There’s an image that makes the rounds on subreddits where you are given a choice to walk into Silent Hill, or Raccoon city. As a fan of both series, the correct answer is Silent Hill and it isn’t even close. I wanted to make this post to explain why, because I think people focus more on the scare factor rather than true danger. I originally made this post like a year ago, but 9 has added more reasons you want to pick Silent Hill. 

Silent Hill

Starting with Silent Hill because a lot of people don’t know the greater details of the lore. One of those details is that 99% of people that enter Silent Hill don’t see any monsters. The town canonically still has people living in it, most of whom have no idea about the fog world or anything supernatural going on. But in this hypothetical, let’s say you do see monsters. 

2 and Downpour are the only games that show a true Silent Hill experience, since the other games have the cult or Walter controlling or making the monsters worse. (If you want to include that human influence, then you should include stuff Umbrella sent like Nikolai and Mr X)

In 2, Eddie is an overweight dork who is walking around with a handgun. He is going on such a killing spree that he goes mad with power. Literally anyone can do what Eddie did and escape, as long as you keep a calm mind when faced with danger. Angela meanwhile is walking around town without a weapon. Either the Abstract Daddy was the only enemy that attacked her, or all her monsters were so slow that she could easily avoid them. Finally there’s James. He is a fairly average 27 year old man, nothing physically noteworthy about him. Almost all monsters he faces, he can kill with a lead pipe. The only enemy he can’t, being Pyramidhead, doesn’t actually want to kill him. If you spend his boss fights running, PH will simply leave. 

All and all, average people can survive Silent Hill no problem. The only real factor is if you can mentally tough out the scary visuals and fight back. If two teenage girls can kill the monsters, so can you. Also, the time loop is just a theory. You can't use that as strict canon and say it happens to everyone who enters Silent hill. I think people that pick Silent Hill are more stuck up on fear factor than tangible danger. The monsters in SH are scarier looking, therefore they avoid it. Supernatural threats are scarier than tangible zombies, so they avoid it. 

Resident Evil

For starters the set up: If you live in Raccoon city, then you are already screwed. The water supply had small amounts of the virus even before the outbreak. This was making people sick and act erratic. Then rats spread the virus more directly, causing the Outbreak. Initially the police simply thought there were riots going on, so you were ordered to stay inside. If you followed police orders and didn’t escape the city now, then you are a sitting duck as people start to transform and flood the streets. The military then set up a barricade, trapping everyone inside. If you were unfortunate enough to get in the city during the military retreat like Leon and Claire did, then now you must face the monsters explained below: 

So, zombies in Resident Evil are not dead. They are people infected with a virus that makes them stronger and more durable. They will physically overpower you, so using melee weapons is out of the question. Canonically only headshots can truly kill a zombie, which is why a normal one can survive 3 shots from Barry’s magnum in 1. Not only did these zombies wipe out the police force, but all foot soldiers that the US military sent in got slaughtered and forced to retreat. This alone means more danger than most of Silent Hill’s monsters, but zombies aren’t the only threats in the city. 

Lickers are the next stage of zombie evolution. They are fast enough to dodge gunfire, and durable enough to walk off getting hit by a squad of machine guns. Their claws can decapitate you effortlessly, and their long tongue can rip humans apart like paper. They are nerfed by gameplay balance, but a lore accurate Licker is almost impossible for a human to defeat. 

Remake fans may not know this, but there is a giant freaking worm under the city. It can swallow you whole, and sense you from under ground. Good luck escaping it.

In specific parts of the city, various forms of Hunters are on the prowl. Hunters are Lickers on steroids. They are stronger, faster, and aren’t blind. They are meant to be sold as weapons, and a group of them destroyed the city of Terragria. The BSAA and militaries of the world were helpless to stop them, and ended up blowing up the city and its people out of desperation. You ain’t fighting one.

As if all these direct threats aren’t enough, 9 has revealed that you can die without even getting close to one. Raccoon city syndrome is caused by minor contact with T virus that stays in your body, slowly becoming fatal. Did you drink any of the water in the city? You got RCS. Did you come in contact with blood from a zombie during combat, or touch a surface they did? You got RCS. Did you breathe too much near an infected or area they previously were, inhaling their germs? You got RCS. 

