SIlent Hill f and the Discourse Surrounding It

Silent Hill f, the latest installment in Konami's Silent Hill franchise hits shelves September 25th for the PC, PS5 and Xbox. Developed by NeoBards Entertainment the game promises to deliver a striking story set in Japan, in the town of Ebisugaoka, which was inspired by Kanayama, Gero, in Gifu Prefecture. Even though the game was conceived as a standalone story, the developers included references to previous Silent Hill games.

Based on various gameplay footage, and developer interviews the game is not so much a Silent Hill iteration as it is a horror game with the Silent Hill label slapped on. While this shouldn't take away from what it can offer, which by all accounts is a 12-20 hour immersive experience Konami may be selling the game wrong. We'll explain why.

Silent Hill is known for its deeply personal, immersive, psychological journeys. They are, for the most part, free-wheeling adventures. Go where you want, make your own choices. Silent Hill 2 Remake is the most recent example of what a Silent Hill game is. Developed by the Bloober Team Silent Hill 2 Remake was off cha charts successful. Despite already announcing Bloober's next remake (Silent Hill 1) you cannot blame Konami for trying to milk this cow a little more.

Silent Hill f shares some of these traits of SHR but with some notable differences. One, the action. Silent Hill is about immersion, atmosphere and a settling dread. Much of this is lost when you spend an inordinate amount of time fending off monsters. Your focus is simply elsewhere. Silent Hill f has been labeled a Soulslike game for this reason. A game with heavy-fighting, and a steep leaning curve. Two, stamina bars. Yes, they were used in Silent Hill 4, and not well-received there either. Stamina bars are a staple of role-playing games, but in the context of Silent Hill they can break immersion.

Lastly, quest help. Similar to stamina bars, they are not needed in this framework. Silent Hill 2 handles these facets in subtle but meaningful ways. First, while you can't see how much stamina James Sunderland has his character will take on battle damage, and the pause menu will begin distorting, a sign of his impending madness. There are no "quests" in Silent Hill 2, only progression from one area to the next. James updates maps he finds with places visited, items of interest and doors that require a key he hasn't yet found. Again, subtle, out of the way.

We're certain Silent Hill f will be another hit for Konami, but we would be remiss to say the game's elements have caused a lot of confusion with Silent Hill fans. A positive launch can smooth many concerned brows.