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Silent Hill has appeared in the restless dreams of horror fans for almost three decades now. The foggy town and its various iterations, plagued by the Otherworld, continue to define the mechanics and ambience of psychological horror to this day. <\/p>\n
Each Silent Hill game contains a relatively standalone story, tied to whatever character the Otherworld has decided to bring to its doorstep. However, the lore of Silent Hill develops across games through returning characters as well as memos, posters, and other small details. Despite its fill of contradictions, some of which are only natural for games with multiple endings, there\u2019s a larger story lurking in the background of each protagonist\u2019s path to atonement (or madness). <\/p>\n
If the release of Silent Hill: Townfall has sparked your curiosity about how the timeline all fits together, we\u2019ve got you covered. <\/p>\n\n\nNote:<\/strong> This is not a timeline of the town of Silent Hill, which is revealed throughout games, comics, books, and other supplementary materials. Instead, it\u2019s focused on which games connect to one another and how, with some discussion of each game\u2019s multiple endings. <\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<\/section>\nHow Many Silent Hill Games Are There? <\/strong><\/h2>\nApproximately 18 Silent Hill games have been released since the franchise debuted in 1999. <\/p>\n
Four Silent Hill games were originally developed by Team Silent between 1999 and 2004. Subsequent games, including plenty of spinoffs, were developed by a variety of studios across Japan and North America.<\/p>\n
Konami has also published four Silent Hill games for mobile devices: The Orphan trilogy and Silent Hill: The Escape. These have some murky connections to the rest of the franchise. For simplicity\u2019s sake, we are not including these on the full timeline, but there\u2019s still some lore in those for anyone trying to get the full Silent Hill picture. <\/p>\n
We also won\u2019t be including the Play Novel, which reimagines the original game, or the interactive streaming series Silent Hill: Ascension. <\/p>\n\n\n
Main Silent Hill Games in Release Order: <\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/p>\nJust looking for a quick list of the hits? These are what we\u2019d consider the most important Silent Hill games in release order, with the first four games making up the \u201cmajor canon:\u201d <\/p>\n
\nSilent Hill <\/strong><\/li>\nSilent Hill 2 <\/strong><\/li>\nSilent Hill 3 <\/strong><\/li>\nSilent Hill 4: The Room<\/strong><\/li>\nSilent Hill: Origins <\/strong><\/li>\nSilent Hill: Homecoming <\/strong><\/li>\nSilent Hill: Downpour <\/strong><\/li>\nSilent Hill \u0192 <\/strong><\/li>\nSilent Hill: Townfall <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/aside>\n<\/section>\n<\/p>\n\n
The Best Silent Hill Games<\/h3>\n<\/span><\/output><\/p>\n
Which Silent Hill Game Should You Start With? <\/strong><\/h3>\nWhere to start is really a matter of what drew you to the series and whether you\u2019re interested in the original gameplay. If you\u2019re looking for a taste of the series on modern consoles, Bloober Team\u2019s Silent Hill 2 remake is a faithful recreation with some quality of life improvements.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re interested in Silent Hill for lore reasons, there\u2019s no harm in starting at the beginning or even with the original Silent Hill 2. Unless you still have a PS1 and can somehow get your hands on an original copy (very cool, if so), your best bet here is looking for emulation guides. <\/p>\n
Every Silent Hill Game in Timeline Order <\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/p>\nThe first four Silent Hill games are considered the \u201cmajor canon,\u201d with subsequent spin-offs and standalone games making references to the original story, but also creating some contradictions. Some games are directly connected, some loosely reference one another, and others are pretty much entirely their own thing. <\/p>\n
Still, we have a rough sense of when these games take place, and it\u2019s up to you how they fit into your understanding of the Otherworld. <\/p>\n
1. Silent Hill \u0192 <\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<\/output><\/p>\n\n\nRelease Date: <\/strong>September 25, 2025 | <\/strong>Read IGN’s Full Review<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<\/section>\nThe timeline of Silent Hill games actually starts with one of the most recent installments. Silent Hill \u0192 takes us to the town of Ebisugaoka in the 1960s, marking the first time the series was set in Japan. <\/p>\n
While some loose connections to the lore of the American Silent Hill are revealed through memos and documents, Silent Hill f\u2019s characters, locations, and \u201cversion\u201d of the Otherworld are entirely distinct. You play as Hinako, a teenaged girl living in fear of her own future and family, with a unique approach to save states and endings enhanced by writing from Ryukishi07. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\n2. Silent Hill: Origins <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\nRelease Date: <\/strong>November 6, 2007 | <\/strong>Read IGN’s Full Review<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<\/section>\nSilent Hill Origins is a prequel that, despite releasing later, directly connects to the original Silent Hill and Silent Hill 3 as part of the \u201cAlessa Gillespie\u201d arc. It also marks the start of some inconsistencies and, despite its direct connection to the mainline games, is debated in its place as canon. <\/p>\n
The story, which by in-game logic takes place around the late 70s, follows the truck driving Travis after a crash brings him to Silent Hill. There, he slowly discovers the cult-driven secrets of the town while reckoning with his own traumatic childhood. It\u2019s specifically the \u201cGood\u201d ending from this game that leads into the original Silent Hill, quite literally paving the way for the character of Cheryl. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\n3. Silent Hill <\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<\/output><\/p>\n\n\nRelease Date: <\/strong>February 23, 1999 | <\/strong>Read IGN’s Full Review<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<\/section>\nThe original Silent Hill, naturally, stood on its own two feet. It introduced us to the opaque fog that, while serving a practical purpose around real-time generated environments, became the series\u2019 atmospheric staple. <\/p>\n
