The Silent Hill games, ranked from worst to best
“You promised you’d take me there again someday, but you never did”. Those words are likely etched into the mind of anyone who played Silent Hill 2, the second entry into what has become known as as one of the greatest horror franchises of all time.
And with a remake of Silent Hill 2 fresh off the production line, we figured now’s the perfect time to revisit our list of Silent Hill games, ranked from worst to best. Read on, and you’ll find every major Silent Hill game ranked according to not just how good we think each one is, but what each game has offered to gaming as a whole.
In truth, there hasn’t been a truly terrible Silent Hill game. Everything here is playable and enjoyable to some degree, but some are undoubtedly better than others. And so, if you’re a Silent Hill fan, or are looking to get into the series, you’re in the right place. Take a look and see if our favourite Silent Hill games aligns with your own.
This list was first published in September 2022. It has since been updated with new content.
11. Silent Hill: Book of Memories
- Release year: 2012
- Available on: PS Vita
We’re not quite sure what Konami was thinking with this one. You’ve got a long-running horror series known for its tense combination of exploration and puzzles, and somehow it thought, “let’s make an entry that’s an action RPG viewed from a top-down perspective”. It’s been 12 years, and we’re still absolutely scratching our heads.
In any case, developed by WayForward of Shantae fame, Silent Hill: Book of Memories is entertaining, even if it doesn’t quite fit the bill of what we typically expect from a Silent Hill game. It at least allows you to team up with friends as you explore dark dungeons filled with grotesque enemies. When it comes to the Silent Hill games ranked, there’s only one place is can go though: last. It’s for sure the worst of them all.
10. Silent Hill: Shattered Memories
- Release year: 2009
- Available on: PSP, PS2 and Wii
Developed by Climax Studios, Silent Hill: Shattered Memories is yet another entry in the series that’s a little out of the norm. It’s a reimagination of the first Silent Hill, even keeping the same premise. But there’s quite a lot that’s different.
There’s no combat, for example. On a mission to find his daughter Cheryl, Harry Mason has to rely on hiding from the monsters he encounters. The third-person gameplay is interspersed with sections where Harry interacts with a psychotherapist from a first-person viewpoint, too, answering questions that shape the story and even the monsters you face.
Needless to say, this is an interesting take on the Silent Hill formula. It’s made more intriguing by the fact it’s been designed by none other than Sam Barlow — who has since gone on to create titles such as Her Story and Immortality.
9. Silent Hill: Downpour
- Release year: 2012
- Available on: PS3 and Xbox 360 (playable on Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S via backwards compatibility)
Developed by Vatra Games, Silent Hill: Downpour is the first Silent Hill game to not feature music by Akira Yamaoka. Its soundtrack still has some of that Silent Hill-feel, however, with composer Daniel Licht even working with long-time series vocalist Mary Elizabeth McGlynn on some tracks.
At launch, Downpour was plagued with bugs and technical issues, but they’ve since been ironed out. And while it’s not on the same level as the original Silent Hill games created by Team Silent, it’s competent enough. Perhaps what stands out about it the most is the freedom it offers, with the town of Silent Hill being more open to explore than ever before.
8. Silent Hill: Origins
- Release year: 2007
- Available on: PSP and PS2
Another Silent Hill game developed by Climax Studios, Silent Hill: Origins is… you guessed it, a prequel. Putting players in control of a trucker named Travis, it’s up to you to explore the creepy town of Silent Hill while trying to uncover information about a girl that he saved from a burning house.
Origins has all the usual Silent Hill elements we’ve come to expect. There’s an “otherworld”, plenty of combat, and many puzzles to overcome. In fact, when it comes to combat, Silent Hill: Origins has numerous features that make it stand out somewhat, such as the fact that Travis can fight with his bare fists. And if you do use a weapon, you’ll find they can break.
Overall, when it comes to ranking the Silent Hill games, this one’s a tricky one to place, but we’re happy putting it in 8th. It’s a good game, but there are plenty better.
7. Silent Hill: Homecoming
- Release year: 2008
- Available on: PS3, Xbox 360 and PC (playable on Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S via backwards compatibility)
It may not be loved by everyone, but we’re quite fond of Silent Hill: Homecoming. That’s why it’s found itself ranked right around the middle of our list of Silent Hill games.
Silent Hill: Homecoming has all of the ingredients we’d expect from a mainline Silent Hill game. There’s a troubled protagonist, plenty of grotesque monsters, some tricky puzzles, and even a brilliant soundtrack by Akira Yamaoka. So far, so good, then.
The main trouble with Homecoming is that some players found it to be a little too derivative of Silent Hill 2. It’s so similar, in fact, that even the fearsome Pyramid Head makes an appearance. Ultimately though, while it may not be entirely original, it is a very good game with a truly intriguing story.
6. Silent Hill: The Short Message
- Release year: 2024
- Available on: PS5
It turns out Silent Hill games are a bit like buses. You wait for ages — approximately 12 years in fact — then two come along at once. That’s right: 2024 has seen the release of not one, but two Silent Hill games. Silent Hill: The Short Message might be bite-sized, but it still deserves a place on our list of ranked Silent Hill games, we think.
