From cryptic puzzles to intense combat, Silent Hill f is not the game to play to wind down and relax. The striking visuals, vivid sound design and elaborate story however, make it well worth the challenge.
Thick grey fog blankets the town, vibrant red flowers and decay bloom across labyrinthian streets, and danger lurks around every corner.
Released this year on September 25, and published by Konami, this stand-alone installment is a breath of fresh air in the Silent Hill franchise. Written by an author who remains unknown except for the pen name Ryukishi07, the game explores intense themes of sexism, abuse and violence in a twisted coming of age story told through a horror lens.
Set in 1960s Japan in the fictional town of Ebisugaoka, the game follows Hinako, a vulnerable, yet strong female protagonist. Players are driven to play to keep her alive.
Hinako is a teenage girl who must survive Fog Town and the Dark Shrine, a dream-like world she enters while unconscious.
The story unfolds across 13 chapters, alternating between the town and the dream-like world. Hinako must face horrifyingly beautiful yet grotesque monsters.
Throughout the story, Hinako, and the player, question what is real and who can be trusted.
The contrast between beauty and terror is a fresh take in the horror genre. As the game moves forward Hinako faces increasingly disturbing monsters, some that even wear the face of her so-called friends.
The crunching of twisting limbs and eerie synth alert the player that a monster is nearby. The combat is the most differing factor from other Silent Hill games.
Along with a health bar, gamers must monitor stamina and sanity during combat. Most of the weapons available lack durability and break after a certain amount of use. While it is a learning curve to manage all of these factors while in battle, it allows for an interesting fighting experience that gives the player power.
This psychological horror does not rely on jump scares to frighten the player. Visuals and audio make this game beautiful and terrifying.
The sound design immerses the player in a stunning yet unsettling landscape. Every frame feels like a moment captured in a painting.
The music for the Fog Town was composed by Akira Yamaoka, who has done the music for the franchise since the first Silent Hill installment in 1999. Alongside Yamaoka, Kensuke Inage composed music for the Dark Shrine sections of the game.
There is the option to play story or hard mode for both puzzles and combat, and a third difficulty is unlocked after completing the game for the first time. Story mode makes the game more accessible to players worried about fighting skills or getting stumped on puzzles.
The game has a total of five endings, making re-playability not only valuable, but necessary to the understand the story. After the first play-through, New Game+, offers new scenes.
The story unravels through letters and puzzles found across the map, as well as Hinako’s journal and underlying symbolism in the landscape and creature design.
Silent Hill f requires critical thinking and problem-solving to progress in the story, both worth the challenge for players who are brave enough to pick up the controller.