Silent Hill f: rebirth or reinvention for the iconic series
Konami’s bold new entry divides fans with combat-heavy mechanics, but its haunting story and atmosphere hint at a revival for the iconic horror franchise.
By M.J. Cameron
With the 2024 remake of the classic Silent Hill 2 and the reveal of Silent Hill f, the first mainline entry since 2012, Konami has reignited one of horror gaming’s most iconic franchises.
Silent Hill F launched Sept. 25 and stars Hinako Shimizu, a high school student in a 1960s Japanese town that is swallowed by fog and nightmarish creatures. To survive, she must solve puzzles and explore both her decaying town and hellish Otherworld to uncover the secrets behind the town’s transformation.
Since the remake of Silent Hill 2, fans worry about the series’ direction. The original team, Team Silent, created Silent Hill as atmosphere first, combat second according to GameRant. Critics praised the remake’s modern take on the 2001 classic, but fans argued it leaned too heavily on combat.
Konami revealed Silent Hill f on Oct. 19, 2022, and decided to make the bold change from a small town in the U.S to Japan, along with a combat system that fans worry could alienate long-term players.
The trailers of the game showcased a melee-centered combat system, a stamina bar and even perfect dodge. This change caused fans to question if the series was truly back or if this was just a Silent Hill game in name only, according to ScreenRant.
Debate among fans around the new system has frustrated Konami. With fans claiming they’re moving away from the classics to calling it a “soulslike,” producer Motoi Okamoto defended the game in a 2025 Gamescon interview with IGN.
“But to be very honest, a lot of these things we actually pulled from classic Silent Hill titles.” Okamoto said. “Look at Silent Hill 4 — there’s a charge meter for your attacks, kind of like our Focus meter. And even for Silent Hill 3 there’s a stamina meter. You see it later on.”
Although fans remain divided on the modern take to the series, early access reviewers are beginning to surface.
GamesRadar’s video review commented on the combat, calling the fights “too clunky, leading to situations where enemies descend on Hinako and it ends up feeling irritating.”
Even though many reviewers criticized the combat, they praised the story and atmosphere, placing them above gameplay concerns.
This new installment honors the spirit of the franchise while taking bold risks with its new formula to feel hopeful about the future of the series with Konami according to Polygon. The franchise has not shied away from graphic topics and adult violence, but this installment displays violence beyond what “Silent Hill” has traditionally portrayed.
Gamespot calls the fictional town of Ebisugaoka much like Silent Hill; eerie, beautiful and anxiety-inducing. Areas feel less linear than expected and certain ones have stories that can impact the ending.
The story gives players the compulsion to dive deeper into Hinako’s headspace and what it meant to be a woman in 1960s Japan. Players see how isolating becoming a woman can be through subtle jabs at Hinako’s femininity, her parent’s dynamic and through her journal entries.
Even with its modern reinvention, Silent Hill f holds true to the series’ roots, offering a deliberately opaque and complex narrative that confuses as much as it compels.
Konami’s bold choices in story, combat and subject matter may divide fans, but they also push the franchise into psychological territory. Hinako’s journey is a disturbing reflection on identity, isolation and the pressures of womanhood, and as the fog settles over Ebisugaoka, one question remains: What truly happened to Hinako?
