Silent Hill f

Platforms: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC

Silent Hill f wants you to forget everything you think you know about the long-running horror franchise. Rather than being set in the eponymous American town, it takes players to the fictional town of Ebisugaoka in 1960s Japan. Meanwhile, the focus on new protagonist Hinako Shimizu, a 16-year-old girl practically drowning in typical teenage drama, feels a massive departure from the likes of previous moody leads Harry Mason or James Sunderland. Throw in imagery that draws heavily on Japanese folklore and cultural imagery, from traditional dress to period architecture, and at a glance you’d be forgiven for thinking this was a new entry in the Fatal Frame series rather than Silent Hill.

As soon as Silent Hill’s signature mist inevitably descends on Ebisugaoka though, transporting Hinako and friends Shu, Rinko, and Sakuko to a shadowy otherworld, things begin to click into place – all helped along by a haunting musical score fromreturning series maestro Akira Yamaoka. There’s a surrealism to everything, with Hinako alternating between desperate moments of survival against some of the most nightmarish monsters the franchise has ever presented — ball-jointed mannequins made of mis-stitched cadaver parts make for a distressing start, and things get increasingly disturbing from there — and dream-like sequences exploring an ethereal realm of Torii gates and Shinto shrines, shepherded by a mysterious figure known only as Fox Mask.

Hinako proves herself as complex as any Silent Hill protagonist before her.

Hinako herself may be the most controversial change in direction Silent Hill f makes. Early on, she’s bratty, bordering on unlikeable, and although she’s as troubled as any Silent Hill lead must be, it’s borne of a very different brand of trauma than that which propelled earlier protagonists.

There’s no letter or dark secret that calls Hinako to this "Silent Hill" — Ebisugaoka is just her hometown, a parochial village that’s already declining after a brief mining boom. The ultimate horror initially seems to be that of being a teen growing up in a place with nothing to offer. Hinako is trapped with an abusive father and simpering mother, and desperately misses her adored older sister, ominously absent after having married and moved away — a fate she fears for herself.

However, Hinako proves herself as complex as any Silent Hill protagonist before her. Writer “Ryukishi07”, the pseudonymous creator of the Japanese horror novel and anime series Higurashi: When They Cry, uses that teen drama to explore darker and more subtle terrors, rooted in Hinako’s fear that her future is choked off — which makes the visual metaphor of the entire town getting strangled by red spider lilies that spread when the fog comes all the more powerful.

Just like the original eponymous town, Ebisugaoka itself becomes as much a character as Hinako, almost entirely and inexplicably absent, but for people sometimes heard inside houses, talking in hushed whispers about that disgraceful Shimizu girl or hinting at other things unseen. It’s darkly beautiful, with its winding streets, narrow alleys, and narrow gaps between buildings making for a maddening labyrinth that it’s all too easy to get lost in.

You’ll likely want to avoid getting too snarled up in its passageways though, as that’s when you’re most likely to be targeted by those horrifying monsters, which can often hunt you down if they spot you. Unfortunately, combat is one of the weaker parts of Silent Hill f. Hinako initially feels appropriately vulnerable for the survival horror genre — she’s a schoolgirl, not a special agent, and early on she’s entirely defenceless, only able to dodge and run away. Once she grabs a steel pipe though, things take a turn for the Soulslike, whacking out heavy and light attacks with the shoulder buttons and watching a stamina gauge to make sure you have enough energy to dodge — but dodging at the right time refills that stamina. You can lock onto enemies, or “Focus” on them to get a read on their attacks, but at a cost of a separate Sanity bar, which eats into your health if fully depleted, making it less a separate reserve and more a separate health bar.

While the weapons Hinako finds typically have a durability factor and can break, ostensibly allowing for a return of those moments of defencelessness, certain items can repair them, making this less of a concern. Later, she gets a power-up of sorts that makes her even more proficient in battle, while equippable Omamori charms can deliver various buffs or mods to exploration and combat that can leave you feeling almost overpowered. Even then, a more action-focused Silent Hill might work, but it struggles further here thanks to how clunky it can be — attacks can blur through an enemy, or enemy attacks can phase through Hinako, or dodges might not register. The whole approach feels out of place for a Silent Hill game.

The other side of Silent Hill’s coin has always been puzzle solving, which thankfully fares much better. There are a host of mind-bending challenges around Ebisugaoka (not all of which are strictly necessary to progress, for an added layer of confusion). Even at their simplest, these often leave a slightly unsettling impression that adds to the horror of the situation — an early one has you arranging offerings at a shrine, all of which prove to be artfully wrapped pieces of carrion — and at their toughest will have you scouring through Hinako’s journal and an array of notes and items, trying to piece clues together.

A particularly nice touch is that there are three difficulty settings for both puzzles and action – Story, Hard, and Lost in the Fog — which can be mixed and matched. Combat never quite shines on any level, but it’s nice to be able to tailor the overall experience to your preferences.

Ultimately, Silent Hill f doesn’t have the nostalgic allure to compete with 2024’s Silent Hill 2 Remake, but that game also benefitted from being able to refine and build upon what was already regarded as one of the best in the series’ history. This is trying something new, which makes its small stumbles over combat and tone more forgivable. Hinako’s journey through spectral Ebisugaoka may be a snapshot of the past, but Silent Hill f paints a bright future for the esteemed horror franchise.