Silent Hill f evaluation – an immediate horror traditional

Silent Hill 2 is, no doubt, an important and celebrated recreation within the collection. As a long-time fan, I wasn’t completely bought on the 2024 remake, nor am I excited for Bloober’s upcoming tackle the unique. Silent Hill f was totally different, although. I felt a superb new entry was one of the simplest ways to reignite Silent Hill for a contemporary viewers, not tampering with what made the primary three video games so beloved. I used to be proper.

Silent Hill f embodies the whole lot particular concerning the collection – notably Silent Hill 2 – with out attempting to repeat it body for body. Its trendy graphics and design sensibilities typically complement it quite than detract, with developer Neobards altering what it may possibly whereas staying true to the essence of the collection’ greatest. It makes Silent Hill f is an immediate traditional that sears itself into the canon in a method that Homecoming, Downpour, The Quick Message, and plenty of others couldn’t.

We open on a cutscene of our teenage protagonist, Hinako, sitting at a dinner desk along with her household in small-town Nineteen Sixties Japan. There is a tense environment. Her father is abusive, her mom is timid, Hinako is rebellious, and we instantly have a style of what demons this younger woman could also be dealing with.

The title display follows, and these few seconds tease what we will count on from Silent Hill f. An eerily nostalgic melody tells you with out a shadow of a doubt that you’re, in reality, taking part in a Silent Hill recreation. In the meantime, the nohkan flute (or related high-pitched instrument) and Japanese lyrics excessive gracefully merge the collection’ historical past with its new setting.

From right here, you set out in your first quest: ‘head down the mountain’. Once more, this mundane activity mimics the opening of Silent Hill 2. Simply as James Sunderland descends into city, Hinako follows in his footsteps. We’re simply minutes in, and already it is clear that – on the very least – we’re in for a tasteful homage.

That mentioned, I wasn’t instantly taken by f. A wind whistles by means of your headset, maybe even rain, however the bushes and leaves round you might be oddly static. Hinako strikes awkwardly as she stomps down the hill, and it feels clunky in a method that put me off after its expertly executed intro. However do not let these first impressions deter you from persevering with into the fog. Regardless of some stiff animations – I am taking a look at you, Shu – Silent Hill f slowly blossoms into one thing lovely.

Upon arriving on the backside of the mountain, you attain Ebisugaoka, a Showa-era Japanese city and residential to Hinako and her highschool associates. Naturally, Ebisugaoka is wildly totally different in look from Silent Hill, however exploration continues to be acquainted. You do not decide up a map; as a substitute, it will get stuffed in as you discover extra of Hinako’s warped hometown. Many of the townspeople are lacking, vehicles and different particles block your path, many doorways are locked tight, and the intricate alleyways of Ebisugaoka really feel like they may nearly be imposed on high of a map of Silent Hill. I felt at dwelling, even among the many monsters.

Fairly than the Otherworld as we all know it, the secondary location in Silent Hill f is named the Darkish Shrine, and is totally totally different in fashion and gameplay. That is no dangerous factor. One in all my foremost gripes with the Silent Hill 2 remake, as I elaborate on in my SH2 remake evaluation, is that its trendy graphics put too clear a shine on the Otherworld’s grotesque environment. The place PS2-era graphics lent themselves completely to the uncomfortable, claustrophobic environment of SH2’s Otherworld, Silent Hill f’s equal is as a substitute an opulent house that’s unsettling for various causes.

The Darkish Shrine is not merely an alternate model of Ebisugaoka, however a dream world Hinako enters when asleep or knocked out, which occurs lots. It is as lovely as it’s haunting, with out of doors areas shaped largely of bridges surrounded by water or fog, whereas its interiors are primarily corridors lined with gilded kitsune statues and rooms devoted to shrines and talismans. It is a separate world the place Hinako’s fears come to gentle. The deity of Inari, depicted in Japanese tradition by the kitsune fox, is the recurring theme right here, representing shapeshifting or, extra precisely, transformation.

However simply because the Darkish Shrine would not appear to be Ebisugaoka, does not imply it isn’t the opposite half of the identical coin. The step by step deteriorating city represents Hinako’s present decline in the true world, whereas the Darkish Shrine exhibits her fears for the long run. That is nonetheless a Silent Hill story with a brand new protagonist. New fears. New threats. A brand new world.

