Silent Hill f

{{Infobox video game

| title = Silent Hill f

| image = Silent Hill f cover art.png

| alt =

| caption = Cover art depicting Hinako

| developer = NeoBards Entertainment

| publisher = Konami Digital Entertainment

| director = Al Yang

| producer = Motoi Okamoto

| designer =

| programmer =

| artist = Kera

| writer = Ryukishi07

| composer = {{ubl|Akira Yamaoka|Kensuke Inage|Dai|Xaki}}

| series = Silent Hill

| engine = Unreal Engine 5

| platforms = {{ubl|PlayStation 5|Windows|Xbox Series X/S}}

| released =

| genre = Survival horror

| modes = Single-player

}}

{{Nihongo foot|Silent Hill f|サイレントヒル f|Sairento Hiru f|lead=yes|group=lower-alpha}} is an upcoming survival horror video game developed by NeoBards Entertainment and published by Konami Digital Entertainment. It is the eighth mainline game in the Silent Hill franchise. Set during the 1960s in the fictional town of Ebisugaoka, Japan, it follows Hinako Shimizu, a high school student who navigates the town, now consumed by fog, while solving puzzles and fighting grotesque monsters to survive.{{Cite web |last=Moon |first=Mariella |date=March 14, 2025 |title='Silent Hill f' trailer shows the game's beautiful backdrop and unsettling mood |url=https://www.engadget.com/gaming/silent-hill-f-trailer-shows-the-games-beautiful-backdrop-and-unsettling-mood-123024347.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250315000328/https://www.engadget.com/gaming/silent-hill-f-trailer-shows-the-games-beautiful-backdrop-and-unsettling-mood-123024347.html |archive-date=March 15, 2025 |access-date=March 15, 2025 |website=Engadget}}

As Konami felt the series had become overly westernized, the developers moved away from the titular Maine town, where most previous entries took place, and instead set the game in Japan to reinforce a stronger Japanese identity. The company invited Ryukishi07 to write the story and brought back composer Akira Yamaoka, who had worked on the music for multiple previous Silent Hill games.

Announced in 2022, Silent Hill f is scheduled to release for PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S.

Development

Silent Hill f was built around the Japanese horror concept of "find[ing] the beauty in terror", suggesting that "when something becomes too immensely beautiful and perfect, it becomes deeply unsettling".{{Cite web |last=Scullion |first=Chris |date=March 13, 2025 |title=Silent Hill f trailer sheds light on the first game in the series to be set in Japan |url=https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/silent-hill-f-trailer-sheds-light-on-the-first-game-in-the-series-to-be-set-in-japan/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250315001014/https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/silent-hill-f-trailer-sheds-light-on-the-first-game-in-the-series-to-be-set-in-japan/ |archive-date=March 15, 2025 |access-date=March 15, 2025 |website=Video Games Chronicle}} Konami enlisted writer Ryukishi07, known for his visual novel Higurashi When They Cry, as they believed they needed someone who could "really understand the essence of Japanese horror".{{Cite news |last=Gould |first=Elie |date=March 14, 2025 |title='We've been keeping fans waiting for an awfully long time': We finally got to see more of Silent Hill f and boy, does it look great |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/games/horror/weve-been-keeping-fans-waiting-for-an-awfully-long-time-we-finally-got-to-see-more-of-silent-hill-f-and-boy-does-it-look-great/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250315001307/https://www.pcgamer.com/games/horror/weve-been-keeping-fans-waiting-for-an-awfully-long-time-we-finally-got-to-see-more-of-silent-hill-f-and-boy-does-it-look-great/ |archive-date=March 15, 2025 |access-date=March 15, 2025 |work=PC Gamer}} Even though the game was conceived as a standalone story, the developers included references to the previous Silent Hill games.{{Cite web |last=Hore |first=Jamie |date=March 13, 2025 |title=Silent Hill f is all about finding "the beauty within terror" |url=https://www.pcgamesn.com/silent-hill-f/guide |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250315001421/https://www.pcgamesn.com/silent-hill-f/guide |archive-date=March 15, 2025 |access-date=March 15, 2025 |website=PCGamesN}}