I am not going to even mention the unique entities like Birkin or the Tyrants; Not only because they wouldn’t be interested in you, but because they are too laughably OP to bother explaining. Two arguments I did want to address however:

“If a rookie cop can kill a Tyrant, so can XYZ.” The entire reason the government drafted Leon was because his survival was so incredible, they assumed he must have crazy potential. And they were right, because he became the US government’s strongest agent in only 6 years. Leon is special and should not be used as a bench mark. Use all the dead cops in the game instead. 

“If a 19 year old college student can survive, so can I.” Claire was raised by Chris “Boulder punching” Redfield after their parents died, and was trained to fight by him. She probably has more combat experience than Leon at this point, and literally can kill trained soldiers.

There’s an image that makes the rounds on subreddits where you are given a choice to walk into Silent Hill, or Raccoon city. As a fan of both series, the correct answer is Silent Hill and it isn’t even close. I wanted to make this post to explain why, because I think people focus more on the scare factor rather than true danger. I originally made this post like a year ago, but 9 has added more reasons you want to pick Silent Hill. 

Silent Hill

Starting with Silent Hill because a lot of people don’t know the greater details of the lore. One of those details is that 99% of people that enter Silent Hill don’t see any monsters. The town canonically still has people living in it, most of whom have no idea about the fog world or anything supernatural going on. But in this hypothetical, let’s say you do see monsters. 

2 and Downpour are the only games that show a true Silent Hill experience, since the other games have the cult or Walter controlling or making the monsters worse. (If you want to include that human influence, then you should include stuff Umbrella sent like Nikolai and Mr X)

In 2, Eddie is an overweight dork who is walking around with a handgun. He is going on such a killing spree that he goes mad with power. Literally anyone can do what Eddie did and escape, as long as you keep a calm mind when faced with danger. Angela meanwhile is walking around town without a weapon. Either the Abstract Daddy was the only enemy that attacked her, or all her monsters were so slow that she could easily avoid them. Finally there’s James. He is a fairly average 27 year old man, nothing physically noteworthy about him. Almost all monsters he faces, he can kill with a lead pipe. The only enemy he can’t, being Pyramidhead, doesn’t actually want to kill him. If you spend his boss fights running, PH will simply leave. 

All and all, average people can survive Silent Hill no problem. The only real factor is if you can mentally tough out the scary visuals and fight back. If two teenage girls can kill the monsters, so can you. Also, the time loop is just a theory. You can't use that as strict canon and say it happens to everyone who enters Silent hill. I think people that pick Silent Hill are more stuck up on fear factor than tangible danger. The monsters in SH are scarier looking, therefore they avoid it. Supernatural threats are scarier than tangible zombies, so they avoid it. 

Resident Evil

For starters the set up: If you live in Raccoon city, then you are already screwed. The water supply had small amounts of the virus even before the outbreak. This was making people sick and act erratic. Then rats spread the virus more directly, causing the Outbreak. Initially the police simply thought there were riots going on, so you were ordered to stay inside. If you followed police orders and didn’t escape the city now, then you are a sitting duck as people start to transform and flood the streets. The military then set up a barricade, trapping everyone inside. If you were unfortunate enough to get in the city during the military retreat like Leon and Claire did, then now you must face the monsters explained below: 

So, zombies in Resident Evil are not dead. They are people infected with a virus that makes them stronger and more durable. They will physically overpower you, so using melee weapons is out of the question. Canonically only headshots can truly kill a zombie, which is why a normal one can survive 3 shots from Barry’s magnum in 1. Not only did these zombies wipe out the police force, but all foot soldiers that the US military sent in got slaughtered and forced to retreat. This alone means more danger than most of Silent Hill’s monsters, but zombies aren’t the only threats in the city. 

Lickers are the next stage of zombie evolution. They are fast enough to dodge gunfire, and durable enough to walk off getting hit by a squad of machine guns. Their claws can decapitate you effortlessly, and their long tongue can rip humans apart like paper. They are nerfed by gameplay balance, but a lore accurate Licker is almost impossible for a human to defeat. 

Remake fans may not know this, but there is a giant freaking worm under the city. It can swallow you whole, and sense you from under ground. Good luck escaping it.

In specific parts of the city, various forms of Hunters are on the prowl. Hunters are Lickers on steroids. They are stronger, faster, and aren’t blind. They are meant to be sold as weapons, and a group of them destroyed the city of Terragria. The BSAA and militaries of the world were helpless to stop them, and ended up blowing up the city and its people out of desperation. You ain’t fighting one.

