It’s been a good long while since Silent Hill f was unveiled as part of Konami’s four-game series revival back in 2022. But now that Bloober Team’s superb Silent Hill 2 Remake is behind us, the publisher is turning its attention to its curious Japan-set follow-up. And thanks to its latest Silent Hill Transmissions stream, we’ve got an eerie new trailer and a few more hints at what’s in store.
Back during its initial 2022 announcement, Konami revealed Silent Hill f is being developed by Neobards Entertainment (which has previously served as a support studio for Capcom’s Resident Evil games), with creature and character design by Kera, and a script by When They Cry writer Ryukishi07. And courtesy of its latest update, we now know a little more.
Silent Hill f is, for instance, set in the 1960s, its events unfolding in the rural town of Ebisugaoka – based on Kanayama, Gero, in the Gifu Prefecture. Here, we meet our protagonist Shimizu Hinako, an “ordinary teenager” who suddenly finds her home shrouded in fog and changed in “horrific” ways. As Silent Hill f play out, she’ll explore a town she no longer recognises, solving puzzles, fighting strange enemies, and eventually having to make a “beautiful yet terrifying” decision that lies at the heart of the game.
That idea of “beauty in terror” is a theme Konami repeatedly returned throughout its latest Transmissions episode, explaining that while Silent Hill f retains the elements of psychological horror long-time fans will associate with the series, its setting allows it to deal with some more classically Japanese ideas, such as the notion that “when something becomes too beautiful and perfect, it instead becomes deeply unsettling”.