While the series originally blended Japanese and Western horror elements, Konami felt it had become overly westernized, diminishing its Japanese influence. Consequently, the team decided to create Silent Hill f as a "100% Japanese horror", emphasizing its Japanese "essence", which they regarded as central to the series despite the story usually taking place in the United States.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pPKJevpvZI&t=1981s |title=Silent Hill Transmission |date=March 13, 2025 |author=Konami |language=ja |time=33:01 |access-date=March 15, 2025 |via=YouTube}}{{Cite web |last=Serin |first=Kaan |date=March 15, 2025 |title="What if we […] make it 100% Japanese?": Silent Hill f producer worried Konami's horror series was "starting to feel too westernized" |url=https://www.gamesradar.com/games/silent-hill/what-if-we-make-it-100-percent-japanese-silent-hill-f-producer-worried-konamis-horror-series-was-starting-to-feel-too-westernized/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250316211919/https://www.gamesradar.com/games/silent-hill/what-if-we-make-it-100-percent-japanese-silent-hill-f-producer-worried-konamis-horror-series-was-starting-to-feel-too-westernized/ |archive-date=March 16, 2025 |access-date=March 16, 2025 |website=GamesRadar+}} Shifting the setting from the titular town to Japan posed a challenge, as the developers aimed to maintain the series' core themes of "portraying characters' struggles with the evil within themselves—sin, discontent, and conflict".{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pPKJevpvZI&t=2148s |title=Silent Hill Transmission |date=March 13, 2025 |author=Konami |language=ja |time=35:48 |access-date=March 15, 2025 |via=YouTube}}{{Cite web |last=Wales |first=Matt |date=March 13, 2025 |title=Konami's Japan-set Silent Hill f resurfaces with eerie new trailer and fresh details |url=https://www.eurogamer.net/konamis-japan-set-silent-hill-f-resurfaces-with-eerie-new-trailer-and-fresh-details |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250315002411/https://www.eurogamer.net/konamis-japan-set-silent-hill-f-resurfaces-with-eerie-new-trailer-and-fresh-details |archive-date=March 15, 2025 |access-date=March 15, 2025 |website=Eurogamer}}

The game's primary setting, the town of Ebisugaoka, was inspired by Kanayama, Gero, in Gifu Prefecture.{{Cite web |last=Bankhurst |first=Adam |date=March 13, 2025 |title=Silent Hill Transmission March 2025: Everything Announced and Revealed for Silent Hill f |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/silent-hill-transmission-march-2025-everything-announced-and-revealed-including-silent-hill-f |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250314044516/https://www.ign.com/articles/silent-hill-transmission-march-2025-everything-announced-and-revealed-including-silent-hill-f |archive-date=March 14, 2025 |access-date=March 15, 2025 |website=IGN}} Ryukishi07 suggested Kanayama after comparing various locations, saying that its "extremely unique townscape" reflected the passage of time and the way its structures had evolved alongside residents' lifestyles. The team visited Kanayama to photograph modern sites and used reference materials to authentically recreate the 1960s setting.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pPKJevpvZI&t=1391s |title=Silent Hill Transmission |date=March 13, 2025 |author=Konami |language=ja |time=23:11 |access-date=March 15, 2025 |via=YouTube}} Ryukishi07 noted that female characters in the previous Silent Hill games endured significant suffering. With Silent Hill f, he sought to create a protagonist, Hinako Shimizu, who actively makes her own choices rather than being "pulled along by the story".{{Cite web |last=Bardhan |first=Ashley |date=March 14, 2025 |title=Silent Hill f writer says many of the franchise's female characters experience "a great deal of suffering," so he wants his protagonist "to be able to make her own decisions, for better or for worse" |url=https://www.gamesradar.com/games/survival-horror/silent-hill-f-writer-says-many-of-the-franchises-female-characters-experience-a-great-deal-of-suffering-so-he-wants-his-protagonist-to-be-able-to-make-her-own-decisions-for-better-or-for-worse/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250315002806/https://www.gamesradar.com/games/survival-horror/silent-hill-f-writer-says-many-of-the-franchises-female-characters-experience-a-great-deal-of-suffering-so-he-wants-his-protagonist-to-be-able-to-make-her-own-decisions-for-better-or-for-worse/ |archive-date=March 15, 2025 |access-date=March 15, 2025 |website=GamesRadar+}}

Artist Kera aimed for a visual style distinct from the "blood-smeared, rusting scenery" of the previous installments while retaining a sense of familiarity. She remarked that the most challenging aspect was monster creation, as the team wanted to combine Ryukishi07's vision with Kera's design, creating monsters that would "really infiltrate players' psyches".{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pPKJevpvZI&t=2424s |title=Silent Hill Transmission |date=March 13, 2025 |author=Konami |language=ja |time=40:25 |access-date=March 15, 2025 |via=YouTube}}

