Editorials
A Definitive Ranking of the ‘Silent Hill’ Video Games
For nearly a decade, Silent Hill existed only in our restless dreams, with Konami refusing to finance any new projects and not even facilitating the rerelease of previous games. Sure, there was a spark of hope when Hideo Kojima revealed P.T. and his plans for a franchise reinvention, but that promising endeavor was soon replaced by Pachinko Machines and crossovers in other games. That’s why, for the longest time, fans had come to accept that their favorite survival horror series was finally dead.
Of course, that all changed with Konami’s recent Silent Hill Transmission, which revealed not one, but five simultaneous projects meant to bring the series back to its former glory! As a life-long fan of the series (Silent Hill was actually what got me into horror in the first place), I was naturally ecstatic. And with the cursed town possibly receiving new arrivals in the near future, I think this is a good time to re-evaluate the previous entries in the franchise through a definitive ranking of every Silent Hill game.
After all, while I believe that every single game in the series has something to love about it, some of these titles are clearly better than others.
While the following list is obviously based on personal opinion, we’ll be following a couple of rules in order to keep things simple. First of all, we’ll be ignoring Pachinko Machines, Mobile Java games and Arcade titles, as these are exceedingly difficult to track down and aren’t even canon in the series’ main story. We also won’t be including P.T. as it was quite literally a playable teaser and not a complete game (though it remains one of the best SH experiences out there).
With that out of the way, don’t forget to comment below with your own personal ranking of the games if you disagree with this one.
Now, let’s step into those foggy streets for our Silent Hill ranking…
9. Silent Hill: Homecoming (2008)
The problem with adaptations is that if they’re too successful, they can end up overshadowing the original IP. Unfortunately, SH: Homecoming is a good example of this. While the original project was meant to be more in line with SH2 and focus on subjective psychological terror, the developers eventually decided to make the game look and feel more like Christophe Gans’ 2007 movie.
The ensuing product isn’t exactly a bad game, featuring some appropriately creepy monsters and our first ever high-definition romp through the titular town, but it’s clearly not up to par with the rest of the series. On the plus side, the game features a great soundtrack (obviously composed by series veteran Akira Yamaoka) as well as some memorable shout-outs to Jacob’s Ladder, a major inspiration for the franchise.
8. Silent Hill: Book of Memories (2012)
Until Konami’s latest announcement, SH fans were deeply afraid that Book of Memories would be the franchise’s last gasp. While I don’t think the game is as bad as some critics have made it out to be, as it takes a couple of risks and is actually one of the better western RPGs on the PlayStation Vita, I was also disappointed that the last official Silent Hill game was somehow a handheld dungeon crawler that focused on multiplayer action rather than a memorable narrative.
That being said, the game has plenty of easter-eggs for long-time fans and the soundtrack boasts a couple of memorable themes. Even the dungeon crawling is legitimately engaging if you can get a couple of friends to go on this nightmarish journey with you. That’s why I think it’s a better game than the derivative Homecoming despite only barely being a horror title.
7. Silent Hill: Downpour (2012)
A completely original psychological thriller about a convict on the run, featuring a unique take on the titular town and a main theme composed by Korn? Sign me the hell up! Sure, Downpour has its fair share of technical issues and often doesn’t feel like Silent Hill game at all, but I appreciate the developers’ commitment to making this sequel feel like a brand-new experience.
From Daniel Licht’s surprisingly engaging soundtrack to the recurring rain motif, there’s a lot to love about Downpour even if it’s still not up there with the best in the series. Unfortunately, the game remains imprisoned on the seventh generation of consoles until Konami decides to rerelease it…
6. Silent Hill: Origins (2007)
Another handheld title (though it was eventually ported to the PS2), Origins is a weird little passion project that shouldn’t be as good as it is. Originally meant to be an action/horror/comedy hybrid with a greater focus on combat and a story influenced by Scrubs, the development team eventually changed their minds and decided to make the game more similar to the original Silent Hill by turning it into a short and sweet prequel.
