Silent Hill or Resident Evil?

Key conclusions

• Silent Hill and Resident Evil are iconic series of horror games with unique atmosphere and tension.
• Silent Hill excels in setting and monsters, while Resident Evil shines in combat and resource management.
• Resident Evil wins in overall game variety and quality, making it slightly better than Silent Hill.

Horror as a genre in all forms of creative media has always had a large following of people who love it for a variety of reasons, be it aesthetics, storytelling style, or simply the thrill. While there are tons of great new horror games coming out these days, we also shouldn't forget about the pioneers of the genre that revolutionized and brought the genre to the masses: Silent Hill and Resident Evil.

To this day, they remain unsurpassed titans of the survival horror game scene, constantly inspiring new projects from indie developers. Let's take a look at what these epic survival horror series have achieved over each other to create the ultimate legendary horror game.

Updated by Denis Moiseev on September 10, 2024: Is there anything more iconic than comparing Silent Hill and Resident Evil to decide which horror game series is the best? With Bloober Team's 2024 remake of Silent Hill 2, we decided to revisit this article and bring you the latest and most important comparisons between the games. Let us know in the threads if you agree!

12 Atmosphere

Silent Hill

It cannot be denied that the atmosphere of the original Silent Hill was an incredible achievement by the developers, especially considering that the game was released in 1999. Blurred graphics, terrible sound effects, fog, history and monsters; all of this creates a constant and unyielding sense of dread and dread. This also continued in the sequels, making it a staple of the series.

Compared to the atmosphere of Resident Evil, which mainly relies on the mystery of the situation and the abundance of zombies, it does not give the same effect at all. While zombies can be scary, the whole vibe of the series is that of a B-movie rather than a real scare.

11 Tension

Resident Evil

The original Resident Evil games had a lot going for them, one of them being the tension you feel. This was due to the way the games were set up, especially with things like tank controls, fixed camera angles, and unexpected jumps that made it feel like danger was lurking around every corner.

Importantly, these dangers can sneak up behind you, or come in the form of multiple zombies in a tight hallway charging towards you. Of course, suspense is a subjective term, and it could be argued that both games are suspenseful. However, Resident Evil creates more tension by deliberately placing some enemies out of the camera's view, keeping you in suspense.

10 The environment

Silent Hill

While the settings in the Resident Evil games are relatively creepy, whether it's a huge mansion, a police station, or a village full of zombies and overly complicated and ridiculous puzzles, the settings in Silent Hill are better suited for a horror game. Some might argue that a giant mansion is scary, but the places in Silent Hill are designed to scare you to the core.

The setting of a horror game can make or break immersion, and in this case, Silent Hill's setting works best, as the thought of being completely helpless in a fog-filled city or an abandoned hospital sends shivers down our spines.

9 Struggle

Resident Evil

If you like horror games that are more fast-paced with their action and scares, Resident Evil definitely has the upper hand. In it, the horror comes from funny traps aimed at making Jill sandwiches or zombie dogs chasing you. Sure, the build-up to the scare isn't very methodical, but the threat of a sudden scare coming out of nowhere keeps your attention as well as the adrenaline high.

We can't deny that some games in the Resident Evil series have been questionably equal parts horror and action, but the ones that had the perfect balance made our hearts race like nothing else. And when those combat moments come, only Resident Evil delivers a truly polished experience, as that was never Silent Hill's strong suit.

8 *Characters

Resident Evil and Silent Hill – Tie

When it comes to characters that fit the horror genre, Silent Hill and Resident Evil are equally strong in that regard. In the former, most of the characters feel human and flawed in their own ways, some more than others. The reason it works is because it doesn't feel like they're superhumans who can handle any situation without sacrificing their sanity.

Even though the main cast of the Resident Evil series looks like regular action movie characters who can handle whatever is thrown at them, that's literally the charm of the series (and there are historical reasons for most of it). Leon S. Kennedy, Claire Redfield, Chris Redfield, Ada Wong, Jill Valentine, Albert Wesker, Ethan Winters and even the side characters are all super iconic.

