After the very public cancellation of the Hideo Kojima-led Silent Hills—better known as P.T., for "playable teaser"—publisher Konami seemed determined to let the franchise fade into obscurity. 2024's Silent Hill 2 remake proved that the classic titles still had an audience, but is the world ready for a new entry in the beloved horror series? Silent Hill f ($69.99, reviewed on PlayStation 5 Pro but also available on PC and Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S) is a surprising title, one that shifts the setting from America to 1960s Japan while introducing a young female protagonist and a new combat system—and I couldn’t be happier. The game is twisted, disturbing, and terrifying in all the right ways. It's easily one of my favorite games of the year, earning a rare five-star rating and an Editors' Choice award.

Story: A Night Stained by Phantom Flowers

Silent Hill f marks a major departure for the series, in setting, story, and gameplay. This is the first game to shift away from the titular American town. Instead, it takes place in the fictional locale of Ebisugaoka, Japan, a once-thriving mining town on the decline. You play as Hinako Shimizu, a teenage girl who's also the youngest protagonist in the series' history. 

(Credit: Konami/PCMag)

The protagonist's youth doesn't defang the story, as Silent Hill f wastes no time thrusting Hinako and her friends into their personal hells. Once the familiar franchise fog creeps into town, a wave of red spider lilies crashes behind it, warping Ebisugaoka and its inhabitants with a sickly red and pink glow.

Horror fans might immediately draw parallels to older horror games like Siren or Fatal Frame, and even manga like Junji Ito's Uzumaki. Many of the series' hallmarks appear throughout this release, but the game never feels like it's tapping into a nostalgia for those older titles. Instead, Silent Hill f takes its protagonist to haunting grounds squarely her own, using Japanese folklore, myths, and other legends to paint the unnerving small town.

Hinako grapples with coming of age in Japan's Showa era. Although that serves as the lynchpin of Hinako's journey through both her decaying town and the Otherworld, a strange realm that manifests itself through Hinako's fears and anxieties, the teenager's journey is rooted in more than just angst. Repression, self-harm, substance abuse, bullying, jealousy, emotional abuse, and even allusions to grooming, among other terrors of the fog, keep the tensions high from start to finish.

The story, penned by Japanese writer and artist Ryukishi07, is a slow burn and dense with detail. It's almost M. Night Shyamalanian in nature (and I mean that as a compliment to both parties). It may seem a bit plodding and even confusing at first, as if story beats and character motivations are missing. But when these details eventually make their appearance, you realize they've been hiding in plain sight the whole time.

(Credit: Konami/PCMag)

I imagine that many players will be blindsided by the game's ending, but if you're like me, your shock will quickly give way to the game's brilliance. I sat with the conclusion well after the credits rolled, before jumping right back in for a second playthrough for more. Without delving into spoilers, Hinako’s transformation during f's conclusion is a ride like no other in the Silent Hill line. And in the same vein as Nier Automata, you must play Silent Hill f multiple times to experience the full breadth of what's on offer. 

And it's been years since you could say that about a Silent Hill game. While the aesthetics of Silent Hill have long been understood and even emulated in titles like The Medium, the series hasn't challenged its audience like this in a long time. Last year's remake of Silent Hill 2 was a reminder of the psychological horror that makes the series so compelling, but Silent Hill f weaves something even richer, and that's because Hinako's horrors are not as far-fetched as previous games. Even if you consider the time period, the oppressive nature of traditional gender roles and how they rack Hinako's psyche will likely resonate with many different people today.

Silent Hill f succeeds because the horror comes from what the game doesn't show or tell you. Whether that's from the sound of monsters scuttling about in the fog or what the characters do and don't say, the terror stems from the anxiety that builds around Hinako (and in turn, the player), until it explodes.

Presentation: Haunting Music and Graphics

Silent Hill f wants you to sit in the tale's uncomfortable truths, and some moments really had me on edge. They were made even more unsettling thanks to the incredibly well-crafted soundtrack. Longtime series composer Akira Yamaoka returns, along with some series newcomers (Japanese composers xaki, dai, and Kensuke Inage), to put together one of the best scores in the series' history. It mixes traditional Japanese folk music with Silent Hill's trademark abstract soundscape that puts you in a trance-like state. The audio design is just as incredible, full of horrifying sounds of monsters unseen—this is a game you'll want to play with a good pair of headphones.

(Credit: Konami/PCMag)

The horror looks fantastic, too, at least on the PlayStation 5 Pro, where I spent my playtime. Like the Silent Hill 2 remake, Silent Hill f is built in Unreal Engine 5, but I say it looks even better than that title. The graphical fidelity adds to the horror, as the fear and terror that takes over Hinako's face during cutscenes is spine-tingling. Likewise, the level of detail makes everything feel that much more alive—even when it shouldn't be.

Gameplay: Fast-Paced Souls-Like Combat

Silent Hill f represents a significant change to the series' combat. Historically, Silent Hill has never been a fight-focused game, even if the option to do so in clunky fashion was always there. Silent Hill f mostly solves this issue by adopting faster-paced, Souls-like combat. Hinako is fast on her feet and uses light or heavy attacks while wielding a variety of melee weapons.

(Credit: Konami/PCMag)

The combat feels realistic, and it's a response to one of the criticisms levied toward the Silent Hill 2 remake, a game that pivoted to a more traditional third-person shooter format. While f's combat is not unique, it helps Silent Hill reaffirm its identity compared with Resident Evil Village and other horror games. Combat isn't everything, however; Silent Hill f has plenty of puzzles, riddles, and secrets scattered throughout the world, providing a satisfying challenge.

Weapons are destructible, so it's not always in your best interest to beat to death every horrific creature you encounter. Sometimes it's best to hit the bricks, but you must manage your stamina, lest you'll be unable to act. The game also has a new-to-the-series sanity meter, which drains when Hinako uses focus attacks that slow down combat to give Hinako an edge. 

Silent Hill f also introduces an equipment system. For example, you'll find Omamori, Japanese good luck charms that add additional passive skills, like boosting max health, decreasing damage taken when dodging, and dealing extra damage, among other bonuses to Hinako's skill set. You can also visit shrines to exchange items for Faith, which is used to find more Omamori or upgrade Hinako’s health, sanity, and stamina.

(Credit: Konami/PCMag)

As enjoyable as the new combat system is, it's not foolproof. Battles in more open environments didn't pose an issue, but fights in smaller environments (the cramped rooms of a Japanese-style home or the tight corridors of the Otherworld, for example) led to some clumsy encounters. Getting stunned in a corner by a few enemies or having the camera get stuck in an awkward viewpoint were minor blemishes across my playtime.

But for a series with historically clunky combat, Silent Hill f's action still comes across as refreshingly modern and serves the narrative as well. The stressful physicality of a young girl beating monsters to death with a baseball bat was palpable, and I felt like the more battered, enraged, and desperate Hinako became as the story progressed, the more frequent the combat became. It made the moments of quiet that much louder.

Silent Hill f is one of the best horror games I've played in years, and one of the best games of the year. The game differentiates itself from other horror games with its excellent writing and storytelling, and the new setting and action-heavy combat help modernize a series that has long been stagnant while helping it stand apart from its contemporaries. It's more than just another remake or a legacy sequel; it's a complete relaunch of the series. Silent Hill f's developers, NeoBards Entertainment, didn't have the best video game track record, mostly known for mediocre multiplayer Resident Evil spin-offs. However, they weaved dark magic with Silent Hill f.