Horror reaches new heights in a foggy new world
By Paul Hunter
Konami, in partnership with NeoBards Entertainment, have returned their famed horror series to consoles with Silent Hill f on PS5. The game drops you into 1960s rural Japan, into the fog-swallowed town of Ebisugaoka, where Hinako Shimizu’s story begins. The writing comes from Ryukishi07, and that pedigree shows in the layered mysteries and unsettling beats.
The design blends classic Silent Hill tools—exploration, puzzles, environmental detail—with fresh systems that change how you approach danger. Combat leans on stamina and a sanity-tied Focus ability, and weapons are improvised and wear down, so every scrape feels meaningful.
Puzzles are dense and satisfying, the map and shortcuts reward careful exploration, and the journal collects the scraps you need to work things out. Visually, the game relies on fog, creepy shrines and botanical horrors to keep tension high.
There’s real thought in progression too: you’ll find shrine-based upgrades, multiple endings and a New Game Plus that asks you to return for more. I loved how the game balanced thought and threat, and it kept me curious the whole way.
So the question remains, is Silent Hill f worth stepping into Ebisugaoka’s fog for? Let’s find out!
I remember the first time the fog tightened in Silent Hill f and how quickly ordinary streets turned hostile. You start with Hinako after a blowup at home, and the next thing you know the town is emptying and her friends Shu, Sakuko and Rinko are either hiding or gone. That early breakup of the group set the emotional tone for me: every stray note or abandoned lunchbox I discovered afterward contained details that felt personal.
Ryukishi07’s script leans heavily on suggestion and interpretation. Cutscenes lay out key beats, but the meat comes from scattered documents and Hinako’s own journal entries, which are very detailed I should add. I liked how sketches and diary notes change as events unfold. The journal made clues manageable without robbing you of the satisfaction of connecting dots. Environmental storytelling does a lot of heavy lifting too—objects and small scenes imply stories and history the dialogue does not.
The game layers in ritual and cult elements that link the town to a strange Otherworld. A polite fox-masked figure shows up in that realm, and those encounters carried a steady chill. Themes of shame, family wounds and social expectation thread through character interactions. At times I questioned who deserved sympathy and who earned suspicion; that moral grey made me invested in each character's story.
Certain scenes push into truly disturbing territory, and they stick with you because they serve the themes. Twists are foreshadowed rather than sprung, which made the reveals land harder for me personally. The story keeps you thinking, and I enjoyed the slow work of piecing the town’s troubling past together.
The gameplay design in Silent Hill f balances tight combat mechanics with rewarding exploration. Stamina management, measured strikes and timed dodges create a combat rhythm that asks you to think before swinging. You also get stronger Focus attacks that can stagger or slow enemies, but they deplete your Sanity guage, adding a resource-based risk and reward loop.
Weapons are mainly melee based—baseball bats, pipes, crowbars—and scavenged tools degrade with use. Fortunately, repair kits can be found to repair the durability of weapons, but even with them I avoided optional fights to save my best gear for mandatory encounters. That scarcity reinforced the survival theme and made each clash meaningful and tense.
Focus mode often felt decisive. Sacrificing some Sanity to land a Focus attack turned several encounters for me, especially when multiple enemies crowded a corridor or when up against a terrifying boss. With perfect dodges replenishing stamina, combat felt like a timing puzzle as much as a brawl.
Enemy design emphasises distinct mechanics over sheer numbers. Doll-like creatures, a hulking knife-armed enemy and unsettling variants each came with patterns to learn. Boss battles required specific approaches and often rewarded environmental use and patience, aligning combat with narrative stakes.
Progression ties to the Hokora shrine systems: collect Ema and Faith, then spend these currencies to upgrade stats, or draw Omamori accessories, which you can equip for passive effects. Shrines also allow you to save the game, making them a welcome and much needed sight along your journey.
Visually, Silent Hill f uses fog and detailed environments to sell its world. Volumetrics and UE5 lighting make Ebisugaoka feel tactile; everyday objects provide a believable backdrop that the horror can then corrupt. Textures and scene composition reinforced that sense of terror.
Creature and boss design stand out for their textural detail. Botanical corruptions and protruding body part elements are integrated into enemy silhouettes and animations, producing a gallery of unsettling images. The human character models are excellent too, particularly Hinako and her fox friend, and facial work often produces emotional scenes.
Audio work is a major plus. The score carries melancholy and dread while ambient sounds cue exploration and threat. Voice performances contributed to the emotional weight of many scenes, and environmental audio often guided my attention before visual cues did.
Performance is mostly stable on PS5 Pro Enhanced, averaging 60 FPS, though I noticed a few microstutters in the main village and during combat. Camera clipping and odd angles appeared in confined spaces occasionally, which briefly affected immersion.
Those small technical faults do not overshadow a presentation that pairs detail-rich environments with sound and creature work that enhance the scary mood. The result is a thick sensory package that makes the town feel both ordinary and unsettling in many ways.
Final Score: 9/10 - Amazing
Developer: NeoBards Entertainment
Publisher: Konami
Genre: Survival Horror
Modes: Single-player
A key was provided by the publisher.
By Paul Hunter
Konami, in partnership with NeoBards Entertainment, have returned their famed horror series to consoles with Silent Hill f on PS5. The game drops you into 1960s rural Japan, into the fog-swallowed town of Ebisugaoka, where Hinako Shimizu’s story begins. The writing comes from Ryukishi07, and that pedigree shows in the layered mysteries and unsettling beats.
