Silent Hill has appeared in the stressed goals of horror followers for nearly three a long time now. The foggy city and its varied iterations, suffering from the Otherworld, proceed to outline the mechanics and atmosphere of psychological horror to today.
Every Silent Hill recreation incorporates a comparatively standalone story, tied to no matter character the Otherworld has determined to carry to its doorstep. Nonetheless, the lore of Silent Hill develops throughout video games by means of returning characters in addition to memos, posters, and different small particulars. Regardless of its fill of contradictions, a few of that are solely pure for video games with a number of endings, there’s a bigger story lurking in the background of every protagonist’s path to atonement (or insanity).
If the launch of Silent Hill: Townfall has sparked your curiosity about how the timeline all suits collectively, we’ve bought you coated.
How Many Silent Hill Games Are There?
Roughly 18 Silent Hill video games have been launched since the franchise debuted in 1999.
4 Silent Hill video games have been initially developed by Workforce Silent between 1999 and 2004. Subsequent video games, together with loads of spinoffs, have been developed by a wide range of studios throughout Japan and North America.
Konami has additionally printed 4 Silent Hill video games for cell units: The Orphan trilogy and Silent Hill: The Escape. These have some murky connections to the remainder of the franchise. For simplicity’s sake, we’re not together with these on the full timeline, however there’s nonetheless some lore in these for anybody attempting to get the full Silent Hill image.
We additionally gained’t be together with the Play Novel, which reimagines the authentic recreation, or the interactive streaming sequence Silent Hill: Ascension.
Which Silent Hill Recreation Ought to You Begin With?
The place to begin can be a matter of what drew you to the sequence and whether or not you’re in the authentic gameplay. In the event you’re in search of a style of the sequence on trendy consoles, Bloober Workforce’s Silent Hill 2 remake is a trustworthy recreation with some high quality of life enhancements.
In the event you’re in Silent Hill for lore causes, there’s no hurt in beginning at the starting and even with the authentic Silent Hill 2. Until you continue to have a PS1 and may someway get your fingers on an authentic copy (very cool, in that case), your finest guess right here is in search of emulation guides.
Each Silent Hill Recreation in Timeline Order
The primary 4 Silent Hill video games are thought of the “main canon,” with subsequent spin-offs and standalone video games making references to the authentic story, but in addition creating some contradictions. Some video games are immediately related, some loosely reference each other, and others are just about fully their very own factor.
Nonetheless, we’ve a tough sense of when these video games happen, and it’s up to you the way they match into your understanding of the Otherworld.
1. Silent Hill ƒ
The timeline of Silent Hill video games really begins with one in all the most up-to-date installments. Silent Hill ƒ takes us to the city of Ebisugaoka in the Nineteen Sixties, marking the first time the sequence was set in Japan.
Whereas some unfastened connections to the lore of the American Silent Hill are revealed by means of memos and paperwork, Silent Hill f’s characters, areas, and “model” of the Otherworld are fully distinct. You play as Hinako, a teenaged woman dwelling in concern of her personal future and household, with a singular method to save states and endings enhanced by writing from Ryukishi07.
2. Silent Hill: Origins
Silent Hill Origins is a prequel that, regardless of releasing later, immediately connects to the authentic Silent Hill and Silent Hill 3 as a part of the “Alessa Gillespie” arc. It additionally marks the begin of some inconsistencies and, regardless of its direct connection to the mainline video games, is debated in its place as canon.
The story, which by in-game logic takes place round the late 70s, follows the truck driving Travis after a crash brings him to Silent Hill. There, he slowly discovers the cult-driven secrets and techniques of the city whereas reckoning together with his personal traumatic childhood. It’s particularly the “Good” ending from this recreation that leads into the authentic Silent Hill, fairly actually paving the approach for the character of Cheryl.
3. Silent Hill
The unique Silent Hill, naturally, stood by itself two toes. It launched us to the opaque fog that, whereas serving a sensible goal round real-time generated environments, turned the sequence’ atmospheric staple.
In the late 80s (in the event you go by Silent Hill 3 logic), a mysterious automotive crash leads Harry Mason to the eponymous city of Silent Hill. There, he searches for his now lacking younger daughter, Cheryl, whereas encountering the authentic unusual forged of characters and nightmares of the Otherworld.
Whereas the canon on it is a bit iffy, we are able to now consider it as persevering with from the “Good” ending of Silent Hill: Origins. And, after all, paving the approach for all the pieces else.
4. Silent Hill 2
Maybe the best-known recreation in the sequence, Silent Hill 2 extends the lore of the city from the first recreation whereas introducing new characters and plotlines. And, after all, it gave us the iconic Pyramid Head.
James Sunderland heads to Silent Hill after receiving a letter from his deceased spouse saying that’s the place he can discover her. Artwork director Masahiro Ito has mentioned the recreation happening in the late 70s, however paperwork in later video games peg Silent Hill 2 as happening a couple of decade after the authentic. The 90s timeline slot aligns with the dates we see in plenty of diaries, and is thus what we’re going with.
In contrast to a few of the different video games on this record, Silent Hill 2 doesn’t essentially have a “canon” ending that immediately leads to future occasions.
5. Silent Hill: The Arcade
Now we’re moving into spin-off territory. Silent Hill: The Arcade is especially distinctive, focusing extra on motion shooter mechanics than the eerie psychological horror parts the remainder of the sequence is understood for. Nonetheless, it’s Silent Hill, and particularly a spin-off recreation that takes place round the similar time as Silent Hill 2.
