artifact and an ingenious way to announce a video game.

4 Silent Hill

A PS1 Classic That Is Still Atmospheric And Immersive

Silent Hill

Systems

Released: January 31, 1999

The original Silent Hill is a compelling game that is worthwhile spending some time playing, regardless of age. Outdated graphics can still scare the living daylights out of players if the tension is executed perfectly, and Silent Hill has the ability to haunt gamers more than twenty years after its release.

Scariest Analog Horror Series

These analog horror series are the most frightening shows the genre has to offer.

Unlike other survival horror games on the PS1 like Resident Evil, Silent Hill is set in a completely 3D environment. The draw distance is extremely limited, but it is still impressive to realize the developers make this environment on Sony’s first console. Now, Silent Hill can be somewhat difficult to revisit nowadays, and it has aged worse than its two immediate successors. While the movement controls are generally OK for the era, the gameplay might require quite a bit of nostalgia to look past, and the story is not quite as immediately engaging as Silent Hill 3 or especially Silent Hill 2.

3 Silent Hill 2 Remake

A Fantastic Revamp Of An All-Time Masterpiece

Systems

Overcoming initial backlash to its reveal, Bloober Team’s Silent Hill 2 remake did the seemingly impossible and lived up to its 2001 predecessor, in the sense of being worthy of carrying the same name. Now, this one is somewhat difficult to rank since it is, obviously, nowhere near as influential and important as Konami’s original trilogy, and most of its greatest strengths are directly rooted in its ancestor. At the same time, this remake is undoubtedly the best entry point into the franchise in 2024, way exceeding something like The Short Message or the PS3-era games.

Although containing quite a few changes, Silent Hill 2 retains the most important element that was going to determine its success: atmosphere. Drenched in fog and bolstered by fantastic sound design, the remake’s Silent Hill is a jaw-dropping nightmare brought to life, replicating the psychological terror that helped put the series on the horror map. The story mostly sticks to the original’s blueprint since there is no improving perfection, but Bloober expands on a few areas to mostly positive results. That said, the remake emphasizes combat more and presents a more capable version of James. While not bad in isolation, the combat sections might be divisive, particularly with franchise veterans.

2 Silent Hill 3

Great Protagonist, Terrifying Monster Designs, And Consistently Intense

The third numbered entry in the franchise had some big shoes to fill. While it does not match Silent Hill 2, Cheryl Mason’s terrifying journey still manages to live up to the IP’s name, delivering a top-notch horror game that still holds up all these years later.

The graphics pushed the limits of what people thought was possible on the PS2 and the story was also compelling, even if it was not as psychological as its predecessor. The only real complaint was its lack of gameplay innovation, in the sense that Silent Hill 3 does not try to be anything more than another entry in the franchise. It plays things slightly safe; however, this criticism feels less justified nowadays, since the world could use a few more traditional Silent Hill games.

1 Silent Hill 2

A Psychological Horror Masterpiece

Silent Hill 2

Released: September 24, 2001

Silent Hill 2 not only brought the survival horror genre to a whole new level, but it also elevated the entire medium to new heights. Its graphics were unlike anything people had seen before and the narrative following James Suderland’s search for his deceased wife is a terrifyingly personal journey about guilt.

It makes sense in some ways, though. The game is uncomfortable all the way through, from the implications of its narrative to the disturbing creature design. While it is a phenomenal experience, it could prove too much for some. It is exactly this confrontational and unrelenting tone that makes Silent Hill 2 the best game in the franchise. There is currently a remake of the classic title in development from Bloober Team, known for titles like Layers of Fear and The Medium.