Silent Hill f Demands You Complete It More Than Once (but It’s Totally Worth It)

by

After about twenty years, *Silent Hill f* is a fantastic new entry in the *Silent Hill* series, finally lifting the long-standing shadow over the town. The game brilliantly returns to the series’ focus on psychological horror while also bravely exploring new themes that fit perfectly with the eerie setting. While the story feels rushed at the end and relies on an unsatisfying shortcut, the ending isn’t truly the end for *Silent Hill f*. It’s more of a starting point for what comes next.

The other endings in *Silent Hill f* are worth seeing because the game evolves with each playthrough. New Game Plus doesn’t just let you keep your progress and improvements; it adds entirely new scenes and remixes existing ones, along with extra collectibles that give you a deeper understanding of the characters. The game’s helpful interface even alerts you when these new scenes appear, making sure you don’t miss them.

Silent Hill f‘s Story Gains New Wrinkles Upon Replaying

The changes between playthroughs range from small details, like added decorations, to significant alterations including new conversations. These new dialogues are much more impactful, often clarifying the story and filling in gaps that were previously unclear or hidden. What was hinted at during the first playthrough is gradually revealed through these exchanges, creating a sense that the game is like an onion – with layers of story waiting to be uncovered with each new run.

One reason the story in *f* is so captivating is the way it gradually reveals its mysteries. By not revealing everything at once, the game becomes easier to follow. The initial story and characters are interesting enough to make players want to learn more – a simple, uninspired story wouldn’t inspire that kind of curiosity. *f* first grabs your attention, then encourages you to explore the details and understand the characters’ motivations – information that might have been too much to process initially.

The game cleverly reveals key details about its characters until you start New Game Plus and New Game Plus 2. These modes include unique collectibles that flesh out the backstories and motivations of the entire cast. This delayed storytelling is a smart move, as it encourages players to reconsider their initial impressions. Seeing antagonists developed over multiple playthroughs, and then learning about their humanity, can challenge your biases and even lead you to sympathize with characters you once saw as villains. While it’s natural to re-evaluate characters when revisiting a story, this game actively builds that process into the experience, rewarding players with new insights as they uncover more information.

The game’s slow-burn storytelling reaches its peak in the “Ebisugaoka in Silence” ending, which is considered the most complete and requires the most effort to unlock. This is where clues from earlier playthroughs finally make sense, and players gain the deepest understanding of the characters through additions exclusive to New Game Plus 2. It’s the culmination of everything the game has been building towards, delivering a satisfying resolution that wasn’t present in the initial playthrough. While many games would have used this as the sole ending, doing so could have made the game overwhelming with its already rich lore and backstory.

Beyond the main ending, the other New Game Plus options offer interesting perspectives on the game’s core themes, especially the impactful “Fox’s Wedding.” They primarily serve to highlight the subtlety and nuance of the “Ebisugaoka in Silence” ending. Even the seemingly lighthearted UFO ending stands out as the best in the series; its art style is surprisingly fitting for the game’s world, resembling manga, and it feels more connected to the overall story than just being a random, silly addition.

Silent Hill f Changes Quite a Bit in New Runs

People often replay the game *f* because of its story, but the different difficulty levels also offer fresh gameplay experiences. The game adjusts enemy placements and behavior depending on the chosen difficulty, making each playthrough feel a little different and adding unique scares. For instance, the cornfield section features more relentless monsters on harder settings, and the school area has three different arrangements, each creating its own type of suspense. While the puzzles don’t change much, and the game could have done more to alter the higher difficulties, *f* does at least offer some variety beyond simply adjusting health and resources.

Even after playing *Silent Hill f* multiple times, some parts of the story still feel unclear. The game sometimes relies too heavily on unexplained supernatural elements to cover up plot holes, and some of the endings you unlock after finishing the game don’t quite match up with earlier events. However, these issues don’t detract from how much *f* encourages replayability, gradually revealing more of its secrets with each playthrough. Watching those endings online isn’t the same either; a lot of the details and impact come from information you gather by finding notes and documents throughout the game. This is one of the ways *f* stands out from previous *Silent Hill* titles, and it’s a design approach that future games should consider.

What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!

https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/silent-hill-2-remake-developer-nintendo-switch-2-exclusive/embed/#

Read More

2025-10-15 22:14