Review of Silent Hill f – Outstanding and the most disturbing game in the saga

We analyze the new Silent Hill f, one of the most disturbing games in the saga, a unique installment.

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From its announcement, this Silent Hill f was one of the games in the series that I was most eager to try. What I had seen was a horror game within the Silent Hill universe, and that’s exactly what I found – a game that maintains the essence of Silent Hill, but deviates from the path we know in the series; to take us to a delivery of the most disturbing, for me, the most disturbing in the series.

Video Analysis

Starting with its setting, which I consider a true ten. All Japanese themes within the genre have always impacted me. This game, combines the beauty of a village in rural Japan in another era with a protagonist like Hinako. With whom you empathize from the first moments of the game until you feel that each advance is a real advance, where there is no going back in the journey, which without wanting to, you have begun to escape from a nightmare that will not give you a truce. I want to make it clear that we are not facing a classic delivery within Silent Hill, but that it does combine many ingredients of that universe but also gives us a terrifying atmosphere, which loads your head from the first moments and that does not stop growing throughout the game.

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Technical Section

The artistic design of Silent Hill f is one of the best within the genre, the Japanese studio has known how to mix, in a perfect way, the folklore of Japan in the 60s, with the elements of Silent Hill. This goes beyond picking up four things and sticking them together, they have wanted to offer us from the base of a classic horror game, with all those things that a Silent Hill can offer. Visually, the game gives us many good things, perhaps without overloading the Unreal Engine 5 too much, they have managed to design volumetric fog effects that are impressive, how it filters between light and how puddles reflect indirect lights.

All this makes Silent Hill f a work that combines all the elements with great success, also offering a performance at the height, without problems that can be highlighted, beyond some problems with the impact engine, which sometimes do not seem very forceful. Also, some animations when dodging, but we’re talking about things that don’t compromise the gaming experience and once we get our hands on it, we’ll be completely immersed in the world of Ebisugaoka, the Japanese city where Silent Hill f takes place.

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Gameplay

We’re not facing a typical Silent Hill, this “typical” is not derogatory or trying to belittle previous games, while it has many mechanics from previous games, Silent Hill f is a new proposal, which doesn’t need to be tied to previous titles. We have many interesting things, starting with combat, which is designed to make combat more strategic, starting because we can mark enemies, we have a resistance bar and a system that adds depth to combat, so we can notice the fragility of Hinako, our protagonist.

Gameplay is divided between two worlds, on the one hand, we have exploration areas and where the story advances and develops. More in the classic style, where we’ll have to search for areas to advance, explore, and also fight, there are many confrontations and although they’re not complicated, when several enemies come together, we can suffer more. Then we have the most infernal part of the game, where the most disturbing elements of the game come together, shrines, the closed night, our lantern to illuminate and explore. Puzzles are also well integrated, not everything is advancing without more, we’ll have to complete altars with different tests, also search for pieces to open locks and puzzles of this style.

All this, without being too complicated, just enough to have to think a bit and add that extra variety. We also have moments when we’ll have to flee, surely you remember previous games in the series, where we’ll have to run and advance without looking back, if we stay still, we’ll be absorbed and madness will finish us off. Sanity is another thing we have to keep at bay, this is something we’ll lose when using the concentration power, another element that adds another touch to combat and moves away from previous games. With the theme of parries and dodges, I assure you that later it’s much easier to do. Enemies mark the final blow most of the time and using the RT at the right moment, you’ll make the perfect block. It’s not complicated, it’s not a Souls game, it’s a way to add a point of strategy to combat, that’s not just a simple button-mashing. I assure you that you’ll find it easy to get the hang of it. I also warn you that weapons wear out and you’ll have to make repairs using kits for it.

I also highlight the soundtrack and dynamic sound, sirens sound when you’re in danger, steps are heard as if you were next to Hinako, distant noises, it’s a whole experience that is mandatory to play with headphones, it’s the best advice I can give you. The game transmits fear, it’s a good part due to the great sound section, which would be 50% of the experience, the other part is provided by the atmosphere and the sinister moments it has, which in many occasions generate a brutal unease, that hooks you and you won’t want to let go of the controller. And let’s not forget, we have music from the legendary Akira Yamaoka and a great dubbing with Spanish texts.

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Duration

Finishing the game can take around 12 or 14 hours, depending on how much you want to explore. There are more details that I won’t comment on about the game’s development and ending, to avoid entering any unnecessary spoilers, it’s better that you discover it for yourself.

Silent Hill f is to be enjoyed little by little, there’s no need to advance quickly, the best thing is to stop and enjoy each moment it offers, explore every corner and soak up its world and history, you won’t want it to end.

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Conclusion

We’re not facing a classic Silent Hill delivery, this game is a turn on what we knew, taking elements from the series, but with the aim of offering us a new chapter that develops in a unique way; and that is created and thought to keep us in tension at every step we take, both in exploration and in its combat system. Its aesthetic has disturbing moments, with grotesque elements and enemies, and a soundtrack that accompanies us perfectly, a whole set that makes it outstanding in many moments.

I don’t know how it can be received by the most purist Silent Hill fans, but once you’ve passed the first minutes of the game and when you get into it, you quickly forget that feeling and you realize that you’re facing an exceptional work of the genre that keeps you hooked like few games can do. For me, it’s a 10 out of 10 game, surely I could be more meticulous and put some flaws in the combat system and some mechanics, but they’re minor things and I can say, without fear, that Konami is returning to form with this new Silent Hill.

We thank Konami for the material provided to carry out this analysis.