As if all these direct threats aren’t enough, 9 has revealed that you can die without even getting close to one. Raccoon city syndrome is caused by minor contact with T virus that stays in your body, slowly becoming fatal. Did you drink any of the water in the city? You got RCS. Did you come in contact with blood from a zombie during combat, or touch a surface they did? You got RCS. Did you breathe too much near an infected or area they previously were, inhaling their germs? You got RCS. 

I am not going to even mention the unique entities like Birkin or the Tyrants; Not only because they wouldn’t be interested in you, but because they are too laughably OP to bother explaining. Two arguments I did want to address however:

“If a rookie cop can kill a Tyrant, so can XYZ.” The entire reason the government drafted Leon was because his survival was so incredible, they assumed he must have crazy potential. And they were right, because he became the US government’s strongest agent in only 6 years. Leon is special and should not be used as a bench mark. Use all the dead cops in the game instead. 

“If a 19 year old college student can survive, so can I.” Claire was raised by Chris “Boulder punching” Redfield after their parents died, and was trained to fight by him. She probably has more combat experience than Leon at this point, and literally can kill trained soldiers.

There’s an image that makes the rounds on subreddits where you are given a choice to walk into Silent Hill, or Raccoon city. As a fan of both series, the correct answer is Silent Hill and it isn’t even close. I wanted to make this post to explain why, because I think people focus more on the scare factor rather than true danger. I originally made this post like a year ago, but 9 has added more reasons you want to pick Silent Hill. 

Silent Hill

Starting with Silent Hill because a lot of people don’t know the greater details of the lore. One of those details is that 99% of people that enter Silent Hill don’t see any monsters. The town canonically still has people living in it, most of whom have no idea about the fog world or anything supernatural going on. But in this hypothetical, let’s say you do see monsters. 

2 and Downpour are the only games that show a true Silent Hill experience, since the other games have the cult or Walter controlling or making the monsters worse. (If you want to include that human influence, then you should include stuff Umbrella sent like Nikolai and Mr X)

In 2, Eddie is an overweight dork who is walking around with a handgun. He is going on such a killing spree that he goes mad with power. Literally anyone can do what Eddie did and escape, as long as you keep a calm mind when faced with danger. Angela meanwhile is walking around town without a weapon. Either the Abstract Daddy was the only enemy that attacked her, or all her monsters were so slow that she could easily avoid them. Finally there’s James. He is a fairly average 27 year old man, nothing physically noteworthy about him. Almost all monsters he faces, he can kill with a lead pipe. The only enemy he can’t, being Pyramidhead, doesn’t actually want to kill him. If you spend his boss fights running, PH will simply leave. 

All and all, average people can survive Silent Hill no problem. The only real factor is if you can mentally tough out the scary visuals and fight back. If two teenage girls can kill the monsters, so can you. Also, the time loop is just a theory. You can't use that as strict canon and say it happens to everyone who enters Silent hill. I think people that pick Silent Hill are more stuck up on fear factor than tangible danger. The monsters in SH are scarier looking, therefore they avoid it. Supernatural threats are scarier than tangible zombies, so they avoid it. 

Resident Evil

For starters the set up: If you live in Raccoon city, then you are already screwed. The water supply had small amounts of the virus even before the outbreak. This was making people sick and act erratic. Then rats spread the virus more directly, causing the Outbreak. Initially the police simply thought there were riots going on, so you were ordered to stay inside. If you followed police orders and didn’t escape the city now, then you are a sitting duck as people start to transform and flood the streets. The military then set up a barricade, trapping everyone inside. If you were unfortunate enough to get in the city during the military retreat like Leon and Claire did, then now you must face the monsters explained below: 

So, zombies in Resident Evil are not dead. They are people infected with a virus that makes them stronger and more durable. They will physically overpower you, so using melee weapons is out of the question. Canonically only headshots can truly kill a zombie, which is why a normal one can survive 3 shots from Barry’s magnum in 1. Not only did these zombies wipe out the police force, but all foot soldiers that the US military sent in got slaughtered and forced to retreat. This alone means more danger than most of Silent Hill’s monsters, but zombies aren’t the only threats in the city. 

Lickers are the next stage of zombie evolution. They are fast enough to dodge gunfire, and durable enough to walk off getting hit by a squad of machine guns. Their claws can decapitate you effortlessly, and their long tongue can rip humans apart like paper. They are nerfed by gameplay balance, but a lore accurate Licker is almost impossible for a human to defeat. 

