It’s been a good long while since Silent Hill f was unveiled as part of Konami’s four-game series revival back in 2022. But now that Bloober Team’s superb Silent Hill 2 Remake is behind us, the publisher is turning its attention to its curious Japan-set follow-up. And thanks to its latest Silent Hill Transmissions stream, we’ve got an eerie new trailer and a few more hints at what’s in store.
Back during its initial 2022 announcement, Konami revealed Silent Hill f is being developed by Neobards Entertainment (which has previously served as a support studio for Capcom’s Resident Evil games), with creature and character design by Kera, and a script by When They Cry writer Ryukishi07. And courtesy of its latest update, now know a little more.
Silent Hill f is, for instance, set in the 1960s and the rural town of Ebisugaoka – based on Kanayama, Gero in the Gifu Prefecture. Here, we meet our protagonist Shimizu Hinako, an “ordinary teenager” who suddenly finds her home shrouded in fog and changed in “horrific” ways. As the events of Silent Hill f play out, she’ll explore a town she no longer recognises, solving puzzles, fighting strange enemies, and eventually having to make a “beautiful yet terrifying” decision that lies at the heart of the game.
That idea of “beauty in terror” is a theme Konami and the development team repeatedly highlighted during its latest Transmissions episode, explaining that while Silent Hill f retains the elements of psychological horror long-time fans will associated with the series, it also deals with some more classically Japanese ideas, such as the notion that “when something becomes too beautiful and perfect, it instead becomes deeply unsettling”.
Addressing Silent Hill f’s potentially controversial shift away from the titular town that’s been the focus of the series since its first outing in 1999, Ryukishi07 explained that while Silent Hill can be considered a physical place with a dark history, it’s equally a series “about portraying characters’ struggles with the evil within themselves – sin, discontent, and conflict – in a visually striking way”. And this, he noted, is a concept Silent Hill f retains, adding, “It’s a gateway into the psychological battles of the human mind.”
Konami also confirmed the return of long-time Silent Hill composer Akira Yamaoka, although this time he’ll only be creating music for Ebisugaoka’s Fog World. Music for its Otherworld (known as the Dark Shrine in Silent Hill f) will be composed by Kensuke Inage, whose musical credits include Tekken 8, Samurai Showdown, and Star Fox Guard. In a message shared during the stream, Inage explained his music will use “imagery from shrines, blending ancient Japanese court music with ambient echoes”, all interwoven with techniques intended to connect the player to the protagonist’s “agonist, internal conflict, fear, and other emotions.”
Elsewhere, Konami teased “creatures that really infiltrate players’ psyches”, alongside some easter eggs for long-time fans to uncover, despite Silent Hill f’s new setting. And that’s pretty much all we’re getting for now. Silent Hill f doesn’t have a release date yet, but it’s set to come to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, with Konami saying it’ll have “plenty more to share in the future”. And until then, there’s new trailer, which you can watch above.
Silent Hill f was one of four new Silent Hill games to be revealed back in 2022. PS5 freebie Silent Hill: The Short Message and Bloober Team’s Silent Hill 2 Remake launched last year, and its fourth project, Silent Hill: Townfall, is being developed by Stories Untold and Observation developer No Code. Annapurna Interactive is still set to serve as publisher, despite a “mass exodus” of staff at the end of last year.