The design blends classic Silent Hill tools—exploration, puzzles, environmental detail—with fresh systems that change how you approach danger. Combat leans on stamina and a sanity-tied Focus ability, and weapons are improvised and wear down, so every scrape feels meaningful.
Puzzles are dense and satisfying, the map and shortcuts reward careful exploration, and the journal collects the scraps you need to work things out. Visually, the game relies on fog, creepy shrines and botanical horrors to keep tension high.
There’s real thought in progression too: you’ll find shrine-based upgrades, multiple endings and a New Game Plus that asks you to return for more. I loved how the game balanced thought and threat, and it kept me curious the whole way.
So the question remains, is Silent Hill f worth stepping into Ebisugaoka’s fog for? Let’s find out!
I remember the first time the fog tightened in Silent Hill f and how quickly ordinary streets turned hostile. You start with Hinako after a blowup at home, and the next thing you know the town is emptying and her friends Shu, Sakuko and Rinko are either hiding or gone. That early breakup of the group set the emotional tone for me: every stray note or abandoned lunchbox I discovered afterward contained details that felt personal.
Ryukishi07’s script leans heavily on suggestion and interpretation. Cutscenes lay out key beats, but the meat comes from scattered documents and Hinako’s own journal entries, which are very detailed I should add. I liked how sketches and diary notes change as events unfold. The journal made clues manageable without robbing you of the satisfaction of connecting dots. Environmental storytelling does a lot of heavy lifting too—objects and small scenes imply stories and history the dialogue does not.
The game layers in ritual and cult elements that link the town to a strange Otherworld. A polite fox-masked figure shows up in that realm, and those encounters carried a steady chill. Themes of shame, family wounds and social expectation thread through character interactions. At times I questioned who deserved sympathy and who earned suspicion; that moral grey made me invested in each character's story.
Certain scenes push into truly disturbing territory, and they stick with you because they serve the themes. Twists are foreshadowed rather than sprung, which made the reveals land harder for me personally. The story keeps you thinking, and I enjoyed the slow work of piecing the town’s troubling past together.
The gameplay design in Silent Hill f balances tight combat mechanics with rewarding exploration. Stamina management, measured strikes and timed dodges create a combat rhythm that asks you to think before swinging. You also get stronger Focus attacks that can stagger or slow enemies, but they deplete your Sanity guage, adding a resource-based risk and reward loop.
Weapons are mainly melee based—baseball bats, pipes, crowbars—and scavenged tools degrade with use. Fortunately, repair kits can be found to repair the durability of weapons, but even with them I avoided optional fights to save my best gear for mandatory encounters. That scarcity reinforced the survival theme and made each clash meaningful and tense.
Focus mode often felt decisive. Sacrificing some Sanity to land a Focus attack turned several encounters for me, especially when multiple enemies crowded a corridor or when up against a terrifying boss. With perfect dodges replenishing stamina, combat felt like a timing puzzle as much as a brawl.
Enemy design emphasises distinct mechanics over sheer numbers. Doll-like creatures, a hulking knife-armed enemy and unsettling variants each came with patterns to learn. Boss battles required specific approaches and often rewarded environmental use and patience, aligning combat with narrative stakes.
Progression ties to the Hokora shrine systems: collect Ema and Faith, then spend these currencies to upgrade stats, or draw Omamori accessories, which you can equip for passive effects. Shrines also allow you to save the game, making them a welcome and much needed sight along your journey.
Visually, Silent Hill f uses fog and detailed environments to sell its world. Volumetrics and UE5 lighting make Ebisugaoka feel tactile; everyday objects provide a believable backdrop that the horror can then corrupt. Textures and scene composition reinforced that sense of terror.
Creature and boss design stand out for their textural detail. Botanical corruptions and protruding body part elements are integrated into enemy silhouettes and animations, producing a gallery of unsettling images. The human character models are excellent too, particularly Hinako and her fox friend, and facial work often produces emotional scenes.
Audio work is a major plus. The score carries melancholy and dread while ambient sounds cue exploration and threat. Voice performances contributed to the emotional weight of many scenes, and environmental audio often guided my attention before visual cues did.
Performance is mostly stable on PS5 Pro Enhanced, averaging 60 FPS, though I noticed a few microstutters in the main village and during combat. Camera clipping and odd angles appeared in confined spaces occasionally, which briefly affected immersion.
Those small technical faults do not overshadow a presentation that pairs detail-rich environments with sound and creature work that enhance the scary mood. The result is a thick sensory package that makes the town feel both ordinary and unsettling in many ways.
The Verdict
Silent Hill f drops you into 1960s Ebisugaoka with a Ryukishi07 script that grips you fast and never loosens; combat feels tense and deliberate as you juggle Stamina, Sanity and a Focus attack while makeshift weapons slowly wear down, so every clash becomes a true choice rather than filler. Puzzles, journal scraps and mapped shortcuts reward your curiosity, and shrine-based upgrades plus multiple endings and New Game Plus give you real reasons to come back. The fog, shrine yards and floral corruption make ordinary places feel uncanny, and the soundtrack tugs at your nerve; a little PS5 Pro microstutter and occasional camera fuss appear, but they barely dim the thrill. This is easily one of the finest Silent Hill entries ever, and no fan of the series—or horror games in general—should miss out.Final Score: 9/10 - Amazing
Silent Hill f details
Platform: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PCDeveloper: NeoBards Entertainment
Publisher: Konami
Genre: Survival Horror
Modes: Single-player
A key was provided by the publisher.