Summary
For the longest time, the two biggest horror game series in the world were Resident Evil andSilent Hill, and you can’t help but link the two together. While RE has usually focused on gameplay and Silen Hill on its story, you might be surprised to learn that the old-school SH games are significantly harder.
100 percent of the old-school RE titles involved speedrunning and some challenging extra game modes, but Silent Hill requires near perfection to get the highest rank. One particular game in the series has a final boss so unearthly difficult that it’ll make nearly everyone quit the 10-star challenge.
For Silent Hill games made with achievement or trophy lists, the 100 percent completion will consist of the platinum or 1,000 gamerscore. For all the other titles, 100 percent completion will consist of unlocking everything, viewing all the endings, and getting the best rank.
1999
PlayStation
The original Silent Hill game had an oddball new game plus system, where it automatically bumped up the difficulty level on your next run even though you don’t carry over anything. This plays a pretty big role in the challenge of getting the 10-star rank, as you must have done at least four playthroughs before, meaning the game’s set to Hard.
Hard mode is brutal, with enemies doing an absurd amount of damage, but luckily, damage taken isn’t factored in here. Achieving a 10-star rank will unlock the Green Hyper Blaster, by far the hardest unlockable to get. You can actually obtain it by plugging in a Konami Justifier into the second controller port on a PS1, but most won’t have that option.
Overall, Silent Hill 4 is easier than Silent Hill 2 or 3, but you have multiple game modes to play this time, and getting all the endings can be a real pain. Konami eased up the 10-star rank requirements a little because you’re able to achieve it on your first run, although the two-hour time limit and only one save allowed are still pretty strict.
Getting a 10-star rank unlocks One Weapon mode, and beating that with ten stars unlocks All Weapons mode. Another surprisinglydifficult aspect is getting the best endingbecause you must be with Eileen to ensure she doesn’t get possessed. The game’s way more fun when you don’t have to protect her, and no, the candle trick doesn’t work. That’s a complete myth, and she’ll die just as fast in the final boss.
2008
Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC
Silent Hill: Homecoming and Downpour are very similar in their achievement difficulty, but Downpour feels more relaxing as it’s a much slower-paced game. You’ll probably spend more time on Downpour, but Homecoming feels longer and offers more of a challenge.
You must get all five endings not only for achievements but also for some cool costumes and weapons. You can trim down the number of runs by making a save around midway through, just beforethe critical choices you have to make. Plus, a Hard mode run is required as well, which offers a significantly higher challenge than Downpour just from the bosses alone.
2009
Wii, PlayStation 2, PSP
For Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, you won’t have to play through challenging parts; instead, the issue has to be the pure obtuse nature of it all. The game puts a huge focus on your actions throughout, and getting all the endings basically requires a guide, as it’s much more complicated than you may think, especially the ending where the final plot revelation isn’t even revealed.
It’s not on the level of Somerville’s confusing alien language, but definitely up there. At least the game’s very short, so it won’t take too long.
2001
PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox, Xbox 360, PC
The first Silent Hill title to get incredibly difficult regarding 100 percent completion must be Silent Hill 2 due to the prep work and sheer number of tasks required. Before attempting a 10-star run, you must get all the other endings available under one save file. This requires five prior playthroughs plus a run of Born from a Wish.
Then you have to perform the 10-star run, which is absurd. Hard mode has plenty of parts where you or Maria can easily die, and you’ll have to do a lot of unnecessary combat to get your 75 fighting and shooting kills. The worst part, though, is the boat stage. Moving one stick clockwise and the other counter-clockwise just to move forward is a crime against humanity.
2012
PlayStation Vita
It seems weird that the hardest Silent Hill platinum is the spin-off dungeon crawler on the Vita, but it’s true. Silent Hill: Book of Memories can be challenging, but for the most part, it’s the wild time-sink that makes this such a difficult platinum.
You’ll have to 100 percent six different checklists: artifacts, weapons, bestiary, notes, rooms, and broadcasts. This takes an absurd amount of time, and it doesn’t help that, until fairly recently, there weren’t any guides on how to get all this stuff because Book of Memories was such an obscure title that hardly anyone played. While Book of Memories takes the most time, one other game takes the crown for the hardest and most skill-based Silent Hill title.
2003
PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC
When people think ofhard horror games, they probably think of Dead Space 2, not Silent Hill 3. In reality, they’re both in the same league because getting a 10-star rank in Silent Hill 3 is harder than any achievement in a Resident Evil, Fatal Frame, or Outlast game. The requirements are, for the most, what you’d expect, but two things make this challenge an all-timer in horror.
The first is that bosses must be beaten under a certain time limit, and some are very tough to speedrun quickly. Most importantly, though, it’s getting under 500 points of damage. Even if you get to the final boss without taking damage, God does so much, and its attacks are so hard to dodge with the controls that it’ll make you rage quit.
