DEVELOPER : NeoBards Entertainment
PUBLISHER : Konami Digital Entertainment
AVAILABLE PLATFORMS : PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, PC
MINOR SPOILERS ON THEMES AND MONSTERS
Silent Hill f is NeoBards Entertainment’s bold attempt at revolutionising a much beloved franchise and it does it excellently. We move away from the classic Silent Hill setting and story in favour of something brand new, an impeccably designed world with an amazing story written by “Higurashi When They Cry” author Ryukishi07.
In the first game of the Japanese survival horror series set in Japan, our setting is in the rural town of Ebisugaoka in the 1960s. This setting is both story rich and culturally immersive, making it one of the most interesting locations for players to explore. The world is filled with details that all come together to form a town that’s realistic and believable, these details include consumables like Ramune or Yokan, notes you pick up along the way, even much larger details like the traditional houses to the rice farms that really help give you insight into how the town would’ve operated. The game also uses a large amount of Japanese folklore as inspiration for its puzzles which leads to a lot of hilarity and head scratching when you’re unaware of what the puzzles are referring to.
In this new entry we play as Hinako Shimizu who, just like her predecessors, is suffering from a lot of psychological wounds which manifest into the horrifying monsters we encounter along the way as the town slowly becomes engulfed in an increasingly menacing and creepy appearance at the hands of spider lilies and other unknown viscera. Hinako’s story explores many themes, such as gender discrimination and the suffocating expectations of era appropriate gender roles, drug dependency, child abuse and many other very real issues which slowly get revealed throughout the duration of the game.
My own playthrough took 14 hours and the story that unfolded was engaging and had me gripped the entire way through. The game paces itself well with the intense moments being balanced out with much calmer sections. The intense moments are chosen well and feature some extremely unsettling body horror, both with certain monster designs that have you repulsed and also with a few cutscenes that see Hinako in a situation so horrible you can’t believe what you’re witnessing. These are definitely things players must experience firsthand so I won’t say much more but I will say that the game is so well written and these cutscenes are the perfect metaphors for what they represent. By the end of my playthrough I wanted more and couldn’t wait to see what New Game + had in store. Unfortunately, I haven’t played through New Game + yet so I can’t comment on how much it adds to the game besides being given more information to collect that furthers the story.
As mentioned previously, we have many repulsive and horrifying monsters we face throughout the course of the game. Some of these monsters are exactly what you’d expect from the Silent Hill series like the mannequin/ puppet esque ones but this new entry does bring some very unexpected monster designs, such as one that’s covered in mounds of flesh and births other monsters to overwhelm the player during a fight that somewhat resembles a man holding up a woman on his back while she gives birth. Coming from my own perspective as a concept artist, this game executes the monster designs perfectly. Every single monster is designed to represent a different part of Hinako’s trauma and outlook on the world and while playing you can easily tell visually what each is meant to be without needing the accompanying journal entries that share Hinako’s thoughts on each one, although it goes without saying that I’d highly recommend not skipping these entries.
The combat in this game replaces the guns of the predecessors in favour of melee weapons like pipes or bats which fit the setting well as you can’t picture stumbling upon a gun in this town as easily as you do with the pipes. The combat consists of standard light and heavy attacks, the ability to dodge or counter if necessary and an ability which lets you charge up your attack. Over the course of the game this combat system feels too repetitive and sluggish, especially with how quickly the stamina meter depletes and with how quickly weapons break when up against certain monsters.
The game does have segments in a world called “The Dark Shrine” where you gain indestructible weapons like a ceremonial dagger called Kaiken or polearm called Naginata, so there are sections where you have more combat but the game balances it so you’re not overwhelmed with the constant need to find new weapons. All of the game’s major bosses are in this Dark Shrine world as well which again, is a relief as a player as it means you only have to focus on your stamina to get through the fights.
While playing I found once I got used to the combat there wasn’t really much to be afraid of, by the end of the game it had actually begun to feel like a chore instead which really brings down this otherwise outstanding game.
FINAL VERDICT
In every way besides the combat system, this game is amazing. The story by Ryukishi07, the monster designs and the world building is all outstanding and it’s just unfortunate that the combat doesn’t work as well as the Silent Hill 2 remake as it would’ve elevated it even further. Overall, despite the combat, I’d highly recommend this game as it really is an experience to play through.
Outpost rating ★★★★★★★★★☆(9/10)
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