Silent Hill f Review

When it comes to the long-awaited release of Silent Hill f, it’s no exaggeration to say that expectations for this title are through the roof. Not only has the Silent Hill franchise been recently reignited by the release of Bloober Team’s incredibly well-received Silent Hill 2 remake, but this game also marks the first mainline Silent Hill game since 2012’s Silent Hill: Downpour – and we all saw how that game went. If we’re to compare Silent Hill to its survival-horror companion Resident Evil, then Silent Hill f finds itself in very similar shoes to 2017’s Resident Evil 7. However, where RE7 managed to revive a dying horror franchise, can Silent Hill f achieve the same feat?

It’s time for our Silent Hill f review. We’ll be avoiding outright spoilers with this review, largely because Silent Hill games rely on a blind experience to hit the way they’re intending do. With that in mind, feel free to read ahead if you’re debating whether this game is worth your time, and importantly, your money! Now, let’s get down to business – it’s time to dive in to our Silent Hill f review!

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Silent Hill f Review

Image by Konami

In many ways, though Silent Hill f marks a reignition of a long-beloved, traditional horror franchise, it also marks one of the biggest departures from the franchise’s usual direction that we’ve ever seen. This departure is, in large, owed to the geographical move from rural United States towns, as we’ve seen in practically every other Silent Hill game, to a fictional Japanese village in the 1960’s. As much as I love what Bloober Team did with Silent Hill 2, taking a modern survival-horror formula and applying it to one of the most beloved stories in all of gaming was a respectably safe move. Silent Hill f throws safety out the window, plunging itself fully into a new world helmed by NeoBards Entertainment, and for the most part, the risks all pay off.

From a setting perspective, perhaps the most important perspective when it comes to Silent Hill, Silent Hill f nails it. Ebisugaoka is easily one of, if not the, most haunting and oppressive environments that we’ve ever found ourselves exploring in a Silent Hill game. There’s an ever-present feeling that something is watching you from the dark village corners, and to be fair, there usually is. However, the influences of Japanese culture and mythology also breathe new life into the world of Silent Hill f, with everything we encounter feeling like such a refreshingly far cry from anything the franchise has offered up before. These brave leaps are reminiscent of the ways that Resident Evil 7 flipped everything we knew about the Resident Evil franchise on its head, while retaining the essence that made the series so special. Given Silent Hill 2′s success, Silent Hill isn’t in need of the same cardioversion that Resident Evil needed in 2017, but Silent Hill f certainly goes all out with its originality, as though the series is on its last legs.

This newfound Japanese influence is also felt in the designs of Silent Hill f’s enemies, which are, again, some of the creepiest and most unnerving that we’ve ever seen in the franchise. Often, Silent Hill enemies owe their fear factor to the game’s lighting, or the density of the fog from which they emerge. The enemies in Silent Hill f are so macabre that I truly feel they would be terrifying to stumble across in broad daylight. This same rhetoric extends to the game’s bosses, which leave a truly indelible mark on both the player and the story as they appear. Silent Hill f retains that classic, Silent Hill feeling where you spot an enemy, need a moment to process what you’re looking at, and by the time you’ve done your processing, they’re far too close to you for comfort. Also, trypophobia-sufferers beware! This game is nightmarish when it comes to that specific phobia, so make sure you prepare yourself for that going into it.

Image by Konami

As for the story, it’s difficult to discuss what exactly is going on in Silent Hill f without diving into some major spoilers, so for now, all I’ll say is that the story hits on all of the beats that any good Silent Hill story has. We deal with trauma, grief, suffering, and all of that badness manifests itself into a nightmarish experience for our protagonist. Also, as is customary for the Silent Hill franchise, though the story is easy to understand on the surface, collecting notes, letters, and just generally observing the environment as you move through Ebisugaoka is hugely beneficial for players looking to experience Silent Hill f to the fullest. Collectibles not only fill in the gaps from a narrative perspective, but also enhance the information that we are fed directly. I was pleasantly surprised to see that Ryukishi07, author of Higurashi When They Cry, was involved with this project, and his influence is definitely felt on the story. Again, in the ways that really matter, Silent Hill f hits the mark.

