Initial release date: September 25, 2025
Developer: NeoBards Entertainment Limited
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Series S, Microsoft Windows
Engine: Unreal Engine 5
Composer: Akira Yamaoka
Genres: Survival horror, Action-adventure game, Adventure
License: proprietary license
Key Takeaways
- Silent Hill is back and it’s great!
- Combat is more action oriented and janky
- More psychological than scary
- Taught me what was going on in Hinako’s head
- Battle arenas near the end got tiresome
- Played on base PS5
- Noticeable stuttering in performance mode
- Horror melded with beauty
- Great sound design
- Interesting story and premise
- Combat is janky yet serviceable
- Tense fog monster chase sequences
- Boss fights were entertaining
- Japanese folklore present
- Silent Hill connections present
- Shimizu Hinako needs better friends
- Nishida Rinko sucked
- Hokora shrines very useful
- Map design metroidvania-esque (good)
- Hated weapon durability
- Good enemy designs and variety
- Weapon variety decent
- No guns
- 1960’s Japan
- Tense red fog monster chases
- Good puzzle variety
- 10+ hour first playthrough
- More playthroughs reveal more story endings
Introduction
My history in regrads to the Silent Hill franchise dates back to the original on the Playstation 1. Next up was the Playstation 2’s Silent Hill 2 which I loved at the time. Next I dabbled in Silent Hill 3, 4 The Room a few hours each.
I never touched Downpour. I even watched both movies to credits lol. Silent Hill to me is a mind bending brain fuck session that tests your mind’s sanity meter as to what is real within your psyche. Silent Hill f captures the essence of the latter.
Presentation
It’s been 13 long years since the last Silent Hill videogame in Silent Hill Downpour which I never touched. Silent Hill f had noticable stuttering on the base Playstation 5 in performance within the last quarter of my first playthrough.
So it goes without saying Silent Hill f isn’t perfect. I can see gamers getting angry at the switch to a more yet janky combat system that has parrying and special stamina charge attack mechanics.
With all of the negatives I loved the overall presentation of Silent Hill f due to it’s story, visuals, sound design and sense of accomplishment while beating bosses. Silent Hill f won’t be for all Silent Hill fans I imagine. However, It was right for me.
Story
The narrative around Silent Hill f has a couple things going on that I “think” are true. Anyhoo, let’s start off with the basic story. You play a young woman named Shimizu Hinako is 1960’s Japan. The story takes place in a fictional village called Ebisugaoka.
From the opening cutscene I could tell Hinako is a progressive strong minded woman in 1960’s Japan that got in immediate trouble with her dad for her values and beliefs. Soon after, Hinako looks for her friends just to talk after fighting with her pops.
Hinako’s friends are Shu, Rinko and Sakuko. After meeting up with them a red fog envelopes the town killing Sakuko immediately. The friends get split apart and most of the game has you searching for Shu and Rinko.
Inbetween the searching for your friends Hinako occasionally visits the Dark Shrine where she is befriended by Fox Mask who come to find out is Kotoyuki Tsuneki who is a deity of the Inari Faith. Kotoyuki wants to marry Hinako due to how she treated him many years prior as kids.
I believe much of Hinako’s underlying story is around the fact she doesn’t want to be married off and she wants to make her own life choices as she should. Her father owes money to loan sharks and he is marrying her off to pay his debt. Story was good, very interesting and weird which is what I like from Silent Hill.
Gameplay
Silent Hill f utilizes a action RPG combat system thats centered around dodges, parry counters and special stamina charged attacks. Some people won’t like it saying it’s too janky. I on the other hand thought it was fine due to me beating so many souls-like games.
Shimizu Hinako has a plethora of various weapons such as kitchen knives, hammers, crowbars, baseball and even a samurai sword. Later into the story Hinako transmogrifies into a a half human fox she-beast! Weapons have low durability but can be fixed by toolkits laying about.
Omamori’s are special charms that can buff Hinako in many different ways such as raised stamina, added dodge frames, charged attack power etc. Hokora serve as stop-gap shrines to upgrade Hinako and are placed on the map in various locations.
Puzzles are a big part in Silent Hill f. Some challenging. Some you need to read notes and pay attention. Some puzzles can be excruciating fetch quests at times. Most puzzles reward you with story progression. Gameplay as a whole was pretty good not amazing.
Visuals
Silent Hill f impressed me with it’s crisp beautiful horrific art and graphics. The textures, mo-cap, facial models. I loved the coloring in the village as the red fog took over. It was like a water painting as Hinako traversed the beautiful hellish landscape.
Sound
Sound design played a big role in the psychological horror aspects in Silent Hill f. I loved it! The music was pretty good and had a eerie strength to it. The voice acting was solid as well.
Silent Hill f: Amidst the technical issues near the end of the game and janky combat I loved Silent Hill f's 10 plus hour first playthrough. The game get's better as you play NG+. It's a hard tale of Shimizu Hinaka's will and determination to fight for her life in more ways than one. Silent Hill is indeed back! – Jason