The prequel narrative doesn’t really add anything important to the overarching story and the game revisits a few too many familiar locations, but this was the last time that a Silent Hill game truly felt like a Silent Hill game (especially with Yamaoka returning with tracks inspired by the first title). That’s why I think it’s still worth tracking down.
5. Silent Hill: Shattered Memories (2009)
A quasi-remake of the first game, this underrated Wii title exists outside the main series continuity, but it’s still one of the most fascinating explorations of the franchise’s obsession with psychological horror. I especially appreciate the game’s constantly evolving monster designs and lonely winter aesthetic, as well as its commitment to horror by not allowing players to fight back.
As usual, the game contains yet another great soundtrack by Yamoka (which features some of Mary Elizabeth McGlynn’s best vocal work), but it’s also a rare example of the Wii-mote being used to instill terror – with the controller serving as your phone while you receive chilling voice messages from damned spirits. Spooky!
4. Silent Hill 3 (2003)
It’s hard not to recall the bubble-gum melody of Yamaoka’s You’re Not Here when bringing up this classic title, but SH3 is also notable for being one of the creepiest entries in the franchise. Tackling teen pregnancies, elder gods and murderous cults, the only real problem with the story here is that it’s more of an expansion of the first game’s themes than a standalone narrative.
That being said, SH3 features some of the best puzzle, monster and sound design in the series, and it’s hard not to root for Heather as she comes to terms with her cursed legacy. Hell, I even enjoyed Adelaide Clemen’s performance as the character in the much-maligned Silent Hill: Revelation.
3. Silent Hill (1999)
The game that proved that survival horror could do more than simply recreate the schlocky thrills of B-movies, the original Silent Hill feels like a good Stephen King novel brought to life (complete with super-powered children and a quiet New England town becoming overrun by monsters). While the Lynchian characters, bizarre monster design and evil cult elements are interesting enough on their own, the dreary atmosphere is the real star of the show here.
A couple of technical limitations and a jumbled narrative keep the game from being the absolute best in the series, but I think that this is still a must-play for any fan of survival horror or Kindergarten Cop. No, seriously!
2. Silent Hill 4: The Room (2004)
The black sheep of the original Team Silent games, this is my personal favorite survival horror title and one hell of a scary experience. The only game in the series where the protagonist goes through hell despite not having anything to do with the titular town, The Room works as a playable J-Horror film that takes place inside an urban nightmare.
While some fans may not appreciate how this surprisingly tragic story is only tangentially related to the previous titles, I think the unique narrative is a breath of fresh air. From the disturbing Twin Victims to the giant Eileen head, the game has no shortage of completely original nightmare-inducing visuals, and they’re all boosted by one of the best videogame soundtracks of all time (composed by – you guessed it – Akira Yamaoka).
1. Silent Hill 2 (2001)
There’s not much that hasn’t been said about this interactive masterpiece, so it’s pretty obvious that the Dostoyevski-inspired SH2 takes the number-one spot. Not only is the title responsible for most of what the general public knows about the Silent Hill franchise (from Yamaoka’s Promise to Pyramid Head himself), but it’s also a damn good case for videogames as an artform.
It may not have the technical flair of the games that succeeded it, but there’s a reason that this is the title that Konami is choosing to remake, and I personally can’t wait for Christophe Gans’ upcoming adaptation of this genuinely compelling story. I just hope the live-action version of James doesn’t encounter his iconic chainsaw.
We’re now officially in the back half of 2026 now that July is here, but what a year it’s been for horror so far. The sequels and reboots are still holding strong at the box office with films like Scream 7 and Scary Movie, but it’s also been a year where new voices are shattering records in unexpected ways.
Markiplier eschewed conventional production and distribution channels with his feature adaptation of Iron Lung, for example. We’re also still in the midst of Backrooms and Obsession-mania, with the former back in theaters with bonus footage and the latter extending its box office reign. Liminal horror has exploded, and low-budget indie horror is seeing just as much, and sometimes even more, success as big studio-backed fare.
