Silent Hill theme by GhostViperGTX
Download: SilentHill.p3t
(3 backgrounds)
| Silent Hill | |
|---|---|
 Logo since 2022 | |
| Genre(s) | Survival horror |
| Developer(s) |
|
| Publisher(s) |
|
| Creator(s) | Keiichiro Toyama |
| Composer(s) |
|
| Platform(s) | |
| First release | Silent Hill February 24, 1999[1] |
| Latest release | Silent Hill: The Short Message January 31, 2024 |
Silent Hill[a] (Japanese: サイレントヒル, Hepburn: Sairento Hiru) is a horror anthology media franchise centered on a series of survival horror games created by Keiichiro Toyama and published by Konami. The first four video games in the series, Silent Hill, Silent Hill 2, Silent Hill 3, and Silent Hill 4: The Room, were developed by an internal group called Team Silent, a development staff within former Konami subsidiary Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo.
The later four games, Origins, Homecoming, Shattered Memories and Downpour, were developed by other, mostly Western developers. The Silent Hill franchise has expanded to include various print pieces, two feature films, and spin-off video games. As of 2013, the game series has sold over 8.4 million copies worldwide.[2]
Silent Hill is set in the series' eponymous fictional American town. The series is heavily influenced by the literary genre of psychological horror, with its player characters being mostly "everymen".[3]
Installment overview[edit]
| 1999 | Silent Hill |
|---|---|
| 2000 | |
| 2001 | Play Novel: Silent Hill |
| Silent Hill 2 | |
| 2002 | |
| 2003 | Silent Hill 3 |
| 2004 | Silent Hill 4: The Room |
| 2005 | |
| 2006 | Silent Hill (mobile game) |
| 2007 | Silent Hill: The Arcade |
| Silent Hill: Orphan | |
| Silent Hill: Origins | |
| Silent Hill: The Escape | |
| 2008 | Silent Hill: Orphan 2 |
| Silent Hill: Homecoming | |
| 2009 | Silent Hill: Shattered Memories |
| 2010 | Silent Hill: Orphan 3 |
| 2011 | |
| 2012 | Silent Hill: Downpour |
| Silent Hill HD Collection | |
| Silent Hill: Book of Memories | |
| 2013 | |
| 2014 | P.T. |
| 2015 | |
| 2016 | |
| 2017 | |
| 2018 | |
| 2019 | |
| 2020 | |
| 2021 | |
| 2022 | |
| 2023 | Silent Hill: Ascension |
| 2024 | Silent Hill: The Short Message |
| Silent Hill 2 (remake) | |
| TBA | Silent Hill f |
| Silent Hill: Townfall |
Main series[edit]
Silent Hill (1999)[edit]
The first installment in the series follows Harry Mason as he searches for his missing adopted daughter in the mysterious New England town of Silent Hill. Stumbling upon a cult conducting a ritual to revive a deity it worships, Harry discovers his daughter's true origin. Multiple game endings are possible, depending on in-game actions taken by the player. It was released in 1999 for the PlayStation. In 2009, the game became available for download from the European PlayStation Network store for the PlayStation 3 and the PlayStation Portable, and later, in the same year, from the North American PlayStation Network store.[4][5]
Silent Hill 2 (2001)[edit]
The second installment in the series follows James Sunderland searching for his deceased wife in Silent Hill after having received a letter from her informing him that she is waiting for him there. After searching in and exploring the mysterious town, he ultimately realizes her death's true nature. It was released in September 2001 for the PlayStation 2. An extended version of the game was released for the Xbox in December of the same year as Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams in North America and Silent Hill 2: Inner Fears in Europe, and for the PlayStation 2 in 2003 as Silent Hill 2: Director's Cut, with a port of Director's Cut to Microsoft Windows released in February 2003.[6]
Silent Hill 3 (2003)[edit]
The third installment in the series follows a teenage girl named Heather as she becomes caught in a conflict within Silent Hill's cult and discovers her true origin. It was released in May 2003 for the PlayStation 2, with a port to Microsoft Windows released in October of the same year. Silent Hill 3 is a direct sequel to the first installment in the series.[7]
Silent Hill 4: The Room (2004)[edit]
The fourth installment in the series follows Henry Townshend, who finds himself locked in his apartment as strange phenomena begin to unfold around him and other residents of the building. It was released in 2004 for the PlayStation 2, Xbox and Microsoft Windows and it also marked the end of Team Silent's contributions to the series.