Remake fans may not know this, but there is a giant freaking worm under the city. It can swallow you whole, and sense you from under ground. Good luck escaping it.

In specific parts of the city, various forms of Hunters are on the prowl. Hunters are Lickers on steroids. They are stronger, faster, and aren’t blind. They are meant to be sold as weapons, and a group of them destroyed the city of Terragria. The BSAA and militaries of the world were helpless to stop them, and ended up blowing up the city and its people out of desperation. You ain’t fighting one.

As if all these direct threats aren’t enough, 9 has revealed that you can die without even getting close to one. Raccoon city syndrome is caused by minor contact with T virus that stays in your body, slowly becoming fatal. Did you drink any of the water in the city? You got RCS. Did you come in contact with blood from a zombie during combat, or touch a surface they did? You got RCS. Did you breathe too much near an infected or area they previously were, inhaling their germs? You got RCS. 

I am not going to even mention the unique entities like Birkin or the Tyrants; Not only because they wouldn’t be interested in you, but because they are too laughably OP to bother explaining. Two arguments I did want to address however:

“If a rookie cop can kill a Tyrant, so can XYZ.” The entire reason the government drafted Leon was because his survival was so incredible, they assumed he must have crazy potential. And they were right, because he became the US government’s strongest agent in only 6 years. Leon is special and should not be used as a bench mark. Use all the dead cops in the game instead. 

“If a 19 year old college student can survive, so can I.” Claire was raised by Chris “Boulder punching” Redfield after their parents died, and was trained to fight by him. She probably has more combat experience than Leon at this point, and literally can kill trained soldiers.

Silent Hill is objectively more survivable than Raccoon city

There’s an image that makes the rounds on subreddits where you are given a choice to walk into Silent Hill, or Raccoon city. As a fan of both series, the correct answer is Silent Hill and it isn’t even close. I wanted to make this post to explain why, because I think people focus more on the scare factor rather than true danger. I originally made this post like a year ago, but 9 has added more reasons you want to pick Silent Hill. 

Silent Hill

Starting with Silent Hill because a lot of people don’t know the greater details of the lore. One of those details is that 99% of people that enter Silent Hill don’t see any monsters. The town canonically still has people living in it, most of whom have no idea about the fog world or anything supernatural going on. But in this hypothetical, let’s say you do see monsters. 

2 and Downpour are the only games that show a true Silent Hill experience, since the other games have the cult or Walter controlling or making the monsters worse. (If you want to include that human influence, then you should include stuff Umbrella sent like Nikolai and Mr X)

In 2, Eddie is an overweight dork who is walking around with a handgun. He is going on such a killing spree that he goes mad with power. Literally anyone can do what Eddie did and escape, as long as you keep a calm mind when faced with danger. Angela meanwhile is walking around town without a weapon. Either the Abstract Daddy was the only enemy that attacked her, or all her monsters were so slow that she could easily avoid them. Finally there’s James. He is a fairly average 27 year old man, nothing physically noteworthy about him. Almost all monsters he faces, he can kill with a lead pipe. The only enemy he can’t, being Pyramidhead, doesn’t actually want to kill him. If you spend his boss fights running, PH will simply leave. 

All and all, average people can survive Silent Hill no problem. The only real factor is if you can mentally tough out the scary visuals and fight back. If two teenage girls can kill the monsters, so can you. Also, the time loop is just a theory. You can't use that as strict canon and say it happens to everyone who enters Silent hill. I think people that pick Silent Hill are more stuck up on fear factor than tangible danger. The monsters in SH are scarier looking, therefore they avoid it. Supernatural threats are scarier than tangible zombies, so they avoid it. 

Resident Evil

For starters the set up: If you live in Raccoon city, then you are already screwed. The water supply had small amounts of the virus even before the outbreak. This was making people sick and act erratic. Then rats spread the virus more directly, causing the Outbreak. Initially the police simply thought there were riots going on, so you were ordered to stay inside. If you followed police orders and didn’t escape the city now, then you are a sitting duck as people start to transform and flood the streets. The military then set up a barricade, trapping everyone inside. If you were unfortunate enough to get in the city during the military retreat like Leon and Claire did, then now you must face the monsters explained below: 

So, zombies in Resident Evil are not dead. They are people infected with a virus that makes them stronger and more durable. They will physically overpower you, so using melee weapons is out of the question. Canonically only headshots can truly kill a zombie, which is why a normal one can survive 3 shots from Barry’s magnum in 1. Not only did these zombies wipe out the police force, but all foot soldiers that the US military sent in got slaughtered and forced to retreat. This alone means more danger than most of Silent Hill’s monsters, but zombies aren’t the only threats in the city. 