Akira Yamaoka and Kensuke Inage composed the music for the game's Fog World and Otherworld, respectively.{{Cite web |last=Wilson |first=Mike |date=March 13, 2025 |title='Silent Hill f' Announced for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series and PC; New Trailer and Details Revealed |url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/video-games/3858307/silent-hill-f-announced-for-playstation-5-xbox-series-and-pc-new-trailer-and-details-revealed-watch/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250315003716/https://bloody-disgusting.com/video-games/3858307/silent-hill-f-announced-for-playstation-5-xbox-series-and-pc-new-trailer-and-details-revealed-watch/ |archive-date=March 15, 2025 |access-date=March 15, 2025 |website=Bloody Disgusting}} Additionally, composers Dai and Xaki, who previously collaborated with Ryukishi07, contributed to the project.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pPKJevpvZI&t=1887s |title=Silent Hill Transmission |date=March 13, 2025 |author=Konami |language=ja |time=31:27 |access-date=March 15, 2025 |via=YouTube}}{{Cite web |last=Romano |first=Sal |date=March 13, 2025 |title=Silent Hill f confirmed for PS5, Xbox Series, and PC; reveal trailer |url=https://www.gematsu.com/2025/03/silent-hill-f-confirmed-for-ps5-xbox-series-and-pc-reveal-trailer |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250315003839/https://www.gematsu.com/2025/03/silent-hill-f-confirmed-for-ps5-xbox-series-and-pc-reveal-trailer |archive-date=March 15, 2025 |access-date=March 15, 2025 |website=Gematsu}} Yamaoka focused on infusing the music with the series' Japanese "essence", reflecting his own cultural identity "as much as possible in my own way".{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pPKJevpvZI&t=2368s |title=Silent Hill Transmission |date=March 13, 2025 |author=Konami |language=ja |time=39:27 |access-date=March 15, 2025 |via=YouTube}} Inage stated that he "blend[ed] ancient Japanese court music with ambient echoes", using various techniques to convey "agony, internal conflict, fear, and other emotions". The developers also traveled to Kanayama to record its soundscape.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pPKJevpvZI&t=1400s |title=Silent Hill Transmission |date=March 13, 2025 |author=Konami |language=ja |time=23:20 |access-date=March 15, 2025 |via=YouTube}}

Release

In February 2021, it was reported that Konami was planning to revive the Silent Hill franchise with multiple third-party studios developing new games.{{Cite web |last=Robinson |first=Andy |date=February 18, 2021 |title=Bloober Team hints it could be working on Silent Hill… but it's not the only one |url=https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/bloober-team-hints-it-could-be-working-on-silent-hill-but-its-not-the-only-one/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250202164033/https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/bloober-team-hints-it-could-be-working-on-silent-hill-but-its-not-the-only-one/ |archive-date=February 2, 2025 |access-date=October 19, 2022 |website=Video Games Chronicle}} Silent Hill f was officially announced during a livestream in October 2022, alongside other titles.{{Cite web |last=Parrish |first=Ash |date=October 19, 2022 |title=Konami announces Silent Hill f and a Silent Hill 2 remake |url=https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/19/23412671/silent-hill-2-remake-f-townfall-konami-bloober-team |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250209122015/https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/19/23412671/silent-hill-2-remake-f-townfall-konami-bloober-team |archive-date=February 9, 2025 |access-date=March 15, 2025 |website=The Verge}} Its reveal trailer debuted at another livestream in March 2025. The game is scheduled to release for PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S.{{Cite web |last=Colp |first=Tyler |date=March 13, 2025 |title=The first main-series Silent Hill in 13 years finally has a new trailer |url=https://www.polygon.com/news/539535/silent-hill-f-trailer-konami-transmission |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250314002652/https://www.polygon.com/news/539535/silent-hill-f-trailer-konami-transmission |archive-date=March 14, 2025 |access-date=March 15, 2025 |website=Polygon}}

On March 23, 2025, the game was given a Refused Classification rating by the International Age Rating Coalition, which does not allow it to be sold anywhere in Australia.{{cite web|url=https://press-start.com.au/news/playstation/2025/03/23/silent-hill-f-has-been-refused-classification-in-australia/|title=Silent Hill f Has Been Refused Classification In Australia|author=Shannon Grixti|date=2025-03-24|publisher=Press Start}} The IARC did not provide a clear reason for the ban.{{Cite news |last=Blake |first=Vikki |date=March 23, 2025 |title=Silent Hill f has been banned in Australia, and no one knows why |url=https://www.eurogamer.net/silent-hill-f-has-been-banned-in-australia-and-no-one-knows-why |access-date=March 23, 2025 |work=Eurogamer}} The Australian Classification Board would later clarify that Silent Hill f had not been given a Refused Classification rating by the organization and the game's entry on Australia's National Classification Database was removed.{{cite web|url=https://www.gameshub.com/news/news/silent-hill-f-refused-classification-australia-2690324/|title=Silent Hill f hasn’t been refused classification in Australia, says ACB|author=Leah J. Williams|date=2025-03-24|publisher=GamesHub}}{{cite web|url=https://www.gamesindustry.biz/silent-hill-f-has-not-been-banned-in-australia|title=Silent Hill F has not been banned in Australia|author=Sophie McEvoy|date=2025-03-24|publisher=GamesIndustry.biz}}