10 Unpopular Opinions About Silent Hill Games, According To Reddit

The venerable horror game franchise SilentHill has been in something of a rough patch as of late. After a string of releases with mixed reviews and the cancellation of the highly-anticipated series revival in Silent Hills, the future of the series is uncertain. These uncertain times have led some longtime fans to look inward and reevaluate their relationship with the many titles of this spooky series.

This tendency has produced some impressively hot takes in recent years, with fans debating what Silent Hill has been, should be, and will be in the future. Were the bad games of old better than players initially thought, or are the classics little more than overrated holdovers from a bygone era?

10 Silent Hill Homecoming Is Really Good

Fans generally consider the first four Silent Hill titles to be the core games in the franchise, with the first three being the best received overall. Subsequent titles after Silent Hill 4 have been spin-offs outsourced to third-party developers by Konami, all of which have received considerably more mixed receptions than the core titles.

Still, these titles have their fans. One such example is Silent Hill: Homecoming, a title which most would agree is a pretty flawed experience. Fans of Homecoming like Reddit user SukoV1 often appreciate it as their entry into the franchise or argue that detractors habitually overstate its shortcomings.

9 A Silent Hill Remake Should Be In First Person

The original Silent Hill changed video games forever, pushing the boundaries for what could be done narratively and aesthetically in a horror title. As such, it commands an impressive legacy, and not just for fans of horror games. As such, hypothesizing about a remake is a sensitive subject. Would it really be possible to improve on such a timeless classic?

Some fans like Redditor oscarredfield have proposed that one such way to update Silent Hill would be to recreate the game with a first-person perspective. The suggestion is daring, but the precedent certainly exists. The short-lived demo for the now-canceled Silent Hills project, P.T., was entirely in the first person and is remembered by many as one of the most rawly terrifying gaming experiences ever produced.

8 The Cults Are Bad

One common point of contention between fans of Silent Hill 2 and those of 1 and 3 is the status of evil cults within the games’ plots. Notably, Silent Hill 2 features no clear antagonist like the first and third games do, opting instead to present a more introspective story. The game’s menace also stems from an ineffable evil—making for a great comparison between Silent Hill and Twin Peaks—rather than a concrete figure.

On the other hand, most other Silent Hill titles feature evil cults determined to bring about apocalyptic ends through the manipulation of otherworldly forces. While some contend that such an approach allows for clearer plots with established villains, others like Redditor QuackSK argue that the ineffable nightmare featured in Silent Hill 2 is the right way to do things.

7 The First Movie Is Good

Movies based on video game properties typically don’t fare very well critically and are often disliked by fans of the source material. Fans of Resident Evil, for example, often struggle to count the things that the movies actually got right about their beloved franchise. Such is the case with the two Silent Hill films, released in 2006 and 2012.

Will the 2012 film, Silent Hill: Revelation, was panned by nearly everyone, the 2006 movie has fans out there, such as Reddit user yzarc-mi. They often contend that viewers who are able to forgive the discrepancies between the plot of the film and the video games will find a surprisingly well-crafted horror experience that captures the essence of Silent Hill‘s atmosphere.

6 Silent Hill 4 Is The Best Sequel

While it might be a stretch to call Silent Hill 4 the black sheep of the core Silent Hill titles, it is a challenge to find many fans who say it’s their favorite entry in the franchise. A heightened emphasis on combat and a less effective story has made opinions on it somewhat lukewarm overall despite some excellent scares.

While it might not be many people’s favorite, an interesting take that occasionally gets thrown around online—in this case by Redditor QuakSK once again—is that, while the first Silent Hill might be the highlight of the franchise overall, Silent Hill 4 is the game that does the best job of living up to the original’s legacy.

5 The HD Collection Is Fine

In 2012 Konami launched an HD re-release of Silent Hill 2 and 3. Promising higher resolutions and improved graphical fidelity, the HD collection was supposed to be the definitive way to experience these two classics and is to date one of the only remaining ways to legally play the games on consoles.

Unfortunately, reactions to the HD collection were deeply mixed, particularly in Silent Hill 2‘s case. Longtime fans were disappointed with the re-recorded voice acting and questioned a number of aesthetic changes such as the reduction of the game’s iconic fog. Still, some like Reddit user SylosisV4 argue that detractors overstate the port’s downsides and contend that it’s an excellent way to introduce new fans to the series.

4 Silent Hill 2, 3, And 4 Are Not Good

The scaldingly hot take from Redditor ogcouche that Silent Hill has been going downhill since the first game is uncommon, but there are those out there who believe it. For context, the first three titles are regarded as a holy trinity of sorts among fans. While the debate is spirited among fans of each title, it’s generally agreed that each is a masterpiece of the genre, with opinions on 4 being somewhat more mixed.

There’s no doubt that Silent Hill is an excellent game, and there are many who find it to be the highlight of the original three games—but to suggest that it’s the only good Silent Hill title of the first four games is downright blasphemous.

3 There Should Not Be Another Silent Hill Game

Konami’s cancellation of Hideo Kojima’s planned Silent Hills project shattered the hopes of the fanbase at large. To make matters worse, the spooky demo P.T. that influenced many later horror games was also withdrawn from its online storefront. With Konami withdrawing from major video game releases in favor of mobile offering and Pachinko machines as well as an escalating dispute with Kojima, many laid their hopes for a Silent Hill comeback to rest.

There are those out there like Redditor JCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC that argue that things are better this way. After all, the Silent Hill games since 4 hadn’t been as well-received as their predecessors, leading many to conclude that Konami had lost the creative spark that made the earlier games so special.

2 There Should Be Another Silent Hill Game

Even though Konami’s track record on the Silent Hill IP has been disappointing to longtime fans, especially in recent years, some fans like Redditor Sauronxx haven’t lost their optimism and continue to argue that any Silent Hill is better than no Silent Hill at all.

Most fans don’t seem to have much faith in Konami’s willingness or ability to put out a new Silent Hill title, but the reasoning of the optimists is that even a poorly-received game will signal that consumer interest in the franchise still exists and will keep the promise of a series revival sometime in the future alive.

1 The Voice Acting In The HD Collection Is An Improvement

One of the most loathed changes in the Silent Hill HD collection was the re-recording of all dialogue in Silent Hill 2 with new actors. Most fans contend that the somewhat stilted sounding voice acting in the original game is essential in selling the game’s surrealism and in conveying the psychological turmoil of the characters. The new acting might sound more professional, but that’s not what Silent Hill 2 should be going for.

However, uncommon as they are, there are those out there like Reddit user msv6221 that prefer the new voice acting to the original. Perhaps the more conventional performances for characters like the protagonist, James, are easier on the ears for some fans.

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