The best games like Silent Hill draw inspiration from the classic Japanese survival horror franchise while introducing new characters, stories, and settings.
So, while you wait for the next Silent Hill game to come out, consider your other horror alternatives.
In this list, we’ll explore the best games like Silent Hill on Steam, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch platforms.
Make sure to check back in the future to see new recommendations for the best Silent Hill-like games of 2023!
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The Mortuary Assistant
Platform: Windows
Many of the best horror games like Silent Hill feature a mystery at their center that can’t be easily explained using natural science or logical reasoning.
A great example of this is The Mortuary Assistant, which drops you in a haunted mortuary with a possessed corpse to look after.
To make matters worse, the entire time you’re stalked by a demon that will mess with the lights, open and close doors, and make its presence known in the creepiest ways.
Similar to Silent Hill, getting the “good” ending requires you to follow certain steps as well as solve various puzzles with an ever-looming threat nearby.
Visage
Platforms: Windows, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One
Taking its cues from the ill-fated Silent Hills successor P.T., Visage is an indie horror game that turns sanity into a literal game mechanic.
Your character is tasked with exploring a haunted home whose possessions hold a great deal of history and layers tied to its previous residents.
While collecting items and solving puzzles, you’ll find yourself having to take pills to avoid being driven mad by the ghosts and other horrors that stalk you.
Despite having a first-person POV, this game does a great job at building tension and using atmosphere to thoroughly creep out its players.
The ER: Patient Typhon
Platform: Windows
Anyone searching for 2D games like Silent Hill is welcome to pick up The ER: Patient Typhon by Professional Villains.
Described as an atmospheric and exploration-driven horror game, it casts you as a young woman who loses both her arms.
Trapped in a mysterious hospital, you’ll have to rely on your wits and reflexes to solve puzzles while running and hiding from deadly monsters.
This is the kind of game you’ll find yourself coming back to over and over again to unlock every possible ending and learn as much as you can about the story.
Them and Us
Platform: Windows
Next up on our list of the best horror games like Silent Hill is Them and Us, a modern take on classic survival horror created by indie developer TendoGames.
Set during the late 1970s, it sees you controlling Alicia, a young woman who manages to survive after the bus she was traveling on crashes in the American wilderness.
After waking up in a strange mansion, Alicia is forced to fight for her life as zombies and other horrors try to prevent her from escaping.
Players are given the option of using either a fixed camera with tank controls or a third-person tracking camera with over-the-shoulder aiming during combat.
Tormented Souls
Platforms: Windows, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Switch
Tormented Souls is a throwback to early psychological horror games like Silent Hill and Resident Evil with modernized controls and dynamic camera options.
Players take on the role of Caroline Walker as she investigates the disappearance of twin sisters at an abandoned mansion.
After Caroline wakes up naked and hooked up to a strange machine, she’s forced to fight for her life as dark forces try to prevent her from uncovering the truth.
Gameplay has you solving intricate Silent Hill-like puzzles while scavenging for resources and fighting unspeakable horrors.
Eldervale
Platform: Windows
Moving along, Eldervale is another horror game like Silent Hill that serves as a love letter to 2000s classics where exploration and atmosphere took center stage.
You play as Ophelia Delaney, a young woman haunted by visions of her childhood spent living in a sprawling estate where horrible events took place.
Desperate for answers, Ophelia returns to the Delaney Institution where she’ll have to confront her demons, both literally and figuratively.
Like Silent Hill, gameplay centers on traversing creepy environments with the help of maps and consumables as well as solving puzzles to open up new paths.
In Sound Mind
Platforms: Windows, PS5, Xbox Series X/S
The Silent Hill games do a great job of using scary environments as a metaphor for the protagonists’ inability to cope with their psychological trauma.
Another game that explores this concept is In Sound Mind, a cerebral horror game in which your character has bizarre visions of disturbing entities.
After waking suddenly to find yourself in a strange building, you begin to encounter victims all exposed to the same experimental chemical that’s corrupting minds.
Similar to Silent Hill, the game offers multilayered puzzles, bossfights, and storytelling involving sentient mannequins and a mysterious feline companion.
Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water
Platforms: Windows, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Switch
Fatal Frame is another horror franchise that doesn’t get as much attention these days, so it’s great to see Koei Tecmo remaster one of the most beloved entries.
Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water has players wielding a special camera to capture supernatural phenomena, specifically spirits.
Environmental design is at the core of Fatal Frame’s gameplay as the player is forced to navigate haunted locations while solving puzzles and uncovering clues.
New to the remaster are updated graphics, additional character costumes, and a new photo mode for capturing your spookiest highlights.
Alan Wake Remastered
Platforms: Windows, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One
Set in the fictional town of Bright Falls, Washington, Alan Wake focuses on a Writer investigating the mysterious disappearance of his wife.
To make matters more complicated, events from his latest horror novel keep coming true despite him having no recollection of writing it in the first place.
With humans, animals, and objects in Bright Falls possessed by dark forces, Alan must fight to survive by using light and other weapons to defeat the Taken.
The best way to play Alan Wake in 2023 is via the remastered version, which bundles the base game with its two expansions and enhanced graphics.
The Medium
Platforms: Windows, PS5, Xbox Series X/S
The Medium is another retro-inspired horror game from the Silent Hill days of fixed camera perspectives.
The story follows a psychic named Marianne as she’s called to an abandoned hotel to unravel its history and help free the spirits trapped within its grounds.
Marianne’s psychic abilities allow her to travel between the land of the living and the dead to commune with spirits and manipulate the environment.
