The Saiga NAK editorial team was invited to the "SILENT HILL f" Tokyo Media Premiere. "Beautiful yet horrifying" is the catchphrase for this new psychological horror game, and we headed to the KONAMI esports Ginza studio to experience it for ourselves. What awaits us there: despair or hope? Fear or relief? We will review the basic information on "SILENT HILL f" and give you our impressions of the game!
Sneaking into the "SILENT HILL f" Tokyo Media Premiere!
The "SILENT HILL f" Tokyo Media Premiere was held at the KONAMI esports Ginza studio. Media representatives from all over the world gathered.
Life-size adult figures of "Bakemono," the enemy character of the game, were displayed in the venue.
The miko (shrine maiden) monster, who was also impressive in the "Silent Hill f" release date announcement trailer, was also on hand. Her twin-tail hair also stirs up a sense of fear.
The venue was filled with candy bars to match the "SILENT HILL f" image, which was well-received by the international media. We hope that these exhibits, which are excellent in creating an atmosphere, will also be presented at "Tokyo Game Show 2025," which will be held from September 25 (Thu.) to 28 (Sun.), 2025.
- "SILENT HILL" series producer: Motoi Okamoto
- Scenario: Ryukishi 07
- Composer: Akira Yamaoka
- NeoBards Entertainment Game Director: AI Yang
- NeoBards Entertainment Game Producer: Albert Lee
The developers of "SILENT HILL f" also took the stage at the event. They introduced the game and answered questions from media around the world.
Q. What is the meaning behind the "f" in the title?
Okamoto: Users have been asking about the meaning of "f" since the game was first announced, but it would be uninteresting to reveal it now, so I'll keep it to myself. One thing I can say is that the letter f is the abbreviation of multiple meanings and words.
Q. How do you define Japanese horror?
Ryukishi07: That is a difficult question...! I think there are two main directions horror can take. One is the kind of horror where your life is in danger and your body is activated as an animal instinct. The other is the horror of the uncomfortable feeling of not knowing what is happening now. I think Japanese horror is the latter, where the viewer is staring into the darkness in an attempt to somehow make sense of an uncomfortable situation.
Experience "SILENT HILL f" at the world's fastest speed!
Thank you for your patience! From here, I will share with you all the information I have obtained during my 5 hours of pre-playing! Let's start with the basic information.
The story takes place in Ebisugaoka. The main character, Hinako Shimizu, is going through her adolescence, but her daily life is suddenly disrupted.
The town is deserted, and "something" is stirring in the thick fog. Mysterious flowers bloom all over the town, blocking the way as if chasing Hinako.
At this point, you have no choice but to flee, as there is no countermeasure.
Searching and Resource Management
Hinako must make her way through the city, being chased by monsters, in order to meet up with her friends, including her childhood friend Shu Iwai. Items fall everywhere along the way, and picking them up or not is going to make a big difference in the difficulty of the attack. My motto is " Every dead end is a treasure chest, " so I search every nook and cranny while checking the map over and over again. I often get lost in similar alleys, and I can' t tell you how many times I've opened the map....
After you get a weapon at a certain point, you can attack. While dodging enemy attacks, hit and hit with an iron pipe!
In battle, you need to care about the following three parameters.
- Vitality: Decreases when attacked, and dies when all is exhausted. You can recover it with your belongings.
- Endurance: Decreased by attacking, evading, and running in battle. When all of it is used up, you will run out of breath and will not be able to perform actions that require endurance for a certain period of time.
- Mental Strength: It is depleted when "concentrating" or being hit by a mental attack. It recovers after a certain period of time without being drained.
If you evade an enemy's attack at the right moment when it hits you, you can recover your Endurance as a "foresight evasion". In the initial state, evading twice in a row drains most of your endurance, so if you are good at action, you will want to aim for the "Sight-Out Evasion".
Each weapon has a durability level, which can be recovered by using the tool bags available at each location. In most cases, there is no reward for defeating the enemy. In order to prevent your strength from being taken away and the durability of your weapons from being depleted, it is sometimes a good idea not to fight. We also found a way to deal with the monster by taking advantage of its characteristics.
Variety of equipment
In addition to the most orthodox iron pipe, there are many types of weapons that can be used to fight back against enemies, including knives, daggers, hammers, and naginata swords. Since there are no long-range weapons in this title, the longer the reach of a weapon, the safer it is to stand your ground. Some of them can even defend against enemy attacks.
Another important element is the amulet, which provides a variety of benefits when equipped. Here are some of the amulets we were able to confirm during our preliminary playthrough.
- Amulet [Ume]: Increases maximum endurance
- Amulet [Whale]: Does not interrupt attacks while recovering. However, it has no effect on certain attacks.
- Mirror of protection from evil: Can be worn in the same way as the amulet. If an enemy's normal attack kills the amulet while it is equipped, it will break and disappear in place of the amulet. Its own physical strength, mental strength, and endurance will fill up instantly.
- Amulet [Hawk]: Increases the speed at which the Concentration Gauge fills up.
