Review | Silent Hill f

A Silent F(oggy) Review

13 long years have we waited for a new entry in the Silent Hill franchise. Although this one is a standalone spinoff, it sure feels like a main entry (although very different at the same time). It's a 2025 survival horror game developed by NeoBards Entertainment and published by Konami Digital Entertainment. No Kojima? Nope.

Silent Hill ƒ was built around the Japanese horror concept of "find[ing] the terror in beauty," suggesting that "when something becomes too immensely beautiful and perfect, it becomes deeply unsettling." Konami enlisted writer Ryukishi07, known for his visual novel Higurashi When They Cry, as they believed they needed someone who could "really understand the essence of Japanese horror." Even though the game was conceived as a standalone story, the developers included references to previous Silent Hill games.

I don't mind that this game is very different in terms of location and characters, as the core of the game feels like Silent Hill. Some fans may be disappointed, but to me, this delivered most of what I’d anticipated.

In terms of technical performance, I’ve played it on PS5 Pro, and aside from some flickering on Balanced mode (the only one available on this console version), the game works perfectly, with a couple of hiccups in some parts (but really minor).

Prepare your sanity.

I cherish the lore the most. I know every character in the game, even the name of the laundry washer company — the lore is brilliant, and the story grips tight and never ever lets go

Story and the Characters

If you ask me, this is probably my favorite aspect of the game. I was so deeply involved with the vibe and the characters, I just had to finish the game four times to unlock all endings (there are five, but one is like an Easter egg ending). I think the lore (the documents and such) is very strong. It’s written well, it reads well, and bit by bit, it reveals the story to its full extent.

Hinako, the protagonist, is torn between realities and psychological states of her mind while trying to survive the horror. You will control her in the village of Ebisugaoka, which serves as the main location, with a couple of temples in between that are represented as states of mind to reveal the other side of the story. You can think of the village as the town in other entries, and the other as the "other realm."

The idea of telling Hinako’s story using these realms while involving her parents, fiancé, and her friends is top-notch storytelling that just gets stronger with famous tones from Akira. It’s one messed up, sick package. Really sick.

Also, replaying the game unlocks new locations (not many), scenes (a couple of them), and lore (a lot). Every run feels closer to the truth. I was really satisfied with the endings, each giving more sense, and the last finally revealed what I wanted. I just wish the game got more unique every time, but locations, puzzles, and fights are still the same. You can play on three game and three puzzle difficulties — although not much changes, it’s a welcome option.

The voice acting and 100% Japanese setting are, for me, a welcome change. I love this, and I think the characters are top-notch (Japanese VA is the best).

Game Design, Exploration

This is still Silent Hill. You explore, survive, and overcome puzzles to enter a new state of mind, which ultimately leads to the finale. It's all about exploring beautiful locations full of details, collecting as much as you can, and just surviving while pushing further.

The first playthrough is the best — when everything is new and fresh, it’s fun exploring and trying to collect everything. I love the spooky feeling every second; I love how you can check every part of the town (almost), how everything fits together. I do love the town the most, while "dream" areas are cool but not so vivid.

The town is presented in semi-open areas, mostly linear and tied to certain chapters. It changes all the time as you progress. I loved it; I knew it like the back of my hand. I do wish that New Game Plus playthroughs had different locations, but other than some new houses, there is nothing for you to find other than more lore (documents) that will explain the story further. It’s a well-constructed core of the game, but a little bit short, so it feels stretched with five endings while keeping most of the game the same.

Still, it feels so good to be a part of everything — it just naturally grips and never really lets go. Even with all the minus points, I think this is one of my favorite stories of the year.

What do your friends think of you? What is behind the drunk father and family violence? Everything is intertwined in the best possible way.

Combat

I was deliberately avoiding mentioning the combat. As soon as the game starts, you will find your first pipe and the first enemy. From that moment, I knew the combat was pure garbage — and I wasn’t wrong. It feels like a bad attempt at dodge + attack mechanics, but executed poorly, with bad camera angles. It often feels like a game of chess rather than part of a horror game. Sure, it’s grotesque, sick — but it’s clunky and honestly, just bad.

On the highest difficulty, you will "feel" it the most. Dodging doesn’t feel good, and enemy movement sucks. Even counters on each enemy feel shallow. It’s like they wanted you to really feel hopeless — mission success. Boss fights are okay, but it just feels like mashing and healing rather than trying to control the flow. I would say that the combat is secondary here, but still, I just dislike it.

Just imagine picking up only melee weapons, repairing them (they have durability bars), and using them to kill enemies when you see fit. There are some hidden weapons, which I like, but it’s nothing that can save this aspect of the game. Just accept it, and you will still have a good time.

One last thing — enemy variety sucks. I was constantly in fear of everything — that rules — but I wish there was more to it.

Just think of combat as something you get in an almost perfect game otherwise — and I think other segments are strong enough to keep everything together.

Side Content

There are different endings, as mentioned. You can collect Omamori emblems and equip them — and collect points to level up four categories of stats. Emblems can raise your stamina or health or give some buffs to help you out. Really basic stuff. It’s good to invest points (you can offer extra items at save points to get Omamori points), but it’s a bit of a disappointment. No rocket launcher? Ah.

You can also extend inventory (but not much), and that is it! Secrets are tied to endings, so you must follow the requirements to get different ones, and that is what I loved the most. Everything else is about the lore, and if you love games where every character has a role (and a relation), you will love this one a lot. Plus, I don’t know if I could survive more gore and horror — this game is scary as hell.

I loved the alien ending! The rest — you need some guts to see through it all.

Conclusion

Even though we’ve got a spinoff title, it still feels like Silent Hill — just a bit different. The characters are especially strong and well-written, and Hinako’s state of mind is what I’ve loved the most. I love how well everything is written and presented, and how sick everything is — I can’t praise that enough. The combat may suck, but everything else is close to perfection — minus the puzzles and probably the character customization. It's around 12-15h long, with each new run it gets to 30 hours if you want to unlock everything (a little bit pricy if you ask me).

Still, if you want a horror dosage, this one has more horror than most of the games you’ve played. It’s a brilliant, interesting game for sure. Give me more.