Silent Hill f

Silent Hill f relocates the series to 1960s Japan with a harrowing, emotionally charged story that tackles real-world taboos, supported by haunting UE5 art direction, oppressive sound design, and clever, lore-driven puzzles. Exploration rewards observation and note-taking, documents deepen the mystery, and strong localization helps the narrative land. Combat is tense and deliberate, its stamina tuning can frustrate, yet moments of focus-based counters and brutal payoffs keep encounters absorbing. A bold, beautiful return to form, unsettling in all the right ways.

Silent Hill f will probably be one of the more divisive Silent Hill titles, but it is a good game for people who are interested in the series to get a good taste of it and maybe get into the fog with us, especially before the remake for Silent Hill comes out.

Konami’s return to new titles is strong with Silent Hill f despite its shortcomings in the combat department. The setting is gorgeous and eerie with the music only adding to that, the voice acting is excellent (I played the Japanese dub of the game), and the story is downright gripping. Every new story beat had me eager to theorize with myself and uncover as much as I could of this narrative unfolding in front of me. It truly is a “must play” of the survival horror genre and I wholeheartedly believe this marks the comeback of Konami as a powerhouse in gaming once more.

The scenario and atmosphere are Silent Hill f's biggest merits and will draw you in without you even realizing it. The revamped combat system works well, without any major flaws, but the same couldn't be said about some vague puzzles and the limited inventory space that had us visit the Hokora Shrines frequently. Nevertheless, it leaves a positive impression as the series' return after so many years and makes us optimistic about its future.

Silent Hill f is depressing, never holding back as it puts Hinako through the wringer repeatedly. Its thoughtful narrative, full of moving parts and emotional depth, had me hooked. The suspense and tension so characteristic of J-Horror are tempered by Hinako’s combat skills. But maybe that’s the point. The true horror in this game comes not from the monstrous abominations attacking Hinako, but from the harrowing situations her society forces her and other women into.