Silent Hill f was announced on the 14th of March through Konami’s official account for the iconic series. Revealing that the game will be available on Playstation, Xbox and PC. With the remake of Silent Hill 2 being such a hit, it was only natural for Konami to reintroduce the series back in the spotlight with Silent Hill f.
The developer, NeoBard Studios has an interesting portfolio as they worked with Capcom in their recent remakes of the Resident Evil franchise, the recent Onimusha game from 2019 and the Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster.
A New Take On The Franchise
The story is written by Ryukishi07 who previously wrote the famous or some would say infamous Higurashi: When They Cry visual novels. Konami sought after Ryukishi07 as they wanted the next Silent Hill to be a Japanese take on the franchise.
The game was first teased or announced 3 years prior in 2022 with very little information given out, now trailers have been released that paint a more concrete picture of the theme and style Konami seems to be aiming for.
We play as a school girl, Shimizu Hinako residing in the secluded town of Ebisugaoka, the town is slowly being consumed by a sudden fog, transforming her home into a haunting nightmare. Fans of the series can expect to see the most grotesque horrors imaginable that appear before Hinako’s eyes as we try to get to why it’s happening.
Gameplay Information
Although the trailers released are more cinematic than they are in-game footage, as Hinako we have to make our way through paths which are now twisted and transformed by the red plants that come with the dense fog.
As such players can expect to solve various kinds of puzzles and also fight for her life against horrors that words won’t do justice to. The fictional town of Ebisugaoka is based on a real place called Kanayama, Gero in the Gifu Prefecture.
It will be interesting to see how the combat might differ from the previous entries in the series, all we have to go off of is the scene where we see Hinako dragging around a metal pipe and ready to swipe at any horror that comes near her.
Visual And Audio Design
If the trailers are to be believed then we can rest assured that a staggering amount of effort has been put into designing the town and care has been taken in ironing out every single detail that reflects the rural town it is mirroring.
The game is being made in unreal engine 5 thus players can expect staggering visuals and highly detailed environments throughout its playtime with audio design made to immerse the player further in the twisted, haunted town of Ebisugaoka.
Conclusion
This is the first mainline new title for the Silent Hill franchise in more than a decade, the last title to come out was Silent Hill Downpour which came out around 2012, interestingly it is the only Silent Hill game that can be played in stereoscopic 3D.
The fact that it is a completely new story means new players can jump into the title without needing to figure out what happened before. Konami seems set in regaining their spot as an active company in the video games space and this is another step forward for them.
If the portfolio of the developer is anything to go by we can expect to see the same level of mastery that was shown in the recent Resident Evil remakes to also be shown here, everything from visual to the combat will be a joy to play to be sure.
Along with that, if they actually manage to achieve the tone and setting of what the Silent Hill franchise is known for then Konami can rest easy in bringing back one of its most iconic franchises from its dormancy.
