Silent Hill's Future Heroes Outshine Resident Evil's Protagonists

Highlights

Silent Hill offers unique opportunities for characterization and character development, setting itself apart from rival franchise Resident Evil.

The psychological investigation of the main characters in Silent Hill enhances the narrative and provides insight into their internal conflicts. Silent Hill's approach of introducing new protagonists in each installment enables a more concentrated and individualized examination of the characters, resulting in the development of intricate and captivating individuals unlike Resident Evil's recurring heroes.

Silent Hill may be poised for a comeback as Konami invests in remakes and new entries for the franchise. These upcoming games provide unique opportunities for character development that rival survivor horror franchise Resident Evil does not have. Although Silent Hill drew inspiration from the success of Capcom's Resident Evil, it ultimately diverged in several significant ways, particularly in terms of tone and themes. As both franchises evolved, Resident Evil shifted towards action-driven elements while Silent Hill delved deeper into psychological horror. Moving forward, if both franchises stay true to their respective frameworks, Silent Hill's main characters have the potential to possess greater depth than those in Resident Evil.

The Town of Silent Hill Allows for Better Characters

While Resident Evil teeters between horror and action, Silent Hill firmly resides in the horror genre. The franchise instills fear through tense situations and unsettling creature designs, but it goes beyond that by delving into the psychological depths of its protagonists. While some games do this better than others, the core concept of Silent Hill revolves around the exploration of visitors' psyches, with the terrifying experiences they encounter being a manifestation of their mental states. The prime example of this is Silent Hill 2, where the entire game revolves around the protagonist's profound guilt, shame, and trauma, all of which the town cunningly exploits.

In contrast, future iterations of Silent Hill games will most likely continue to focus heavily on these psychological explorations. They are a fundamental aspect of the franchise's identity and play a significant role in its overall makeup. On the other hand, Resident Evil, even in its most horror-centric installments, often leans more towards action movies than psychological horror. Iconic characters like Leon Kennedy and Chris Redfield are not average individuals like James Sunderland or Heather Mason from Silent Hill, but rather elite members of special forces teams. Equipped with extensive combat training and tactical gear, they possess a wealth of experience that sets them apart.

Silent Hill and Resident Evil both have excellent settings that offer unique storytelling opportunities. In Resident Evil, the locations are taken over by a powerful yet understandable force that the protagonists must either stop or escape from. This creates enjoyable gameplay and storytelling, but the conflict in the setting is not personally connected to the heroes. On the other hand, Silent Hill is not a town that needs saving, but a mysterious place that torments the protagonists by bringing their deepest fears and demons to the surface.

While Resident Evil games follow the same protagonists throughout multiple entries, each Silent Hill game features a new main character. This anthology approach allows for in-depth exploration of each character in a contained, dramatic, and personal story. In contrast, Resident Evil's heroes (with some exceptions) must remain physically and mentally intact for future entries. With its self-contained stories, Silent Hill can delve into the psychology of each character without concerns about the impact on future games. As long as both franchises stick to their respective approaches, Silent Hill will continue to have more complex and intriguing characters.