The survival horror genre has 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, with Resident Evil 3 and Silent Hill 3 considered to be some of the best.
The third installments in the Silent Hill and Resident Evil franchises both take ambitious risks to push the genre forward. Accordingly, here’s which is game is better between Resident Evil 3 and Silent Hill 3.
10 Resident Evil 3: How It Plays With The Franchise’s History
It’s always interesting to see how Resident Evil games build a deeper chronology and connect characters together to tell a much bigger story. Resident Evil 3 was originally developed as a side-game in the series and as a result it reuses a lot of assets from the earlier game.
The fact that the first half of the game is set prior to Resident Evil 2, before the sequel then jumps forward, is a clever way to layer Resident Evil’s story and previous environments. It manages to make old locations exciting in new ways.
9 Silent 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 two Silent Hill games are competent heroes, but Cheryl Mason easily 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.
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’s Jill is a classic, but she’s the standard heroine archetype.
8 Resident Evil 3: Its Pacing
One of the best things about Resident Evil 3 is that it’s a game that immediately throws players into the action and tries to effectively replicate the tension that Jill Valentine experiences. Resident Evil 3 is 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, but Resident Evil 3 really taps into the adrenaline.
7 Silent Hill 3: The Amusement Park Setting
Much like how Raccoon City is the setting for the first handful of Resident Evil titles, the Silent Hill games are largely set within the titular eerie community. Silent Hill 3 doesn’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.
6 Resident Evil 3: The Enemies
All of the Resident Evil games are excellent for creating original and disturbing monsters that must be defeated. Resident Evil 3 features a wealth of frightening creatures that pull from the series’ past, as well as introduces new beasts. Zombies, rabid dogs, and giant spiders are all extremely frustrating. However, Resident Evil 3 brings 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 in Silent Hill 3 can’t compare.
5 Silent Hill 3: Many Challenging Difficulties
Silent Hill 3 is one of the more challenging games in the series and it actually puts a good deal of thought into its difficulty curve. Silent Hill 3 in 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 3 provides 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 what Resident Evil 3 offers.
4 Resident Evil 3: The Choose-Your-Own Adventure Aesthetic
The Resident Evil series has taken some risks throughout its history, with some being more drastic than others. A major difference in Resident Evil 3 is 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 recent Resident Evil 3 Remake removes this creative function from the game. Alternatively, Silent Hill 3 plays like a straight horror game and doesn’t tap into the same mindset.
3 Silent Hill 3: The Multiple Endings
The Silent Hill series 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 3 also 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’s a lot to work to achieve all of Silent Hill 3’s endings, but they feel like accomplishments. Resident Evil 3 has fun unlockable post-game content, but it feels more superfluous.
2 Resident Evil 3: Nemesis
There are many threats and ways to get frightened in Resident 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 in Silent Hill 3.
1 Silent Hill 3: Its Storyline
Silent Hill 3 cleverly plays with the audience’s expectations after the previous game featured a new story independent of the original game. It initially appears that Silent Hill 3 takes the same approach, but more connections to the first game become clear, including that Cheryl is the daughter of Silent Hill’s protagonist. This culminates in one big story about generational pain and destiny. It’s this attention to detail that makes Silent Hill’s emotional story perfect material for a modern reboot. Resident Evil 3 is fairly generic and once again sees Raccoon City under siege.