Silent Hill f has finally arrived, and it’s good—very good, as it turns out. This is great news for the franchise, as it’s been languishing in irrelevance for years now. Sure, Bloober Team’s Silent Hill 2 remake was shockingly good, and a strong portent of better things to come, but it is a remake of a classic, after all. Silent Hill 2‘s story didn’t need to prove itself to anyone.
This isn’t the case for Silent Hill f though, which is a much-needed original narrative. Silent Hill f isn’t just “Silent Hill goes Japan,” either. It’s a unique and compelling plot that, astonishingly, manages to feel like a proper Silent Hill experience without being derivative. The small-town paranoia, the social anxiety, and the unsettling dynamics of teens in over their head are all reminiscent of Ryukishi07’s earlier work. In other words, Ryukishi07’s artistic voice is unmistakable, and a load-bearing pillar for Silent Hill f‘s identity. This freshness and creative vision are major factors in the game’s artistic success, and Konami should continue to pursue such novelty more aggressively moving forward.
Ryukishi07 Penned an Excellent Silent Hill f Script, but Konami Shouldn't Settle Down with Him
Silent Hill f Is Doing Something New, and That Quality Can't Be Undermined
Anyone who has played any When They Cry series, especially Higurashi, will likely notice Ryukishi07’s fingerprints on Silent Hill f. Like many writers, he has his obsessions, including the insular culture of rural Japanese villages, and the paranoia that can so often come through basic human relationships. In Higurashi When They Cry, these obsessions manifest in the strange traditions and secrets of the people of Hinamizawa, and the bizarre behavior of its main cast members. In Silent Hill f, they manifest in the ancient superstitions ofEbisugaoka, and the inexplicable actions and attitudes of Hinako’s friends.
It should be noted that, while unique, Ryukishi07’s tendencies as a writer gel especially nicely with Silent Hill‘s tone and themes. This is a franchise about cults, psychological trauma, and deep-seated mistrust, after all.
The point is this: Ryukishi07 is a singular writer and an auteur, his creative voice loud and unmistakable. Such ingenuity is a boon for any video game, but it’s especially important for a game like Silent Hill f, which bears the responsibility of redirecting a long-running franchise. Again, this is the first full, new Silent Hill game in years, and it needed to right the ship, as it were. It did this by bringing in new blood, and future entries should do the same.
Silent Hill Is the Perfect Franchise for a Rotating Writer's Room
Unlike many other survival horror franchises, Silent Hill is effectively an anthology. The games, though often tethered by broader concepts, locations, and even characters, tend to be standalone stories. Each entry follows new protagonists, new threats, and, in the case of Silent Hill f, new settings. As such, it makes perfect sense to loop in a new, established writer, with their own unique skills and voice, for each new release.
This could be especially effective thanks to how Silent Hill often handles its protagonists. The malignant entities central to the franchise toy with their victims’ psyches, like how everything James experiences in Silent Hill 2 is an outward manifestation of his guilt. Bringing on a new “guest” lead writer for each game could lead to a greater diversity of ideas, themes, and “obsessions,” buttressing this protagonist-centric approach. There could still be cohesion between entries, but each individual release would be more “its own,” as it were.