It’s surreal to think that after such a long wait, we are getting two Silent Hill games within just a year of each other. The critically acclaimed Silent Hill 2 Remake launched to great success back in October 2024, and now, we’re getting an all-new installment (not a remake!) in the long-running series next month.

At a recently concluded Media Premiere event, we had the opportunity to play about 5 hours of Konami’s upcoming Silent Hill f, taking us from the start of the game to a significant portion of progress that saw us guide Hinako through chilling sequences, challenging boss fights, and more. While we have reservations about some aspects, it’s safe to say that we can’t wait to play more to see how the gripping narrative unfolds.

Silent Hill f Hands-on Preview

Set against the eerie backdrop of 1960s Japan, Silent Hill f introduces players to the remote mountain town of Ebisugaoka, where high school student Shimizu Hinako and her classmates fall victim to an encroaching fog that has birthed creepy and disturbing horrors. As a dense fog creeps across the town, Hinako and her classmates must navigate horrific encounters, solve intricate puzzles, and unravel dark secrets, both about the phenomenon and themselves.

Despite having many of the qualities of a classic Silent Hill title, Silent Hill f feels like both an homage to its predecessors and a reinvention. With series producer Motoi Okamoto, writer Ryukishi07, and legendary composer Akira Yamaoka leading development, anticipation is high, especially following the successful release of the Silent Hill 2 Remake.

This newest installment is notable not only for its setting but also because it marks the first entry in the franchise to receive an 18+ rating in Japan. The game accurately depicts the period’s architecture, blending wooden houses and brick structures with the fog and the dreaded red bloom. The result is a contrast of beauty and decay, an aesthetic theme evident through many parts of the game.

Exploring Ebisugaoka may feel disorienting due to the concept of Kinkotsu, a design philosophy that favors narrow alleyways and vertical layouts to create maze-like and labyrinthine surroundings. The opening area alone challenges players with mannequin-like enemies and repetitive structures and alleys, making constant map-checking and U-turns a common occurrence.

Environmental tension is heightened not only by the limited visibility caused by the fog, but by strategic blind spots scattered throughout the map. Konami aims to instill unease during exploration, ensuring players pay attention with every step, with the need to shift camera angles every so often to peek through corners and avoid hidden enemies.

Hinako, though physically weak, isn’t defenseless. Silent Hill f moves away from its traditional approach to combat by embracing a melee-centric system, which is a surprising pivot for the series. Unlike James Sunderland and his arsenal of weapons in Silent Hill 2 Remake, Hinako fights exclusively with melee weapons. A controversial direction, for sure.

Her moves include both light and heavy attacks using R1 and R2, respectively, as well as a counterattack system that incentivizes precise timing just as an enemy attacks. A “Focus Mode” mechanic used when holding L2 slows time briefly to help players parry incoming blows by lengthening the window of the visual tell, stunning enemies when a successful counterattack is dealt.

However, not all attacks are counterable, and mistiming the parry can be costly as heavy attacks take a while to recover, and Hinako can only take a few hits before falling. Alternatively, Hinako can also perform a perfect dodge, which not only evades incoming damage but also restores stamina, adding a layer of risk-reward to combat.

Enemy attacks in Silent Hill f are erratic, constantly trying to throw off players with delayed strikes and staggered movements. Holding Focus Mode uses a valuable resource called Sanity, which we’ll discuss later, so knowing exactly when to use Focus is key to counterattacking efficiently. When in doubt, holding Focus until the meter is full will result in a Focus attack that can also stun enemies even outside of the counterattack window, but at the cost of Sanity.

Combat depth is further emphasized by four core resources: HP, Stamina, Sanity, and Durability. Players must strategically manage these resources to go far in Silent Hill f. Stamina dictates mobility and actions, durability affects weapon usage, and sanity is used in Focus Mode and counterattacks. Stamina depletion can severely limit combat effectiveness, prompting players to conserve resources or adjust their approach to preserve what is arguably the most crucial resource.

Items can replenish these, but managing inventory is another loop in itself. Healing items compete for space with consumables that can be offered at Hokora shrines, which serve as upgrade hubs and save points. Offering these items earns “Faith,” a currency used for upgrades, along with allowing players to draw from Omamori Charms, which add passive improvements such as reduced Focus cooldowns or increased maximum HP. How you use Faith is totally up to you, but as you can tell, item usage is a direct effect of combat proficiency, and taking too many hits will consequently lead to less Faith for upgrades.

As for scares, Silent Hill f felt like a mixed bag. Ebisugaoka’s tight corners and surprise encounters did provide much-needed tension, but the emphasis on melee combat dilutes the fear factor of the game. Jump scares are used to an extent, but exploration often feels more like a stroll rather than becoming a tension-filled affair because players are always ready to deal with threats, except for the unlikely event where you don’t have any melee weapons equipped.

In particular, a boss fight during the preview event proved to be highly reminiscent of soulslike titles, requiring dodging attacks down to the last second while conserving stamina to pull off counters. There are even a couple of persistent bosses in Silent Hill f that can only be “downed,” and during this time, you’ll need to manage other tasks such as bringing up a bucket from a well to acquire a key or finding key items to solve a puzzle before they regain consciousness and hunt you once again.

Boss encounters aren’t pushovers, and pattern recognition is a valuable survival aspect, but they aren’t as tough as soulslike games when it all comes down to it.

Thankfully, some of the iconic features of the series remain intact. Yamaoka’s chilling score, paired with the “wabi-sabi” philosophy, is as haunting as ever, blending silence with melancholy tones that reflect the atmosphere of 1960s Japan. 3D audio is utilized to a great extent, offering spatial cues like footsteps and ambient noises that point to where threats are coming from. Japanese voiceovers are, as expected, on point, adding a level of immersion that is very welcome and fitting of the setting.

Puzzles also return in Silent Hill f, filled with personal storytelling and aesthetics to suit the period. One task involves investigating school lockers to uncover student backstories, while another presents a riddle that players must solve to unlock a door to proceed. These puzzles often offer insight into the characters’ psyches and personalities, tying them nicely to the story.

That said, the puzzles we encountered during the session weren’t too mind-boggling. Some were challenging because of the threat of the persistent boss, but they were pretty straightforward for the most part.

Performance-wise, Silent Hill f runs well on the PS5. A choice between Quality Mode (30fps with slightly sharper visuals) and Performance Mode (60fps with smoother gameplay) ensures players can choose their experience, but given the melee-centric nature of combat, Performance Mode is highly recommended. Silent Hill f also has a “Story Focused” mode for players who want a more relaxed experience, as opposed to a Balanced Mode that requires more combat proficiency and is the default difficulty setting.

Furthermore, the team has confirmed that Silent Hill f will have five endings, including the series’ signature “UFO” ending. While the first playthrough will end in the same way for all players, subsequent playthroughs will unlock the other endings and different bosses, along with story developments, depending on Hinako’s actions and choices.

Overall, Silent Hill f is looking like a promising entry in the series and for fans who are in search of a compelling narrative. While some of its systems, like a focus on combat, aren’t typically this prominent in Silent Hill titles, the unfolding narrative is what will keep players glued, and this approach to the series may prove to be a good jumping point for newcomers.

Silent Hill f is launching on September 25, 2025, for the PS5, Xbox Series, and PC via Steam, Epic Games, and Windows.