Posted on: October 7, 2025
EchoOfMidgar
Games: 646 Reviews: 42
A masterpiece ruined by handholding
**This review is based on my Steam review** KONAMI brought us a game that we will be talking about for years. For a mainstream game its story is surprisingly deep, extremely twisted and totally unpredictable (though you may have a feeling you know how the story will evolve, but nope). For a mainstream game its story is not one dimensional - it has multiple meanings which leads to multiple endings. Maybe you read that the game is so-called woke but I do not want to get into it. Just know, it is not true. The game, at first sight, tells just a story about a girl who is not quite happy with her family, but no, the main themes lie somewhere else. Gameplay-wise, the game is ALMOST a typical Silent Hill game, which is good. However, this almost is critical, but I will come back to it later. Exploration, keys, notes, everything is fantastic. But the best parts are puzzles. Very nicely designed, thoughtful and easy to understand but quite tricky to complete. The level design is fantastic and despite the fact the game takes place in one rural Japanese town, the environments are variable and provide always something new. The combat system takes an inspiration from the Soulslike subgenre. I must say it fits survival genre very well. The combat is very punishing and difficult on hard (did not play on easy yet) and it takes time to get used to it. Give it some time and you will understand the rhythm, which is its key element. Then you will know when to dodge, when to use hard attacks, etc. The game could provide a little bit more types of enemies, but at least you can focus on the movements of the existing types. It is a crucial factor in combat here. I liked also how the game handled boss fights. Graphics and music are also top notch. Fantastic vistas, tight streets, unsettling otherworld, from simple horror sounds to beautifully haunting ending credits theme. Graphics and composers gave all of their hearts into the game. But now it is time to come back to the ALMOST. Silent Hill f has one big, very big problem. Handholding. The series /or at least its best entries/ known for a great immersion consisting of the character itself making notes on the map and nothing else has turned into an abortion that literally - at same places - tells you to go through the door you have just opened. I am not kidding. GO THROUGH THE DOOR. What the hell has happened that we have fallen from the infamous piano puzzle in Silent Hill 1 to a game that thinks it needs to tell you to go through to a door because, I don't know, it thinks you are that stupid? I really do not know what is going on here. What the hell the developers thought? That the players would just stand and stare at the opened door? Or refund the game because the game did not tell them that they were supposed to go through it? While Silent Hill f is a bright example that AAA gaming can still be an 'art', it is also a game that represents everything bad with modern games. Objectives in Silent Hill are nonsense. You are not supposed to know what to do before the event even happens (meaning like some objectives here - Find a way to open the gate - even before you see any gate!). Players do not need the game to tell them they need to find a way to open the gate. When they finally appear in front of the gate, they will know what to do, because it is LOCKED and the only way forward is through the gate. Or you have a door locked by three sockets. Players know they need to find three things that fit the sockets. The game does not need to tell them and throw them away from the immersion. That ruins the game completely! You are not supposed to have the lifeline in a form of a text, you are not supposed to have your back secured by the game that pushes you forward and thinks instead of yourself. This is not how Silent Hill worked and is supposed to work. Listen, I have nothing against helping players with hints or objectives, but only when it is not mandatory. Silent Hill f needs options allowing players to experience classic Silent Hill, because not only Silent Hill f deserves it but mainly we players that have been with the series since 1999.
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