There’s one key thing that The Short Message has going for it — it’s free to play. As long as you have a PS5 console, you can download and play this one at no cost. And it’s well worth doing so. It’s brief, lasting no more than two hours, but it will have you gripped as you explore an apartment block, solving puzzles and investigating various documents.
It might be rather different from what we think a traditional Silent Hill game is, but there are some very nice nods to the series’ roots here. You’ll find a fantastic monster designed by ex-Team Silent member, Masahiro Ito, for example. And its soundtrack has been composed by none other than Akira Yamaoka. Those two facts alone should make this worth jumping into, surely?
Read our review of Silent Hill: The Short Message
5. Silent Hill 4: The Room
- Release year: 2004
- Available on: PS2, Xbox and PC
If you want proof that Team Silent was keen to experiment with the Silent Hill formula, look no further than Silent Hill 4: The Room. It puts players in control of a man called Henry Townsend, who is desperately trying to escape his apartment. Within that apartment, players are forced to enter dark and dangerous locations via holes that appear.
While the action is viewed from a first-person perspective in the apartment, upon travelling through a hole the gameplay switches up to a third-person viewpoint — one that’s more in keeping with what we’d expect from a Silent Hill game.
Like in Silent Hill Origins, some melee weapons here are breakable. But even more troublesome are ghost-like enemies that simply cannot be killed, forcing you to keep on the move. A typically engrossing story and the usual Team Silent flair means that Silent Hill 4: The Room is a commendable Silent Hill game, but when forced to rank it amongst the others, the fifth spot is the only place it can go.
4. Silent Hill 3
- Release year: 2003
- Available on: PS2 and PC (playable on PS3 and Xbox 360, and backwards compatible on Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S thanks to the Silent Hill HD Collection)
With a story that follows on from the original Silent Hill, Silent Hill 3 might just possibly be the scariest game in the series. It’s certainly the weirdest, with a pre-final boss scene that has to be seen to be believed. In any case, for the third entry in the Silent Hill series, Team Silent pulled out all the stops to create a game that felt familiar but also pushed boundaries. It certainly pushed the PS2’s hardware to its limits when it first released back in 2003.
We think that Silent Hill 3 still looks great to this day, and some of the effects employed here to creep you out are absolutely mind-blowing. A certain scene involving a room with a giant mirror will forever be etched in our minds, as well as the revelation that the creatures we see may not actually be as hideous as we believe.
It may only be ranked as our fourth favourite of all the Silent Hill games, but there’s still no denying that Silent Hill 3 is an unforgettable masterclass in horror.
3. Silent Hill
- Release year: 1999
- Available on: PS One (digital release playable on PS Vita)
Without the original Silent Hill, the video game horror scene would undoubtedly be very different today. Indeed, we have a lot to owe to this survival horror, which may just be one of the most influential games ever made.
Released on the original PlayStation way back in 1999, Silent Hill was the first game that well and truly scared us. Honestly, sometimes we had to walk away from it because it made us feel so uneasy. From sound design to its dark and foreboding visuals, Silent Hill absolutely knows how to keep things tense, teasing you to explore its environments dripping in atmosphere.
We’ll never forget the first time the world around us changed into a mess of steel, rust and dried blood. And we’ll never quite recover from the loud noises suddenly bursting out behind us as we crept around in the dark. It’s just a shame that EU players had the experience lessened a little by some of its enemies being tweaked to make them less controversial.
2. Silent Hill 2
- Release year: 2001
- Available on: PS2, Xbox and PC (playable on PS3 and Xbox 360, and backwards compatible on Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S thanks to the Silent Hill HD Collection)
Until recently, the original Silent Hill 2 was hands-down the best Silent Hill game ever made, ranked at number one. But it’s since been trumped — by no other than its own remake. Still, 2001’s Silent Hill 2 remains one of the best horror games of all time, and it still very much deserves its spot on this list.
Steeped in symbolism, Silent Hill 2 is a work of art. It follows protagonist James Sunderland as he returns to the town of Silent Hill to look for his wife. But the troubling thing is that she’s supposed to be dead. What follows is a journey full of horrors, hardships and revelations. And by the end of it your world is likely to have been turned upside down.
If you’re a horror fan, you need to experience Silent Hill 2. It’s as simple as that. This is a bona fide masterpiece, and until its remake — which you can read about below — no game came anywhere close.
1. Silent Hill 2 Remake
- Release year: 2024
- Available on: PS5 and PC
So here we have it: our number one ranked Silent Hill game of all time. It’s been a long time coming — 2024 marks 12 years since any Silent Hill release, in fact. But it turns out it has been more than worth the wait: developed by Bloober Team (the developers behind Blair Witch and The Medium, amongst others), this remake of Silent Hill is absolutely unforgettable.
In a way, 2024’s Silent Hill 2 feels just how we remember the original Silent Hill 2 in our heads. It shares the same premise: you take control of James Sunderland as he travels to Silent Hill searching for his wife, after receiving a mysterious letter from her. But the gameplay has been significantly expanded upon, with new puzzles, new enemy encounters and plenty more areas to explore.
Nothing has been shoehorned in just for the sake of it, though. Bloober Team, in working with Konami, has managed to create something that’s every bit as iconic as the original. It’s tense, it’s scary, it’s unputdownable: this is what all horror games should be. Bravo, Bloober Team.
