In October 2022, fans of the Silent Hill franchise were overwhelmed with news from the Silent Hill Transmission, an evening showcasing upcoming titles in the series.
There have been many rumours of Silent Hill games in the past, and even multiple failed projects over the years (for example, the much-longed-for Silent Hills, which was due to be published by Konami and developed by Kojima Productions for the PS4). As a Silent Hill fan, there have been plenty of ups and downs over the years, so the announcement of several new games at once was a real treat.
After years of silence, we finally have a new mainline Silent Hill game to look forward to! Here’s everything we know about this project so far.
Development
Silent Hill is, of course, totally beloved by fans, and each new entry to the series has been met with both excitement and some trepidation. After a long gap between games (the last mainline game, Downpour, was met with mixed reviews over a decade ago).
Now that Silent Hill is having something of a revival, what do we know about Silent Hill f, and what can we expect from this game?
Silent Hill f is currently in development by the studio NeoBards Entertainment. Based in Taiwan, NeoBards Entertainment aren’t exactly new to taking on games in beloved franchises, with games like Resident Evil: Re Verse and Resident Evil: Resistance under their belts.
While not much is known about the story, we do know that it’s being directed by the studio creative director of NeoBards Entertainment, Al Yang.
We also know that it’s being written by Ryukishi07, a Japanese writer whose real name is unknown. He wrote the series of visual novels When They Cry, as well as Konami’s visual novel Okami Kakushi. Ryukishi07’s work has a macabre tone, mixed with humour, and fans of his writing are very excited to see what he does with Silent Hill f.
It’s also important to note that Silent Hill f is being produced by Motoi Okamoto of Nintendo fame. Okamoto worked on notable titles like Pikmin, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, and the similarly spooky (although not quite as intense) Luigi’s Mansion.
It’s safe to say that there is some serious talent behind Silent Hill f. Hopefully, we’ll find out more about the development process as time goes on.
Setting
When you think of Silent Hill, chances are you immediately think of the setting: that foggy, decaying, eerie town with horrifying figures lumbering in the distance.
Previous games in the franchise haven’t just stuck to the town of Silent Hill, of course. For example, Silent Hill 4: The Room is set in another fictional town, Ashfield, initially in the protagonist’s apartment. But this is the first mainline Silent Hill game in a long time that has strayed from the titular town itself.
From the reveal trailer, we know that Silent Hill f is set in an abandoned town in rural Japan. In keeping with other Silent Hill projects, the town itself is dark and full of the signature fog we’ve come to expect from the series.
We can also tell, from this initial reveal, that the old, rubble-filled town is home to a peculiar creeping red plant. As a young woman stumbles along the streets, the plants wrap around her, grabbing at her arms. Later we see plants bursting from a woman’s skin, blossoming out of her with such ferocity that her face falls off. So far, so creepy.
This is quite different from what we’ve come to see from the supernatural horror series in terms of setting. However, we do see the setting playing its own role in the horror, especially in terms of the otherworld, with flesh-like walls, blood, and gore haunting the player as they try to escape. It looks like, in this title, the mysterious town will present new challenges.
Silent Hill f Story
Much of Silent Hill f still remains a mystery. We don’t know anything about the story, the characters, or the relevance of the two women in the teaser trailer. With not much revealed so far, we can’t predict where the story is going to go.
However, we know enough about the world of Silent Hill to make a decent guess. While the titular town may not make an appearance in this game, we can safely expect imaginative villains designed to pick at the main characters’ weaknesses. We can also hope for haunting music, and, hopefully, the incredible sound design the Silent Hill series is known for.
It’s possible that the game will feature a female protagonist, but as the trailer didn’t include gameplay footage, we don’t know that for sure.
Predicted Release Date
Release date speculation went wild after the teaser trailer dropped as part of the Silent Hill Transmission in October 2022. However, we don’t have a clear idea of when the game will launch, so we can only hope for the best!
Making an educated guess, we can hope for a release date sometime in late 2024 or 2025, and hopefully, we’ll learn more about how the game is being developed along the way.
What Else Can We Expect From the Silent Hill Series?
The Silent Hill Transmission from Konami gave us a ton of new projects to get excited about, not just Silent Hill f!
Silent Hill 2 Remake
The much-loved Silent Hill 2 is finally being remade, in 4K, for the PlayStation 5. Developed with help from the original Team Silent, this is a really exciting prospect for old-school fans of the franchise.
Silent Hill: Townfall
From the developers of Stories Untold (NoCode), and published by Annapurna, Silent Hill: Townfall is a spin-off game. Not much is known about this entry to the series, except for the trailer involves a retro portable TV and a quick glimpse of the titular town. One to get excited about, for sure.
Silent Hill: Ascension
This is a difficult one to describe! It’s a streaming series, with echoes of the Black Mirror Netflix game Bandersnatch. It’s a computer-animated series, and players can interact with the story as it unfolds.
With a series as isolating as Silent Hill, it’s hard to imagine how community-driven play will work, but it’s an interesting development for sure.
Return to Silent Hill
Finally, another Silent Hill movie. A psychological horror by director Christopher Gans, it follows the story of James Sunderland as he fights through the town of Silent Hill to find his beloved. We don’t know much about this yet, but it’ll be a fun experience for fans. We don’t know the release date, but we can probably expect it sometime in 2024.
Silent Hill f: Summary
So, we know that Silent Hill f has some incredible talent behind it. We know it’s breaking from tradition in terms of setting, and we know that the release date is yet to be confirmed. Just from the teaser trailer, we can guess that this project will present new challenges for fans of the series to navigate.
Hopefully, gamers on all platforms can enjoy Silent Hill f, although this is yet to be confirmed. We’d hope to see it on Xbox, PS5, PC, and the Nintendo Switch, but there may be a staggered release date for this title across different platforms.
Megan is a freelance writer based in Somerset, England. She writes about videogames, books, and pop culture.
