Silent Hill f's first five hours are exciting — and different

[ad_1] Konami’s subsequent large Silent Hill recreation is the primary unique entry in additional than a decade and thus loaded with expectations — particularly on the heels of final yr’s excellent Silent Hill 2 remake. Silent Hill f, coming this September, is a giant swing, shifting the normal location and time interval of the franchise, including some severe fight mechanics, and using new storytelling strategies.

After 5 hours taking part in Silent Hill f from the start of the sport, I’m satisfied that developer NeoBards Leisure understands the soul of Silent Hill, however is taking some stunning (and probably divisive) dangers with the collection.

The obvious change in Silent Hill f is its setting: Sixties Japan. Gamers tackle the function of highschool scholar Hinako Shimizu, who like different Silent Hill protagonists (who're historically middle-age white guys), finds herself in a surreal nightmarish scenario. Her hometown of Ebisugaoka has been drenched in fog and freakish monsters roam its winding streets. The twisting and turning pathways between Hinako’s residence and the middle of city additionally appeared drenched in crimson, as growths of purple spider lilies unfold throughout Ebisugaoka.

Ebisugaoka is darkish and damp, and disorientingly vertical. Homes and small companies crowd one another; these unpaved streets really feel like a maze, creating blind spots that cover threats from view.

Hinako just isn't alone on her journey, although. As a wierd fog envelopes Ebisugaoka, she encounters a handful of pals (and obvious frenemies) who're experiencing the identical nightmare. Later, as Hinako enters Silent Hill’s “different world,” a dreamlike area stuffed with conventional Japanese shrines and historic structure, she’s guided by a mysterious masked man.

Lots of Silent Hill f’s environmental and character components really feel acquainted, regardless of being transported to a different time and place. The sport’s builders are aiming for a “unusually alluring” and “disturbing but lovely and breathtaking” world, which Silent Hill collection producer Motoi Okamoto has described as discovering the sweetness in terror.

“A noticeable characteristic of Japanese horror is the concept that terror will be discovered inside magnificence,” Okamoto mentioned earlier this yr. “When one thing turns into too immensely lovely and ideal, it as a substitute turns into deeply unsettling. And so, gamers will expertise this world by way of the eyes of a younger lady who's confronted with a fantastic but terrifying choice.”

As I performed by way of the opening hours of Silent Hill f, admiring the life like mid-century Japanese structure, and the plausible small-town vacancy of Ebisugaoka, I began to know what Okamoto meant. Surrounded by the intimidating unfold of otherworldly flowers, and battling grotesqueries composed of flesh and flower petals, I began to understand this very completely different tackle the Silent Hill setting.

Picture: Konami

The Japanese setting of Silent Hill f isn’t simply window dressing. The setting will prolong to its characters, storytelling, and even its puzzles, the sport’s creators say.

Throughout a presentation attended by Polygon at Konami’s headquarters in Tokyo, Silent Hill f author Ryukishi07 — his pen identify — mentioned that the sport’s puzzles must “mirror the participant and setting” and will probably be “riddled with clues to unveiling the psyche” of playable and non-playable characters.

The puzzles I skilled in Silent Hill f had been, on the very least, aesthetically Japanese. One required me to accurately determine markings on sculptures and pottery, and place them logically at a shrine. At one other shrine, I needed to examine ema, small wood plaques that comprise written prayers, to resolve a separate puzzle — all whereas being pursued by unkillable monsters.

Different puzzles had been extra easy, tasking me with discovering locker mixtures on the city’s highschool. However the clues left behind had been typically written in diaries that advised me one thing about their authors, and a few supplied perception into Hinako’s social circle and standing on the faculty.

However some puzzles had been surprisingly obtuse, and I needed to brute power my approach by way of some. Talking to a developer on the occasion, I obtained the impression that Silent Hill f’s puzzles will be deliberately opaque, requiring gamers to experiment or outright guess at options.

One of many extra intelligent puzzles concerned Hinako attempting to cross a rice area, which was peppered with scarecrows. Lots of these scarecrows had been really monsters that seemed like Hinako’s highschool classmates in dead-eyed model kind, a few of which wielded kama, or small Japanese sickles. The trick to this puzzle concerned discovering which scarecrow classmate among the many crowd was really benign; pester the fallacious one they usually’d chase Hinako down. Discovering the precise scarecrow to examine, and studying the place to go subsequent, required cautious examine of the place every scarecrow was wanting, or was pointing, or whom they had been standing subsequent to. That puzzle was simply some of the tense moments in Silent Hill f’s first few hours.

<img width="1920" height="1080" loading="lazy" decoding="async" alt="A smiling scarecrow student looks offscreen in a still from Silent Hill f" data-img-url="https://static1.polygonimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/silent-hill-f-scarecrow.jpg" src="https://static1.polygonimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/silent-hill-f-scarecrow.jpg" style="display:block;height:auto;max-width:100%;"/> Picture: Konami

The motion of Silent Hill f largely follows guidelines established by previous Silent Hill video games. The overwhelming majority of fight is concentrated on melee assaults with makeshift weapons: steel pipes, hammers, and different objects one would possibly really discover on the town. I didn't purchase any firearms; that wouldn’t be plausible within the setting. However at one level I did purchase a naginata, a Japanese polearm, for a particular struggle.