All of which to say that 2026 has been a hell of a year so far for the genre, and it’s only getting warmed up. Still on the way are Evil Dead Burn, Insidious: Out of the Further, Resident Evil, Clayface, Whalefall, and Werwulf, just to name a few.
Also catch up with the Best Horror Books and Best Horror Games of the year so far.
Here are the ten best horror movies of the year (so far).
10) Chime
Horror master Kiyoshi Kurosawa is back with one of his most haunting yet, though one that’d likely be higher on this list if it were more accessible. The 45-minute feature was initially produced and distributed as an NFT before receiving a theatrical run earlier this year, with no plans to distribute digitally or on home media. It spins a somewhat cryptic tale, introducing a culinary teacher, Takuji Matsuoka (Mutsuo Yoshioka, Never After Dark), whose classroom becomes disrupted by a strange sound that leads to violence. It’s a quiet but haunting unraveling, one that leaves no aspect of Matsuoka’s life untouched, in true Kiyoshi Kurosawa style. That it defies any easy explanation also ensures Chime embeds itself under your skin.
9) Send Help
Sam Raimi’s splatstick return to form is a delightfully deranged two-hander that doubles as infectious catharsis for anyone who’s ever had a bad boss. Rachel McAdams (Doctor Strange) and Dylan O’Brien (The Maze Runner) face off when their characters are shipwrecked on an island, prompting a bid for survival in more ways than one. While O’Brien often matches her, It’s McAdams who shines as she deftly handles everything that Raimi, working from a script by Damian Shannon & Mark Swift (Freddy vs. Jason), throws at her. Send Help is full of vibrant personality, packed with all of Raimi’s signatures, making for one of the most entertaining films of the year.
8) Mārama
New Zealand filmmaker Taratoa Stappard’s gothic tale begins in familiar fashion, with Mary Stevens (Ariāna Osborne) arriving in Yorkshire upon invitation to learn more about her parents, only to find the remote manor haunted. Just when Stappard’s period horror story feels doomed to succumb to familiar gothic trappings and jump scares, though, its true horror emerges. The more Mary uncovers about her heritage and her Māori culture, the clearer it becomes that this grim home is built on violence and exploitation. Stappard’s vision comes into its own when it leaves behind its gothic influences and embraces its Māori identity; few scenes are as powerful as when Osborne’s Mary performs a haka in response to her vile oppressors, heralding in a righteous bloodbath.
7) Touch Me
Writer/Director Addison Heimann draws from retro Japanese horror, exploitation cinema, and perhaps even hentai for his campy, psychosexual sophomore feature. A toxic friendship plagued by trauma, codependency, and addiction gets tested to the extreme when Brian (Lou Taylor Pucci), a hip-hop-loving, tracksuit-sporting alien, gets between them. Olivia Taylor Dudley and Jordan Gavaris have an easy rapport and play off each other well as directionless, depressed Millennial besties prone to ignoring their problems until they become insurmountable. But it’s Pucci’s inspired, childlike take on the chicken nugget-loving extraterrestrial with tentacled secrets of his own that steals the show. Heimann has a lot on his mind with his sophomore feature and neatly condenses it all into a quirky, eccentric psychosexual camp odyssey that leans heavily into humor.
6) Backrooms
Director Kane Parsons translates the vast liminal labyrinth of his web series to the big screen in his feature debut, one that instills existential dread with its atmospheric horror and narrative. The ‘ 90s-set horror movie introduces a protagonist with a serious chip on his shoulder over life’s many disappointments, who then discovers his furniture store harbors a hidden door that leads to an endless labyrinth. It’s not just the incredible production design that instills a disorienting sense of doom and terror, but the lead characters’ palpable and profound sense of loneliness and isolation. Parsons exudes impressive confidence and control as he methodically entrusts his quiet worldbuilding and talented leads to carry the dramatic weight. While Backrooms does deflate by the film’s cryptic, cliffhanger-y end, it’s arguably the most effective and scariest yet at capturing the uncanny valley of generative AI.