Another key element to any Silent Hill game is its puzzles, and fans will be glad to know that, once again, Silent Hill f scores top marks. However, the game doesn’t only succeed in crafting enjoyably, suitably challenging puzzles for players to complete. The feature to change puzzle difficulty independently from combat difficulty is a magnificent inclusion here, and proves that the team behind Silent Hill f don’t only consider puzzles and combat to be equally important to their gameplay experience, but also acknowledge that from an accessibility perspective, some players may love extremely challenging puzzles, but want to breeze through combat. This sort of feature should be a mainstay, not only for Silent Hill, but for horror games, and to be honest, all games, in general.

In all of the ways I’ve discussed, Silent Hill f feels like a spiritual successor to Bloober’s Silent Hill 2. It’s infinitely clear that Konami saw the success of that game, and wanted the team behind Silent Hill f to draw from Silent Hill 2′s strengths as they crafted this entirely new world to explore. All of this is to say that if you enjoyed the Silent Hill 2 remake, I can think of practically no reason that you wouldn’t pick up, and really enjoy, Silent Hill f. In tone, it’s a huge departure from what has previously worked for the franchise, but from a mechanical perspective, it stays in the series’ already-established lane.

Image by Konami

However, where Silent Hill f falters a little is in its commitment to the sloppy nature of Silent Hill combat, while also shoehorning in some mechanics from games with far better combat systems. Perhaps the only sizeable flaw of Silent Hill 2 was its combat, and unfortunately, Silent Hill f also suffers in this sense. However, the issue is now far bigger than it was before, considering just how often this game loves to throw waves of enemies at you.

Silent Hill f never provides the player with any sort of firearm, which absolutely makes sense when you consider your environment, but adds a layer of brutal difficulty to the combat that, quite honestly, this game does not need. It’s quite easy to get hit, as enemies scramble towards you in unpredictable patterns, and though Hinako can dodge like a champ, the combat always ends up feeling a little monotonous as we haplessly slap and swing at grotesque manifestations, whittling away at their health bar. The consequences of getting hit in Silent Hill f are also pretty considerable. Combat is easily the most frustrating part of this game, and if you’ve read any of my horror reviews before, you know what I’m about to say…

The irrefutable, biggest enemy of horror in gaming is frustration. When you make a horror player irritated, all of the fear, all of the tension, and all of the suspense you’ve built-up goes straight out the window, as rage takes the wheel. Now to be clear, Silent Hill f never irritated me enough to constitute genuine rage, but there were times where it got pretty close. Whenever I would sense that the game was about to throw a wave of enemies my way, I would let out a faint sigh, knowing that all of the good work the game had been doing was about to be thrown to the side throughout the upcoming encounter. Unfortunately, if you disliked Bloober’s Silent Hill 2 combat, I actually think you’re likely to find Silent Hill f’s even worse.

Image by Konami

I have to award Silent Hill f some respect for trying new things when it comes to its combat systems, but ultimately, I think it ends up retaining the clunkiness of previous Silent Hill games, and ends up pairing this clunkiness with advanced systems from other games that have far more attention dedicated to refining their combat systems. Ultimately, I don’t think that this combat-oriented style is worth pursuing in future Silent Hill games. It’s far better to experience these games when the enemies are kept somewhat sparse, and more focus is given to the story and ambience. I hope that Konami leaves this combat system behind, and lets Silent Hill f be remembered as the Silent Hill game that had a pretty outlandish approach to fighting enemies.

Ultimately, in all of the most important ways, Silent Hill f hits the bullseye, marking a huge success for the franchise, and proving that it’s never too late for a thought-dead franchise to be revived, particularly when it’s a franchise as beloved as Silent Hill. When it comes to ambience, storytelling, graphics, enemy designs, and all-round horror, Silent Hill f is a resounding success, one that instils a true sense of dread in the player as they experience its harrowing, but emotionally-impactful story. The combat is lacking, but let this be a mistake that Konami learns along the way, and let’s keep the Silent Hill hype going! I couldn’t be happier to see the franchise back, and here’s hoping we continue to see it thrive into the future.

Do you agree with our Silent Hill f review? Have you played the game for yourself, or, better yet, have we convinced you to pick it up? Be sure to let us know in the comments, and thanks for reading!

See also: Five Nights at Freddy’s: Secret of the Mimic Review

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