Latest entry in the storied horror franchise packed with gorgeous visuals, compellingly haunting narrative

If there’s anything the Silent Hill video game franchise has taught me since the first game released in 1999, it’s that true horror — the kind that slithers into dreams and leaves scars in its wake — rarely comes in the form of a monster. That remains true in Silent Hill f, the latest release in the storied series. Yes, there are horrifying monstrosities lurking about in this beautifully grotesque world — no, they’re not the scariest thing around.

Silent Hill f, produced by NeoBards Entertainment and published by Konami, was a bit of a risk. Outside of two much smaller projects, it’s the first new game in the franchise since 2012’s mediocre Silent Hill: Downpour. (Last year’s phenomenal Silent Hill 2 was a remake of the 2001 game of the same name.) It’s not set in the fictional, American lake town of Silent Hill; rather it’s set in the fictional Japanese town of Ebisugaoka, a first for the mostly developed-in-Japan series. And it very much leans into its Japanese aesthetic, from its puzzles to its creature design. 

It’s a lot of change for a series that’s only just getting back from moribund status. (A new entry, Silent Hill: Townfall, and a remake of the first Silent Hill are in the works.) But aside from one particular shortfall, Silent Hill f works, both as an examination of trauma — and our response to it — and as a generally scary game play experience.

Read the full review at The Seattle Times.

Four “Did my weapon just break?!” stars out of five.