Silent Hill: Origins (2007)[edit]
The fifth installment in the series is a prequel to Silent Hill that follows trucker Travis Grady, who becomes trapped in Silent Hill after rescuing a girl from a burning house. During his quest to find the fate of the burned girl, he encounters characters from the first game and is forced to face his past.[8] It was developed by Climax Studios and released in 2007 for the PlayStation Portable, with a port for the PlayStation 2 released in 2008 and was also the first Silent Hill title developed outside Japan.[9] It is known as Silent Hill Zero in Japan.
Silent Hill: Homecoming (2008)[edit]
The sixth installment in the series follows Alex Shepherd, a soldier who has returned from a war overseas. Alex discovers upon his arrival that his father has gone missing, his mother has become catatonic, and no one can provide the whereabouts of his younger brother, Joshua. The game chronicles Alex's search to find his missing brother.[10] It was developed by Double Helix Games and released in 2008 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 and in 2009 for Microsoft Windows.
Silent Hill: Downpour (2012)[edit]
The eighth installment in the series follows Murphy Pendleton, a prisoner who is stranded in Silent Hill after his prison transport vehicle crashes. Formerly announced in April 2010[11] and developed by Vatra Games for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, the game was released on March 13, 2012.[12] It is the only game in the series that can be played in 3D (stereoscopic).
Silent Hill ƒ (TBA)[edit]
A new mainline game, entitled Silent Hill ƒ, was announced in October 2022. Developed by studio NeoBards, with creative contributions from writer Ryukishi07, character designer "kera" and producer Motoi Okamoto.[13] It is a story set in Japan during the Shōwa period.[14] The story is being written by Ryukishi07, who wrote the When They Cry visual novel series.
Remakes[edit]
Silent Hill: Shattered Memories (2009)[edit]
A reimagining of the first installment. Developed by Climax Studios for the Wii in December 2009, ports for the PlayStation 2 and the PlayStation Portable were released in January 2010.[15] Shattered Memories retains the premise of the original game—Harry Mason's quest to find his missing daughter in the American town of Silent Hill—but is set in what appears to be a different fictional universe, following a different plot, with characters from the first game appearing altered alongside new ones. Gameplay takes place in two parts: a framing, first-person psychotherapy session with an unseen patient, and an over-the-shoulder perspective of Harry's journey through Silent Hill, periodically interrupted by the occurrence of an environmental shift where he is pursued by monsters.
Shattered Memories' gameplay focuses on completion of psychological tests which alter in-game elements while in the first setting, and exploration, puzzle solving, and monster evasion when in the second setting. The game's developers avoided integrating combat into the second setting's gameplay, centering instead on a weaponless player character attempting to rescue himself from powerful opponents, as they considered this to be more fear-inducing. The game received generally positive reviews, with its graphics, storyline, voice acting, soundtrack, and use of the Wii Remote as the Wii version's controller praised by reviewers; Shattered Memories' chase sequences were criticized by some reviewers, because they deemed them potentially frustrating and short.
Silent Hill 2 (remake) (2024)[edit]
A remake of Silent Hill 2 was announced in October 2022 for the PlayStation 5 and PC. It will be console exclusive on the PlayStation 5 for the first 12 months but will also be released for PC.[16] Akira Yamaoka, the original composer, returns to write the score.
Adaptations and ports[edit]
Play Novel: Silent Hill (2001)[edit]
Play Novel: Silent Hill is a visual novel adaptation of the original Silent Hill, released exclusively for the Game Boy Advance in Japan on March 21, 2001.[17] It has been fan translated into English.
Silent Hill (mobile game) (2006)[edit]
Silent Hill (mobile game) is a mobile game adaptation of the original Silent Hill. It was released in Japan for the FOMA phone on July 5, 2006 and for Java on January 17, 2007.
