After Bloober Team's highly-received Silent Hill 2 Remake last year, all eyes are on Silent Hill f as the upcoming latest installment in the storied series. The original SH2 is often considered one of the best and most important games in the psychological survival horror genre, and though there were some questions initially surrounding it, the reworked version delivered an excellent experience that captured the weight of the original while adjusting for modern sensibilities. Konami then tapped developer NeoBards for a new original entry in the IP, and Silent Hill f promises to move beyond some of the franchise's established and expected foundational elements while still retaining the core ingredients that define it.
Releasing soon on September 25, Silent Hill f will mark an experimental direction and some significant departures for the series, but also aim to retain its intrinsic spirit. In many ways, it looks to iterate on the updates and improvements imparted into the SH2 Remake while telling a completely new tale in a fresh setting. This approach has many fans equal parts excited and cautious about how it will pan out. But the prospect of an original entry after a long period of dormancy is nevertheless compelling. And if Silent Hill f does succeed in moving the series forward in a bold new way, this could mean going back to its origins will be more of a challenge.
Konami and Bloober confirmed previous assumptions earlier this summer that they will be partnering again for the Silent Hill 1 remake, though no release window has been provided as yet.
After Silent Hill f, It May be More Difficult for the Franchise to Return to its Roots
Silent Hill Has Walked a Rocky Road to its Present State
The first few entries, particularly Silent Hill 1 through SH3, which were developed mostly by the original Team Silent, are held in high regard as classics. However, after this period, the general sentiment was that Silent Hill started to go a little downhill, stumbling along the way. Of note, the titles in question during this time were largely developed by Western studios, and resulted in a string of more unevenly received and reviewed games compared to the original trio.
|
Game |
Release Year |
Developer |
|
Silent Hill: Homecoming |
2008 |
Double Helix Games |
|
Silent Hill: Shattered Memories |
2009 |
Climax Studios |
|
Silent Hill: Downpour |
2012 |
Vatra Games |
But with NeoBards at the helm for Silent Hill f, and it drawing heavily from a Japanese-influenced setting and characters, it may pave a new path for SH that can't be walked back.
Why There Might be No Going Back for the Series After Silent Hill f
As the first major entry in the series in over 20 years, Silent Hill 2 Remake was a phenomenal success. In some ways, it seemed a safe bet for Konami to remake arguably the most popular title, but its success was far from guaranteed. Now that the franchise has been given a positive shot in the arm, though, the changes that Silent Hill f promises to make, not the least of which is being set in rural 1960s Japan, could wind up setting the stage for more similar shifts in direction in the future and continuing to distance SH from its past.
Technically, Silent Hill f isn't the first to be set in a location other than the iconic town, as for example, Homecoming takes place in protagonist Alex's home of Shepherd's Glen.
Depending on Silent Hill f's reception, the series could then find itself at an interesting crossroads. If it also proves successful, and fans embrace its changes in direction, it could then inform how Konami handles the IP going forward. Another major consideration is Silent Hill Townfall, the next project in line after Silent Hill f, although not many details are currently known about its direction. But reading between the lines of the implications of the title itself, Konami may be planning to return more firmly to the series' roots next. And this could end up being a double-edged sword if Silent Hill f is received well, and player sentiment then calls for further games in the same style and vein compared to more traditional directions.
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
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror, Action
