Every Silent Hill Game In Chronological Order

Silent Hill has been a staple in the horror genre since its release on the PlayStation in 1999. Its cultural impact is so deep that on every foggy morning, you can bet you’ll hear someone say, ‘What is this, Silent Hill?’.

The franchise has had more than a dozen games released over the years, with a revival coming soon with the upcoming Silent Hill: Townfall and Silent Hill f. If you’re looking to dive into this psychological thriller for the first time, or just want to give your nightmares some new fuel to terrify you as you sleep, you’re going to want to explore the town that you see in your restless dreams in chronological order to get the complete story of all those who haunt this cursed town.

Updated November 25, 2024 by Ryan Hay: The Silent Hill series has gotten a breath of fresh air thanks to the addition of the spectacular remake, Silent Hill 2 Remake. We took another look at the series, adding information about the endings of each game since most of the games have lots of ways they can turn up. No ending is officially considered canon; it’s up to the players to interpret how the characters escape the nightmarish town.

8 Silent Hill: Origins

Approximately Around 1976

Starring the haunted trucker Travis Grady, a man who is fleeing from a past that has traumatized him into having visions. While on a job late at night, Grady takes a detour through Silent Hill, condemning him to become wrapped up in some of the horrible events that occurred to Alessa Gillespie before the events of the first Silent Hill game.

Over the course of the game, Grady becomes embroiled with Dhalia, Alessa’s mother, and a cult called the Order who tries to bring their deity, a being who goes by many names across the series including Samael, Creator of Paradise, and Lord of Serpents and Reeds, into the world by torturing and immolating Alessa. Grady has to fight off otherworldly entities and his own internal demons to help Alessa and stop the cult. The game has major implications for the rest of the series, as it leads directly to the protagonist of the first game, Harry Mason and his wife adopting a child from the town, who they name Cheryl.

Silent Hill: Origins has 3 endings:

• Good
• Bad
  • Travis kills more than 100 enemies in the game.
• UFO
  • On a new file after beating the game, Travis can get access to room 502 in the Alchemilla Hospital, triggering the ending.

7 Silent Hill

Early 1980’s (Possibly 1983)

Taking place several years later, some estimations put it to be about seven years after the events of Silent Hill: Origins, Harry Mason and his wife raise Cheryl, who is the reincarnated version of Alessa, in relative peace and quiet though not without strife, as Harry’s wife dies about four years before the start of the game. Not everyone is happy with how the events of the previous game went however, with Dahlia and the cult from Silent Hill luring Harry and Cheryl back to the town, with the ultimate goal of using Cheryl to resurrect the god they worship.

Harry puts a stop to that nonsense, killing both the god and Dahlia. Harry is not able to save Cheryl, but is still able to rescue the complete reincarnated entity of both Cheryl and Alessa, who he names Heather.

Silent Hill has 5 endings:

• Good+
  • Complete the Kaufmann sidequest and save Cybil.
• Good
  • Complete the Kaufmann sidequest and kill Cybil.
• Bad+
  • Leave the Kaufmann sidequest unresolved and save Cybil.
• Bad
  • Leave the Kaufmann sidequest unresolved and kill Cybil.
• UFO
  • Use the Channeling Stone five times on the lighthouse.

6 Silent Hill 2

Somewhere Between The 1970s To 1993, Depending On Who You Ask

Silent Hill 2 is a bit confusing when it comes to its status in the Silent Hill timeline. According to Silent Hill: Homecoming, another entry in the series we’ll get to in a bit, Silent Hill 2 takes place in 1993, which is where general consensus seemed to place it for a long time. More recently, however, the art director for Silent Hill 2, Masahiro Ito, claimed that the game took place in the late 70s or early 80s, which throws a wrench in what fans had thought for years.

Despite this, the tragic tale of James Sunderland and his descent through his own perdition is officially placed in 1993 as far as the games are concerned, and until Konami comes out and says otherwise, possibly in the upcoming remake, we’ll count it as taking place in the early 90s. We do know that James gets a letter from his late wife, asking him to find her in their ‘special place’, Silent Hill. What he finds is an empty town, other tortured individuals, and an entire game’s worth of penance for Jame’s past, manifested by the evil that radiates from the town.