Whereas it’s usually its personal factor, Arcade nonetheless affords some fascinating perception into earlier Silent Hill historical past, significantly the sinking of the Little Baroness ship again in 1917.
6. Silent Hill: Townfall
Yep, issues get bizarre once more. The newest Silent Hill recreation takes place in 1996 on the fictional island of St. Amelia, which locations it firmly in the center of the authentic Workforce Silent video games.
Protagonist Simon wakes up at the docks of the island with no reminiscence of how he bought there. In typical Silent Hill style, he rapidly encounters some funky characters and his personal variation of the Otherworld. These encounters slowly reveal his and the city’s previous, and the way precisely they’re related.
Like Silent Hill f, Townfall has looser connections to the preliminary cult parts of the sequence, as a substitute staying related by means of themes of guilt. And, after all, the joke ending.
7. Silent Hill 3
Whereas Silent Hill 3 doesn’t technically choose up the story till after Townfall, it most immediately follows the occasions of Silent Hill: Origins and the authentic recreation, concluding the aforementioned Alessa arc. Its place on the timeline usually strains up with its personal launch 12 months in the early 2000s.
The connection right here is fairly blatant. You play as Heather, daughter of Harry Mason. The homicide of her father (the OG protagonist) prompts Heather to return to Silent Hill 17 years after the first recreation to study the true circumstances and implications of her beginning.
8. Silent Hill 4: The Room
The final Silent Hill recreation initially developed by Workforce Silent carries on from Silent Hill 3 in the early 2000s. One letter in specific clarifies that it’s been a “few years” since the occasions of the third recreation.
We’ve since gotten loads of totally different iterations of what precisely makes “Silent Hill,” however this was the first recreation to actually transfer the recreation’s location away from the particular city, as a substitute bringing us to Ashfield. There are some character connections to the second and third video games, however this one largely stands by itself as you strive to assist Henry Townsend escape his condominium (and the “Nightmare”).
9. Silent Hill: Homecoming
Homecoming was the first “mainline” Silent Hill recreation launched after Konami disbanded Workforce Silent. It as soon as once more leaves out the precise city of Silent Hill, as a substitute following the protagonist, Alex Shepherd, as he returns to his hometown of Shepherd’s Glen.
Homecoming doesn’t have a very concrete place on the timeline, but it surely usually takes place inside a number of years of The Room. Travis the truck driver makes an look, marking a unfastened connection to Origins, and the recreation immediately addresses the cultish machinations of “The Order” from the authentic canon.
10. Silent Hill: Downpour
Downpour is fairly standalone in the grand scheme of issues. Nonetheless, it does carry us again to the precise city of Silent Hill by means of the basic technique of a tragic man getting right into a automotive (nicely, jail transport bus) crash.
There’s not an apparent in-game 12 months hooked up to the story of Downpour, however common fan consensus locations it round the launch date of the recreation itself. Regardless of its titular setting, there aren’t too many references to the different Silent Hill video games, however a sure Pyramid Head does make an look. In the joke ending, no less than.
11. Silent Hill: Ebook of Reminiscences
Yep, one other funky spin-off. This one is especially distinct, in giant half as a result of it’s the one Silent Hill recreation the place you create your individual character. It’s additionally your birthday! And it is a dungeon crawler! Once more, a bizarre one.
In all of its weirdness, although, we do know that Ebook of Reminiscences takes place very particularly in 2010. Simply don’t anticipate an excessive amount of perception into the remainder of the franchise.
12. Silent Hill: The Quick Message
The timeline ends with a latest free-to-play spin-off that adopted the cancellation of P.T. and is as soon as once more usually its personal factor. The Quick Message takes place in “modern-day” Germany, particularly the small city of Kettenstadt.
Occasions like the COVID-19 pandemic seem in-game, bringing us into the 2020s. Nonetheless, the course of the recreation’s occasions are closely influenced by the city’s historical past again in the Thirties in addition to the childhood of its protagonist, Anita.
BONUS: P.T.
Positive, it may need been pulled from the PlayStation Retailer, however P.T. definitely made some waves when it was first launched. P.T., which stands for Playable Teaser, was an early demo for the full recreation of Silent Hills, a collaboration between Konami, Hideo Kojima, and Guillermo del Toro. Sadly, the undertaking’s cancellation means we’ll by no means really know the way it was going to join to the remainder of the sequence.
The Way forward for Silent Hill
Silent Hill followers have had loads to chew on over the previous couple of years with the back-to-back launch of Silent Hill ƒ and Silent Hill: Townfall. These have been two of the wonkier additions to the full timeline, suggesting Konami’s focus is now on experimenting with what precisely can (and will) be “Silent Hill”.
Whereas Konami has overtly mentioned annual Silent Hill releases, we’ve but to hear any official bulletins about future new video games in the franchise. We do know that Bloober Workforce is following up their Silent Hill 2 remake with a remake of the authentic 1999 recreation.
In the meantime, studios proceed to take cracks at attempting to make a good Silent Hill film.
Blythe Dujardin
Viewers Improvement Coordinator
Blythe (she/her) is an Viewers Improvement Coordinator at IGN who spends approach an excessive amount of time in character customization screens and monitoring down collectibles.