Can you believe it has been a whole decade since Konami announced Silent Hills, the much-anticipated reboot from Hideo Kojima and Guillermo del Toro? If you're a fan of the horror series, then the last ten years have been rough, to say the least. Thankfully, an incredible new Silent Hill 2 remake is here to remind fans why they fell in love with the series in the first place. To help celebrate the success of this recently-released remake, I decided to flip through the pages of Electronic Gaming Monthly, Computer & Video Games, Next Generation and more classic magazines to see what critics said about the first two Silent Hill games back when they first came out. I sure hope you don't mind fog, because you're about to enter the Silent Hill Review Crew!


After years of companies trying to outdo each other with the more adorable mascot platformer, gamers were ready for something new. That change came in the form of Resident Evil, a dark and violent horror game that felt like it was made directly for the PlayStation's more mature audience. Obviously, that success led to a horror game arms race, where companies far and wide tried to get in on the trend. One of the few that actually stuck with gamers was Konami's Silent Hill, a survival horror game that took a more psychological approach and upped the amount of fog by about a thousand. While a little clunky, Silent Hill was a big winner for Konami, spawning decade's worth of sequels and spin-offs, as well as a couple of big-budget Hollywood movies. Let's go back to 1999 and see how the first game kicked things off.

As you might expect, Electronic Gaming Monthly took no time comparing the two big horror games of the 32-bit era. Dan said that “Resident Evil is to Night of the Living Dead as Silent Hill is to Hellraiser. Talk about a creepy game. It starts off slow, but once you get an hour into it, things can get really tense. By the way, do not let your children see this game.” Crispin agreed: “Even more so than the Resident Evil games, this thing pushes all your fear buttons. Its dim visuals, discordant music, jarring sound effects and twisted story are disturbing on so many levels. It all makes for an experience that's as immersive and frightening as anything else on the consoles. You'll need to fiddle with the options before the game becomes playable, and I had gripes about the camera and control throughout the game.” EGM gave Silent Hill an average score of 8.6 out of 10.

That score is basically smack dab in the middle of the scale. Edge gave the original Silent Hill a score of 8 out of 10, which is a lot better than the C+ the game received over at Entertainment Weekly. Speaking of low scores, Computer & Video Games couldn't muster up the enthusiasm to give Silent Hill more than a 3 out of 5. At one point they complained that Silent Hill ... isn't scary? No, really. “There's also the simple fact that it's in no way scary at all. The levels are too similar and the set piece sections are all too obvious to make any difference. Some of the conversations between the characters seem so false it ruins any tension. There's no doubting that it is a good game and we recommend you try it. But when you compare it to Resident Evil, as we have throughout this review, and as Konami have by billing it as a horror game, it simply doesn't cut the mustard.”

The good news is that most critics liked Silent Hill. For example, Australian gaming mag Hyper went all the way up to 90%, making it one of the best-reviewed games of the year. PSM agreed, giving it the equivalent 4.5 out of 5. That's the same score we saw in GamePro. “Silent Hill's scares are everywhere. The tension is high throughout the game and gets creepier as you delve deeper and face winged beasts, bald freaks and devil dogs. The gothic storyline and intuitive puzzles are also compelling, which makes Silent Hill a nice bridge for Resident Evil fans waiting for their next fix. Just a few flaws short of a masterpiece, Silent Hill is definitely worth a look from horror and adventure fans.”

Still not impressed? Don't worry, because Game Fan ended up giving the horror game an average score of 92%. If you want to go any higher, then we're going to need to look at a rather surprising place -- the notoriously grumpy Next Generation. They gave it perfect 5 out of 5, but that does not mean it was immune to criticism. They complained that “out-of-place puzzles that jar the realism of some of the environments threaten to spoil the mood that Silent hill masterfully creates, while the good amount of slow-paced exploration will likely turn off players looking for the thrill-kill instant gratification of the more action-oriented Resident Evil series. But neither of these flaws even come close to negating the real strides made by Konami in creating a game that so perfectly fleshes out a concept. Games that not only surpass their predecessors, but also genuinely capture the imagination like Silent Hill does don't come along nearly often enough. No gamer can afford to miss it.”