Lickers are the next stage of zombie evolution. They are fast enough to dodge gunfire, and durable enough to walk off getting hit by a squad of machine guns. Their claws can decapitate you effortlessly, and their long tongue can rip humans apart like paper. They are nerfed by gameplay balance, but a lore accurate Licker is almost impossible for a human to defeat. 

Remake fans may not know this, but there is a giant freaking worm under the city. It can swallow you whole, and sense you from under ground. Good luck escaping it.

In specific parts of the city, various forms of Hunters are on the prowl. Hunters are Lickers on steroids. They are stronger, faster, and aren’t blind. They are meant to be sold as weapons, and a group of them destroyed the city of Terragria. The BSAA and militaries of the world were helpless to stop them, and ended up blowing up the city and its people out of desperation. You ain’t fighting one.

As if all these direct threats aren’t enough, 9 has revealed that you can die without even getting close to one. Raccoon city syndrome is caused by minor contact with T virus that stays in your body, slowly becoming fatal. Did you drink any of the water in the city? You got RCS. Did you come in contact with blood from a zombie during combat, or touch a surface they did? You got RCS. Did you breathe too much near an infected or area they previously were, inhaling their germs? You got RCS. 

I am not going to even mention the unique entities like Birkin or the Tyrants; Not only because they wouldn’t be interested in you, but because they are too laughably OP to bother explaining. Two arguments I did want to address however:

“If a rookie cop can kill a Tyrant, so can XYZ.” The entire reason the government drafted Leon was because his survival was so incredible, they assumed he must have crazy potential. And they were right, because he became the US government’s strongest agent in only 6 years. Leon is special and should not be used as a bench mark. Use all the dead cops in the game instead. 

“If a 19 year old college student can survive, so can I.” Claire was raised by Chris “Boulder punching” Redfield after their parents died, and was trained to fight by him. She probably has more combat experience than Leon at this point, and literally can kill trained soldiers.

I have a Mr X figure from Toybiz. My Neca Freddy’s hate is a perfect size for him, but i don’t want to have a naked Freddy. Know where i can buy another one? I can’t find any on ebay

A thing I have always noticed, but it seems to be getting worse over time. Here’s an example:

“Who would win Claire vs Ethan.” I say Claire, because she has beaten tougher opponents and done more impressive feats. Then someone else goes “nu uh Claire is a college student while Ethan is super human.” I list things she has done, and the person goes nu uh again, forcing me to go find clips where she does the thing. We go back and forth with me having to explain things you would know if you played the games. I then ask what games they have played, “4 remake, 7 and 8.” No games featuring Claire or the monsters she has faced

Another example. I criticize 9 for retconning/ignoring how Sherry’s powers work. Another person goes nu uh and says it’s new lore. “Mutated T is new so it works differently than before.” I explain how Jill’s anti bodies effect progenitor in 5, and why G should prevent Sherry from getting sick. And they just repeat the same thing. It becomes very clear they have only played the RE engine games and don’t know what her powers are

This isn’t me trying to gatekeep or say people need to play everything to be a fan. I am just questioning why so many people want to argue about topics they don’t have enough information on to debate?

A thing I have always noticed, but it seems to be getting worse over time. Here’s an example:

“Who would win Claire vs Ethan.” I say Claire, because she has beaten tougher opponents and done more impressive feats. Then someone else goes “nu uh Claire is a college student while Ethan is super human.” I list things she has done, and the person goes nu uh again, forcing me to go find clips where she does the thing. We go back and forth with me having to explain things you would know if you played the games. I then ask what games they have played, “4 remake, 7 and 8.” No games featuring Claire or the monsters she has faced

Another example. I criticize 9 for retconning/ignoring how Sherry’s powers work. Another person goes nu uh and says it’s new lore. “Mutated T is new so it works differently than before.” I explain how Jill’s anti bodies effect progenitor in 5, and why G should prevent Sherry from getting sick. And they just repeat the same thing. It becomes very clear they have only played the RE engine games and don’t know what her powers are

This isn’t me trying to gatekeep or say people need to play everything to be a fan. I am just questioning why so many people want to argue about topics they don’t have enough information on to debate?