Halloween is upon us! The scariest time of the year warrants playing the scariest games! We have discussed Silent Hill many times on this site. This is a series that needs no introduction. Without further adieu, here are all the main entries ranked from worst to best! The Arcade game and Book of Memories will not be listed, because they are spin-offs and I never played them. Honorable mentions to Shattered Memories and P.T, good games, but didn’t quite fit the list. Here is every Silent Hill game ranked.
Table of Contents
Silent Hill: Downpour
Bar none, the bottom of the barrel. This is a clunky, misguided, ugly, disjointed misstep. We play as Murphy, a prisoner whose bus, en route to another facility, capsizes. He escapes and makes his way to the titular town. Never in my life have I seen such a bland and half-baked attempt at a Silent Hill game. The narrative is predictable, tired, and uninspired. The characters have about as much depth as a rain puddle. The monsters are without a doubt the laziest and most laughably designed in any title. What’s even worse is the gameplay — the inventory is very limited, it’s easy to walk past a map and get lost, and the fast-travel system is awkward and confusing. It’s very apparent why this killed the franchise for as long as it did.
Check out full retrospective here
Silent Hill: Homecoming
Not as bad, but that’s not saying much. Here we have Alex Shepherd coming back from a lengthy tour in some war-torn country. The ingredients are all here, but holy heck are they woefully undercooked. This game tried to take the series in a more mainstream direction — admirable, but it emphatically did not deliver. The combat, while functional, feels very out of place. Being able to move around like a character in Gears of War just doesn’t feel like Silent Hill. Its biggest trap, however, is the narrative. In typical Silent Hill fashion, as we progress, it turns out we had a repressed memory of some grave misdeed, and the town of Silent Hill reminds us. We have a deep, brooding, and heartfelt reflection and atone for our sins — in other words, the same old stuff.
Silent Hill: Secret Message
Not particularly good or bad, but it’s free, and you get what you pay for. You play as a young woman named Anita, whose best friend has committed suicide. The creative choice to have the game take place in an abandoned apartment block in Germany was interesting, but it doesn’t utilize the setting in any meaningful way. There’s no combat — it’s more about exploration and storytelling. The main villain is a grotesque flower monster; your only way to survive is to run. The narrative and characters aren’t particularly interesting, and overall it’s a very forgettable title. Play it once if you’re curious.
Silent Hill
We all have to start somewhere. Harry Mason is in a car crash and finds his daughter Cheryl missing. He sets out on a journey to recover her while unraveling the mystery of the fog-filled town of Silent Hill in this creepy but admittedly creaky debut. The game is a PS1 title well over 25 years old. As you can imagine, it hasn’t exactly aged the best. The controls are clunky, the combat is dodgy, and the story can be a tad confusing. Don’t get it twisted — this is by no means a bad game. For its time, it was a great step forward for the horror genre. Instead of a S.T.A.R.S. SWAT team, you play as an average Joe just trying to save his child. Unlike Resident Evil, it puts more emphasis on presentation and psychological horror rather than a B-movie Evil Dead vibe. In a strange way, the primitive hardware enhances the atmosphere, accompanied by a fantastic score by Akira Yamaoka. Aged, but still worth playing
Silent Hill: Origins
The first title developed by a Western team. Travis is a trucker who stumbles upon a burning building and saves a burnt girl from the fire. Wanting to know her fate, he decides to make his way to the hospital to check on her. He’s now trapped in the town of Silent Hill and faced with an onslaught of monsters and inner nightmares manifested into reality. Usually, a major point of criticism is a limited inventory — not here. You can carry 50 portable TVs in your pocket and use them as weapons. Silly, but I’m all for it. The narrative is actually pretty solid. It was interesting to revisit familiar characters like Dahlia Gillespie, Dr. Kaufmann, and Alessa with a fresh coat of paint. Travis is a compelling protagonist with a well-written backstory. Unlike other protagonists, he can move between worlds at will using mirrors. This was an interesting mechanic that kept things fresh. Is it perfect? Not at all, but you can tell the team behind it put their best foot forward to deliver an authentic Silent Hill experience.
Silent Hill 3
A direct sequel to the first title. Heather Mason (formerly Cheryl) is now a teenager just trying to live a normal life with her father, Harry. Sadly — and rather predictably — this doesn’t last. She comes home to find her father murdered by cult member Claudia. She’s informed that all will be made clear in the town of Silent Hill. This game has some of the best monster designs and red, rustic environments in the entire series. Heather is one of the most well-written protagonists with a great character arc. You really feel her transformation from edgy teenager to courageous, strong-willed young woman with immense integrity.
Silent Hill 4: The Room
Huge hot take — but this is actually my favorite title. SH4 follows Henry, a shy and introverted man who wakes up one day to find his room completely chained shut from the inside. An ominous message appears: “Don’t go out, Walter.” A huge hole is found in his bathroom; with no other option, he goes through. He then finds himself in a dark and twisted otherworld of monsters, murder, and mayhem. This is a great but flawed title. The gameplay leaves a bit to be desired — it’s more action-oriented, the inventory system is limited, the backtracking is excessive, Eileen is a slog to escort in the second half, and the reused environments feel like padding. Narratively, however, it’s one of the best. It dares to think outside the box by focusing on an innocent bystander, taking a more murder-mystery approach to its storytelling, and largely taking place outside of Silent Hill. Walter Sullivan is arguably the best-written, most tragic, and most disturbing antagonist in any horror game ever. A bit lopsided, but well worth its shortcomings.
Check out full retrospective here
Silent Hill 2
Considered the golden child of the franchise. What is there to say about this game that hasn’t already been said? James is on a quest to find his deceased wife in their “special place” in Silent Hill. Never before had a horror game been crafted to this level of mastery. The brilliantly written narrative, clever puzzles, and dreary fog world all come together perfectly. James’ journey is a long and arduous trek into the darkest corners of his mind. Never was a protagonist presented in such a nuanced, layered way. James can be the man his wife knew — kind and caring — or selfish and self-destructive. The best part is, that’s all up to you. Without a doubt, the shining peak of the series’ golden age.
Silent Hill: f
A much-needed change of pace for the series. Themes of trauma are still here and thriving, but instead of the titular town, we get a 1960s Showa-era town in Japan. This is definitely a J-horror title — Japanese folklore and Shintoism are heavily featured in its lore and narrative. It almost feels like a sequel to Siren more than Silent Hill. Without a doubt, it’s the most aesthetically beautiful and creatively crafted title in the series. While absolutely gorgeous, it’s also one of the most challenging. It’s hard but fair — be sure to stock up on health items and tread carefully.
https://opencritic.com/game/18785/silent-hill-f
Silent Hill 2 Remake
Objectively the best in the series. Everything that made the original great is still here, but where it really shines is in its gameplay. This fresh coat of paint has the series looking better than ever. They knew the original, while phenomenal for its time, needed some tweaks. The gameplay is smooth as silk — gone are the fixed camera angles and clunky combat. We now have a consistent over-the-shoulder third-person view that makes traversal much easier. However, the biggest improvement by far is the boss battles. The original had iconic bosses, but the fights themselves left a lot to be desired. Bloober Team fleshed these out considerably, making them far more terrifying and epic in scale. A lot was riding on this title, and across the board, it delivered. Bloober Team, I salute you.
Here is our list! Do you agree? Is there anything you would change ? Let me know in the comments below! Happy Halloween!
