It seems like Silent Hill could be making a comeback, with Konami pouring resources into both remakes and all-new entries in the franchise. While these upcoming Silent Hill games have yet to be released, the games are granted unique opportunities when it comes to characterization and character development - opportunities that aren't shared by rival survivor horror franchise Resident Evil.

Both Silent Hill and Resident Evil draw inspiration from each other in a number of ways. Silent Hill was initially created as a response to the first Resident Evil, which proved to be a breakout success for Capcom and helped invent the survival horror genre. Despite being clearly inspired by Resident Evil, Silent Hill wound up being significantly different in a number of ways, especially when it came to the tone and themes of its story. These differences would only continue to grow as both franchises matured, with Resident Evil slowly moving away from slow-paced horror elements and embracing action staples, and Silent Hill leaning more into psychological horror. Assuming both franchises stick to their respective frameworks moving forward, Silent Hill's main characters have a chance to be far deeper than Resident Evil's.

RELATED: All Silent Hill 2 Remake Rumors and Leaks

The Town of Silent Hill Allows for Better Characters

While Resident Evil straddles the line between horror and action, Silent Hill is firmly in the horror camp. The frights of the franchise can come from tense scenarios or disturbing creature designs, but this is all underscored by the psychological exploration of the games' protagonists. Some games in the series may do this better than others, but the basic premise of the town of Silent Hill is that it digs deep into the psyches of those who visit it, and the terror they see is a manifestation of their mental state. Perhaps the best example of this is Silent Hill 2, where the entire story of the game, essentially, is built around the protagonist's deep guilt, shame, and trauma, which the town exploits in numerous ways.

Whatever new paths future Silent Hill games take, they will likely still heavily feature these psychological explorations, as they are a staple of the franchise and a crucial part of its identity. The same can't exactly be said for Resident Evil which, even in its most horror-focused entries, often has more in common with action movies that with psychological horror. Iconic series protagonists like Leon Kennedy and Chris Redfield aren't average everymen like Silent Hill's James Sunderland or Heather Mason, but are instead elite members of special forces teams with a wealth of experience, combat training, and tactical gear.

The settings of Silent Hill and Resident Evil are both great in their own right, but they offer vastly different storytelling opportunities. Resident Evil's locations are overrun by a formidable yet comprehendible force that the heroes of the story need to either stop or escape from. This makes for fun gameplay and storytelling, but the conflict of the setting is not personally tied to the protagonists. By contrast, Silent Hill isn't a town that needs to be saved, but rather an elusive location that torments the protagonists, bringing their greatest fears and demons into the light.

Resident Evil games follow their protagonists across multiple entries, while Silent Hill features a new protagonist in each entry. Silent Hill's anthology formula allows for each character to be deeply explored in a contained, dramatic, personal story, whereas Resident Evil's heroes (with some exceptions) have to stay intact, both physically and mentally, for future entries. Because Silent Hill features more self-contained stories, the titular town can deeply explore the psychology of each character without worrying about ramifications in later games. As long as both franchises stick to their respective approaches, Silent Hill will continue to have more complex and interesting characters.

MORE: Silent Hill’s Brave New Endeavors are Precisely What the Survival-Horror Franchise Needs