Silent Hill f Review: The Series’ Best Since Silent Hill 2

As a lifelong Silent Hill fan, I went into Silent Hill f with high hopes and a healthy dose of caution. The series has had a rocky stretch since its early peak, so a fresh interpretation from a new developer, NeoBards, was both exciting and a little nerve wracking.

I am thrilled to say those hopes were more than rewarded. Silent Hill f is not just a good entry in the series, it is, in my view, the best the franchise has delivered since the original Silent Hill 2 set the bar more than twenty years ago.

A big part of that comes from its setting. The game unfolds in a rural Japanese town in the 1960s, and that specific time and place blends beautifully with the rotting, unsettling atmosphere the series is known for. NeoBards’ environmental design is genuinely stunning, building dread into every corner.

The other key is the writing. Story duties fall to the celebrated Ryukishi07, and his background in long, literary visual novels gives the game the feel of a horror novel rather than a horror film. The result is Hinako, who I would call the most sympathetic and well developed protagonist the series has ever had.

Without spoiling its many sharp twists, Silent Hill f succeeds at the most important job a psychological horror game has: it gets inside your head and keeps a steady, mounting fear alive from start to finish.

My take: This is everything I wanted from a new Silent Hill and then some. If you have been waiting for the series to truly come back, Silent Hill f is the real thing, and I cannot recommend it enough.