A player’s first look into the story of aSilent Hillgame begins with an intro that carefully plants the seed of curiosity.Silent Hillis a franchise most notably known for itsterrifying yet symbolistic creature designsto manifest our protagonist’s inner fears. So the intros feature a mix of monster horror and character introduction, all while a cool soundtrack by the game’s composer, Yamaoka Akira, plays in the background.
Yamaoka’s soundtracks give each game intro its signature feel, teleporting players seamlessly into the world ofSilent Hill. Although not all intros have a soundtrack, the ones that do continue to reside with the fans even years after they’ve experienced it. Let’s rank all theSilent Hillintros, from the least favorite to religiously loved ones.
TheSilent Hill Homecomingintro starts with an introduction to Alex Shepherd waking up from a nightmare while hitching a ride to Shepherd’s Glenn. It features a prominent cameo fromSilent Hill: Origin’sprotagonist, Travis Grady. After that, players are shown mixed flashes of Alex’s childhood memories coupled with his upcoming adventure into his hometown andSilent Hill.
The soundtrack for theSH Homecomingintro is composed by Akira Yamaoka, with haunting vocals by Mary Elizabeth McGlynn. The intro song carries the otherwise uninteresting opening sequence. This is one of the reasons why it’s ranked at the bottom of the list ofSilent Hillintros.
Silent Hill Downpourbegins with a shot of Murphy Pendelton, the protagonist who’s getting transferred from Ryall State Prison to Wayside Maximum Security Penitentiary. Players then see Murphy crawling out of the wreckage of the crashed prison transfer bus and entering the town ofSilent Hill. After that, there’s a montage of Murphy’s journey through the town, meeting the Postman, and a glimpse into his past.
Daniel Licht is the composer for the main OST and other soundtracks forSH Downpourinstead of Akira, marking the entry’s complete departure from its Japanese roots. The overall intro’s tone was closer to a ‘story trailer’ rather than something that makesplayers curious about the storyline.
Silent Hill Shattered Memorieswas meant to be areboot of the original gameby Western developers. The intro to the game opens up with Harry crashing his car and going on a search for Cheryl after recovering. The game later cuts to a long shot of Cybil Bennett smoking in an empty café and the new, interesting, iteration of Dahlia in a bar similar to Heaven’s Night. The rest of the intro showcases Harry meeting Lisa and exploring various parts of the town getting chased by monsters shortly after.
The dynamic duo, Akira Yamaoka as the composer and Mary Elizabeth McGlynn as the vocalist, returned to create a high-energy track for the intro. This does a somewhat better job of making players hyped about the game’s story. Some of that excitement may have come from the fact this was a reboot of a fan-favorite game.
Silent Hill Originsdoesn’t feature a traditional intro like the rest of the games in the series. However, it does have a spooky opening cinematic that starts with Travis Grady, our protagonist, having a friendly conversation over the radio with a fellow trucker.
He intends to cut through the town of Silent Hill, but akin to the first game, a hooded figure comes in front of his truck, forcing Travis to hit the brakes. After exiting the truck and checking on the person, fog surrounds Travis, and he gazes at a ghostly image of a child in the side mirror.
It’s a simple intro that looks good, throws subtle hints about Travis' childhood, and sets the tone for the rest of the game. There’s no OST in the opening scene except when the ‘O.R.T’ OST players play right after the opening. It’s a track among several others vocalized by Mary Elizabeth McGlynn with Akira Yamaoka as the composer. It adds to the anticipation and mystery before the next series of events unfolds.
Silent Hill 3is a direction continuation of the originalSilent Hillas it focuses on the child Harry received from Alyssa towards the end of the game. The intro opens up to Valtiel turning a valve with two dangling girls seen, a possible hint at Alyssa and Heather’s connection. Heather Mason is established as the main protagonist in the intro as she’s shown waking up in Happy Burger. The rest of the intro focuses heavily on the in-game monsters that she’ll be facing, suggesting a much darker tone to the game.
Mary Elizabeth McGlynn lends her amazing voice again forSilent Hill 3’sintro with Akira Yamaoka as the guitarist. The connection between Alyssa and Heather is the center ofSilent Hill 3’sstory. The shot with Heather traveling toSilent Hillwith Doughlas is a subtle nod to the opening of the first game, whichfans instantly made a connection to.
Overall, the intro is a huge step-up in terms of showcasing the game’s scary and dramatic moments involving other characters in a quick montage with an OST that complements its tone.
The intro toSilent Hill 4: The Roomis arguably the scariest in a video game ever, with its found-footage and uncanny valley look. The intro is a slow descent into the depths of hell as players witness various monstrosities paired with nightmare-inducing groans and screams. There’s no explicit focus on our main protagonist,Henry Townshend, as he slays different enemies.
The second half of the intro switches up its tones to a more emotional one as the track “Room of Angel” plays in the background, composed by Akira Yamaoka and Mary Elizabeth McGlynn as the vocalists. The intro might be scarier than the game itself due to the imagery alone.
The intro has a lot of gruesome scenes with monsters, with a creature crawling towards the screen accompanied by sounds of heavy breathing, and Walter’s creepy smile at the end. All of this combined is enough to let players know they’re in for a truly horrifying game when startingSilent Hill 4: The Room.
The game that defined the psychological horror genre,Silent Hill’s intro, is definitely the most recognizable among the fans. Unlike the other intros that are optional to watch, watching this intro is mandatory. It basically fills in the players what happens before they take control of Harry Mason.
The intro opens up with Harry and his wife finding an abandoned infant in a cemetery. The intro later cuts to introducing different characters in the game, followed by Harry taking Cheryl toSilent Hillas Cybil Bennett passes by the car. We get to see some clips of characters that aren’t in the game, leading to Harry spotting a crashed bike on the side of the road. Shortly after, Harry swerves his car to avoid hitting a girl in the road and crashing it.
The haunting melody of the track named “Silent Hill” is one of the most iconic tracks in a video game, which also was Akira Yamaoka’s debut in the series. The nostalgic factor aside,Silent Hill’sintro does a great job of also acting like an opening to the game, getting players caught up in the situation Harry wakes up to at the beginning of the game.
Silent Hill 2is one of the most beloved games in the series, on par with, and sometimes exceeding, the critical acclaim of the first game. It focuses heavily on James questioning his reality at every turn throughout his journey through the town, and this theme is perfectly conveyed in the intro. The intro starts with Maria’s infamous scene with James Sunderland in Labyrinth’s cell as he begins to question if she is really the person he knew.
The intro showcases James' interactions with various characters inSilent Hill 2, with some VHS footage of Mary mixed in. The focal point of the intro are the characters in the game, andthere are almost no scenes with monsters. This really conveys howSilent Hill 2is really about facing the inner demons and James coming face to face with the reality of his wife’s demise.
The feel of the intro is beautifully uplifted by Akira Yamaoka’s “Theme of Laura,” which players cannot help themselves but get hyped with. Even when the intro showcases James' arguments with other characters, the OST only amps up more, which may symbolize James repressing his memories. Overall,Silent Hill 2intro’s montage of character interactions with its OST makes it rank as the best intro to aSilent Hillgame.
