Silent Hill f – Review

SIlent HIll F

Intro: Off the Beaten Path

There was some resemblance of uncertainty back in 2022 when Konami announced they would be releasing a brand new Silent Hill game completely separated from their mainline titles. Though the initial trailer showed more than enough promise, many were skeptical that they could releases a game set in a new setting without the iconic Silent Hill as it’s backdrop.

Personally, I was hyped to have another opportunity to jump into the series. As someone who was never able to get into the Silent Hill franchise back in the day, it seemed like a great way to build off of my love for the Silent Hill 2 remake. Well, I am here to officially welcome you to this review, and gladly say that not only did they succeed in the most impressive way possible, but they have shown that they don’t need their iconic setting to make a great horror experience. Let’s get right into it.

Story: A Depressingly Beautiful Tale of Growing Up

It’s no secret that the Silent Hill series has never shied away from the parts of humanity that make us all uncomfortable. From tales of loss and grief, to the terrifying world of blood and death hidden right underneath the surface, Konami has almost always succeeded in creating stories that felt like monsters in their own right. In Silent Hill f, we forego the iconic, dilapidated streets of Silent Hill for a more traditional setting in the seemingly quiet town of Ebisugaoka, a rural village in Japan. You play as Hinako, a girl whose life is thrown into turmoil from the moment the player meets her.

In the intro cutscene, we get a glance into the kind of dynamics that will plague our character throughout her story. Hinako despises her parents, with her mother subservient to her abusive father, while her older sister, Junko, has left her alone with them after getting married. In those first minutes, you as the player can almost immediately see the kind of subject matter the game is going to rely on. The trauma of an abusive, alcoholic father and the sense of isolation that comes from a household held together by hate and resentment are evident almost immediately and the story constantly refers back to these minute moments. After leaving her families home to escape an argument with her parents, Hinako meets with her friends and the true horror we know so well begins. A mysterious fog envelopes the town of Ebisugaoka, and what starts off as a tale of teenage defiance turns into a fight for survival.

Throughout your journey as Hinako, you’ll experience more than just the horrors of your families ruptured existence. NeoBards has not only created a experience here that makes you worry about the well being of your character after every encounter with the horrors in front of her, but frequently makes you question what’s real and what’s simply in her head. Hinako is constantly being torn between what she believes is right, and what is expected of her. From a horror perspective, NeoBards has created a story here that will stick with you in the worst ways possible. It’s terrifying and beautiful at the same time, and by the last act of your 10–12 hour playthrough, you’ll be desperate for her to make it out alive.

World: Beauty In The Horror

I was almost temped to include the world aspects in the story section, but I have to admit I think they deserve their own space. The world is in every sense of the world the centerpiece of the experience here. Sure, the story is a depressing tale of expectations and finding your place in the world, but the setting of Ebisugaoka is the foundation of the entire game. Silent Hill may have been the original creepy town shrouded in a dense layer of fog, but NeoBard’s rendition of the fictional town of Ebisugaoka has perfected that formula in the best way possible. Just from a graphical standpoint, the game looks and runs as well as any game released in the past two years. Everything from the town itself to the characters that call it home all feel as if they were created with the utmost care.

The town looks and feels like a living place trapped in a nightmare that will never end. As you make your way through the variety of locations scattered around the map, you’ll feel every emotion from disgust to awe at the beauty around every corner. This is further helped by the inclusion of thousands of red spider lilies that follow the fog as it creeps through the town, killing any that stand in their way. These flowers further add to the idea that the developers were aiming for a experience that feels terrifying and beautiful in the same breath, and from a world perspective they did that and much more. Between the town itself and the other realms you visit, that I don’t want to name for the sake of keeping everything here spoiler free, just know you’re in for a treat. The world is the center of the horror, and anyone who likes the Silent Hill formula will be right at home in the streets of Ebisugaoka.

And of course the best part about Silent Hill games, the puzzles, have made a triumphant return in Silent Hill f. There are almost a dozen puzzles throughout your journey, if not more if you choose to pursue new game+ and the multiple endings, and each one feels just the right amount of creepy and challenging in the same breath. Puzzles have always been apart of the Silent Hill universe, and while I don’t want to go into any specifics because of spoilers, just know you’ll have to use your thinking cap multiple times throughout your playthrough.

Gameplay: Dark Souls-like? Konami Would Never

Let’s get something right out of the way so it doesn’t ever have to be repeated again – Silent Hill f is about as far from a souls like as possible. Sure it’s melee focused, and has a dodge system, but that is about as close of a comparison as we’re gonna get. This game is in every sense a member of the survival horror genre, not the souls like. Cool? Cool.

The gameplay systems that are at play here are along the same level you have come to love in the Silent Hill series over the past few years with one very glaring difference – there is no guns. Given the setting of a post World War II Japan, this decision makes sense and honestly, they did a really good job on it from a combat perspective. You have a healthy amount of weapons at your disposal to fight against the denizens of Ebisugaoka, with each one feeling unique in your arsenal. You start off with the iconic Steel Pipe as your primary weapon, but as the game progresses you get a weapon for every situation. Some like the kitchen knife are flimsy and deal a ton of damage, while other like the sledgehammer have bigger wind up and more durability.

This melee focused system feels smooth to use, and the dodge system further adds to this idea. Hinako must have been some kind of athlete in her past life because the speed and grace in which she responds to your dodge inputs is sometimes impressive. The varied number of weapons and the gameplay systems they have in place from the need to repair your weapons, to the constant scramble of picking up health items gives the game a proper survival horror feel that is damn near perfect.

There are a couple new gameplay aspects that were added with this title that further expand on the survival horror tone: the new sanity system and the skill system. The sanity system is one of the aspects that makes the psychological horror part of Silent Hill f shine. Think of it in simplest terms as a gameplay system that rewards you for getting hit less, and punishes you for taking unnecessary damage. Located above your health bar, your sanity gauge allows you to preform powerful attacks that can stagger your enemies easier then your basic strikes. The counter to this system is, when you get hit by specific attacks (Think grabs, screams, and other moves called psychological attacks), this gauge will deplete. Once the gauge is depleted these psychological attacks will hurt Hanako’s normal health bar, and well, life becomes harder.

The skill system is another feature that feels new and somewhat robust in how it allows you to carve your path. Instead of the traditional skill points, you have what are called faith points which can be obtained from finding various prayer items scattered throughout the world. You have four options to upgrade – health, stamina, sanity and your Omamori slots, with each buff feeling appropriate for it’s relative cost. Think of the Omamori slots as a way to give Hanako passives such as stamina recovery speed, decreased weapon durability cost with each hit, and a varied number of other options that allow you to build Hanako as you like. These items can be found scattered around the less traveled parts of Ebisugaoka, and it really does encourage you to step off the beaten path to discover what’s hidden in the fog.

Closing Thoughts: One For the History Books

Silent Hill f is survival horror at it’s best. Hinako’s depressing tale of loss and guilt combined with the beautifully terrifying setting of 1960’s Japan has been one of the best horror experiences I’ve had since the Silent Hill 2 remake released last year. It’s gameplay loop is brutal and unforgiving, while it’s story feels like it’s pushing you deeper into Hinako’s fractured mind. Silent Hill f is more than worthy to stand amongst the greats in Konami’s extensive linage of horror classics, and will be remembered as a true return to form for years to come.