Resident Evil vs Silent Hill – In the realm of horror, the undisputed king, without question, is Resident Evil. That being said, Resident Evil was like the NES of its day – and like the NES, others would jump in to try to take its mantle. Many would try, and even more would fail-Siren, Clock Tower, Dino Crisis, Condemned, etc. The RE franchise seems to be the only one that managed to survive, remain consistent, and remain relevant in modern times.
The series that would take on RE head-on to see who would be the strongest horror game franchise was the prestigious series, Silent Hill. These two series would be THE horror titles of the era. Like the Highlander, there could really be only one. While Silent Hill put up a good fight, RE would come out swinging as THE undisputed champion. Capcom would revolutionize the genre with the groundbreaking RE4. After that, there was no looking back. SH: Homecoming tried and failed to make the game more mainstream, and Downpour straight up killed the franchise. It wouldn’t be until Bloober Team developed and released the phenomenal SH2 remake that the franchise got its much-needed comeback. It seems the two goliaths are back and better than ever. However, it seems Resident Evil always managed to come out on top. Today we take a look, at the age old question and give find the answer – Why Resident Evil always seemed to outdo Silent Hill in the Resident Evil vs Silent Hill battle.
Table of Contents
More major backing
Strength in numbers
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Capcom treats RE as its flagship series, and what does a flagship series get? Resources—a lot of resources. This lent RE more development time, manpower, budgets, and a more polished look and feel. SH, while a beloved franchise in its own right, had about half the resources at any given moment. This is apparent in its reuse of assets, rushed schedules, and, frankly, its lower budget, which was starting to show. Think about it: SH4 and RE4 only came out a year apart. While I love them both, the comparison is night and day in terms of scale, polish, and presentation.
More flexible narratives
While SH storylines are objectively deeper and more complex, they admittedly were victims of their own trappings. With its themes of cults, depression, suicide, redemption, and ritual sacrifice, it might be seen by some as a little too overambitious. The narratives in RE, while nowhere near as well-written, were FAR easier to follow. SH always went for a Stephen King/Twin Peaks vibe, where the story was actually important and required your undivided attention. RE, from day one, had a corny, cheesy, B-movie, Evil Dead approach to storytelling. No Pyramid-headed demons to punish us for our sins here—just give us a giant zombie wielding a bazooka who wants to blow stuff up.
Less constrained by locations
Biohazards are world wide
The biggest drawback of Silent Hill’s settings was Silent Hill itself. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE the town of Silent Hill. It is easily one of the greatest settings in all of gaming, but let’s be practical. How many times could a game take place in the same town before wearing out its welcome? RE was never confined to one place—fighting zombies in Raccoon City, Majini in Africa, or blasting werewolves in the snowy mountains of Eastern Europe. The possibilities were endless.
More success in other media
An icon ( for better or for worse) in her own right
RE had one of the longest-running film franchises (regardless of quality), with an assortment of comic books, action figures, T-shirts, and other apparel. This led to RE having much more brand recognition—you would see it mentioned and parodied in various films and TV shows. Silent Hill would take a crack at it, with modest success. It had two live-action film adaptations, comics, an arcade machine, and novelizations. It still couldn’t quite stack up and didn’t become a household name.
More commercial appeal
Might be a little too out there for some
When you break it down to the simplest of matters, Resident Evil always just had more commercial appeal. Both series were in danger of fizzling out and becoming irrelevant, but Capcom did what Konami seemed just too afraid to do: mix up the formula. They knew the franchise was becoming stale and something had to change. Get rid of the fixed camera, give it a polished modern look, tightly tuned gameplay, and bam—you got Resident Evil 4. When the formula grew stale again, what did they do? Get rid of the third-person perspective, scale down the action, give it a tighter scope, and bam—you got Resident Evil 7. RE seems to just have an innate ability to adapt and evolve to modern times, helping solidify its staying power and relevancy.
That is why Silent Hill, for all its strengths, always seemed to have a hard time keeping up. Hopefully, this is no longer the case and Konami has taken their notes. Silent Hill F looks extremely promising and can help the series break out of its shell of constraints. Silent Hill is looking to solidify its place as a master of horror once again. The future is bright, and the fog is back for the foreseeable future.
