Silent Hill f is amazing and powerful. It respects the famous horror series and still feels fresh. It becomes a new classic.
Silent Hill f has the spirit of the older games. It remembers what made Silent Hill 2 amazing without copying every detail. It uses new graphics and modern design in a way that fits the world. The developer Neobards changes things that need change but keeps the true feeling of Silent Hill alive. Silent Hill f becomes a classic right away. It joins the official history of Silent Hill in a way that other games like Homecoming Downpour or The Short Message could not achieve.
The game begins with a scene of a teenage girl named Hinako. She sits at a dinner table with her family in a small Japanese town during the 1960s. The air feels heavy and tense. Her father acts in a cruel way. Her mother stays quiet and afraid. Hinako is a rebellious girl. In just these moments we see the dark personal demons that she may face in the story.
After this scene you see the title screen. In those short seconds the game tells you what to expect. A soft and haunting melody plays and you know you are inside a Silent Hill game. At the same time a high flute sound known as a nohkan and gentle Japanese lyrics mix the old series history with the new Japan setting.
The first task is simple. You must walk down the mountain. This mirrors Silent Hill 2 where James Sunderland walks into the town. Just a few minutes into the game you already feel the respectful tribute.
At first Silent Hill f did not grab me completely. As Hinako walks down the hill you hear the sound of wind or maybe rain. But the leaves and trees do not move much. Her movement seems stiff and awkward. It feels clunky after the strong opening. This first impression might push some people away. But if you continue you will see the magic. Even with stiff character animation Silent Hill f opens slowly like a flower.
When you reach the bottom of the mountain you arrive in Ebisugaoka. This is a Showa era Japanese town and it is the home of Hinako and her high school friends. The look of Ebisugaoka is very different from the familiar Silent Hill streets. But the way you explore feels the same. You do not pick up a full map. The map fills as you move through the warped hometown. Many townspeople are missing. Trucks and debris block many paths. Doors are locked tight. The twisting alleys could fit over a Silent Hill map. Even with the new setting you feel like you have returned home into a Silent Hill world filled with monsters.
Silent Hill f introduces a new second world called the Dark Shrine. This is different in style and gameplay from what we know as the Otherworld. But this change is not a bad thing. In the Silent Hill 2 remake the clean modern graphics took away the rough and dirty look that made the Otherworld scary. The old PS2 graphics had rough edges that made the world feel more claustrophobic. Silent Hill f chooses a different path. The Dark Shrine is bright and richly decorated. It is scary for new reasons.
The Dark Shrine is not simply a dark copy of Ebisugaoka. It is a dream world that Hinako visits when she sleeps or is knocked out which happens often. It is both beautiful and frightening. The outside areas are bridges over water or fog. The inside areas are long corridors with gold kitsune fox statues and shrine rooms filled with talismans. It is a separate world where Hinako’s fears appear in visible form. The kitsune fox is a symbol of transformation in Japanese tradition. It represents change and shifting shapes.
Even though the Dark Shrine does not look like Ebisugaoka it is still part of the same story. The town shows Hinako’s current pain. The Dark Shrine shows her fear of the future. This is a new Silent Hill story with a new main character and new fears.
Before the release Neobards explained that they were using the Japanese horror idea called terror in beauty. This theme runs through every part of Silent Hill f. It is present in Hinako’s personal journey. It is present in the rich design of the Dark Shrine. It is present in the flower based disease that infects Ebisugaoka. The monsters follow this theme as well. The mannequin like enemies change as the game moves forward. They become more beautiful as their infection grows worse. They also become harder to defeat. This can be seen as a symbol of resilience. It shows the strength of women who suffer and still endure.
Masahiro Ito worked on almost every older Silent Hill game. He created famous monsters like the mannequin the nurse and Pyramid Head. He was not part of Silent Hill f. This was sad news for fans. I believed he would have been an important part especially since his Sakurahead design for The Short Message was so strong. But an artist named Kera created the monsters in Silent Hill f and did an amazing job. Kera’s new mannequins and their slow fall into corruption are only the beginning. Childhood toys twist into terrifying forms. One enemy is a gruesome image of motherhood. These designs show both creativity and horror.
The combat in Silent Hill f is fun and challenging. Each enemy has unique movements. Some strike quickly. Some swing wide heavy attacks. Some lunge from a distance. As you move further into the game you fight more enemies at once. Boss fights are especially difficult. You often cannot avoid combat. This is different from older games where running was sometimes easier. To balance this the world is filled with weapons and health items. This can make the game feel a bit easier than it should be on the normal difficulty. Some items can be traded for Faith at save points. Faith is used to upgrade health stamina and other abilities.
