Silent Hill f, a standalone spin-off of the Silent Hill collection from developer NeoBards, involves PlayStation 5 on September 25. We not too long ago had the prospect to play the sport at its world premiere occasion in Tokyo, Japan.
Psychological horror set in Sixties Japan
The story begins when Hinako leaves her dwelling to flee from her upset father. Silent Hill f makes use of the identical over-the-shoulder perspective as Bloober Staff’s 2024 Silent Hill 2 remake, permitting gamers to maneuver the digital camera with the precise analog stick. Sharing an analogous perspective to Hinako provides to the immersion and stress of the sport. Whenever you look across the forest surrounding her, you turn out to be conscious about the hazard closing in and really feel the overwhelming sense of isolation and entrapment.
Navigate the fog-enshrouded city and survive the lethal horrors from an over-the-shoulder perspective
The sky darkens as Hinako approaches a row of homes alongside the forestline, and a mysterious fog descends. The genuine Sixties Japanese city, depicted in vivid 4K visuals, evokes a way of magnificence and nostalgia. Nevertheless, issues take a flip after you meet Hinako’s childhood buddies. The fog fully engulfs the city, and “higanbana” (purple spider lilies) start blooming from the bottom. Worse but, tentacle-like vegetation start creeping and overflowing from the partitions. The city’s dramatic transformation enthralled me.
Navigating the maddening, twisting streets of Ebisugaoka
Ebisugaoka options an array of slim streets intertwining between clustered homes. Blind corners and ranging verticality create a posh, maze-like structure. Not like Silent Hill 2, there are not any radios or objects to warn you of approaching enemies, so you should stay vigilant and alert to each sound.
Puzzles intently tied to the story
Puzzles are a defining function of the Silent Hill collection, and so they function prominently on this title. Throughout our playthrough, we had been in a position to check out quite a lot of puzzles impressed by Japanese tradition, resembling finding the proper “ema” (small picket prayer tablets) or discovering scarecrows that matched sure standards. Many of those puzzles are deeply linked to the story written by scriptwriter Ryukishi07, and it was intriguing to learn how they had been linked to the characters’ feelings and id.
Shut-range fight calls for quick-thinking and technique
Hinako is a mean Japanese teenager, so not like earlier titles within the collection firearms aren’t an choice right here. As an alternative, Silent Hill f has a heavier concentrate on melee fight. Throughout our demo we bought our palms on an iron pipe, a sickle, a dagger, and a naginata polearm.
Fight contains a new Sanity mechanic and counterattacks to focus on weak enemies. Urgent the R2 button throughout fight openings fight prompts a counter. This doesn’t eat stamina, and if profitable, the enemy will get knocked down. You’ll see a particular impact seem on the enemy when you may execute the counter. Though Focus mode consumes Sanity, this state can decelerate time and create an extended opening, making it simpler to ship a shock counter. Additionally, when Hinako’s Focus gauge fills up she will be able to unleash a robust Focus Assault with the R1 button, which inflicts important harm. Nevertheless, the present Max Sanity will lower, making it more durable to enter Focus mode, so that you’ll want to find out the prime moments to benefit from this assault.
Keep watch over weapon sturdiness
Weapons in Silent Hill f have ranges of sturdiness and can break quicker the extra they’re used. Ensure you carry spare weapons or toolkits to restore their sturdiness. Nevertheless, weapons just like the dagger and naginata, which might solely be used within the Otherworld, don’t have any sturdiness and can be utilized to your coronary heart’s content material.
Face-to-face with a formidable shrine maiden monster
The demo concludes with an intense battle between Hinako and a grotesque monster dressed as a shrine maiden. Hinako calls this monster “Sakiko” when she confronts it within the Otherworld.
The shrine maiden’s assaults span a variety and can maintain you in your toes from lengthy vary. The monster launches a long-distance assault that makes Hinako flinch whereas it concurrently vanishes to chop down her Sanity. Nevertheless, when you’re in a position to find the monster proper after it reappears you’ll have an opportunity to sprint and strike whereas it’s weak.
I walked away from my time with Silent Hill f wanting to confront extra terrifying enemies and difficult puzzles, in addition to discover new areas of the map when the sport launches September 25 on PS5.