Konami's Silent Hill has seen some memorable and relatable characters along the way. Set in the fictional United States city of Silent Hill, the town's foggy & grimy atmosphere take psychological horror to a whole new level. The franchise has even seen two movie adaptations since: Silent Hill (2006), and Silent Hill: Revelation (2011).
Silent Hill isn't the typical Survival Horror game where players are required to shoot their way through herds. The series is more about personal, visceral fear. These are top 10 of the franchise's playable characters, ranked.
10 Karen
Karen appeared in Silent Hill: Orphan for mobile phones back in 2007. After a criminal set her house on fire, killing her parents and her sister Alessa in the process, she grew up in an orphanage and was often bullied as a kid. Alessa often talked to Karen and promised to 'wash away all the evil' from the orphanage.' Turns out it was a plan to possess Karen and murder every single orphan who belittled her.
9 Mira The Dog
Mire is a female Shiba Inu dog who appeared in Silent Hill: The Escape as a playable character upon unlocking the Alien scenario. She also appeared in Silent Hill: Origins and Silent Hill: Shattered Memories.
Although she's not exactly the game's main character, it's still worth noting that Mira is an intelligent dog who loves music. She even operated levers at a large computer panel before the ending of Origins.
8 Maria
Maria is an enigmatic & perplexing character. She appeared as the primary antagonist in Silent Hill 2 and served as the main character of its side-story, Born from a Wish.
She eerily shares plenty of resemblances with James Sunderland's late wife, Mary, from her physical appearances to her voice, leading James to be attracted to her yet fear what she might represent.
7 Cybil Bennett
Cybil Bennett is a Brahm police officer who appeared in Silent Hill as a deuteragonist and as a playable character in Play Novel: Silent Hill for Game Boy Advance consoles.
In Silent Hill, Bennett befriended Harry Mason and helped look for his missing, adoptive daughter, Cheryl. She has an uneasy background, as she had to witness her parents' murder from a hidden closet when she was only little.
6 Alex Shepherd
Alex Shepherd is a former soldier who appeared in 2008's Silent Hill: Homecoming. Shepherd was discharged from his group for military-related injuries, only to come home and find his brother, father, & neighbors leaving without a trace, as well as his mother in a catatonic state.
He's highly trained in combat and probably the most skillful combatant among other Silent Hill characters.
5 Travis Grady
Travis Grady is the center of Silent Hill: Origins. Grady grew up in a troubled household with a severely-deluded and ill mother who often saw him as a devil's child. His father, Richard, took his own life after his wife's passing, and it traumatized young Grady since then.
As an adult 15 years later, Grady worked as a truck driver, still haunted by his past. During one of his usual rides, he decided to take a shortcut through the town of Silent Hill, only to be succumbed by his past once again.
4 James Sunderland
Silent Hill is the story of James Sunderland, and discussing the series' leads would be remiss without bringing up the protagonist of Silent Hill 2.
Three years after his wife, Mary, was pronounced dead, James received a mysterious handwritten letter which perfectly resembled his late wife's handwriting. The letter said that she's somewhere in 'a happy place,' in the town of Silent Hill, leading James to investigate it and question his morality.
3 Heather Mason
Tomboyish, strong, and self-reliant. Heather is Harry Mason's second adoptive daughter. Having appeared as a baby in Silent Hill, Heather showed remarkable growth as she became the main character in Silent Hill 3.
After the death of her father, Heather went on a mission to find the monsters who took his life and make them pay.
2 Henry Townshend
Henry Townshend is the main character of Silent Hill 4: The Room. There aren't too many details about his past or what he did before the event of The Room, except that he was a keen photographer because he's always been a fearsome, lone wolf.
At the beginning of The Room, Townshend found himself trapped in his Room 302 apartment of South Ashfield Heights, hence the title. He raced against the clock to escape the apartment, only to find out that the real danger was waiting ahead.
1 Harry Mason
Harry Mason is the legend of Silent Hill. Appearing as the main character of the original Silent Hill back in 1999, Mason was a devoted family man. As mentioned above, he adopted a daughter named Cheryl and dedicated his life to take good care of her. He lost Cheryl during their vacation-gone-wrong to the town of Silent Hill, and he was determined to find her.
It's also worth noting that, while Silent Hill characters like Cybil Bennett (a cop) and Alex Shepherd (a former militia) were competent combatanta, Harry Mason was only a small-time writer, and his lack of combat skill is what makes Silent Hill a challenging game to finish.