5) Leviticus
Writer/Director Adrian Chiarella uses an It Follows-like supernatural entity that relentlessly stalks its prey as a launchpad to immerse audiences in the horror of constantly living in fear for simply existing. A conversion therapy ritual among a deeply conservative community plunges a pair of erstwhile lovers into a nightmarish bid for survival when it summons a force that takes the shape of those whom the afflicted desires most. Chiarella refines the horror mechanics and metaphor with much sharper precision, ensuring that the scares and emotional gravity of the young couple’s terrifying predicament reach their intended impact. It’s the central layered performances by Joe Bird (Talk to Me) and Stacy Clausen (Thrash) that clinch emotional investment in their heartbreaking plight, ensuring that the social horror cuts deep.
4) Redux Redux
The McManus Brothers, writer/director duo Matthew and Kevin McManus (The Block Island Sound), dials up the intensity of a classic revenge story by setting it within a multiverse, where Irene Kelly (Michaela McManus) seeks to snuff out every single iteration of her daughter’s murderer, Neville (Jeremy Holm). The more she stalks and slays every world’s Neville, the more she risks losing her humanity entirely. Through a narrative foil in Mia (Stella Marcus), Redux Redux smartly bypasses repetition as it explores the moral complexities and vulnerabilities of Irene’s extremely violent quest. Holm becomes utterly terrifying in the climax, ensuring that no matter whether Irene loses herself to vengeance for good or not, it’s justified if it means ridding the world of this sick maniac.
3) 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
Director Nia DaCosta takes the reins in the second entry in writer Alex Garland and original director Danny Boyle’s trilogy, picking up from the previous conclusion that saw Spike (Alfie Williams) fleeing from the infected straight into the welcoming arms of Sir Jimmy Crystal (Sinners’ Jack O’Connell). From here, DaCosta presents a stark contrast between humanity’s best and worst. The former sees the tender studies of Dr. Kelson (Ralph Fiennes) make poignant strides toward humankind’s future, while the latter unleashes more pain and bloodshed courtesy of the Jimmies. The dual paths of light and dark collide in one epic conclusion, an inspired confrontation between good and evil on a stunning set piece of heavy metal insanity. Yet it’s DaCosta’s handling of both extremes that impresses most, teeing up one epic conclusion to this trilogy.
2) Obsession
Sketch comedian turned horror filmmaker Curry Barker (Milk & Serial) wrings blood-curdling terror from a classic Monkey’s Paw wish fulfillment scenario in a way that no one could have ever anticipated. To say that it’s taken the box office by storm would be a massive understatement; Obsession is the top horror movie of the year in terms of gross. It’s not hard to see why, either. While Monkey’s Paw scenarios often yield predictable outcomes, and this outcome is practically telegraphed from the start, Barker manages to surprise with the journey itself. And it’s one insane journey paved with blood-soaked violence and no shortage of nightmare fuel. What truly sets it apart, though, is leads Michael Johnston and Inde Navarrette as the central pair undone by one vicious wish. Expect to see a lot more from breakout Navarette.
1) Hokum
A surly, traumatized writer must break free from his self-imposed shackles of guilt when confronted by a wicked witch haunting a quaint Irish inn in the latest by writer/director Damian McCarthy (Oddity). Adam Scott’s Ohm makes for an atypical but rewarding protagonist, and his complicated emotional journey gives way to a deeply moving story of a man so thoroughly broken by personal trauma that he constantly dwells in darkness. In true McCarthy style, expect the creepy as hell witch to dole out some supernatural retribution for crimes committed, but never in the way you’d expect. The filmmaker has a way of making whimsy pure nightmare fuel; Hokum distorts a kids’ show into eerie, uncanny valley-induced terror in its torment of Ohm. Channeling Stephen King, this creeper plays like a traditional campfire tale in mood and style, infusing genuine scares with a sense of magic and heart.
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