So I've posted a bunch of threads about Silent Hill, and thanks to your help I have just picked up both Silent Hill HD (seemed some people were disappointed but overall well received) and Silent Hill Downpour. I was just hoping to get some advice for a newcomer like me. Should I start with the hd collection or go straight to Downpour? Should I wait till the darkness of the night to play? I know psn+ gives me the first 1 for free so I plan on playing it. Thanks for the help guys, heres to hoping for an enjoyable series!

Play it at night. Always. And play 2 first, then 1, then 3, then Downpour. Have fun!

If you can withstand the temptation of jumping headalong into Downpour, I would play them in sequential order just to get a sense of how the games, leading up to the latest one you own, have evolved. This way I'd certainly enjoy the latest outing probably more than if I had gone the other way around. Some just can't deal with dated tech structured around artwork/atmosphere that, to this day, holds up, coming off of a current-gen title. Also, yes, playing them at night furthers the experience.

Combat is so janky, might want to turn it down a notch (easy). Its been forever since I played them, but SH2 is giving me chills.

@Sackmanjones If a sound system is missing, headphones are just as effective as a nice setup in terms of immersion. But man, beware.

I just don't have it in me to get scared by a game, it's just too unbearable a feeling, contrasted against movies where it's more of a static experience. I've willfuly ignored really scary games (like Amnesia and so forth), but I should probably give it a go since it is very effective. I digress. I was going to say that playing console games on the big screen with a functional pair of headphones -- wireless or not -- have been really effective for me in that it makes me feel like I'm more in proximity to what's happening in the game and the story that is being told. I couln't imagine it not being effective in a game as suspenseful as a Silent Hill type of game.

I hope you do better than I do. I'm playing Silent Hill 2 right now and am having a hard time going through it. It's just too damn scary :)

Try to play with headphones and on a monitor if you can. I find that's the best way to be immersed, but that might just be me.

• April will take some days to come. Play Silent Hill 2 these days.
• If you play 1 and 3 one after another, the storyline references will be more "alive".
• Silent Hill 2 is pretty fucking awesome and you shouldn't wait to play it.
• Seriously, why are reading this list? GO PLAY IT!
  

@MikeGosot As someone who probably knows more about Silent Hill than I do (I really need to get back at some point), I agree with the order in which you advice him to play them in. I was more speaking to the idea of starting off with the first few games as a jumping-off point, just to avoid the obivously evolutionary disconnect from the appreciation you'd get from a current-gen title.

@Sackmanjones: Like someone said already, play with headphones. Not for the immersion, but to be SCARED SHITLESS HELL YEAH! Also, someoe suggested you to play the game in order to see the evolution of the series, but you will notice that regardless of the order. I suggested Silent Hill 2 first because:

• April will take some days to come. Play Silent Hill 2 these days.
• If you play 1 and 3 one after another, the storyline references will be more "alive".
• Silent Hill 2 is pretty fucking awesome and you shouldn't wait to play it.
• Seriously, why are reading this list? GO PLAY IT!
  

Dude, just go play instead of asking what game to play. It's Silent Hill 2. It should not be something you need to think about extensively, just pop it in and play it. Now.

@MikeGosot

@Sackmanjones: Like someone said already, play with headphones. Not for the immersion, but to be SCARED SHITLESS HELL YEAH! Also, someoe suggested you to play the game in order to see the evolution of the series, but you will notice that regardless of the order. I suggested Silent Hill 2 first because:

• April will take some days to come. Play Silent Hill 2 these days.
• If you play 1 and 3 one after another, the storyline references will be more "alive".
• Silent Hill 2 is pretty fucking awesome and you shouldn't wait to play it.
• Seriously, why are reading this list? GO PLAY IT!
  

It seems like 2 is definitely considered the best in the series. So how is 3? And if you played it what do you think of downpour?

@Sackmanjones: 3 is my Personal favorite in the series. It's not a popular opinion, and it's easy to see why, because 2 is a goddamn fantastic game. I will say that the HD remix isn't the best way to experience either game, as there are some pretty odd changes that manage to screw up an awful lot of the atmosphere that made the original versions so engrossing and oppressive. Still, even a lackluster version of SH2 and 3 are pretty good, and Downpour, despite some poor monster designs throughout, is one of the better games released since the golden days of the franchise.

I think 3 is still really great. Unlike 2 though it is a direct sequel to 1 so i would suggest playing that first.

@Sackmanjones: 3 is my Personal favorite in the series. It's not a popular opinion, and it's easy to see why, because 2 is a goddamn fantastic game. I will say that the HD remix isn't the best way to experience either game, as there are some pretty odd changes that manage to screw up an awful lot of the atmosphere that made the original versions so engrossing and oppressive. Still, even a lackluster version of SH2 and 3 are pretty good, and Downpour, despite some poor monster designs throughout, is one of the better games released since the golden days of the franchise.

So I am considering picking up the HD collection - but never played 1 either....It looks like Sackmanjones must have already asked this elsewhere, but what do I do about 1? Is it on PSN, or is there already a remake, or ?