This results in some clever puzzles and a hefty amount of exploration-based progression that all feels very reminiscent of the Silent Hill series.
Resident Evil 2 Remake
Platforms: Windows, PS4, Xbox One
Resident Evil has fared a lot better than Silent Hill when it comes to keeping up with modern gaming trends while still actively defining the survival horror genre.
If you’re craving an old-school horror game with all the modern bells and whistles, then the 2019 remake of Resident Evil 2 will do you just fine.
In it, players reprise their roles as rookie cop Leon and college student Claire as the pair find themselves trapped in Raccoon City amidst a zombie plague.
While the core gameplay is essentially the same, parts of the story have been reworked to give supporting characters a bigger spotlight.
Lost in Vivo
Platform: Windows
Lost in Vivo is a psychological horror game about claustrophobia that was created and published by indie developer Kira.
In it, your character finds themselves in a series of underground tunnels after a storm causes their dog to fall down a broken sewer drain.
While exploring the labyrinth-like sewer tunnels, you’ll meet other characters that are stricken by abnormal or psychological fears.
Much like Silent Hill, the game shies away from cheap jumpscares and instead focuses on using its environments to create an unsettling atmosphere.
Detention
Platforms: Windows, PS4, Switch, Mac, Linux, Android
Carrying on, Detention is one of the best games like Silent Hill that pays homage to horror greats while adding its own unique visual flair, atmosphere, and story.
Players take on the role of a student who falls asleep in class only to wake up and find his school completely deserted aside from one other person.
Together, the pair begin to unravel a series of disturbing truths about their school and the evil creatures that now run rampant throughout its halls.
Much like Silent Hill, the game uses the concept of alternate worlds or dimensions to guide players through its slow-burning narrative.
The Evil Within
Platforms: Windows, PS4, Xbox One
It may surprise you to learn that both Silent Hill and The Evil Within were directed by Resident Evil series creator Shinji Mikami.
This series casts you as Sebastian Castellanos, a detective investigating a murder when he suddenly finds himself in a strange world inhabited by terrifying monsters.
Enemies can easily overpower Sebastian at the beginning of the game until he obtains certain weapons and upgrades that tip the odds in his favor.
Both the original and its sequel are great alternatives for anyone who wants to recapture the eerie atmosphere of the original Silent Hill trilogy.
SOMA
Platforms: Windows, PS4, Xbox One, Mac, Linux
Frictional Games are known for unique narrative-driven horror experiences that prioritize atmosphere and story-telling over cheesy jump scares.
While the studio is best known for Amnesia (more on that later), many consider SOMA to be on the same level in terms of writing quality and gameplay.
The story centers on Simon, an AI clone who awakes to find himself trapped in a deep-sea research facility under stranger circumstances.
Desperate for answers, he sets out to explore the facility and uncover the truth behind the base’s origins, sinister experiments, and missing employees.
Outlast
Platforms: Windows, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Much like Silent Hill, Outlast has played a role in shaping the horror genre, specifically modern survival horror games where the player is completely defenseless.
Instead of guns, your primary tool is a handheld night vision camera that’s constantly running out of batteries.
Since any attempt at fighting will result in your character’s death, knowing your way around the environment is critical for survival just like in a Silent Hill game.
If you play through and enjoy the original, consider picking up Outlast 2, which raises the stakes with more aggressive enemy AI and sprawling sandbox levels.
Darkwood
Platforms: Windows, PS4, Xbox One, Switch, Mac
Despite having a top-down POV that differs from the Silent Hill games, Darkwood offers a similar survival horror experience with a few modern amenities.
Players take on the role of a silent protagonist stranded in a hostile wilderness teeming with threats both natural and supernatural.
The gameplay loop is structured around a continuous day/night cycle in which players explore and gather resources before hunkering down once it’s dark.
Like Silent Hill, your character’s ability to deal with external threats is limited, forcing you to get creative and rely on luck to survive the night.
Cry of Fear
Platform: Windows
Like many great games, Cry of Fear got its start as a Half-Life mod that kept expanding to the point of becoming its own standalone game.
The story takes place in a deserted Scandinavian town and casts you as a young man searching for answers while the city falls into madness.
It features similar themes to Silent Hill including horror as well as mental illness, despair, and the nature of our inner psyches.
If you never got a chance to check out this mod in its heyday and want a Silent Hill-like experience, Cry of Fear is worth a shot.
Amnesia: The Dark Descent
Platforms: Windows, PS4, Xbox One, Switch, Mac, Linux
The other game we’re recommending from Frictional is Amnesia: The Dark Descent, an internet horror sensation that has gone on to sell over half a million copies.
In it, players control a man named Daniel as he traverses the dark and dangerous castle of Brennenburg looking for answers and a way to escape.
Gameplay revolves around a sanity mechanic in which players burn candles and try to avoid monsters to prevent going mad.
If you like The Dark Descent, you might want to look into its expansion Amnesia: Justine as well as sequels A Machine for Pigs, and Amnesia: Rebirth.
Until Dawn
Platform: PS4
Until Dawn is the precursor to Supermassive Games’ Dark Pictures Anthology and features similar interactive horror gameplay.
The story takes place on a single night and sees a group of young adults gathering in a snow-covered cabin on the anniversary of their friends’ deaths.
As the night progresses, the group begins to suspect they’re being stalked by a masked assailant and decides to split up to investigate.
From there, things spin out in different branching paths depending on the player’s choices, ultimately deciding who lives or dies.
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