**Silent Hill f Review: A Haunting Journey into Japan’s Fog-Shrouded Horror**
While *Silent Hill f* isn’t the first game to move the series away from its eponymous foggy town, it breaks new ground by finally giving fans a story set in Japan. *Silent Hill f* redefines what a *Silent Hill* game can be, while still delivering the mix of horror and mystery that we expect from this franchise.
### F is for Friends
*Silent Hill f* is set in the fictional Japanese town of Ebisugaoka and follows a young woman named Hinako who searches for answers after her town becomes engulfed in a mysterious fog. Set in the 1960s, the game draws parallels and direct references to World War II and how its conclusion devastated Japan for the decades that followed. This historical context not only informs the game’s visual style but also factors deeply into the motivations of its characters.
On its surface, *Silent Hill f* seems like a major departure for the franchise. While the unique blend of Western and Eastern influences made *Silent Hill* stand out among the crowd, *Silent Hill f* ditches the Western influences for an authentically Japanese story. Still, it’s undeniably *Silent Hill*, with plenty of fog, creepy enemies, puzzles, and dark themes.
Hinako immediately makes her mark as one of the more likable Silent Hill protagonists. Growing up in Ebisugaoka, much of her backstory revolves around candid childhood memories at school, in her home, and around the neighborhood. For Hinako, the stakes are simple—she just wants to make sure the people she cares about are okay. It’s hard not to root for her and easy to imagine yourself in her shoes as she adjusts to this unbelievably bleak new reality.
### A Story That Unravels Like No Other
As the story unfolds, the plot threads of *Silent Hill f* unravel in a way only this franchise can deliver. Revelations about the world and characters stopped me dead in my tracks on multiple occasions, forcing me to rethink earlier segments of the game.
If fans were concerned that *Silent Hill f* would stray from the series’ thematic roots, fear not. This title presents a deeply mature narrative with themes of abuse, bullying, and self-harm. It’s heavy stuff, and worth an extra moment of consideration if any of those topics could be triggering for you.
### Pray for Salvation: Combat and Gameplay Mechanics
As you walk the foggy streets of Ebisugaoka, you’ll find yourself face-to-face with the unsightly monsters now inhabiting the town. The first (and most frequent) enemies you’ll encounter are fleshy, mannequin-like creatures who contort their bodies as they walk and sprint in disjointed movements. I hope that description does justice to their freakiness because I never quite got used to seeing them.
Luckily, Hinako can take up arms with weapons she finds around town, such as lead pipes and bladed objects. The combat setup is fairly straightforward, featuring standard and heavy attacks that can be combined to dispatch enemies. Hinako can also dodge and even counter enemy attacks if you time a heavy attack during a visual cue.
Once you grasp how combat works, a few elements shake things up. Most notably, *Silent Hill f* features weapon durability. This means the quality of your gear degrades and eventually breaks after enough use. Toolkits can repair weapons but aren’t exactly easy to come by.
Another innovative feature is the sanity meter players must manage alongside health and stamina. Sanity depletes from damage and environmental hazards. If your sanity runs out, Hinako loses health instead. Fortunately, items exist to replenish health and sanity, often serving additional purposes at Hokoras.
### Hokoras: Checkpoints and Upgrades
Hokoras act basically as checkpoints where you can save your game and upgrade Hinako. This is primarily done through the Faith system—a currency earned by enshrining items found during your journey. Faith can be exchanged for health, stamina, and sanity upgrades.
Using Faith, you can also draw a random Omamori—special items that provide passive bonuses during exploration and combat. You can increase how many Omamori Hinako holds at once by spending Faith as well. This system creates a dynamic experience where you’re constantly juggling items, deciding what’s worth keeping and what should be enshrined.
It’s a true survival game at heart. You’ll inevitably face moments when you’re low on healing items during critical fights or short on toolkits facing waves of enemies. Yet hoarding items isn’t always the best strategy either since it may force you to pass up other valuable items and stunt Hinako’s progression.
### Fear Tactics: Crafting a Terrifying Atmosphere
As a horror game, *Silent Hill f* wouldn’t be a true success without delivering scares. Let me be absolutely clear: this game is scary as hell. The developers craft terror not just through jump-scares (though there are a fair share) but by leveraging atmosphere to create a constant feeling of dread.
I found myself carefully turning corners and walking into buildings, fearful that something was about to jump out. Sometimes it did. More often, though, nothing happened—and my heart rate soared anyway. To me, that’s the hallmark of a good horror game.
I mentioned earlier that the creatures are hard to look at. Well, the only thing worse than seeing them is hearing them. The sound design in *Silent Hill f* ranks among the best I’ve experienced in a horror game.
The sounds of Hinako breathing through her nose as wooden planks creaked beneath her feet heightened my own stress while exploring quiet buildings of Ebisugaoka. The mechanical twisting and turning of the mannequin-like enemies is etched into my mind.
In one puzzle sequence (which I won’t spoil), I realized enemies were sneaking up behind me when I turned away, made clear by the sound of their shuffling footsteps. I almost threw my headset off when I realized it.
Despite this being late in the franchise’s history, *Silent Hill f* still manages to deliver unique scares, primarily thanks to the new setting and infusion of Japanese horror elements. Fans will spot references to previous games but the fresh horror vibe remains strong.
### Cutscenes and Pacing
There are plenty of cutscenes used to stitch the story together between gameplay segments, and many feature strong voice acting. While I enjoyed watching them, I did find that the cutscenes appeared a bit too frequently at times—especially early in the game.
This can disrupt pacing and give players a reprieve when they should be feeling the opposite: mounting tension. Additionally, cutscenes are capped at 30 FPS on PC, which is noticeable when the rest of the game runs at significantly higher frame rates.
### Seeing Through the Fog
*Silent Hill f* thoroughly gets under your skin. It challenges you with objectives like “go ahead and escape,” making every jump scare earned all the more satisfying. I loved the unique combat challenges as I transitioned from puzzle to puzzle, and the story’s overarching mystery is one truly worthy of the *Silent Hill* name.
This review is based on a Steam code provided by the publisher.
**Silent Hill f** launches on September 25, 2025, for PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PS5.
https://www.shacknews.com/article/146036/silent-hill-f-review-score