I was REALLY patient for this one but:
Silent Hill (ps1). I tried to play it last year, ran into the creature in the alley at the very very start and immediately turned it off. Too spoopy for me. Finally decided to try again because the Silent Hill lore is just way too fascinating. Have made it through a lot farther this time (just passed the dog house now) and still going strong.
If you or anyone else is interested in playing more, I recommend:
Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams (aka Director’s Cut). Not a continuation of the story of the first game, but a separate story in the same universe. Generally agreed to take everything good from the first game and improve upon it. The “Restless Dreams” version has a substantial extra scenario which adds some backstory and lore, but should probably be played only after completing the main game.
Silent Hill 3. This one does continue the story of the first game, somewhat. To be honest I remember enjoying it but not much in terms of particulars.
Silent Hill 4: The Room. Started out as a separate game unrelated to the Silent Hill mythos, but was rewritten to become an SH game during development. This sounds like it might be a terrible cash-in, but it really is a perfect fit for the SH universe. IMO almost as strong as SH2.
Silent Hill: 0rigins. A PSP game set as a prequel to the first game. A little light on story, and with some odd combat mechanics, but I still found it very enjoyable. I played the later PS2 port.
Silent Hill: Shattered Memories. A “reimagining” of the story from the first game. It plays and feels very different to the previous games, but I still enjoyed it quite a lot.
Silent Hill: Orphan. A series of point-and-click adventures for Java-enabled mobile phones from the 2000s. Totally different mechanics from the mainline games, but they do the atmosphere and story well if you don’t mind the slower pace of point-and-click. They run on some J2ME emulators.
Silent Hill: Alchemilla. A free fan-game centered on the Alchemilla Hospital, but also including several other locations. First-person view with many puzzles and no combat. Very polished and really nails the atmosphere.
I played a little of Silent Hill: Homecoming but got tired of it about 1/3 of the way through (I guess). I also bought Silent Hill: Downpour but gave up on that even more quickly. I don’t recommend either of them. Things introduced in the earlier games for specific psychological reasons related to the plot - especially sexy monster nurses and Pyramid Head - tend to be regurgitated in the later games for no real reason other than “Silent Hill”, which removes their impact completely.
I was REALLY patient for this one but: Silent Hill (ps1). I tried to play it last year, ran into the creature in the alley at the very very start and immediately turned it off. Too spoopy for me. Finally decided to try again because the Silent Hill lore is just way too fascinating. Have made it through a lot farther this time (just passed the dog house now) and still going strong.
If you or anyone else is interested in playing more, I recommend:
I played a little of Silent Hill: Homecoming but got tired of it about 1/3 of the way through (I guess). I also bought Silent Hill: Downpour but gave up on that even more quickly. I don’t recommend either of them. Things introduced in the earlier games for specific psychological reasons related to the plot - especially sexy monster nurses and Pyramid Head - tend to be regurgitated in the later games for no real reason other than “Silent Hill”, which removes their impact completely.
You are in for a real treat when you make it to the second game!