Silent Hill f: A New Beginning for My Silent Hill Journey

Earlier this year, I set a goal of playing through the entire Silent Hill franchise. Without setting an endpoint, I started by completing Silent Hill Origins, but never got back to the series until recently with last year's Silent Hill f.

What initially drew my interest to Silent Hill f was the reveal that it was going to be developed by Hong Kong-based NeoBards Entertainment, which made it the first Silent Hill game to be created by an Asian studio since 2004’s Silent Hill 4: The Room. I was also fascinated by the fact that the game would be taking place in 1960s Japan, which is far from the seminal New England town of Silent Hill. Yet, everything I saw about the game before release suggested that this was going to be more than just a Silent Hill game in name. And after completing the game, I was relieved to find out that was indeed the case.

As previously noted, the game takes place in the fictional Japanese town of Ebisugaoka in 1960. Based on details found in the main character’s journal, Ebisugaoka was once a bustling town thanks to coal mines and the construction of a dam outside the town. Sustainability was not maintained once construction ended and the coal mines closed, and the town became a shadow of its former self, leaving many indebted, including the protagonist’s family.

You play as high school student Shimizu Hinako, who is initially presented to you as a rebellious teen who pushes against societal norms and expectations, especially those tied to her gender and the decisions others make on her behalf. Like previous Silent Hill games, dark layers of the human psyche begin to peel away as you progress, revealing personal struggles that ultimately haunt her throughout her journey. Her personal journey is documented in her journal as the game progresses.

The game takes place in two realities, the main reality which takes place in Ebisugaoka, and an alternate reality that takes place in a psychological landscape called the Dark Shrine. The Ebisugaoka reality has been taken over by the familiar Silent Hill fog and is now littered by a red spider lily infestation which has brought about creatures to the town, while the Dark Shrine sequences take place in a dream-like world where Hinako faces off against her inner turmoil and memories.

In both realities, you survive by defeating enemies with melee weapons. Like Silent Hill Origins, the weapons degrade as they are used. You can fix them using repair kits that are scattered throughout the game. What makes the game interesting is that you are unable to use your bare hands, so maintaining your weapons and inventory is crucial to your survival. The game only gives you a limited amount of weapon slots, and you can easily replace weapons with better or more durable ones. But once a weapon is destroyed, you will not be able to fix it until you find the same weapon later on.

However, if there is one complaint I have with Silent Hill f, it is the lack of enemy variety. It often felt like I was battling the same enemies over and over again, which made the encounters repetitive. Once I learned how to effectively dodge and parry, with parrying only being available with certain weapons, most encounters became fairly predictable. The limited number of enemy types made this more noticeable as I progressed, and eventually the combat started to feel monotonous.

As with previous Silent Hill entries, the game looks and sounds amazing.

The game trades the dilapidated, rusted and worn-out look of previous entries with the bright, almost blood-like colours of the red spider lilies. Combined with the dense fog, the lilies give Silent Hill f an unsettling vibe that is both captivating and disturbing. While the Dark Shrine reality sends you to a mysterious cult-like temple where nothing is as it seems, both realities look amazing and different from past entries in the series, yet there are enough familiarities to remind you that you are in the Silent Hill universe.

Since many of the game’s plot points weren’t spoiled for me, I will refrain from sharing them here so others can experience the story for themselves. But looking back at what was presented to me, I am now surprised the game wasn’t rewarded at the various gaming awards in the last 12 months, especially given the strength of its story and narrative. The story is well told as the game unfolds, both through its progression and the protagonist’s journals, which are accessible through the menu and reveal more as you move forward. I came back to the journal many times throughout my playthrough to reread specific passages that didn’t mean much at first, but took on a different meaning as the story unfolded.

What is a Silent Hill game without an Akira Yamaoka score? For Silent Hill f, he delivers yet again. Instead of the familiar industrial rock vibe of previous entries, Yamaoka focuses more on traditional Japanese musical elements, blending them with eerie atmospheric sounds. You still get hints of electric guitar at times, but overall the score is more acoustic and subdued. I would personally rank this as one of his best scores in recent years, and one that I found myself appreciating more as I progressed through the game.

As I continue my journey through the Silent Hill universe in the coming weeks and months, I can't help but feel that Silent Hill f has set a pretty high bar for the games I have yet to play. I went into the game intrigued by its setting and developer, but came away more impressed by how well it managed to take the familiar ideas of Silent Hill and put them into something that felt different. Silent Hill f delivered a strong psychological trip that will stay with me for a long time, and now I'm even more curious to see what the rest of the series has in store for me.