Silent Hill fans were given more than they bargained for in October 2022. Konami hosted a Silent Hill showcase where they revealed not just one but four games in the works (along with another feature film). Outside of the Silent Hill 2 remake, the three other games are all brand-new entries in the acclaimed horror franchise. Out of all of those announcements, the one that many consider the most exciting is the mysteriously titled Silent Hill f.
While no game shown off in the showcase had more than either a teaser or short trailer, the look we got at Silent Hill f, plus some extra details that have come out, make it stand out as a major departure from the series in some very curious ways. Just like the titular town itself, Silent Hill f is hiding most of its details behind a thick layer of fog. For everything we do know about this horror title, here’s a breakdown of what’s been shared.
Further reading
- The best horror games of all time
- Trying to find the right scares for you? Here’s a guide to horror game subgenres
- Silent Hill 2 remake: release date, trailers, gameplay, and more
Release date
Alas, Silent Hill f was announced without a release date or window. Because the trailer had no actual game footage and the fact that we expect them to want to space out their numerous releases at least a little, we speculate that Silent Hill f won’t be coming for two or more years.
Platforms
Somewhat surprisingly, Silent Hill f also wasn’t listed with any platforms. We can assume it will come to the current generation of consoles, but whether or not it will be exclusive to any remains to be seen.
Trailers
The teaser trailer for Silent Hill f is very much a tone piece but does give some very important information in what it shows.
The first shots establish the setting of Japan, which is a first for the series. While never explicitly placed, Silent Hill has always been a northeastern town in the U.S., so this will be quite a departure from the usual setting.
After the setting is established, we see a girl in a school uniform standing beside a broken shrine — or perhaps a grave marker — that is overgrowing with strange red flowers. She begins walking through town in a daze, dragging a pipe behind her. Red roots or vines begin crawling up and covering the buildings. When we cut back to the girl, she appears injured, and the red vines start reaching out at her from the walls. She breaks free of their grip and runs into the darkness.
The next shots are incredibly uncomfortable. The girl, trapped, begins sprouting the same red vines out of holes in her skin. They grow and bloom into flowers, covering everything but the lower half of her face … until her face itself falls off.
If you managed to watch that and are still interested, a couple more bits of information came out of the showcase. The first is that Silent Hill f will take place in 1960s Japan and be written by Ryukishi07. This is the writer of many acclaimed visual horror novels such as Higurashi When They Cry, Umineko When They Cry, and Ciconia When They Cry. For those unfamiliar, the When They Cry games, especially the first, are well-loved for their horror and mystery elements involving school-aged children.
The only other thing to note is the developer Neobards. This studio is based in Taiwan and is mainly known for developing Resident Evil: ReVerse and Resident Evil Resistance.
Gameplay
No gameplay was shown, and there wasn’t even a real hint at what it could be like in the trailer. We’d imagine it will be a third-person game with lots of exploration, but it is impossible to know right now.
Multiplayer
Outside of the almost universally despised Silent Hill: Book of Memories, the series has never had a multiplayer element to it. While the developer’s main output prior to Silent Hill f has had a multiplayer focus, we suspect they will stick to a single-player experience for this horror title.
Pre-order
Sorry, but you can’t pre-order Silent Hill f yet. It will likely be a long time before we see it again, and only with a release window can pre-orders start going up. When that happens, we’ll keep you updated.