Silent Hill 2 has six endings:

• Leave
  • To get this ending you have to keep your health total high, check Mary’s photo and letter, don’t spend a lot of time with Maria, and listen to the headphones and hallway conversation in the Lakeview Hotel.
• In Water
  • This ending requires you to keep your health total low, check Angela’s knife, read the patient’s diary on the Brookhaven Hospital’s roof, read the second message to James in Neely’s Bar, and listen to the headphones and hallway conversation in the Lakeview Hotel.
• Maria
  • Getting this ending has you keep your health total high, avoid bumping into Maria and making sure she’s walking with James, spend extra time with her and protect her from monsters while following her commands, visit her when she’s in Brookhaven Hospital, and do not listen to the headphones and hallway conversation in the Lakeview Hotel.
• Rebirth
  • Only achievable on the second playthrough. You need to get the White Chrism in Lost Memories book, Obsidian Goblet and the Crimson Ceremony book .
• Dog
  • Only achievable on a second through. You need to get the Dog Key and use it on the Lakeview Hotel observation room.
• UFO
  • Only achievable on a second playthrough. You need the Blue Gem and use it at the Brookhaven Hospital garden, at the docks right in front of the first row boat, and then in Room 312.

Here’s the thing about Silent Hill 2 Remake, it is a complete remake so there are no discernable changes to the Silent Hill timeline. There are theories that the Remake could be an alternate timeline or perhaps James is trapped in some sort of purgatory loop, without some sort of official confirmation, it is all conjecture.

5 Silent Hill 3

17 Years After Silent Hill 1, Probably 2000

For the next seventeen years, Harry Mason raises Heather, the baby from the first game, as his own, which makes it somewhat easier to date Silent Hill 3 in the overarching timeline. In that time, the Order rebuilds under the watchful gaze of Claudia, a woman who is hellbent on resurrecting the mysterious god once again. There’s only one vessel good enough to hold it though, and that’s Heather Mason. Claudia has Harry murdered to lure Heather to Silent Hill and to restart the ritual once again.

Heather rejects Claudia and the Order, working against the cult to force the deity out of her body, provoking Claudia to ingest the god and give birth to it herself. Heather, still furious at the death of her father and for being dragged into the events of the game, kills the deity once and for all (so we assume), and leaves the town for good.

Silent Hill 3 has three endings:

• Normal
  • This is the base ending of the game.
• Posessed
  • Only achievable on a second playthrough. Requires you earn 4,000 points by doing various actions in the game such as killing monsters, getting hit, and forgiving the confessor.
• Revenge UFO
  • Only achievable on a second playthrough. Heather has to kill at least 31 monsters with the Heather Beam or Sexy Beam weapons before entering Harry’s apartment with no weapons equipped.

4 Silent Hill 4: The Room

Early 2000s, But It Likely Doesn’t Matter Much

Similar to Silent Hill 2, Silent Hill 4 seems to largely ignore the overarching timeline of the town and exists more of its own independent series of events. Silent Hill 4 follows Henry Townshend who lives in a town near Silent Hill, who wakes up one day to find himself locked inside his own apartment, with chains and locks on the inside of his room, and mysterious events manifesting in his apartment.

After a hole opens up in his bathroom, Henry thinks it might be his only escape, only to find himself in the hellish Otherworld, a reflection of the real world but with nightmarish terrors, which is how Silent Hill terrorizes the protagonists from the other games. Turns out, a serial killer named Walter Sullivan with ties to the Order, used to live in Henry’s apartment, and his spirit is continuing its murderous spree.

Silent Hill 4: The Room has four endings:

• Escape
  • To get this ending you need to save Eileen and clear at least 80% of Henry’s apartment hauntings.
• Mother
  • This ending requires you to save Eileen but clear less than 80% of Henry’s apartment hauntings.
• Eileen’s Death
  • This unfortunate ending has you letting Eileen die but still clearing out at least 80% of the hauntings in Henry’s apartment.
• 21 Sacraments
  • The worst ending requires you to let Eileen die while clearing less than 80% of Henry’s haunted apartment.

