Silent Hill f Review – Is This Really the Franchise?

The new Silent Hill game makes no mention of Silent Hill itself, and it’s set not in an American town, but in 1960s Japan. It seems like if the game had been called anything else, no one would have noticed the catch. But is that really the case, or does Silent Hill f truly live up to the spirit of the franchise? We’ll discuss this and more in this review.

• Developer: NeoBards Entertainment Ltd.
• Publisher: KONAMI
• Platforms: PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S
• Release date: September 25, 2025

A review copy was provided by Achivka, the country’s largest video game distributor.

Silent Hill f centers on the story of Shimizu Hinako, a girl who lives in the slowly declining town of Ebisugaoka. Her life isn’t exactly rosy: her alcoholic father beats her mother, who, in turn, doesn’t dare contradict him, and her sister, who always supported her, got married and moved to another city. She also struggles with her peers: her friends dislike her for always preferring to play with boys, and adults frown upon her frequent interactions with her childhood friend, Shu.

This background doesn’t bring happiness to the protagonist. She hates her father and despises her mother, considers her sister, who abandoned her, a traitor, and has no desire whatsoever for marriage or motherhood. Although she has friends, her relationships with them are rather strained: they don’t hesitate to make a few barbs at Hinako when they meet, and seem to tolerate her company rather than genuinely care for her.

It’s not hard to guess that the game’s symbolism will be built on the protagonist’s experiences, which lies both in the appearance of the monsters and in the appearance of the simultaneously beautiful and disgusting disease that will one day spread across Ebisugaoka, trapping the girl and her friends in the city.

It’s enough to read the descriptions of the monsters in Hinako’s diary to see reflections of her fears in them. And the developers didn’t even bother with deep hints: here’s a creature symbolizing boorish men, here’s a monster expressing a subconscious fear of pregnancy, and here’s a furious giant, filled with maniacal rage, clearly reminiscent of the protagonist’s father.

Metaphoricality has always been a hallmark of the Silent Hill series, but here many meanings are conveyed very directly, while others are temporarily obscured. The latter is typical of the alternate reality into which Hinako periodically falls. Here, she encounters a mysterious man in a fox mask, typically Japanese environmental elements, and strange rituals. These episodes contrast sharply with the series’ familiar fog-shrouded townscapes, making you want to rush through them, ready to return to the streets of Ebisugaoka.

Moreover, in this alternate world, the narrative’s tone shifts, shifting from the familiar cozy, melancholic mystery to a purely Japanese horror with anime motifs, transforming the already intense combat into a full-blown slasher. This duality undermines the game’s atmosphere, leaving the player on an emotional roller coaster: one moment you’re in a town reminiscent of Silent Hill, only Japanese-style, the next you’re transported to a world with a completely different feel.

Set in 1960s Japan, the game makes no reference to Silent Hill. Only very observant players immersed in the lore will notice oblique references to the universe. This seems somewhat odd, given the horror title’s title—even Silent Hill: The Short Message, which took players to Germany, made fairly obvious references to the town that became the franchise’s signature. On the other hand, Konami makes it clear that a “local Silent Hill” can take place anywhere filled with suffering, and other aspects, such as architecture, cults, ancient gods, and ghosts, are secondary.

Fortunately, Ebisugaoka perfectly fulfills its role as a small, atmospheric town where all sorts of evil things happen. It’s a labyrinth of narrow streets, alleys, and dead ends through which Hinako navigates her way to her goal, periodically peeking into unlocked houses and other locations, like the school. Everything is shrouded in thick fog, monsters lurk around every corner, and the only hope for survival is the steel pipe she clutches tightly in her hands.

Silent Hill 5’s combat system turned out to be… unusual. With only melee weapons available, which also break over time, the player must master light and heavy attacks, dodges and parries, read enemy movements, and manage their stamina. While the combat in the first installments of the series was rather clunky, and in last year’s Silent Hill 2 Remake, it seemed to balance between classic and modern styles, the new game’s combat feels completely new. The closest analogy is Soulslike games, although there are no rolls or campfires here.

The game’s basic techniques aren’t complicated, but to kill monsters effectively, you need to use all available resources. This includes keeping an eye on your Sanity meter, which, while it allows you to focus on your opponent and keep them off-balance, also makes Hinako vulnerable to attacks and deals damage to her health when depleted.

You need to carefully manage your omamori—passive bonuses equipped in special slots. You’ll have to constantly sort through first aid kits and bandages, deal with an overflowing inventory, and reluctantly discard items you don’t have room for. There’s even stat upgrading, which requires sacrificing consumables to the altar.

In the later stages of the game, combat sequences become increasingly frequent, and at times Silent Hill f almost devolves into a slasher, as Hinako learns to build up her “ult” and take out multiple enemies at once. While this isn’t a bad thing in itself, it feels unnecessary in the context of the Silent Hill series. Had the developers kept the number of battles to a minimum and simplified the combat, the game would have been even better, without suffocating the player with monotonous and boring encounters.

---

Still, Silent Hill f has something worth enduring the uneven combat and atmospheric lapses. The story, by screenwriter and manga author Ryukishi07, is gripping and occasionally frightening, immersing the player in the complexities of 1960s Japanese society. Akira Yamaoka’s soundtrack occasionally strikes the right chords. The fog-shrouded Ebisugaoka is breathtakingly beautiful, and even Unreal Engine 5 barely stutters, a characteristic feature of games built on that engine. The puzzles have a well-balanced difficulty. And the battles are ultimately enjoyable.

Ultimately, the title leaves mixed feelings. It bears repeating that if Silent Hill f had a different name, no one would have noticed the catch (though the game would likely have attracted less attention). As part of the Silent Hill series, the new game has too many differences from previous titles, but that doesn’t make it unworthy of your time. And by the way, you’ll have to invest a fair amount of time: the first playthrough will only unlock the basic ending, while repeat runs will unlock new cutscenes, weapons, bosses, and, of course, alternate endings, including the joke ending and the “true” ending.