As Silent Hill f followers pore over the slew of previews that went dwell not too long ago (you’ll be able to learn ours proper right here), two questions are constantly popping up on social media and fan communities: is the newest mainline Silent Hill actually a ‘Soulslike’ sport? And whether it is, what does the time period ‘Soulslike’ even imply anyway?
As we described in IGN’s Silent Hill f hands-on preview, fight itself has a comparable really feel to Silent Hill 2 Remake’s close-range fight. You’ll be able to dodge enemy assaults with the DualSense’s circle button and activate a gentle and heavy assault with R1 and R2, respectively. Your restricted attain and prolonged assault motions give a lifelike, weighty really feel to fight. Heavy assaults, particularly, really feel gradual and must be timed nicely, “contributing to the feeling that Hinako is simply a teenager with restricted power.”
On high of that, nevertheless, Silent Hill f’s fight additionally options timed dodges and counterattacks, with the latter significantly necessary in fight sequences. Enemies briefly present a signal when a counterattack could be utilized, however we prompt that “except you may have skilled your reflex expertise by enjoying video games like of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, you’ll doubtless have a onerous time reacting.” That’s the place the Focus mode is available in, which could be triggered by holding L2. It permits counterattacks to last more, whereas additionally charging up a energy assault that staggers an enemy.
Whereas sequence producer Motoi Okamoto hasn’t particularly talked about the Soulslike style, and by our estimation, Silent Hill f is “not at all a Soulslike,” discuss of parries and counterattacks come as fairly the shock to Silent Hill followers. The franchise has by no means been well-known for its clunky fight — story and environment have virtually at all times come first — however Okatomo’s suggestion that f’s fight sequences had been ratcheted up as a result of “difficult motion video games are gaining recognition amongst youthful gamers these days” has just about break up the fandom.
The legacy of FromSoftware’s Souls sequence isn’t simply outlined by the superb video games in its back-catalog, but additionally the subgenre that’s been given life because of its very existence: The Soulslike. Whereas defining one is kinda difficult, there are core components that have a tendency to use to Souls video games, comparable to punishing penalties for demise, Souls — or a comparable foreign money — gained by defeating enemies that’s integral to character development and could be misplaced upon demise, methodical fight, usually tied to a stamina meter, and checkpoints that reset the world.
For some, nevertheless, Soulslike can merely imply robust melee fight that includes studying to foretell an enemy’s assault sample.
In a thread entitled, “Silent Hill f is not ‘souls-like’ and no one here seems to know what that means,” a Redditor mentioned: “Genuinely baffling. That is hyperlink [sic] second graders being advised to call an object and name a toaster a blender. Like, I do not assume you even know what a Soulslike is.
“Having a dodge roll and onerous bosses applies to love 90% of third-person video games that exist lol. Such as you individuals can’t be critical. Souls video games have heavy and light-weight assault, tight-nit dodge intensive fight. You may have frame-perfect dodges […] enormous emphasis on stamina administration, with shields, break meters, and deal with killing enemies to get c[urrency].
“Silent hill f has like 1.5 of these. This blatant lie must cease. Anybody with eyes who is not filled with sh*t can see that is nothing like a Soulslike.”
It is the broader confusion between what and what’s not indicative of a “Soulslike” sport that is irritating gamers, although.
“To be truthful, no person is aware of what a Soulslike is,” admitted a respondent. “That is clearly demonstrated on the Soulslike sub by each day arguments about whether or not or not a sport is a Soulslike.”
“I’ve sunk tons of of hours into FromSoftware’s video games and Soulslikes like Nioh,” said another person. “Nothing about Silent Hill f appears like a Soulslike apart from there’s a goal lock-on system and a stamina meter. Which is in, you already know: a million different video games that aren’t goddamn Soulslikes.”
Confusingly, others who’ve additionally performed Souls-inspired video games do not concur, nevertheless, resulting in appreciable disagreement to what does, and doesn’t, make a Soulslike sport. Is it the melee fight? The necessity to parry? Or does any sport that requires gamers to study an enemy’s assault sample rely?
“I’m nonetheless excited for the sport, however the comparisons to Souls fight are actually clear guys, like come on…” posited one. “Invincible dodge, lock on system, gentle and heavy assaults, a number of try boss fights testing your fight prowess… Even the fight UI is clearly impressed by motion video games.”
“Folks complain about the fight turning into melee-focused like they do not bear in mind Silent Hill 4. Breakable weapons are important with out the firearms if we nonetheless need the sport to remain a survival horror,” explained one other fan. “This entire scenario seems like Silent Hill 2 Remake yet again with virtually the identical speaking factors.”
Okamoto mentioned that harder fight, with the visuals and music’s “juxtaposition between magnificence and terror,” together with the “horrible fantastic thing about the sport’s monster design,” makes for a terrifying journey. Even the puzzles are apparently “grounded in psychological anguish and struggling.” Fairly how gamers react to all that when Silent Hill f lastly releases subsequent month, in fact, stays to be seen.
Silent Hill f takes us to Sixties Japan, the place we’ll observe Hinako Shimizu, a teenager struggling below the strain of expectations from her pals, household, and society. As displayed at the starting of the Japanese-language reveal trailer again in March, it’s the first Silent Hill sport to get an 18+ ranking certification in Japan. It is out for PC, PS5, and Xbox Sequence on September 25.
In case you are questioning, no, Silent Hill f isn’t a sequel to any of the present Silent Hill video games, so you’ll be able to play it even in case you’ve by no means jumped into a Silent Hill sport earlier than. As a substitute, it would supply a standalone story “unbiased from the sequence.” That got here from writer Konami itself, which lastly confirmed on X/Twitter that the newest instalment of the horror sequence — which is normally, if not at all times, set in a sleepy resort city on east-coast America — will probably be “a fully new title” that “individuals who have by no means performed the Silent Hill sequence can get pleasure from.”
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, in addition to a critic, columnist, and guide with 15+ years expertise working with a few of the world’s greatest gaming websites and publications. She’s additionally a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually Excessive Chaos. Discover her at BlueSky.