7 Weapons

Resident Evil

A big part of survival horror as a video game genre is the survival part, meaning that the games have to make you feel like you have to find the tools that will increase your chances of survival. One of the most important tools in these games are weapons, and Resident Evil has a variety of useful and exciting weapons to help the characters fend off zombies and survive.

What makes collecting these guns even better is that they're usually hidden, whether it's hidden behind a puzzle or separated into pieces that you have to hunt down. Some might argue that having too many guns takes away the horror side of you, but no matter how many guns you have, there are always moments in the Resident Evil series that will catch you by surprise and scare you.

6 Monsters

Silent Hill

Zombies have been a staple of most, if not all, creative horror-based media, and Resident Evil was one of the reasons it was so popular in the late 90s. However, one thing that Silent Hill definitely did better was creeping you out with inhuman and disturbing creatures that emerged from the characters' own fears.

While the Resident Evil tyrant variants are memorable, enemies like Pyramid Head or the nurses from Silent Hill are more iconic. Creatures in horror games that make you afraid of the dark or go to bed after playing are very difficult to create as they have to be very disturbing on a psychological level and there's no denying that the Silent Hill games nailed that aspect.

5 Cheesiness

Resident Evil

This may confuse some, but the edginess of Resident Evil plays to its advantage. This is done by reducing the tension with punchy dialogue between the characters before instantly hitting them with a scare that will make them jump and fear for their character's life. The cheesiness extends to the enemies as well, the best examples being Nemesis and most of the bosses in Resident Evil 4.

Admittedly, this was most likely not a conscious decision, but rather a product of its time, as the 80s and 90s are the definition of cheesy. However, whether it was intentional or not, it seems to play an important role. And then Leon's lines in Resident Evil 4 are the best cheese to compete with the real Big Cheese, Bitares Mendez.

4 Sound design

Silent Hill

For some reason, there is a general rule that the quality of the audio can make or break the media that uses it, regardless of the quality of the rest of the project. A game may have the simplest graphics in the world, but as long as it has well-made and appropriate audio, it can make the experience a million times better.

A great example of this is the Silent Hill series, where each piece of audio is designed specifically to give you goosebumps while also serving a specific function, such as a radio static signal to warn of approaching enemies. If you've ever wanted to hear a song from a game's soundtrack that fills you with pure dread, listen to a track called “Over” from the original Silent Hill.

3 Resource management

Resident Evil

When talking about the survival horror genre, few can say that resource management is an important element of the genre. ​​​​​​While it can seem annoying to count your every shot and make sure you have enough room in your inventory for your gun and ammo, it's the system that makes Resident Evil games so intense.

Dodging zombies because you know you're out of ammo due to limited inventory space creates a unique type of fear. Some may find limited inventory space tedious, but knowing you have limited space for both weapons and ammo makes you worry about missing out.

2 Overall variety and quality of play

Resident Evil

An important factor to consider is each series' legacy and overall longevity in the industry, and Resident Evil destroys Silent Hill on that. Silent Hill suffered defeat after defeat due to the direction of nearly every sequel and spin-off, most notably the canceled PT, 2024's Short Message, and the terrible interactive mobile game Silent Hill: Ascension. A remake of Silent Hill 2 also seems a bit overdue, having already been surpassed by tons of solid Resident Evil remakes from Capcom.

Each installment of Resident Evil offers a compelling story and innovative new gameplay, and the series even fleshed out Ethan Winters' first-person journey far better than any Silent Hill entry. While the first four Silent Hill games from Team Silent will forever remain iconic and some of the best in the survival horror genre, the Resident Evil sequels, spin-offs, and remakes are masterfully crafted and more memorable.

1 Judgment

Resident Evil

It was an incredibly difficult decision, but Resident Evil beats Silent Hill by a bit. In the end, a review of all the games in the series as a whole, characters and gameplay shows that Resident Evil scores better than Silent Hill. ​​​​​​While the latter has great monsters, settings, and atmosphere, Resident Evil ultimately stands out by providing a consistent and satisfying experience with each title.

Silent Hill is still a must-have game for fans of the genre, but Resident Evil has a longer story line where favorite characters visit new areas and face exciting new enemies in each installment. You'll have more fun playing Resident Evil and a more depressing and emotional time with Silent Hill (given its darker psychological horror), but both earn stripes in different ways.