SILENT HILL f Review

NeoBards Entertainment has a lot to live up to with SILENT HILL f, the newest mainline entry to the beloved, psychological horror franchise. With Blooper Team delivering a masterfully crafted atmosphere and modernised combat through the SILENT HILL 2 remake, and considering the way early previews prompted extensive conversation about this title’s particular approach to action, many have wondered what kind of experience NeoBards will offer.

Across my first playthrough, which topped out at just under 12 hours long, my time exploring the fog-filled town of Ebisugaoka and the otherworldly Dark Shrine has been uncomfortable, haunting, and dread-inducing. Though much of my library is overwhelmed with horror titles, none of them nail the eeriness that SILENT HILL f does, where I feel like the game is playing me rather than me playing it.

Every step through Hinako’s isolated mountain town is tense: tight pathways, enemies waiting where I least expect them, traditional Japanese housing drenched in blood and strewn with mysterious documents, and chilling noises that raise the hairs on my arms. As someone who believed that they hardly get spooked anymore, SILENT HILL f reintroduced me to fear.

If you’re hoping for environments that feel like characters themselves, in the way that the original town of Silent Hill feels alive, you’ll find that Ebisugaoka has a similar vibe the further you get into the story. As the fog rolls in and grotesque tendrils burst out from the oppressive, floral overgrowth spreading over walls and walkways, it’s like you’re watching an infection evolve. Following another hallmark of the franchise, you’ll regularly flip between two alternate dimensions, as you’ll spend time navigating the Dark Shrine (a mind-bending, nightmarish place) when you’re not in town. Both worlds are equally immersive.

Hinako’s narrative is a strange and nuanced tale, one teeming with heavy themes of doubt, identity conflict, abuse, jealousy, and more. From the moment she leaves her house, the echoes of her father’s angry voice grow distant when she slides the door closed, and we step into a story told through journal entries, odd interactions with Hinako’s friends, and even stranger encounters with a fox-like being. Much can be missed if you’re not searching for documents and reading up on new character entries. Information about the Inari-sama statues, red capsules, lone shrines, and celluloid dolls all help flesh out this surreal world, so be sure to explore!

Though I found every story beat compelling and cohesive, I vacillated between feeling like Hinako’s internal struggle was deeply relatable to also wishing that some angles of it were explored more. It’s the nature of SILENT HILL titles to tackle tough subject matters, and in this case, I thought that it did quite well, making space for our protagonist’s complicated feelings about what it means to be happy, to be a woman, and to be in control of one's future. By the end, I did think the exploration of gender identity could’ve been fleshed out more with deeper nuance, especially when it comes to other female characters, but what’s there is definitely interesting and seems appropriate for Hinako’s teenage perspective.

Sickening, unsettling, filthy, and hideous are just some of the ways Hinako describes the monsters she encounters in SILENT HILL f, and I agree with every word. These things are truly disgusting, especially in the way they move when you fight them. The disjointed motions of mannequins and hound-like rush from beings on all fours are just some of the things that made me panic mid-combat.

SILENT HILL f is great at building tension with quiet moments, but you do get plenty of action in the form of chase sequences and melee combat. Unlike SILENT HILL 2, there are no guns in this title, as Hinako’s arsenal consists of steel pipes, axes, baseball bats, or a traditional Naginata (a long polearm). You can easily find weapons scattered indoors and outside; swapping them out is usually necessary as you’ll wear them out the more you use them. While you can repair them with a toolkit when a weapon’s durability is depleted, I found those were the most scarce resource throughout my playthrough. As such, I opted to pick up a new bat or knife whenever I had the chance.

Melee combat is both slow and quick in different ways. Hinako’s swings are almost always laboured, whether you’re doing a normal, heavy, or counterattack. That said, you can dodge swiftly out of the way at the press of a button, and if you do so with perfect timing, you can regain all Stamina used when you were attacking, dodging, or running mid-combat.

Running out of Stamina isn’t as much of an issue in the late game, since you can upgrade your resource pool, but early on, extra care is needed, or else Hinako will be momentarily left breathless and frozen. There’s also your Sanity to consider, as you can take psychological damage or deplete it by entering a slowed-down Focus state, which lets you use a stronger Focus attack or counter an enemy more easily. I enjoyed this style of combat, as it made me get up close and personal with enemies that I did not want to be near, inducing genuine fear from the lack of distance. Managing Hinako’s resources whilst also weaving different types of attacks in was satisfying as well. Enemy movesets were often unpredictable, especially with bosses, keeping things fresh all throughout.

Combat is at its best in open areas, whether you’re fighting in a decently large outdoor yard or a spacious boss room in the Dark Shrine. However, as mentioned, there are many tight hallways and narrow paths, and it's there that fights can feel awkward. Dodging can let you weave past a foe a bit too easily when you should be cornered, for instance, or your camera angle can get knocked around. Additionally, while there’s clearly a lot of care given to small visual details, such as your weapons changing appearance when they’re about to break or Hinako wiping monster slime off her face, enemies are quite stiff when you hit them, almost as if they don’t register the blow. They eventually do hobble back or keel over, but the reaction can seem delayed, though this might be intentional to enhance their unnatural movements or make them feel like an impenetrable wall, further reinforcing their alarming durability against a teenage fighter.

Adding to the variability of combat, you’re able to equip Omamori, charms that have perks, such as upping your Sanity or Health. These are obtained from a Hokora, which is also where you save your progress and present offerings that yield Faith, the currency that you’ll spend to draw the charms or upgrade your resource pools (Sanity, Health, Stamina, and Omamori slots). Offerings are typically food items or other special trinkets found whilst exploring, making it worthwhile to search every drawer and corner.

Of course, it’s not a SILENT HILL game if you don’t have doors with absurd locks and puzzles that put your brain to the test, so you’ll be happy to hear that SILENT HILL f has many. On the Hard difficulty, these offered a genuine challenge that’ll scratch the itch for those who love puzzlers. I appreciate how each one felt aligned with the story and setting, whether you’re deciphering “girl code” amongst schoolmates, opening a traditional Japanese puzzle box, or placing sigils according to a strange riddle about foxes and birds. My only complaint is that I wanted more puzzles by the end.

I’d be remiss not to mention the expertly crafted audio design of SILENT HILL f, as the ambient sounds, music, and voice acting all come together to create a cohesive, eerie soundscape. Squelches, thuds, and childlike laughter are all done extremely well. The visuals are also gorgeous and often beautifully grotesque. There’s no shortage of body horror, either; while the game never goes overboard on gore, there were scenes that had me quite shocked and wincing to watch. In those moments, the sound effects were given time to shine, as you’re forced to listen to cries of pain alongside deliberate, prolonged cuts when blade meets the skin. Just thinking about those scenes makes me shudder.

If you’re looking for atmosphere, vibes, and characters that feel in line with the franchise, set in a fresh location with interesting characters, then SILENT HILL f is a must-play. In fact, if you’re a survival horror fan that’s new to the series, you’ll find a lot to love with the resource management, threatening encounters, and dark tone. Though my first playthrough only took about 12 hours, New Game+ is already proving to be an interesting experience with changes right from the get-go and additional endings to obtain.