Al Yang, studio artistic director at NeoBards, mentioned that, like puzzles, Silent Hill f’s fight ought to “really feel pure to the setting and character persona” of its heroine. Like different Silent Hill protagonists, Hinako just isn't some martial arts or firearms knowledgeable. However she will swing a heavy pipe similar to anybody else and do some harm.

In a little bit of a swerve although, Hinako’s actually good at dodging and counter assaults. Silent Hill f has a “excellent dodge” mechanic whereby Hinako can principally decelerate time and viciously maul an enemy if she avoids their assault with split-second precision. Counter strikes carried out after an ideal dodge can stun enemies and switch the tide of battle, Yang mentioned, refilling Hinako’s stamina meter and regaining her momentum.

Sure, Hinako has a stamina meter. She additionally has a sanity meter, which is drained at any time when she focuses on an enemy in fight. It’s a type of trade-off in battle; you’ll need to give attention to monsters to watch their actions and tells in fight, however doing so comes at a value. Lose your sanity and Hinako will take harm.

Hinako’s weapons may also take harm. They’re breakable, however you may as well discover small restore kits to patch up your essential weapons. A giant sledgehammer will be very worthwhile, I realized, for gorgeous enemies after which whacking them into mush with a typical steel pipe.

Whereas Hinako just isn't an motion film superhero, like most recreation protagonists, she will discover upgrades and new skills over time. Silent Hill f has a development system by which Hinako can take choices (meals, primarily) to hokora, small Shinto shrines, the place she will say prayers for standing enhancements — improved sanity, for instance — and earn omamori that confer particular boosts.

Silent Hill f’s improve system presents some intriguing trade-offs as you play: Do you have to maintain onto meals that may supply a well being or stamina refill, or put it aside for an providing at a shrine? You'll be able to solely carry a lot, in any case. And is it value saving up for higher, costlier omamori, or shopping for what now you can to be extra survivable? Irrespective of which path you select, the improve system encourages exploration and sensible useful resource administration, whereas additionally providing some flexibility to match your playstyle.

<img width="1920" height="1080" loading="lazy" decoding="async" alt="Hinako climbs a staircase, metal pipe in hand, in a screenshot from Silent Hill f" data-img-url="https://static1.polygonimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/silent-hill-f-school.jpg" src="https://static1.polygonimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/silent-hill-f-school.jpg" style="display:block;height:auto;max-width:100%;"/> Picture: Konami

Like many tales set within the Silent Hill franchise, the storytelling of Silent Hill f will be opaque and deliberately obfuscated. We all know initially of the sport that Hinako’s residence life isn’t nice. She’s the daughter of an abusive father and a timid mom. She’s second fiddle to an unseen older sister most popular by her father who has been married off. Hinako admits that she is cussed and rebellious, a little bit of a tomboy, and perhaps thought-about greater than slightly unusual by her friends.

A few of Silent Hill f’s exposition comes from narration by Hinako, a few of it by way of conversations along with her classmates, Shu and Sakuko. However a few of it's slowly revealed by a journal she retains; entries in that pocket book change into seen over time, revealing new info and aspects about characters.

Different revelations about Hinako and the residents of Ebisugaoka come from her journeys to a Darkish Shrine world, the place a mysterious man appears to attempt to help her. His intentions are unclear, nevertheless it’s implied that he’s attempting to free Hinako from some burden.

Silent Hill f can be full of fox imagery. There are references to O-Inari, a deity related to foxes, fertility, rice, and agriculture, and plenty of shrines characteristic foxes — generally known as shapeshifters in Japanese folklore.

Picture: Konami

Like different Silent Hill video games, f options a mixture of exploration, puzzle-solving, and fight, with the occasional boss battle. There’s a continuing undercurrent of dread as you discover Ebisugaoka, the encompassing nature, and the Darkish Shrine world. Monsters are in all places, and in Silent Hill custom, you may typically hear them earlier than you see them. (Living proof, the scarecrows talked about earlier will be heard scurrying once they’re off-screen. Flip round to catch sight of them they usually’ll cease of their tracks. It’s extremely unsettling.)

Maintaining Hinako wholesome and sane requires cautious play. That you must handle her well being, fueling her with snacks like ramune (a lemonade drink), sushi, tea, and confections. “Small purple capsules” can alleviate ache, and bandages can heal her. In lots of circumstances, it’s advisable to run from fight encounters, or sneak round teams of foes. Studying the right dodge maneuver felt not solely useful, however crucial to Hinako's survival. An early, extremely difficult boss struggle — that took me no less than 20 makes an attempt — will make sure that gamers learn to correctly dodge.

Whereas Silent Hill f shakes up the time and place, a few of its places really feel a bit with the franchise. Throughout my time with the sport, I explored deserted houses and companies, and even traipsed across the native highschool. The Sixties setting gave a lot of {that a} new taste.

Many acquainted Silent Hill franchise components are current in Silent Hill f, from its everypeople protagonist, to its threat-masking fog, to extremely difficult boss encounters with twisted monsters that mirror the private strife of its hero. However Silent Hill f doesn’t really feel prefer it’s crossing issues off a listing, simply to ensure it’s a Silent Hill recreation past its title. There are some intriguing thematic and aesthetic twists on what’s change into a really acquainted setting over the previous 25 years, and a few stable gameplay to again it up. Konami and NeoBards might have one other surprisingly good trendy Silent Hill recreation on their palms, and we gained’t have to attend lengthy to expertise its horrors.