One of the games I was really looking forward to last year was Silent Hill f, the long-awaited continuation of Konami’s landmark horror series. True, we’d gotten the Silent Hill 2 remake just a year earlier, but Silent Hill f is the first new full installment in the series since Silent Hill: Downpour in 2012. While newer fans like myself were hopeful and even excited for the changes NeoBards teased in the pre-release trailers, others were afraid that it would deviate too far to actually be a Silent Hill game. After playing it through several times, I think I can say that such is not the case. This is still Silent Hill, just delivered in a different way.

I suppose I should preface this whole thing by clarifying that I don’t intend to review Silent Hill f here. I might do it later, but that’s not the focus this time. I will say that I think the game is very much worth playing if you enjoy psychological horror and Silent Hill in particular, but maybe wait until it’s on sale (that’s what I did. $70 is too much for even great games, I think). Okay, now that that’s out of the way, I think I’ll get going on how Silent Hill f succeeds in continuing the series legacy.

There are several things that Silent Hill f really gets right when it comes to being a Silent Hill game. The first is that it absolutely nails that uncanny and unsettling stillness and sense of isolation that made Silent Hill (the fictional town) such an impactful place in the first two games.

Even though Hinako regularly encounters other characters over the course of events, they never linger and never give off the impression that they’re really looking out for her. Even her best friend Shu comes off as oddly detached and flaky. The result is that Hinako truly is alone in her ordeals the same way that Henry Mason and James Sunderland were during their sojourns in Silent Hill. It doesn’t matter that this is Ebisugaoka, the feel is there all the same, just like the fog and the monsters lurking within it.

The other thing that Silent Hill f gets really, really right is the psychological ordeals that it puts Hinako through. Just like Henry, Heather and James, she’s not just wandering around in a foggy town killing monsters, she has to deal with a great many trying things dredged up from her past and even war against herself when it comes to dealing with them. Also just like the other games, there’s very little that’s concrete here in terms of what’s actually happening.

Since we’re experiencing everything from Hinako’s perspective, all we get is things that she either knows, has heard about or perhaps even just suspects or half-remembers. Does her view of herself reflect reality, or is there information missing? For that matter, how much of what she’s experiencing now is actually real? How much of the past she remembers actually happened? We do get some answers, but, just like in Silent Hill 2, much of it is left up to the player to decide for themselves. It’s all handled in that classic Silent Hill manner, which I greatly appreciated.

There are several key differences, however. The biggest one is combat in that NeoBards seemed determined to actually make it feel better than “terrible.” I didn’t mind it so much, but I will say that combat felt almost tacked on regardless of the difficulty setting. It just felt like it got in the way of my exploring and puzzling. This was also true in Silent Hill 2, though, so I guess it’s not really a knock against this one. I’m just not sure what place combat has in Silent Hill as a series beyond just being an excuse to have monsters.

The other big change is the spirit world portion, which I guess has taken the place of the Otherworld. Since Hinako’s background is worlds different from every other Silent Hill protagonist, from her circumstances to her culture, it makes sense that this portion of the game sould be different too. I actually rather liked the way it looked and the ideas it was used to explore. It was just…not as compelling, I suppose. It felt too separate. There’s a reason for this which does get explained, but still.

I’m also on the fence about the nature of what’s going on. It’s difficult to get into without straying into spoilers, so I’ll simply say that things aren’t what they seem. It’s supported well by the ambiguity I mentioned above and by what exactly it is that Hinako is dealing with, and it still winds up being a very compelling story. I suppose I just wanted the journey to be a bit more tangible by the end. I’m not sure if this makes Silent Hill f less of a “Silent Hill game,” but is something different from what I expected.

Silent Hill f succeeds in pulling the series away from its namesake town and makes it more about the personal horrors that we all have to deal with, which is more or less what I was hoping it would do. It’s not exactly the first entry in a new horror anthology like I was expecting, but it does show that the themes and type of horror that the original trilogy explored can indeed work, and work very well, outside of the town of Silent Hill.All that said, I think we’ll be able to better evaluate where the series is going and Silent Hill f’s place in it once Silent Hill: Townfall comes out.

---

I’m sorry for the vague language here. I really don’t want to spoil the game for those who haven’t played it yet, as I really think it’s worth experiencing. Perhaps I’ll go into more deal in another post next month. For now though, let me know your own thoughts on Silent Hill and Silent Hill f!

Image from the Steam page