Thesurvival horror genrehas exploded in major ways over the past decades and it’s turned into one of the most popular & entertaining forms of gaming. Of all of the series that have emerged to scare audiences, it’s fair to say that two franchises have comfortably been at the forefront, withResident Evil 3andSilent Hill 3considered to be some of the best.
Related:10 Hidden Secrets Many Still Haven’t Found In Resident Evil 3 Remake
The third installments in theSilent HillandResident Evilfranchises both take ambitious risks to push the genre forward. Accordingly, here’s which is game is better betweenResident Evil 3andSilent Hill 3.
10Resident Evil 3: How It Plays With The Franchise’s History
It’s always interesting to see howResident Evilgames build a deeper chronology and connect characters together to tell a much bigger story.Resident Evil 3was originally developed as a side-game in the series and as a result it reuses a lot of assets from the earlier game.
Related:The 10 Scariest Enemies In Silent Hill 3 (Including Bosses)
The fact that the first half of the game is set prior toResident Evil 2,before the sequel then jumps forward, is a clever way to layerResident Evil’sstory and previous environments. It manages to make old locations exciting in new ways.
9Silent Hill 3: Its Protagonist, Cheryl Mason
So often a survival horror game is only as strong as its protagonist. Harry Mason and James Sunderland from the first twoSilent Hillgames are competent heroes, butCheryl Masoneasily trumps them. For one, the female perspective adds a lot more to the story and the fact that Cheryl is a teenager also leads to a unique perspective.
Related:10 Unresolved Mysteries & Plot Holes Left Hanging In Resident Evil 3 Remake
Cheryl is a great character that in many ways feels like an audience surrogate and she’s just as weirded out as the players.Resident Evil 3’sJill is a classic, but she’s the standard heroine archetype.
8Resident Evil 3: Its Pacing
One of the best things aboutResident Evil 3is that it’s a game that immediately throws players into the action and tries to effectively replicate the tension thatJill Valentineexperiences.Resident Evil 3is one of the faster-paced titles in the series due to how Nemesis is constantly prowling and around the corner. The game utilizes a tight timeline that makes the most of this and prioritizes action.Silent Hill 3,in comparison, is a much more lethargic game. It’s longer, butResident Evil 3really taps into the adrenaline.
7Silent Hill 3: The Amusement Park Setting
Much like howRaccoon Cityis the setting for the first handful ofResident Eviltitles, theSilent Hillgames are largely set within the titular eerie community.Silent Hill 3doesn’t break that trend, but it narrows in on Lakeside Amusement Park, an abandoned relic that’s within Silent Hill. This setting lends itself to so many creative and fantastic scares. There’s just such an energy to the environment and Raccoon City pales in comparison, especially when previous games have covered a lot of the same environments.
6Resident Evil 3: The Enemies
All of theResident Evilgames are excellent for creating original and disturbing monsters that must be defeated.Resident Evil 3features a wealth offrightening creaturesthat pull from the series’ past, as well as introduces new beasts. Zombies, rabid dogs, and giant spiders are all extremely frustrating. However,Resident Evil 3brings back Hunters in a big way and it’s a terrifying reunion. The new game also brings the freaky Drain Deimos and Brain Suckers into the picture. The standard enemies inSilent Hill 3can’t compare.
5Silent Hill 3: Many Challenging Difficulties
Silent Hill 3is one of the more challenging games in the series and it actually puts a good deal of thought into its difficulty curve.Silent Hill 3in fact offers varying difficulties for both the game’s combat and puzzle sections. This is a creative innovation and the harder puzzles are truly challenging. If that’s not enough,Silent Hill 3provides ten increasing levels of Extreme difficulty. This is perfect for players who yearn for a harder post-game experience and it’s far more expansive than whatResident Evil 3offers.
4Resident Evil 3: The Choose-Your-Own Adventure Aesthetic
TheResident Evilseries has taken some risks throughout its history, with some being more drastic than others. A major difference inResident Evil 3is the “choose-your-own-adventure” aesthetic to the action. Players are confronted with branching options when Jill reaches certain obstacles. It’s an amazing idea that makes use of agency in creative ways. Unfortunately, the recentResident Evil 3 Remakeremoves this creative function from the game. Alternatively,Silent Hill 3plays like a straight horror game and doesn’t tap into the same mindset.
3Silent Hill 3: The Multiple Endings
TheSilent Hillseries has become famous for is how over the top they go with their endings. There are of course a couple of canonical endings that push Cheryl’s story to challenging places. However,Silent Hill 3also has a strong sense of humor, which is clear in the game’s “Revenge” UFO ending, which shows that the game doesn’t take itself too seriously. There’sa lot to workto achieve all ofSilent Hill 3’sendings, but they feel like accomplishments.Resident Evil 3has fun unlockable post-game content, but it feels more superfluous.
2Resident Evil 3: Nemesis
There are many threats and ways to get frightened inResident Evil 3,but by far the game’s biggest innovation & challenge is in the form of the title’s major antagonist,Nemesis. Nemesis is a biological weapon made from Umbrella that’s more intimidating than any other boss from the series. Nemesis stalks his prey, cannot be completely defeated, and wields a rocket launcher. Nemesis is still a fascinating concept that gets discussed and there’s just no equivalent to it inSilent Hill 3.
1Silent Hill 3: Its Storyline
Silent Hill 3cleverly plays with the audience’s expectations after the previous game featured a new story independent of the original game. It initially appears thatSilent Hill 3takes the same approach, but more connections to the first game become clear, including that Cheryl is the daughter ofSilent Hill’sprotagonist. This culminates in one big story about generational pain and destiny. It’s this attention to detail that makesSilent Hill’semotional story perfect material for a modernreboot.Resident Evil 3is fairly generic and once again sees Raccoon City under siege.