One returning Silent Hill legend is Akira Yamaoka. He is the sound designer and composer. His music makes the opening theme instantly feel familiar. His work reminds players that this is real Silent Hill. Akira works with Kensuke Inage who writes the music and sounds for the Dark Shrine. At first I was unsure about using two composers. But since the Dark Shrine is its own world it makes sense to give it a different sound style.
Puzzles are another important part of Silent Hill. Silent Hill f does them well. Some puzzles are easy. Some can be solved by guessing. Some require deep thought especially on hard mode. All puzzles fit with the story and feel like Silent Hill classics.
One small problem is that Silent Hill f is less subtle than past games. The Silent Hill series is known for hidden meanings and room for interpretation. Silent Hill f shows much of Hinako’s pain directly. The writer Ryukishi07 keeps some mystery in the later part of the story. But some voice lines are too obvious. For example a line about the road twisting like her head removes mystery. The game also creates a literal Fog Monster which feels a bit too direct.
Another issue is the save system. Classic Silent Hill used save points that you had to search for. Finding a save point was part of the tension. Silent Hill f uses frequent autosaves that cannot be turned off. This makes the game less tense. But Neobards adds Hokora shrines where you can level up or trade items. These shrines are still important even if you do not need them to save.
Maybe the direct storytelling and autosaves are chosen to fit the modern audience. Today many players have less patience. Even though the story is set in the 1960s it talks about problems of our own time. It looks at male control over women. It looks at female oppression. It looks at mental health. Silent Hill has always used horror to talk about real life pain.
Making a new game in a famous series always brings comparisons. If you use the Silent Hill name you must honor its past. I doubted at first that Neobards could do it. But Silent Hill f proves itself. It respects the series. It also makes a strong new path for the future. It is a great tribute and a bold step forward.
The town of Ebisugaoka itself feels alive even though most people are missing. You feel the history of its streets. Old signs fade on wooden buildings. Lanterns sway slightly though the wind seems still. As you wander the empty roads you notice small touches. A broken bicycle lies near a fence. A paper charm flutters on a door. These small details make the world believable. When you pass by blocked alleys or locked gates you wonder about the lives that once filled them. Silent Hill f makes you feel both curiosity and sadness.
In the Dark Shrine the bridges seem endless. Water stretches below and fog rolls across the surface. The golden fox statues watch you silently. Their fixed faces are calm yet unnerving. The shrines you enter are filled with offerings. Talismans hang from beams. Some rooms are so quiet you can hear your own heartbeat. Others hum with a low sound like distant chanting. These contrasts create a dreamlike state. You never feel safe even when nothing is attacking.
Combat grows tougher as new enemy types appear. The early mannequins move slowly but later versions are fast and graceful. Toy based monsters twitch with erratic energy. The motherhood monster lumbers with terrible weight. Bosses force you to learn attack patterns and use the environment. Sometimes you must lead a boss across a bridge to collapse it. Sometimes you must strike weak points while dodging sweeping limbs. The variety keeps fights tense. Even when armed with many health items you feel pressure.
The Faith upgrade system encourages exploration. You search every side path for items. You trade extras for points to increase stamina or health. Choosing upgrades matters. A longer stamina bar lets you dodge more. More health can save you in a tough fight. These choices give a sense of growth without breaking the tension.
Sound design remains one of Silent Hill f’s strongest features. Footsteps change on wood stone or water. Doors creak with hesitation. In distant fog you sometimes hear a faint song or a child’s laugh. The soundtrack mixes soft piano with sudden harsh strings. In quiet moments even the absence of sound feels heavy.
The puzzles connect closely to Hinako’s life. One puzzle uses childhood drawings to open a hidden path. Another requires arranging family names in a shrine to match a tragic story. Solving puzzles gives more than progress. It deepens understanding of Hinako and her pain.
The story reveals Hinako’s struggle against abuse and fear. It explores how pain can twist memories and dreams. Even though some lines are too direct the overall plot still captures Silent Hill’s tradition of emotional horror. When you reach later chapters the Dark Shrine grows more ornate and threatening. Flowers bloom in impossible places. Bridges stretch into darkness. You feel that Hinako is changing as much as the world around her.
In the final hours Silent Hill f balances homage and originality. You may remember scenes from past games. A lonely road. A radio crackle warning of danger. A mirror that does not reflect what it should. But these moments are framed in a new culture and new story. They feel familiar but not copied.
Silent Hill f proves that Silent Hill can evolve. It respects the old games but does not stay stuck in the past. It shows that horror can be beautiful and terrifying at the same time. It invites players old and new to walk into the fog again. For long time fans it feels like coming home to a place of memories and nightmares. For newcomers it is a doorway to a legendary world.
Neobards has given Silent Hill a future while honoring its soul. Silent Hill f stands beside Silent Hill 2 as a game that understands fear sadness and beauty. It takes the series forward without losing what made it beloved. It is more than a tribute. It is a promise that Silent Hill can live again.
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