- Amulet [Cat]: Greatly reduces the damage taken by attacks while "evading".
- Amulet [Kai]: Reduces the visibility of enemies
- Amulet [Mantis]: Slightly regains health when performing a "see-through counterattack
- Amulet [Wolf]: increases the damage dealt by the weapon's remaining durability
Equipping the amulet that best suits your style of play will help you to have a smooth game. For this reason, I would like to emphasize again the importance of the aforementioned search.
Combination of excellent horror elements and satisfying challenge
Next, I would like to share my impressions of the game after more than 5 hours of play.
Action difficulty is high
For this preliminary playthrough, I selected "Normal" for the action difficulty and "Normal" for the puzzle-solving difficulty. In the game, it was explained that the game is designed for players who want to enjoy both combat and puzzle solving in moderation, but my impression after playing was that the action was difficult!
The creatures are monsters, so it is impossible for them to move in a regular fashion, and when you think they are slowly approaching you, they suddenly bite you while screaming.... When you fail to solve a riddle, they attack you.... Sometimes they come back again and again and relentlessly pursue you.
Sometimes it is necessary to solve the riddle and deal with the enemies at the same time, which makes it difficult to allocate not only the resources of items in the game but also the resources of the player's brain. If you are not good at action, we recommend that you first enjoy the story by setting the difficulty to "Story Focused" because the enemies become weaker and it becomes easier to progress.
One of the things that I thought was very realistic in terms of combat was the fact that the player's (Hinako) attacks hit objects on the field. For example, when wielding a long weapon in a narrow passage, the weapon will hit a wall, creating a large gap. It is also important to distinguish between weak and strong attacks with different power and motion.
Explore carefully!
The story basically consists of "exploration," "battle," and "puzzle-solving" phases that occur randomly or simultaneously. Consumable items are scattered throughout the field. The amount of these items also changes with the level of difficulty. To find a place to examine or acquire an item, you must capture the object with the camera, so it is essential to look around in a circular fashion.
During the search, not only consumable items, but also story supplements and small foreshadowing items can be retrieved. Since every inch of the 1960s world has been created, make sure you get a good taste of it.
Realistic sounds can add to the horror and sometimes provide clues.
Sound is also an important element in horror games. The sound of someone's voice coming from somewhere will incite fear in the player.
You may not be able to see them, but only hear their voices or noises, or hear their footsteps approaching only when you turn your head forward. The foreshadowing of a still fear comes from the auditory sense.
This is also important in terms of strategy, as you can sometimes predict the behavior of a monster by listening to its sounds and voices.
By the way, the developers and staff regularly watch us play ahead of time in the background, but I couldn't tell if the footsteps I heard through my headphones were in-game or real, so I had to take my headphones off several times to make sure they were real. It is that realistic.
Riddle solving is of a moderate level of difficulty that allows you to proceed at a brisk pace.
The riddle solving, which is directly related to the story, is not that difficult, and I had the impression that I was able to proceed quickly and easily. You can get hints while exploring the field, so you must not lose your concentration.
However, even when I understood the meaning, there were times when I made a mistake in the solution and did not progress comfortably. I would like to try the even more difficult "Gorimuchu" sometime in the future, while worrying about my lack of reasoning ability.
"SILENT HILL f" will be released on September 25 (Thursday)!
SILENT HILL f", a completely new installment of the Silent Hill series set in 1960s Japan, will be released on Thursday, September 25, 2025 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Steam, Epic Games and Microsoft Store. It's beautiful! "Beautiful yet horrifying."
The official "SILENT HILL f" website will be posting the following information when the game is released...
This game contains sexism, child abuse, bullying, drug-induced hallucinations, torture, and strong violence. Since this game is set in the 1960's, the expressions are based on the public and customs of the time, and do not reflect the values of the production company or any individual. If you feel uncomfortable during the game, stop playing at any time and take a break or talk to someone around you.
The following is a reminder to all players.
| Title Summary | |
|---|---|
| Name | SILENT HILL f |
| Manufacturer | KONAMI |
| Platform | PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Steam, Epic Games, Microsoft Store (Windows) |
| Release Date | Thursday, September 25, 2025 |
| Price | Standard Edition: 8,580 yen (tax included) *Packaged version only for PlayStation 5 Deluxe Edition: 9,790 yen (tax included) *Downloadable version only |
| Genre | Psychological Horror |
| CERO | Z (for ages 18 and up) |
extra
Saiga NAKSILENT HILL f "Tokyo Media Premiere concluded with an after party at STROPSe, an eSports CAFe & BAR.
Tantalize your taste buds with original cakes and other superb after-party items.
Saiga NAKWe even received souvenirs.
Saiga NAKWhen we opened the furoshiki, we found a first-aid kit with a hint of the times.
Saiga NAKInside are T-shirts, charms, stickers, pin badges, and acrylic stands!
Saiga NAKWhat's more, on the furoshiki is a map of the entire Ebisugaoka area! If you play while looking at it, you will never get lost again!