Silent Hill HD Collection (2012)[edit]
Silent Hill HD Collection is a high-definition re-release of Silent Hill 2 and Silent Hill 3 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, featuring high-resolution visuals, new sounds, new voices and Trophies/Achievements for both games. Silent Hill 2 features the option to use both the old and new voices; however, Silent Hill 3 features only a new voice track, with the old voices unavailable for legal reasons. Silent Hill 2 features both the main scenario and the Born from a Wish sub-scenario seen in later re-releases, such as the Director's Cut.[18]
This pack marked the first time Silent Hill 3 was playable on an Xbox console. The collection got mixed to negative reviews due to severe issues with both games, such as severe framerate problems, lockups and more. While the PlayStation 3 version was patched, the Xbox 360 patch was cancelled and Konami offered refunds to all Xbox 360 owners of the game.[18]
Spin-offs[edit]
Silent Hill: The Arcade (2007)[edit]
Silent Hill: The Arcade is an arcade game that deals with two characters, Eric and Tina, who have entered the town of Silent Hill and must battle monsters while uncovering the mystery behind Eric's nightmares about a girl and a steamship.[19] The Arcade has a multiplayer element, where each player can choose to be either Eric or Tina.[20] A second player can join the game at any time.[21]
Silent Hill: Orphan (2007)[edit]
Silent Hill: Orphan is a mobile game. The game is set in an abandoned orphanage and is played through first-person, point-and-click gameplay.
Silent Hill: The Escape (2007)[edit]
Silent Hill: The Escape is a mobile game. It was released in Japan for the FOMA phone December 19, 2007, and was released for the iOS internationally in 2009. The goal of the game is to guide the player through ten stages by finding a key and opening the locked door. The game is played in a first-person perspective. The game achieved mixed reviews due to lack of storyline and poor execution.[22]
Silent Hill: Orphan 2 (2008)[edit]
Silent Hill: Orphan 2 is a mobile game, and a sequel to Silent Hill: Orphan.
Silent Hill: Orphan 3 (2010)[edit]
Silent Hill: Orphan 3 is a mobile game, and a sequel to Silent Hill: Orphan 2.
Silent Hill: Book of Memories (2012)[edit]
Silent Hill: Book of Memories was released for the PlayStation Vita.[12][23][24][25][26] Book of Memories utilizes an overhead isometric view, follows a different storyline and features returning creatures from the series' fictional universe, as well as cooperative gameplay;[27] the game is the first installment in the series to feature multiplayer gameplay, apart from The Arcade.[27][28] According to series producer Tomm Hulett, Book of Memories' gameplay is largely different from the one established in previous installments in the series, focusing on cooperative multiplayer action rather than traditional psychological horror.[29]
P.T. (2014)[edit]
During Sony Computer Entertainment's presentation at Gamescom 2014, an interactive teaser titled P.T. (initialism for "playable teaser") was released on the PlayStation Store for PlayStation 4. The teaser revealed a new Silent Hill game entitled Silent Hills, being developed by Kojima Productions using the Fox Engine, and a collaboration between Hideo Kojima and film director Guillermo del Toro, featuring actor Norman Reedus. On September 1, Sony revealed during its pre-TGS press conference that P.T. had been downloaded over a million times and had been viewed over 30,000,000 times across platforms.[30] P.T. was pulled from the PlayStation Store and is no longer available for download.[31] Numerous remakes of P.T. have spawned as a result of the game's extremely limited availability; it remains unavailable on the PlayStation Store, and has since been blocked from running on the PlayStation 5.[32]
Silent Hill: Ascension (2023)[edit]
An interactive media experience known as Silent Hill: Ascension was announced in October 2022. It was developed by Genvid Technologies, Bad Robot Games and Behaviour Interactive. It is a Choose Your Own Adventure-style interactive game where viewers can vote on the direction of the story in real time, allowing them to have agency in how the singular canon progresses similar to other horror contemporaries such as Black Mirror: Bandersnatch and the 2020 continuation of Ben Drowned. The first episode was broadcast on October 31, 2023 which acted as the so-called "series premiere" of the interactive series. The series was broadcast daily at 9:00 PM ET/ 6:00 PM PT for "the next several months", with the last episode airing