"No, get away!" Silent Hill f's protagonist Hinako screams in terror as a flower-crowned monster sets upon her. A nimble dodge to the side, and she's safely out of harm's way – just as another hidden foe lopes out from the shadows and slashes Hinako's side, carving a chunk out of my newly replenished health bar and causing her to shriek yet again.
Hinako is very vocal about the horrors she's facing in the new Silent Hill game. Weeping is a common occurrence for her, whether mid-combat or with a mouthful of sacred water-turned-lava as in one of the many cutscenes. But in short bursts, she also has the (intermittent) bravery and sharp reflexes of a far more skilled action hero. Courtesy of Soulslike-tinged combat system, developer Neobards says these power flashes reflect her adrenaline-fuelled desperation.
After playing a half hour Resident Evil Requiem preview just two months ago, the concept of a leading survival horror lady who's anything but powerful is a familiar one. Could Hinako's journey be my gateway to accepting Grace Ashcroft in all her stumbling, sobbing, totally non-heroic herodom come February 27, even though I've been on the fence about it until now?
Fear factory
Silent Hill f review: "unravelling the fears that haunt Hinako makes for some of the best horror I've ever played"
It's oddly poetic that the grandparents of survival horror, Capcom and Konami, are releasing female-fronted games within months of one another. Even more so is the fact that both Grace and Hinako share the unique trait of being utterly, completely scared of everything.
It makes sense for Hinako, at least. The best Silent Hill games feature totally unprepared protagonists, from James Sunderland to Heather Mason, but the same has never been said of Leon S Kennedy, Jill Valentine, or the Redfield siblings. Look anywhere else on the Resident Evil timeline, and you'll find a game led by one or more badasses. Which is where Grace is a major outlier.
I'll put my hands up now and admit that, while I'll be devouring Resident Evil Requiem regardless, having a first-hand look at the heroine-to-be's staggering lack of combat aptitude was sobering. She cries, screeches, even falls down during chases when played in third-person mode, and the sequence was an all-around tense one thanks to the added stress of being so helpless. It's an effective approach when it comes to upping the scares.
Call it denial or blind hope, though, I've been hanging onto the popular yet unconfirmed (or denied) rumor that Resident Evil 2, 4, and 6 protagonist Leon might show up as Requiem's "surprise" secondary player character to balance out the experience.
It's not that I don't see what Capcom is trying to do in presenting a story where the player character is as scared as the player. I just don't think that would be a very Resident Evil thing to ask of us for an entire game, since despite frequently being discussed alongside Silent Hill, the two franchises operate very differently.
Compare, contrast
It's through the process of being scared and facing those fears that she channels immense strength.
When I picked up Silent Hill f for the first time, I made sure to keep Silent Hill 2 remake in mind as a comparison instead of any Capcom hits.
I knew what I was getting into: this is a game about an ordinary person thrust into the depths of psychological torment. But watching Hinako grow and develop her skillset over the course of Silent Hill f has also made me see Requiem in a new light.Much like Grace during my hands-on preview, Hinako spends much of the early game in a state of near helplessness. I don't pick up my first weapon until maybe half an hour in, and it takes me far too long to realize that simply dodging the first enemy was getting me nowhere – I had to make a break for it to escape combat.
Even after picking up my first makeshift weapon, though, Hinako is hardly a swordswoman. Slow, plodding hits mean I need to time each one carefully, and I also have to keep an eye on my sanity and stamina meters to top it off (yes, it's Soulsy, like it or not). I've gotten the hang of her combat maneuvers now, as well as the attack patterns of common enemies, and that in turn makes Hinako feel more capable over time.
When the ema and Faith mechanics – Silent Hill f's upgrade currencies – are finally introduced, I'm able to shape Hinako into more than a scared teenage girl with a rusty pipe.
I beef up her health pool, increase her stamina, even give her multiple Omamori equipment slots to grant her more of an edge in combat. Sure, the combat is still clunky and labored – something I find reflects her personal coming-of-age struggles in rural '60s Japan – but her slow progression from terrified little girl to brave final girl feels all the more weighty because of how hard-won each and every powerup is.
Do I sometimes wish Hinako could pull off a gnarly finisher move like something out of Dying Light: The Beast, or whip out a Matilda handgun and kneecap these bastards? Okay, yes I do. But does her ineptitude make her any less capable of killing every enemy I come across? Not at all.
Somewhere between my third and fifth hour with Silent Hill f, I realized that I had been misjudging Hinako. I first thought her weak and scared, but it's through the process of being scared and facing those fears that she channels immense strength to persevere. That feels pertinent to Resident Evil Requiem, too. If Grace is as resourceful and smart as Hinako can be – between bouts of tears and exclamatory remarks, of course – maybe Requiem will show her on a similar journey. It seems to be what Capcom is hinting at, especially as it continues to dismiss theories of Leon's involvement in the game.
I can't see Resident Evil going full Outlast (or Silent Hill for that matter) in a game that's meant to commemorate its 30th year, but as long as Grace has an ounce of Hinako's underdog gumption, I might actually warm to the idea should it actually come to pass. Just… no more dodging and parries, okay?
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