Silent Hill is a legendary psychological horror sequence that has been round because the late Nineteen Nineties, for higher and for worse. As such, the announcement of a brand new recreation comes with a risky combine of pleasure and skepticism.
Regardless, Silent Hill f instantly discovered a compelling foothold because of a hair-raising teaser trailer, an all-new setting, and a hefty credit listing which options franchise composer Akira Yamaoka and the prolific Japanese graphic novelist (who goes by the pen title) Ryukishi07. Now, after spending three hours via the sport’s climactic opening throughout Gametrawling scom 2025, I’m able to let go of my skepticism.
Silent Hill f doesn’t happen within the titular American city, and is as a substitute set within the quaint city of Ebisugaoka, Japan within the Nineteen Sixties. As soon as a thriving mining village, Ebisugaoka has since fallen into quiet disrepair and is shrouded in a thick, suffocating fog. It’s additionally dwelling to the sport’s protagonist, Hinako, whose dwelling life is difficult to say the least.
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Hinako’s father is harsh and sees her as outspoken and disrespectful, and her mom does little to guard her. Whereas her sister presents some help by shielding Hinako from the oppressive dynamic, she, too, has deserted her for marriage.
Hinako’s loneliness rapidly framed my time with the demo, and as I started strolling in direction of the city’s heart, there was solely my sloshing footsteps and the light breeze to maintain me firm.
Hallowed floor
(Picture credit score: Konami)
Silent Hill f is beautiful, and I spent as a lot time cowering from monsters as I did marveling on the meticulous set dressing and particle results on present. Mild streams pierced via the gray sky, illuminating muddy patches, whereas rust-speckled bikes and water pumps added to the setting’s lonely really feel.
In lieu of vibrant pink save factors, Silent Hill f presents situationally acceptable miniature Shinto shrines known as Hokora, which nestle properly into the encompassing homes.
The considerate particulars continued all through the demo, and because the empty hills gave approach to the scrappy buildings of the city’s outer edges, sodden buildings, stringy electrical wires, and patina-coated pipes maintained the hair-raising ambiance.
Amongst the surroundings, there are additionally tidbits of lore to gather. Throughout my demo, I discovered a newspaper clipping dictating a lethal geyser incident, a health care provider’s word warning of fox sightings, {a magazine} suggesting ‘girl is full solely when she is cherished,’ and that’s only for starters.
As you start to unravel Silent Hill f, you may also bounce over to a diary to study extra concerning the characters – like Hinako’s greatest buddy Shu – with every valuable entry including context to how Hinako sees the world round her.
In true Silent Hill type, the state of affairs surrounding its protagonist is straight away complicated. And, whereas themes reminiscent of isolation, psychological well being, and femininity are current, it’s clear that the important thing to totally understanding Hinako’s state of affairs goes to require some in-depth sleuthing.
Finally, the considerably peaceable strategy of meandering gave approach to a chase sequence as I got here face-to-face with the crimson floral presence infecting the city.
Darting via alleys and climbing throughout rooftops, I finally discovered peace. Although it wasn’t lengthy earlier than I found my first monster, whose wretched creaking kind and tendrils of jet black, pin-straight hair stopped me in my tracks.
A deliberate dance
(Picture credit score: Konami)
Whereas a lot of Silent Hill f’s atmosphere feels according to its predecessors, one space the place it deviates is its fight. Your first few encounters focus on managing your stamina and dodging away from assaults as you run. Quickly sufficient, although, you discover a useful pipe, and you can begin to take out your rage in your twitchy opponent.
Regardless of its speedy visible impression, fight is definitely comparatively sluggish and surprisingly punishing in apply. Hinako wields solely handheld weapons, and so you could get near an enemy to take them out, dodging all of the whereas to keep away from getting hit.
As each of those actions orbit round a singular stamina bar, you need to stability your strikes to keep away from getting winded. Ergo, should you dodge an excessive amount of, you may’t swipe on the baddie, and depart your self open to assaults. This balancing act creates a cautious stress that makes fight really feel pleasantly frantic.
It’s not simply stamina and well being to contemplate, although, as Silent Hill f additionally incorporates a Sanity Meter, which lets you focus in fight to focus on prime moments to assault your opponent. As with Stamina, this method is a balancing act, and should you spend too lengthy staring on the monsters, the sanity meter will run out, and also you’ll be left to search for these alternatives by yourself.
All these extra programs have the capability to overwhelm, and but in my expertise to this point, they had been well-balanced and provided simply sufficient friction to maintain me engaged with out desirous to faucet out.
(Picture credit score: Konami)
One other space the place Silent Hill f diverges from its forebears is with the addition of an improve system, which sees gamers equip Omamori for buffs. These religious equipment will be discovered within the overworld or traded for at Hokoras, and supply important advantages like boosts to your stamina or the flexibility to keep away from injury whereas therapeutic in fight.
Entry to those upgrades is immediately linked to how nicely you’ve scoured the map for items to commerce, which seems like a intelligent approach to push gamers into harmful areas the place they will uncover key narrative clues.
Along with combating off the malformed monsters, you’ll additionally want to unravel a number of head-scratchers. The primary puzzle I encountered was comparatively simple and concerned inspecting unusual wrapped objects and inserting them on corresponding pedestals.
A second puzzle later concerned wandering via poorly lit shows of Ema (picket plaques) to seek out matching symbols that could possibly be used to unlock a padlock. I’m eager to not spoil the answer because it was loads of enjoyable to determine, although it’s secure to say it wasn’t overly difficult to unravel – right here’s hoping they develop in complication because the story progresses.
To date, Silent Hill f seems like a intelligent twist on the mythology of the sequence, pulling on comparable psychological threads whereas including in a number of new options to maintain issues contemporary. Solely three hours in, I nonetheless really feel misplaced and confused, although the items are beginning to weave collectively in curious methods, and I’m desirous to see the story via when it launches later this month.
