Fans of Konami's iconic horror series have experienced their share of disappointments, especially recently. P.T., a playable demo for a new installment called Silent Hills, released for free last year to rave reviews. The first-person horror experience oozes with atmosphere, manipulates players' expectations, and packs in some of the biggest scares the genre has ever seen. That sensational teaser, along with the promising collaboration between Hideo Kojima (Metal Gear Solid) and director Guillermo del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth), had fans riding high for the potential of Silent Hills. That high was cut short this week when Konami announced the project's cancellation in the wake of Kojima's disbandment from the company.
This recent whirlwind is only one episode in a long-running series of letdowns that horror fans have endured since the franchise first emerged from the fog in 1999. While those early titles were eye-opening revolutions in the world of horror games, the series gradually degraded over time, making the cancellation of the promising Silent Hills even more devastating. In the interest of putting Silent Hills' recent cancellation in perspective, we're reflecting on the entire series and ranking them from the plentiful worst to irrefutable best.
Note: This list focuses on Silent Hill titles that we consider part of the main series and details the consoles they were originally launched on. We'll be excluding smaller mobile titles and interactive graphic novels.
9. Silent Hill: Book of Memories - PlayStation Vita (2012)
Few of Silent Hill's missteps are as anomalous and loathed as
Book of Memories. WayForward's Vita title turns the series' conventions on their
side, trading out slow and tense exploration for fast-paced dungeon crawling.
Players creep through layers of a nightmarish dungeon, wielding axes, shotguns,
and even Pyramid Head's humongous knife as they fight their way through legions
of shambling nurses and exploding fatsos. The clunky combat is made worse by
unfair, invisible traps, co-op partners that only get in the way, and a grind
that gets repetitive far too early. Book of Memories is the worst the series
has to offer by a mile.
8. Silent Hill: Downpour - PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 (2012)
Vatra Games was a relatively unproven studio when it was
handed the reins to the Silent Hill series. The initial showings of the
water-drenched return to the misty town looked promising, with the ex-convict protagonist
fleeing in a panic from a reality-warping void as his surroundings
suddenly shift to slow him down. The game contains other cool highlights, like water that triggers a series' iconic shift into darkness and a puzzle that involves
piecing together a macabre stage production of Hansel and Gretel. Unfortunately, it's held back by plodding town
exploration, horrible aiming mechanics, and miserably little enemy variation. Instead
of feeling unnerved while exploring the side streets of Silent Hill, Downpour
instills boredom.
7. Silent Hill: Origins - PSP (2007)
This portable Silent Hill by Climax Studios isn't as pretty
as its console big brothers of the era, but the grainier polygonal look make it
reminiscent of its origins on Sony's first console. The lack of checkpoints and
spaced-out save points provide old school tension, but like the old days, the
camera can wig out in claustrophobic encounters. The story of Travis the
trucker's trek through an early incarnation of the famous town is mostly
forgettable, but the more aggressive monsters make moment-to-moment survival
interesting. Players are allowed to experiment with combat styles, too, able to
wield everything from pool cues to televisions to weight-lifting sets. The
persistent, stalking Butcher antagonist even adds a little Pyramid Head-style
suspense. Acquiring the Butcher's tremendous cleaver and taking out foes with
it is an empowering experience in a game that's otherwise fairly punishing. Origins
isn't amazing, but it's worth a look for fans of the series' early days.
6. Silent Hill: Homecoming - PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC
(2008)
Before Double Helix wowed the world with the new Killer
Instinct and a solid new Strider, it aimed to reinvent the Silent Hill series
and stumbled. This ambitious title marks the first time an out-of-house
developer handled the Konami property, but the new blood didn't meet previously established standards. Homecoming effectively updates Silent Hill's dingy,
foreboding environments to the PS3-era, but the increased focus on combat
doesn't quite survive the jump. Alex is a veteran with combat experience, so
he's more precise with firearms and more comfortable wielding a melee weapon. Unfortunately,
the revamped design makes for awkward encounters and frustrating deaths that
are rarely due to your survivalist skills.
5. Silent Hill: Shattered Memories - Wii (2009)
Where Climax's Silent Hill: Origins clings closely to the
series' core formula, the developer's second offering shakes things up in
exciting and dramatic ways. Shattered Memories is a retelling of the first
game's tale about Harry Mason searching for his daughter in a town steeped in
mystery and deadly beasts. Players evade the stalking creatures by running for
their lives, knocking down shelves to slow their pursuers, and even the age-old
strategy of hiding in a closet. The non-combat approach places the impetus on
survival, but the initial Wii launch was mired in the system's inconsistent
motion controls. Shattered Memories' moment-to-moment gameplay isn't very satisfying,
but the unique take on the series and expertly executed twist ending make this
a worthwhile venture for dedicated fans.
Up next: The very best the series has to offer ends up being some of the earliest entries...