Konami has successfully established high expectations for Silent Hill f, which looks like a radical new direction for the franchise with plenty of talent at the helm. Indeed, this next chapter in the storied horror series is poised to maintain the momentum of the astonishingly good Silent Hill 2 remake last year, hopefully bringing the IP back into the modern mainstream.
Silent Hill is a beloved franchise, no doubt, but it's also one that is particularly controversial. The first few entries are considered not just best-in-class horror games, but some of the best games of all time, full stop. But after Silent Hill 4, the series began to lose its identity a bit, stumbling with hit-and-miss releases, but it received a death blow in 2014 thanks to the separation of Konami and Hideo Kojima, who was meant to helm Silent Hills alongside director Guillermo Del Toro. In the following years, Konami and Silent Hill's reputation continued to nosedive, especially as the studio opted to use the IP for questionable, unpopular business ventures like pachinko machines. Things are on the upswing now, but it's up to Silent Hill f to keep it that way.
Why Silent Hill f's Protagonist Focus is a Wonderful Sign
With the most recent Silent Hill f trailer drawing back the curtain on the game, audiences can get a good look at its promising protagonist.
Silent Hill f Is Potentially Existential for the Franchise
Silent Hill's Revival Is One for Three
Against all expectations, Bloober Team's Silent Hill 2 remake turned out to be fantastic, introducing a new generation of gamers to the original's seminal narrative while reminding original fans why SH was so beloved in the first place. But at the risk of raining on a parade, it's worth remembering that the two Silent Hill projects preceding the remake were received remarkably poorly, only confirming the negative options many had about modern Silent Hill.
Silent Hill: Ascension, a community choose-your-own-adventure story, was buried in a landslide of criticism, with many pointing out its insensitive handling of controversial topics and ostensible fetishization of trauma. It seemed that Ascension took all the wrong lessons from games like the original Silent Hill 2, latching on to shock value and disturbing subject matter while forgetting about nuance. The negative feedback got so bad that Genvid, the studio behind Ascension's development, had to publicly refute allegations that it was written by generative AI.
Ascension relied heavily on microtransactions as well, which didn't help it garner affection from audiences.
Then there's Silent Hill: The Short Message which, while not nearly as maligned as Ascension, was hardly hailed as a modern classic. Reviews ranged from middling to devastating, with many viewing it as more like a parody of Silent Hill than a worthwhile, creatively valuable entry. The Short Message is free-to-play, which should have helped it reach a wide audience, but it seems to have been forgotten about as quickly as it arrived, which says a lot about its reception.
Silent Hill f Has the Chance to Set the Series Straight
The Silent Hill 2 remake may have been great, but it was based on an already beloved, critically acclaimed property. That's not to discount the work that Bloober did—the remake is exceptionally well-crafted—but it's a completely different ballgame from making an original, new story. Ascension and The Short Message attempted to do just that, and few would argue that they succeeded. Thus, Silent Hill f is positioned to carry the franchise into the future, as it were.
Luckily, the game looks promising. The recent reveal trailer highlights its unapologetically horrifying tone and visuals, and the project seems to capture the spirit of Silent Hill while still feeling new. These elements, coupled with the clear passion displayed by its creators, might just get Silent Hill f over the finish line, establishing it as a bold, well-crafted next step for the series. Then, Konami can look proudly to the future rather than staying fixated on the past.
Silent Hill f
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 86 /100 Critics Rec: 87%
- Released
- September 25, 2025
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Partial Nudity
- Developer(s)
- Neobards Entertainment
- Publisher(s)
- Konami
WHERE TO PLAY
In 1960s Japan, Shimizu Hinako's secluded town of Ebisugaoka is consumed by a sudden fog, transforming her home into a haunting nightmare.
As the town falls silent and the fog thickens, Hinako must navigate the twisted paths of Ebisugaoka, solving complex puzzles and confronting grotesque monsters to survive.
Immerse yourself into Hinako's world imagined by renowned author Ryukishi07, with entrancing music, including pieces by Akira Yamaoka, and beautiful visuals in a gripping tale of doubt, regret, and inescapable choices. Will Hinako embrace the beauty hidden within terror, or succumb to the madness that lies ahead?
Discover a new chapter in the SILENT HILL series, blending psychological horror with a haunting Japanese setting.
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- Franchise
- Silent Hill
- Number of Players
- Single-player
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- Playable
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror, Action
- X|S Optimized
- Yes