In the late 80s (if you go by Silent Hill 3 logic), a mysterious car crash leads Harry Mason to the eponymous town of Silent Hill. There, he searches for his now missing young daughter, Cheryl, while encountering the original strange cast of characters and nightmares of the Otherworld. <\/p>\n
While the canon on this is a bit iffy, we can now think of it as continuing from the \u201cGood\u201d ending of Silent Hill: Origins. And, of course, paving the way for everything else. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\n\n\nNote: <\/strong>Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, released in 2009, is a reimagining of this first game with different narrative beats. It functionally takes place within its own timeline, but we\u2019d recommend having some familiarity with the first game to get the most out of it. <\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<\/section>\n4. Silent Hill 2<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<\/output><\/p>\n\n\nRelease Date: <\/strong>September 25, 2001 | <\/strong>Read IGN’s Full Review<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<\/section>\nPerhaps the best-known game in the series, Silent Hill 2 extends the lore of the town from the first game while introducing new characters and plotlines. And, of course, it gave us the iconic Pyramid Head. <\/p>\n
James Sunderland heads to Silent Hill after receiving a letter from his deceased wife saying that\u2019s where he can find her. Art director Masahiro Ito has mentioned the game taking place in the late 70s, but documents in later games peg Silent Hill 2 as taking place about a decade after the original. The 90s timeline slot aligns with the dates we see in a number of diaries, and is thus what we\u2019re going with. <\/p>\n
Unlike some of the other games on this list, Silent Hill 2 does not necessarily have a \u201ccanon\u201d ending that directly leads to future events. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\n\n\nNote:<\/strong> The 2024 remake from Bloober Team follows the same beats as the original story, though with some changes to possible endings. <\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<\/section>\n5. Silent Hill: The Arcade<\/strong> <\/h3>\n\n\nRelease Date: <\/strong>July 25, 2007 <\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<\/section>\nNow we\u2019re getting into spin-off territory. Silent Hill: The Arcade is particularly unique, focusing more on action shooter mechanics than the eerie psychological horror elements the rest of the series is known for. Still, it\u2019s Silent Hill, and specifically a spin-off game that takes place around the same time as Silent Hill 2. <\/p>\n
While it\u2019s generally its own thing, Arcade still offers some interesting insight into earlier Silent Hill history, particularly the sinking of the Little Baroness ship back in 1917. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\n6. Silent Hill: Townfall <\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<\/output><\/p>\n\n\nRelease Date: <\/strong>September 25, 2026 | <\/strong>Read IGN’s Full Review<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<\/section>\nYep, things get weird again. The latest Silent Hill game takes place in 1996 on the fictional island of St. Amelia, which places it firmly in the middle of the original Team Silent games. <\/p>\n
Protagonist Simon wakes up at the docks of the island with no memory of how he got there. In typical Silent Hill fashion, he quickly encounters some funky characters and his own variation of the Otherworld. These encounters slowly reveal his and the town\u2019s past, and how exactly they\u2019re connected. <\/p>\n
Like Silent Hill f, Townfall has looser connections to the initial cult elements of the series, instead staying connected through themes of guilt. And, of course, the joke ending. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\n7. Silent Hill 3<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<\/output><\/p>\n\n\nRelease Date: <\/strong>August 5, 2003 (NA) | <\/strong>Read IGN’s Full Review<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<\/section>\nWhile Silent Hill 3 doesn\u2019t technically pick up the story until after Townfall, it most directly follows the events of Silent Hill: Origins and the original game, concluding the aforementioned Alessa arc. Its place on the timeline generally lines up with its own release year in the early 2000s. <\/p>\n
The connection here is pretty blatant. You play as Heather, daughter of Harry Mason. The murder of her father (the OG protagonist) prompts Heather to return to Silent Hill 17 years after the first game to learn the true circumstances and implications of her birth. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\n8. Silent Hill 4: The Room<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<\/output><\/p>\n\n\nRelease Date: <\/strong>September 7, 2004 (NA) | <\/strong>Read IGN’s Full Review<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<\/section>\nThe last Silent Hill game originally developed by Team Silent carries on from Silent Hill 3 in the early 2000s. One letter in particular clarifies that it\u2019s been a \u201cfew years\u201d since the events of the third game. <\/p>\n
We\u2019ve since gotten plenty of different iterations of what exactly makes \u201cSilent Hill,\u201d but this was the first game to literally move the game\u2019s location away from the specific town, instead bringing us to Ashfield. There are some character connections to the second and third games, but this one largely stands on its own as you try to help Henry Townsend escape his apartment (and the \u201cNightmare\u201d). <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\n9. Silent Hill: Homecoming<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<\/output><\/p>\n\n\nRelease Date: <\/strong>September 30, 2008 | <\/strong>Read IGN’s Full Review<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<\/section>\nHomecoming was the first “mainline” Silent Hill game released after Konami disbanded Team Silent. It once again leaves out the actual town of Silent Hill, instead following the protagonist, Alex Shepherd, as he returns to his hometown of Shepherd’s Glen. <\/p>\n
Homecoming doesn\u2019t have a particularly concrete place on the timeline, but it generally takes place within a few years of The Room. Travis the truck driver makes an appearance, marking a loose connection to Origins, and the game directly addresses the cultish machinations of \u201cThe Order\u201d from the original canon. <\/p>\n
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