Silent Hill f review

It’s taken more than decade, but finally we’re graced with a brand new, fully-fledged Silent Hill game. What a time to be alive. It already had serious expectations to live up to, and after Bloober Team’s excellent remake of Silent Hill 2 last year, it’s safe to say they were raised even further. The good news is that it doesn’t disappoint. Silent Hill f is a bold new entry in the series that’s every bit as atmospheric and horrifying as you’d expect.

Transporting players to 1960s Japan, Silent Hill f may not be set in the titular town, but from the off it looks and feels like a Silent Hill game. Empty streets convey a feeling of isolation and loneliness, and when the fog rolls in, there’s almost a dreaminess to it. You know something’s not quite right, but you can’t put your finger on it. Is what Hinako, the game’s protagonist, is experiencing real, or is there more to it? With frequent twists and turns, you’ll be kept on your toes – and even when the credits roll you might still have questions.

What you definitely will be after your first playthrough – which is likely to take 12 hours or so – is shocked and disturbed. There are elements of this game that are truly unsettling, and some that I would have never expected in a million years. I don’t want to reveal too much in my review, as the story is one of the main draws here, but it’s safe to say that Silent Hill f tackles some pretty heavy themes. Hinako isn’t your typical teenage girl, and her life is far from idyllic. It’s also not afraid to test the limits of what you might expect a Silent Hill game to be, but given the nature of the series’ “otherworld”, it feels fair game.

The setting of Silent Hill f is quite the departure, then, but the gameplay will be familiar to those accustomed to the series. As Hinako, you must make your way through the streets of the fictional Ebisugaoka, hoping to escape the nightmare you’ve suddenly found yourself in. And while the streets are initially empty, they’re soon home to grotesque enemies that will attack on sight. Thankfully, you can defend yourself but, being set in 1960s Japan, you won’t find any firearms here. Instead, you have to rely on any melee weapons you can get your hands on, such as a pipe, a crowbar, or perhaps even a sledgehammer.

Hinako has access to both standard and strong attacks, with the latter taking longer to perform but having a higher chance to stagger enemies. You need to be mindful of your stamina, though, as if you use it all up you’ll be a sitting duck, unable to attack any further or dodge incoming attacks for a short while. There are further complications to the combat system, too, thanks to a focus mechanic which allows you to more easily counter enemy attacks as well as perform a powerful focus attack. The latter is risky, however, as it also relies on your sanity meter. Once this is empty, certain attacks performed by enemies which drain your sanity will deplete your health instead.

Despite what sounds like a rather elaborate combat system, you never really feel powerful in Silent Hill f unless you’re meant to. There’s no benefit to fighting; it doesn’t earn you anything, so it’s generally better to run past or avoid enemies unless you actually need to fight them or it makes your life easier. Weapons don’t last forever here, either, so if you try to beat every enemy you come across into submission you might eventually find yourself unarmed, at least for a short while. Ultimately, Silent Hill f does its best to make combat somewhat fair and enjoyable, but it’s never something you’ll want to actively seek out.

Perhaps the highlight of Silent Hill f is its puzzles. You’ll encounter many as you make your way through the game, and they’ll genuinely have you scratching your head. They’re the type that initially won’t make any sense, but then you’ll have an aha! moment, usually from studying your in-game journal, which is brilliant, and go on to solve them while feeling great about yourself. The good news is that if you don’t want to have to think too hard, numerous puzzle difficulty levels are available. There are multiple difficulties available for combat, too, so you can fine-tune the experience to your tastes.

As good as Silent Hill f is, though, it has some issues that might frustrate or annoy you. The camera can feel like it’s working against you at times during combat, and using consumables can feel a bit fiddly. If I’m going to be nitpicky, you might find the lip syncing a little off when playing with English dialogue, too. And playing on PS5 Pro for review, there’s the odd bit of unfortunate stuttering. Hopefully that can be cleared up quickly after launch.

But even with these issues, I’ve been well and truly impressed with what Silent Hill f has to offer. Visually it’s astounding, with brilliant enemy and character models, and a fantastically-realised town that changes before your very eyes into something beautifully sinister. Its soundtrack is also top-notch, with Akira Yamaoka working his magic once again. But perhaps the biggest praise I can give to Silent Hill f is that it will linger in your mind after the credits have rolled, making you want to dive in for another playthrough or two to discover additional story elements and alternate endings. Needless to say, Silent Hill is back, and I really hope this is just the start of more unnerving tales.