Silent Hill f

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8/10

Good story, like the old ones better!

This might go toe to toe with 2 for me...I'm STILL trying to figure out which one is my favorite

I really appreciated how it put a spotlight on women’s experiences - gender roles, societal pressure. The 1960s setting may feel distant, but that’s exactly why it works, it forces you to question whether things have really changed all that much, particularly in Japan (as someone who is Japanese).

For me, the story delivers on what Silent Hill has always been about: the horrors of being a woman. I’ve seen people say it's “too woke” and overt in the messaging but I think it kind of has to be, to force you the face the issue in a way you can't ignore.

The environment and sound design are incredible, that classic Silent Hill unease where nothing is happening, but it has you on edge.

Now… the combat lolll. I played on hard, and the clunkiness plus the stamina bar actually made some encounters feel tedious, especially when you're having to fight monsters back to back. It wasn’t enough to ruin the experience, but definitely made it slightly frustrating.

I also really wish you could steer the ending on your first run. Locking lore behind multiple replays when the game is only 10–15 hours, and costs £60, is kinda wild. It feels like the multiple endings were used to justify the price, but ain’t nobody replaying a whole story five times in 2025.

Overall, was still a solid experience, despite being slightly disappointed by the ending.

Overall Score: 9.5/10

I was waiting for this game since the first teaser and I was not disappointed.

The gameplay is pretty good , it fits the game. Exploration is well enough, kinda linear though. Atmosphere is great and the environments are fantastic and memorable. My favourites being Ebisugaoka (both at the start and when it gets corrupted) , the school , Shimizu residence, the scarecrow fields and Shuu's house, which though is short and nothing happens there, it had a pretty heavy atmosphere. The combat is good ,it feels awkward in a good way. Parries feel good and heavy and I liked the introduction of fox arm in the shrine as it changed the pace there. The enemies are well designed and interesting ,but during the ending parts the lack of variety was felt, mostly because of the fact that in my first playthrough there were forced fights back to back (thank god they changed that). The bosses were pretty good. Sakuko is easily in my top 3 horror bosses ,such a great design and tough fight for a first playthrough being on hard. Rinko was good ,but my least favourite boss. Hinako's parents is a good fight,but it's kinda disappointing that her father is just a Ara-Abare , which we have already faced. Shiromuku is pretty dope ,but it's more of a scripted fight unfortunately. The other final bosses are cool ,but the true ending final boss, which combines the 2 ng+ bosses is pretty great, especially with the switches between the 2 Hinako's and each boss. The puzzles are great , my favourites were the scarecrow puzzle and the first shrine final puzzle in lost in fog difficulty specifically, which had a pretty out of the box way of thinking. While I enjoy the idea of doing 3 runs to get the full picture of the game , I'd say that it also hurts the experience a little.

The story of this game is phenomenal, easily one of the best. It depicts problems people faced such as forced marriage , roles given by society , domestic violence and the human psyche. It shows all these mythological stuff as a metaphor to pass these messages, which is done crazily well. I love the interpretation of each ending. The first one being the most clear. Hinako loses her mind in her wedding night and kills everyone ,such a shocking ending as well and left me with more questions than answers. The fox wets its tail shows Shu stepping in the wedding and him and Hinako leaving ,while they both say that the other looks funny on these clothes. The marriage ending shows Hinako accepting her divine fate and basically killing her freedom. The true ending shows Kotoyuki stopping the wedding and both deciding that it's the best for them to decide their future in their own terms and Hinako finally being in a silent Ebisugaoka, which is a calm state of mind. This ending also humanises the parents, which was fantastic, seeing the scary father showing that in the end even he himself was a victim of society and falling to his knees begging for forgiveness and saying that whatever Hinako decides to do, he will support her was great. It also showed that the mother wasn't a person with no will. Additionally, I liked the little backstory it gave them ,with her father being betrayed by his friend and actually taking the loan for a needed surgery for the mother. Talking about characters ,Rinko's burning jealousy and obsession with Shu are amazingly depicted (that note about eating him was crazy), but I also like how we see her in the end understanding that she is the problem and not Hinako. Shu loving Hinako, but giving her those dangerous pills is something we didn't expect from him. Sakuko being autistic and feeling betrayed by Hinako are also interesting facts and she also could be affected by these god entities as well, considering she had dreams. Junko who accepted the fate Hinako is about to meet, saying that in a few years maybe people will have the choice to decide for themselves and that she hopes her little sister does as weell was a great scene. Kotoyuki also being a victim of his family/society was a nice revelation, which considering what he said after the final fight about kyubi(his dad) being affected by alcohol and not being himself the gods are probably a metaphor as well. All these characters are greatly written. I won't dive into the town lore and stuff here ,I'm getting tired of writing. Obviously the monsters are depictions, like the birthing one being how she viewed pregnancy ,because of seeing how her sister looked. All these are such a clever way to show the internal fight within Hinako and what she does, it's a shame most people will stop at the first run, but at the same time I get it. Oh last but not least I want to talk about my favourite depiction in the game, which is the ritual. Hinako cutting her hand ,being branded and having her face cut, because only through these she will be accepted by her society is such a clever metaphor, because even now we the people kill parts of ourselves and souls, so that we can fit and not be ostracized by the world we live in.

All in all, Silent Hill f is a great and unforgettable experience , with

excellent writing. Can't wait to see where the series goes next.