Previous to launch, we knew that Neobards was leaning into the Japanese horror trope of ‘terror in magnificence’. This thread weaves by means of the whole thing of Silent Hill f, not simply actually in Hinako’s personal journey, but additionally in each the palatial design of the Darkish Shrine and the floral illness corrupting Ebisugaoka. Making this much more poetic is the truth that the monsters, notably the mannequin-like enemies, change as the sport progresses and their an infection worsens. The extra ‘contaminated’ they’re, the extra lovely they develop, and the harder they change into. With out giving an excessive amount of away, this appears to symbolize resilience, notably that of the sport’s ladies. The extra these lovely feminine types stand up to, the extra they undergo by means of and survive, and the stronger they develop.

This wasn’t misplaced on me as an enormous fan of Masahiro Ito. Having labored on nearly each Silent Hill recreation earlier than f, it was disappointing to listen to the creator of the model, nurse, and Pyramid Head would haven’t any involvement right here. Whereas I preserve, notably taking a look at his Sakurahead design from The Quick Message, that he would have been an enormous asset to Silent Hill f, the artist merely often known as Kera has accomplished outstanding work in his stead. Kera’s new tackle mannequins and their gradual descent into corruption is simply the beginning, as childhood toys mutate into monsters, whereas some of the placing enemies depicts the horrors of motherhood in grotesque kind.

Talking of monsters, the horror recreation’s fight is deeply satisfying. Each enemy kind has a singular moveset to be taught, starting from fast slashes and extensive, heavy swings to lunging ranged assaults. The additional you progress, the extra foes you may need to face directly, with frequent boss battles placing up the stiffest problem. At occasions, it is more durable to keep away from monsters than within the earlier video games, forcing you into fight encounters that you simply might need hoped to keep away from. To make this much less of a difficulty, weapons and well being objects are prevalent throughout Ebisugaoka, which typically makes Silent Hill f really feel simpler than it ought to on the beneficial problem setting. Some consumables even have a secondary use, as you’ll be able to commerce them in at save factors for Religion, which in flip can be utilized to improve your well being, stamina, and different attributes.

One returning member of Group Silent is sound designer and composer Akira Yamaoka – presumably why that opening theme sounds so acquainted. Whereas a newcomer like Kera could have accomplished an unbelievable job along with her monster designs, having Yamaoka compose Ebisugaoka’s soundtrack appears like a necessity. With each step, each sound, and each musical sting, you are once more reminded that that is the true deal. That mentioned, Akira can also be joined by Kensuke Inage for the Darkish Shrine’s sounds and music. I initially questioned the choice to have one other composer for the Otherworld. Nonetheless, allowing for my earlier ideas on why the Darkish Shrine is true to be a completely separate location, it makes whole sense for Inage to provide it a special sound.

Simply as essential because the setting and fight are the puzzles, which Silent Hill f nails. There are some easy teasers, some you’ll be able to brute pressure, and others that require actual thought – notably on onerous mode. Whereas they’re all new and relate seamlessly to the continuing story, they once more really feel of a bit with essentially the most memorable moments from Silent Hill’s previous.

One of many solely complaints I’ve is that Silent Hill f is maybe not as refined as a few of its predecessors. The collection is famend for its allegory and leaving room for interpretation, however a lot of Hinako’s concern and loathing is laid on thick. The story, written by first-time SH author Ryukishi07, maintains some thriller into its again half, however voice traces like “The street twists and turns; it is like I am strolling by means of my head,” depart little to the creativeness. Whereas we’re not in Silent Hill, a thick fog is solid over each Ebisugaoka and the Darkish Shrine, however a literal ‘Fog Monster’ is possibly a bit too on the nostril.

There’s additionally the problem of saving your progress. Desperately trying to find a devoted save level or navigating your method again to 1 is as a lot part of the traditional Silent Hill expertise because the fog. Sadly, Neobards leaves this up to now by including a frequent autosave that you would be able to’t flip off. Taking a leaf out of the soulslike guide, nonetheless, the Hokora shrines are additionally the place you may stage up or commerce in objects, making them an important characteristic even when you do not have to depend on them to save lots of.

Maybe f’s extra direct storytelling and autosaves are a part of a aware resolution to convey the collection updated for a time when consideration spans are significantly decrease. Regardless of its ’60s setting, it nonetheless addresses a number of very actual, current-day points, comparable to patriarchal management, feminine oppression, and psychological well being. That is Silent Hill, in spite of everything.

The factor with making a brand new recreation in a beloved collection is that comparisons to earlier entries are inevitable and sometimes obligatory. If you are going to use the Silent Hill identify, it’s important to do it justice. Whereas I used to be at occasions uncertain that Neobards might earn its place in Silent Hill historical past, f has actually received me over. It is a superb homage to the collection as a complete that concurrently units out a robust imaginative and prescient for its future.