3 Silent Hill: Downpour

Possibly Early 2000s, Maybe 2004

Another self-contained story, even more so than other games on the timeline given the only thing really connecting it to Silent Hill is that it takes place in the same town. Finding a firm date for this game is difficult as the only indicator for when the game might take place are some blurry calendars found around the town. This story follows Murphy Pendleton, a convicted prisoner who is in jail after stealing a police car.

Murphy is after revenge for the death of his son, and he gets it, but while being transferred to a different prison his bus crashes in the cursed town of silent bus, along with officer Anne Cunningham, who has a connection to Murphy that she hides for much of the game. The town preys on their mental torture but they eventually escape once overcoming their trauma.

Silent Hill: Downpour has six endings:

• Forgiveness
  • Murphy needs to have a positive moral score by the end of the game and Anne’s life must be sparred. Getting a positive moral score can be done by making positive choices and not killing monsters.
• Truth and Justice
  • Murphy has to have a negative moral score with Anne’s life still being sparred.
• Full Circle
  • This ending can only be achieved by killing Anne while maintaining a positive moral score.
• Execution
  • Getting Murphy executed involves reaching the end of the game with a negative moral score and killing Anne.
• Reversal
  • No matter what your moral score is by the end of the game, Murphy is killed.
• Surprise!
  • Only achievable on a second playthrough. You have to complete the ‘Digging Up the Past’ sidequest which is unlocked on a new game plus.

2 Silent Hill: Homecoming

One Of The Few Games To Explicitly State It Takes Place In 2007

Another Silent Hill game that doesn’t fit into the timeline neatly, Silent Hill: Homecoming follows Alex Shepherd, a veteran returning home and hitching a ride in a truck driven by Travis Grady, the protagonist from Silent Hill: Origins. When he arrives at his hometown, Shepherd’s Glen, he finds himself in a town mostly abandoned, covered in a thick fog that signifies that the mysterious force behind Silent Hill is active.

Alex’s younger brother is missing, his parents are acting strange, and the evil cult the Order has returned to make good on an evil pact the founders of the town, which includes Alex’s family, made in order to leave Silent Hill long ago. Alex escapes but only after confronting the knowledge that much of his life has been a lie told by himself to protect himself from his past.

Silent Hill: Homecoming has six endings:

• Smile
  • To get the Smile ending you have to mercy kill Lillian, forgive “Adam”, and save Wheeler with a first aid kit.
• Smile (Bonus)
  • Getting the bonus ending here requires you to do all the Smile ending requirements while either collecting all 11 photos or beating the game on hard mode.
• In Water
  • The In Water ending requires you to mercy kill Lillian, condemn “Adam”, and then don’t save Wheeler.
• Judgment
  • Getting this ending requires you to not mercy kill Lilian, condemn “Adam”, and then not save Wheeler.
• Intensive Care
  • If you don’t mercy kill Lilian, choose to forgive “Adam”. while saving Wheeler, you’ll get this ending.
• UFO Ending
  • This ending has you not killing Lillian, not forgiving “Adam”. and saving Wheeler.

1 Silent Hill: Shattered Memories

More Of An Honorable Mention, But 2008

Silent Hill: Shattered Memories is a reimagining of the first game, and as such, tosses out much of what the original game establishes for a timeline. In this game, which takes place in 2008, we still follow Harry Mason as he explores the strange town of Silent Hill, which has taken on an icy look with this rendition of the game.

The general plot of the game remains the same, but with tons of changes to events that occur, having major ramifications on the events of Silent Hill 1 and Silent Hill 3. Since it follows the general plot of the original Silent Hill game, it deserves a mention on this list, but like other non-canon Silent Hill games, including Silent Hill: Book of Memories and Silent Hill: Ascension and even the cancelled PT demo, it doesn’t fit into the over arching timeline that the games have established.

Silent Hill: Shattered Memories has four endings:

• Lost Love
  • If you don’t focus on sexual images or drugs, let Kaufmann feel like they’re friendly, and making good choices in the game contributes to this ending.
• Drunk Dad
  • While playing, if you focus on alcohol and drugs during the game.
• Sleaze and Sirens
  • You can get this images by focusing on sexual images during the game while telling Kaufmann they cheated on their partner.
• Wicked and Weak
  • This ending is achievable if you tell Kaufmann they don’t make friends easily and making poor moral choices during the game.