Hot off the release of its reveal trailer last week, new details have emerged regarding the multitude of horrors NeoBards Entertainment’s Silent Hill f has in store, keeping in line with series tradition with depictions of graphic violence, mature themes and hinting at melee-focused combat.
As seen in the game’s recently released ESRB rating, it garnered a Mature 17+ rating for “Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Partial Nudity”, which is to be expected for a game in the survival-horror genre. Its rating summary, however, paints a much more detailed picture of the terrors players can expect in the town of Ebisugaoka, reading:
This is a survival-horror action game in which players assume the role of a student confronting supernatural entities in a 1960s Japanese mountain town. From a third-person perspective, players explore the town, solve puzzles, interact with characters, and battle enemy creatures (e.g., humanoid monsters, mutants, mythical creatures).
Players use axes, crowbars, knives, and spears to defend against and kill enemy creatures in melee-style combat. Blood-splatter effects occur frequently as characters are attacked; several areas depict large bloodstains in the environment and near corpses. Some enemy attacks can result in players’ character getting impaled in the neck and/or getting their faces ripped apart.
Cutscenes sometimes depict gore and more intense acts of violence: a character burned alive inside a cage; a woman branded by a hot iron; entrails and sinew displayed on serving platters in fantastical celebration/ceremony; a character sawing off her own arm; a character slicing off portions of a character’s face during a ritual. Concept art depicts a nude mannequin-like character, with exposed buttocks and partially exposed breasts; the character appears in a creature-like form throughout the game.
Silent Hill f’s mature themes seem to extend beyond just graphic violence though, as the game’s content warning described on its official site also states that it “contains depictions of gender discrimination, child abuse, bullying, drug-induced hallucinations, torture, and graphic violence”, giving a better sense of the heavy themes and imagery to come that are undoubtedly designed to intentionally make players feel uncomfortable.
While characters sawing off their limbs and other scenes of bodily harm seem to fit right in with series tradition, one interesting thing to note here is the game’s apparent focus on melee combat, with a jarring omission of firearms in its description. This does make sense, however, considering that the game is set in 1960s Japan in a small rural town, so its highly unlikely for there to be guns lying around. A focus on close-ranged engagements might also work in the game’s favour, forcing players to confront threats in tight spaces for a more visceral and tense experience.
Silent Hill f currently has no release date, but the presence of an ESRB rating suggests one is likely on the way. According to ESRB, the game is set for release on the PS5, Xbox Series and PC.
Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise “duds” like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3. He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying.
Si Jia