So wait ... is Silent Hill scary or not? I feel like these reviews can't decide. Either way, this is an effective horror game that feels incredibly dated all these decades later. It's still a classic, but I understand why Konami decided to remake the sequel and not the original.

Two years after scaring us on the original PlayStation, Konami returned to Silent Hill with a much bigger and more ambitious sequel for the PlayStation 2. Silent Hill 2 introduced us to the new protagonist James Sunderland, a bunch of creepy locations and a lot more fog. So much fog. It also upped the scares, taking full advantage of the new hardware to create an even more cinematic experience. The result was so good that when Konami went to remake Silent Hill a quarter-century later, they skipped right past the first game and went straight to Silent Hill 2. But what did the critics say about this iconic horror sequel back in 2001? Let's find out.

Much like the original game, Electronic Gaming Monthly was a little split on Silent Hill 2. With scores ranging from a 7.5 all the way up to a 9, there were some disagreements between the three critics. Che called it, “hands down, the scariest game ever made. Just writing about it gives me the creeps. But does that chill factor translate into greatness, or is it just aesthetic fluff? To their credit, the developers have done a lot of control tweaking to make Silent Hill 2 one of the more playable survival horror titles. Plus, the story, with its surprises and multiple endings, is much more compelling and makes more sense than the prequel. But to experience all of that, you've got to wade through some incredibly tedious and arbitrary puzzles and lots of fetch the key-style gameplay.” Shoe agreed, Silent Hill 2 is definitely scary: “Partway into this game, I had to make a decision. Do I continue playing this, in a lonely and quiet office? Or do I play it safe and stop for the night, before the game's fright factor REALLY got to me? Silent Hill 2 does such a tremendous job of tapping into your most primal fears with its use of sound and visual effects. Resist the urge to turn on the lights or play this with company. This game WILL scare you.” EGM gave Silent Hill 2 an average score of 8.3 out of 10.

That score is basically tied with Game Informer, who gave the sequel an impressive 8.25 out of 10. Next Generation was also on the same page, giving it a 4 out of 5. Their review touched on the slow pace, intriguing puzzles and repetitive action, “but what's most annoying (though, it could be a virtue, depending on your taste) is the ultimate lack of explanation for anything. You can make some guesses, but coupled with a rather weak ending, the result is confusion rather than catharsis. Still, the journey is so creepy and involving, in the end it hardly matters. It's not for the faint of heart, nor anyone looking for fast action, but those who enjoy a good shiver won't be disappointed.”

It's Next Generation's sister magazine, Edge, that gave Silent Hill 2 the lowest score. Going with a so-so 7 out of 10, they called it “a well-conceived, stylish and engrossing game. While Silent Hill has never offered the explosive, monster-slaying carnage of Resident Evil, the lack of boss baddies after boss baddies makes for a quieter, more cerebral and certainly more chilling game experience. After a few hours cocooned in the game's ceaseless darkness, with weird sounds and haunting music echoing around your living room, you will be well and truly in the game's grip. Afraid to go on, afraid to switch off. Afraid to put out the light and sleep. And if you do go on, tracking those last clues to one of the game's several surprise conclusions, you won't be disappointed: everyone gets what's coming to them.”

On a slightly more positive note, GamePro was the magazine that gave the sequel the highest marks. They went with a 4.5 out of 5, calling Silent Hill 2 “more an experience than a game, fun in a masochistic ‘I need a bath' way rather than in the traditional butt-kickin' sense. Honestly, you'll probably dig this game more if you've never played the original. Silent Hill 2 feels more like a remake than a sequel – more like the survival horror game Konami wished they could've made the first time, before technology caught up with their deeply messed-up vision.”

While Silent Hill 2's reviews didn't quite reach the same heights as the first game, they are a lot more consistent. Even the lowest score admits that this is an effective horror game that needs to be played, or, as GamePro puts it, “experienced.” Good stuff.