Order you should play a game series.

[Googolplex]

What is the correct order you should play a game series in which a prequel is part of the story?

I actually got the STALKER trilogy. The first game was "Shadow of Chernobyl", the successor was "Clear Sky", but as a prequel in which the story takes place before the first game.

So, is it meant to play the games in order of release date or in order of the story?

Same with Silent Hill. The correct order would be SH 1, 3 and then 2. Because SH 1 and 3 have one connected story while SH 2 has its own story.

How is it meant to play games correctly?