Silent Hill for Windows

1/5

Silent Hill is a free survival horror game that’s the first title in the Konami series. It centres around the protagonist Harry Mason who searches for his daughter, Cheryl. When he appears in the haunted town where he believes she is hiding, strange occurrences happen around him with demonic creatures and mysterious puzzles.

The first Silent Hill game set the tone for future survival horror games and is believed to be the first of its kind. Released primarily on console, there are unofficial ported free versions for PC. If you enjoy this genre,  you can also try Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, Sinister Within: Decay, and Never Apart.

Searching for Cheryl

The initial cutscenes in Silent Hill reveal a father, Harry Mason, riding on a highway with his daughter Cheryl. Curious by their appearance and behaviour, police officer Cybil Bennett follows them in a growing, dense fog. He crashes after swerving to avoid an accident, knocking his head on the steering wheel.

When he awakens, he finds himself in Silent Hill. Cheryl is missing, but there are clues as to where she’s gone. While investigating the town, he discovers that Cheryl is connected to Alessa Gillespie, a girl that was burnt for being a witch. Eventually, you need to find a way to save her and escape the horror that awaits you.

Crossing between dimensions

One of the key gameplay mechanics in Silent Hill that carries through most of the games is crossing over to a different dimension called Otherworld. It’s a more demonic version of the town, with darker, more challenging demons and bosses. You’ll need to solve the clues in one dimension if you want to make it back to the other. 

Combat and puzzles

When you come across monsters and bosses in Silent Hill, you’ll need to defeat or avoid them to continue. For the former, you’ll need melee and ranged weapons you’ll find along the way. Some puzzles stop you from proceeding until you manage to solve them, forming part of the story.

A scary adventure

Silent Hill is one of Konami’s most popular survival horror games and series. With the SH 2 Remake coming, it’s a pity that the first game wasn’t remade or part of the new HD collection. 

Still, it’s the first game that sets the scene for all the others, revolving around the tale of Alessa Gillespie. You’ll have plenty of horrific monsters to fight and puzzles to solve.