Silent Hill Fhas been recently announced by Konami as the latest mainline entry to their storied horror franchise.Silent Hill Frepresents uncharted waters for the series. Not only is it the first new entry in over a decade, but it also steps away from its namesake and is set instead in rural Japan.Silent Hill Fis the first entry on the newest generation of consoles. This gives Konami the chance to flex its technical muscles in terms of graphics and design.
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Silent Hill F is set to be a prequel, set decades before the original game. The game may provide fans with insight into why the town of Silent Hill is an endless purgatory of horror. But while waiting for any news or updates, here are some aspectsSilent Hill Fshould take from its predecessors to provide the best possible package of interactive terror yet.
10Silent Hill: Downpour – The Movement
The last mainline entry in the series,Downpour, was considered by many as a mixed bag. While praised like every installment in the franchise as scary and unnerving, the game’s actual gameplay felt like a slog at times. It was clunky and unintuitive. There was one saving grace, and it would be amazing inSilent Hill F:the movement. While this may seem contradictory at first, it really isDownpour’s best aspect. The protagonist Murphy can jump over ledges and squeeze between objects.Silent Hillis survival horror to its core, and the option of fight or flight adds to this for sure.
With modern developer kits and Neobard Entertainment’s work on theResident Evilseries, they can ideally seamlessly incorporate this mechanic and give players more choices when faced with monsters.
9Silent Hill: Shattered Memories – Psych Profile
Shattered Memories, areimagining of the original game, is definitely the most unique game in the franchise. The game has no combat system and players cannot fight monsters. The game plays off of the player’s fear, hours of dread, and atmospheric horror capped off by the fact that there is no reprieve in bullets. That is not, however, the feature we want to see in the newest installments in the franchise just yet.
Shattered Memoriesalso featured the Psych Profile. Through this feature, the game used the player’s own decisions to adapt the game’s environment, storyline, and theme. The Psych Profile represents an unexplored avenue in the series and it could lead to more dense storytelling needing multiple playthroughs. A more fleshed-out version of this taking into account combat decisions could make for extremely promising gameplay.
8Silent Hill: Homecoming – Combat
Perhaps the middle child of theSilent Hillfranchise,Homecomingis a solid game. It’s nothing special but it does the core horror tropes very well. It also shines where many horror games fail: the combat.Homecominghas fluid and smooth animations.
Alex Shepherd, a soldier by trade is easily the best-equipped and strongest protagonist the series has had. The combat in this game is very good, particularly the aiming and the dodging. Shepherd can do a slight combat roll to evade enemies. This feature isn’t common in the genre at all but if executed properly, with pros and cons it could be a welcome addition to theSilent Hillnorms.
7Silent Hill Origins – Otherworld
Silent Hill Originsis disturbing horror at its best. This game doesn’t introduce anything new to the franchise, but it polishes many key features. At the very top of this list is the ‘Otherworld,’ the alternative dimension present in many games in the franchise.Originutilizes this feature superbly through the mirrors the protagonist interacts with.
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Silent Hill F,if featuring the Otherworld, could do something similar. As the game is set in rural Japan, it could implement something similar using ‘Torii,’ the easily recognizable Japanese shrine gates.
6Silent Hill 4 – Apt 302
Silent Hill 4introduced a singular save point to the game, Apartment 302, where the player could travel back to, save their progress, manage their inventory, and take a break from what lies outside. This feature hasn’t been utilized ever since but would be a welcome addition toSilent Hill F.
Games aren’t nearly as linear as they used to be and a singular save point could encourage backtracking, exploring alternative routes, and focusing more on the detailed environments ever-present inSilent Hill.
5Silent Hill 3 – The Horror
While this may seem pretty obvious to say, the fact isSilent Hill 3had some of the most genuinely terrifying sequences in the entire franchise. The game attacks players with layers upon layers of grotesque horror.Silent Hill 3is overwhelmingly serious, there is no reprieve and the developers ensured the player stays glued to their seats for half a dozen hours,trying to get Heather Graham out safe.
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Modern horror games, even some games on this list, have slightly diverted from the actual horror of the game and focused more on gameplay, UI, design, etc. While these features are important, forSilent Hill F, the most important thing should be scaring the player andSilent Hill 3is the perfect example.
4Silent Hill 2 – Pyramid Head
Everything aboutSilent Hill 2is iconic, especially the monsters gallery. And nothing comes close tothe marquee villain Pyramid Head. When people think aboutSilent Hill, their mind instantly turns to this horrific lanky figure terrorizing James Sunderland. Having a recurring boss who looms around the area haunting the player’s movements is a surefire way to make a horror game memorable if done right.
3Silent Hill 2 – Environmental Hazards
Silent Hill 2isknown for the dense fogthat surrounds James Sunderland, creating an aura of uncertainty and feeding into the game’s narrative. Similarly,Silent Hill Fwith the updated capabilities of modern PCs and consoles could easily feature environmental hazards that reflect the game’s state, signal danger, or shift reflecting a player’s in-game decisions.
2Silent Hill 1 – The Soundtrack
The firstSilent Hillgame is the perfect blueprint to follow in nearly every way. This is why it is difficult to pick out any single thing forSilent Hill Fto utilize. The soundtrack is what makes aSilent Hillgame memorableand it was at its best here. Haunting, melancholic tunes capture fans' every step, the music ebbs and flows to reflect the game’s progression and at times amps up to a higher level.
Large horror projects sometimes ignore things like music, but for aSilent Hillgame to be successful, the soundtrack is key. With the game set in Japan, traditional Eastern influences on the classicSilent Hillsound could produce something special.
1Silent Hill – Multiple Endings
This is a staple feature ofthe entire franchise. SomeSilent Hillgames have up to six endings.Silent Hill Fwould do well to keep multiple endings as well. It’s one of the things that makes the franchise iconic.
Moreover, it adds to the game’s replayability and engages with the hardcore fans of the series who want to see everything. Working in conjunction with some other features mentioned, it could lead to a richer and more detailed experience.
Silent Hill Fis currently in development.
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